It was a celebration of heroes on Tuesday, March 18, 2025 as the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County and the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County proudly presented Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, a graduate of Lake Worth Community High School, with the Ed Tancer Distinguished Alumni Award, as well as recognized the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office with our Outstanding Business Partner Award.
The inspiring ceremony was held in the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County’s brand new Center for Public School Excellence and Innovation in Lake Worth Beach.
Bradshaw was first elected sheriff of Palm Beach County’s largest law enforcement agency in 2004 and is now in his sixth term leading a massive organization with more than 4,440 staff members, including approximately 1,900 sworn deputies.
A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Bradshaw started his law enforcement career with the West Palm Beach Police Department, where he rose through the ranks as a road patrol officer, detective sergeant, lieutenant, captain, major, assistant chief of police, and eventually, chief of police.
Under Bradshaw’s leadership, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office has had great success in taking down gangs, hunting down cyber predators, locking up human traffickers, and helping to secure our schools.
The Education Foundation of Palm Beach County is especially grateful to the sheriff’s office for supporting us every year in our Backpack Initiative.
The sheriff’s office and its incredible deputies help to purchase thousands of backpacks, fill them with essential supplies for children, and personally drop them off at dozens of schools throughout the summer.
Thanks to the gracious support of the sheriff’s office, Palm Beach County students can start each school year with the resources they need to be successful in the classroom.
The Ed Tancer Distinguished Alumni Award is given each year to a graduate of Palm Beach County public schools who has remained committed to serving and supporting the county in extraordinary ways.
The coveted award is named after the late Edward F. Tancer, an influential member of the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County’s Board of Directors who had a vision for a larger and more important role for the Education Foundation in the community. As a catalyst for change, Tancer recruited new staff and board members from across industries to make that vision possible.
The Education Foundation of Palm Beach County and the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County are grateful to our generous sponsors of the Ed Tancer Distinguished Alumni and Leadership Awards for their support and commitment to ensuring quality education in public schools:
- Amazon
- Publix Super Markets Charities
- UnitedHealthcare
- Gunster
- Florida Power and Light Company
- Song + Associates, Inc.
- C. Kenneth and Laura Baxter Foundation
- Alvarez and Marsal
- PNC Bank
- BDO
- The Weitz Company
- United Franchise Group
- JP Morgan Chase and Company
- The Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County
- Proctor Construction Company
- Lesser, Landy, Smith, and Siegel PLLC
- Comiter Singer
- Humana
- Keiser University
The Palm Beach Gardens Community High School Culinary Arts Academy catered the event, and the West Boca Raton Community High School Vanguard Band provided musical entertainment.
