Placer County Supervisor Jennifer Montgomery recently presented a commendation from the Board of Supervisors to a Kings Beach resident who has risen from his local roots to a stellar career in the U.S. Navy.

Benjamin Heineike grew up in Kings Beach and is a graduate of North Tahoe High School. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at the top of his class in 2002.

He attended Cambridge and Oxford universities, the latter of which was with a Marshall Scholarship, one of 40 given nationwide that year.

He served as an active duty commissioned officer in the Navy from 2002-10 and currently serves as liaison officer in the Navy Reserve.

“He’s done all these incredible things and traveled throughout the world,” Montgomery, who represents Kings Beach, said in a statement. “Yet his commitment to his community, to Kings Beach, remains so strong and his commitment to education and young people and after school education programs like the Boys and Girls Club.”

Heineike’s parents, Marilyn and Ben, still live in the Lake Tahoe Basin.