Senator DeGrange speaking at the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services Employee Apprication Awards Banquet in May 2009. As Chair of the Public Safety Transportation and Envirtonment subcommittee, Senator DeGrange was asked to be the keynote speaker. He was pleased to have the opportunity to the employees in the field of public safety along with their friends and families and he recognizes that "it takes a special kind of hero to put his or her life on the line every day and that is just what the employees do".