OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal
Thursday, March 7, 2013 • 9
People
Model Citizens
Hoover Grad Earns Gold Award from Girl Scouts
City Employees, Community Leaders Honored for Service by Chambers Over the Mountain city employees and community leaders have recently been recognized by area chambers of commerce for their service and dedication. Homewood
Homewood city employees were honored during the annual meeting of the Homewood Chamber of Commerce on Jan. 15. Fire Chief John Bresnan presented the Firefighter of the Year Award to Greg Garrett. Garrett has been with the department since January 1995. He is a firefighter and paramedic with the department and is also an apparatus operator, a post he was promoted to in 2006. Bresnan said Garrett also maintains the fire department’s self-contained breathing apparatus equipment. “That is absolutely necessary equipment, and he maintains those flawlessly for us,” Bresnan said. Garrett said he was deeply honored by the award. “It never crossed my mind that there would be an occasion where I was getting an award for working among such amazing people,” Garrett said. Police Chief Jim Roberson presented the Police Officer of the Year Award to Eric Marquard. Marquard has been a police officer for 19 years and came to Homewood from the Vestavia Hills Police Department. In 2012, Marquard led the patrol division with more than 35 felony arrests and 137 misdemeanor arrests. He had 443 traffic stops and issued more than 170 citations, Roberson said. Additionally, Marquard is a member of the department’s tactical team and one of its firearm instructors. “And somehow he manages to find the time to be a field training officer for new officers coming out of the police academy to the department,” Roberson said. Roberson said Marquard was selected for the award because he inspires his fellow officers on a daily basis with his quiet confidence. “Eric is what you want every officer to be. He truly has a servant’s heart, which you have to have in this business,” Roberson said. Marquard said he accepted it on behalf of all the other officers in the Homewood Police Department. “There’s a lot of other officers who deserve this award. We work as a team and always try to help each other,” he said. “I’m also accepting this on behalf on my wife and my family. I have about the worst job in the world for a wife to have to deal with, and this award is just as much hers as it is mine.” Homewood Public Library Director Deborah Fout presented the Employee of the Year Award
to Oanh Nyguyen. Nyguyen has been an accountant with the library since 1999 and is invaluable to the library, Fout said. “Homewood has one of the busiest libraries in the state, and as our in-house accountant and personnel person, her attention to detail is unmatched and she is just vital to us,” Fout said. McBrayer said not only does Nyguyen go above and beyond in her role at the library but always makes herself available to help other city departments. “When we’re swamped in accounting in the city, she comes in and saves us. Very rarely do you see people of quality with such dedication,” she said. Fout said Nyguyen, who was born in Vietnam and came to the U.S. at age 13, was selected for the Employee of the Year Award because of her hard work and positive attitude. Nyguyen thanked Fout, the mayor and the city for the award and said she felt lucky just to be nominated. “I am so glad to be a part of the City of Homewood,” she said.
Greg Garrett
Brandon Massey
HOOVER
Eric Marquard
Ryan Smith
Oanh Nyguyen
Tyrone McCall
Mountain Brook
The Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce held its 2013 annual luncheon Feb. 5 at The Club. Chamber awards were made during the luncheon, including the William Tynes Award. Tynes presented the award to Lee Gewin. Gewin is a board member at the Emmet O’Neal Library. “She’s a delight to work with and has always been dedicated to the success of the library,” Tynes said. “Nothing illustrates that more than when she worked in 1998 to help raise a staggering $10 million for the library.” Gewin said she is proud of how the library has stayed focused on changing with the times to serve the growing needs of its patrons. “When we first started planning the building in the 1990s, we had never even heard of e-books,” she said. “The population of Mountain Brook hasn’t really increased, but circulation has increased 40 percent since we moved into the new building.” Gewin said Tynes and others involved with the Emmet O’Neal Library have always had a grand vision for the facility. “Mr. Tynes wanted to it to be the crown jewel of Mountain Brook, and now we have that with this library,” Gewin said. Mountain Brook City Manager Sam Gaston presented the City Employee of the Year Award to Ronnie Vaughan. Vaughan is the city’s director of public works. “In 2011, the city hired a new public works director and in his short tenure, he has initiated greater productivity and better communica-
tion,” Gaston said. Vaughan thanked Gaston and other city officials for their support. “This is a very humbling award. I feel very blessed to have such a good group of employees and to get the support from good managers,” Vaughan said. The Robert Jemison Visionary Award was presented to Rele Evans and his son, John Evans, of Evson, Inc., the company behind the Lane Parke development. “Mountain Brook Village is undergoing some changes for the better, and we couldn’t be better served by Rele Evans and the Evans family,” said Mayor Terry Oden. “We are all going to benefit from it tremendously.”
Lee Gewin
Jamie Sauvage
Rele Evans
Rodger Cofer
Ronnie Vaughan
Clint Moore
The Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce honored members of the Hoover police and fire departments Feb. 21 at the group’s monthly luncheon. The awards ceremony was held at the Hoover Country Club. Brandon Massey and Ryan Smith were named the Hoover Police Officers of the Year for their role in arresting three men in connection with armed robberies on Lorna Road. Smith and Massey have both been with the Hoover Police Department for about three years. Smith is assigned to the motor scout unit, and Massey is a detective. Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis presented the awards for the police department employees. Tyrone McCall was named the Hoover Detention Officer of the Year. McCall has been with the Hoover Police Department for eight years and also serves as a field training officer, training other jail employees. Jamie Sauvage was honored as the Hoover Telecommunicator of the Year for helping catch those responsible for robbing and injuring a 16-year-old in January 2012. Sauvage is a backup dispatcher and has worked with the Hoover Police Department for seven years. Lt. Rodger Cofer was selected as the Hoover Firefighter of the Year for his involvement with Children’s of Alabama’s Camp Conquest. Cofer has been with the Hoover Fire Department since 1997 and was promoted to lieutenant in 2010. The Hoover Paramedic of the Year Award went to Clint Moore for his role in saving a woman who was choking on food. Moore has been with Hoover since 2008. ❖
A Hoover High School graduate has been recognized with the Girl Scouts Gold Award. Rebecca Guy earned the award for her project aimed at combating obesity. The project, Fun Run to Fight Obesity, focused on getting people to be more active. Guy organized a one-mile run for her church. As participants ran around the church’s playground, they read signs she created with helpful tips on how to stay active and have a healthy lifestyle. The project was also aimed at getting people to interact with each other as they get and stay fit. Guy said she thought the prevalence of social media is discouraging face-to-face interaction and that events like the Fun Run to Fight Obesity can give people an opportunity to encourage each other to meet health goals. “I think that the most successful aspect of my project was that I established an activity at my church that will have a long-term impact on both the church members and the community outside of my church that will hopefully keep them active and in touch with each other,” Guy said. Trish Coghlan, chief executive officer of the Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama, congratulated Guy on earning the Gold Award. “By earning the Girl Scout Gold Award, Rebecca has become a community leader. Her accomplishments reflect leadership and citizenship skills that set her apart,” Coghlan said. Coghlan said the girl who goes for the Gold Award embraces challenges, achieves excellence and works diligently to make the world a better place in her own unique way. Each girl earning the Gold Award demonstrates excellence through a leadership project totaling more than 65 hours. Winners are recognized by the President, Congress, state legislatures and the American Legion.
YWCA New 2013 Board Officers, Members Tapped YWCA Central Alabama announced its new board of directors members and officers at its annual meeting on Jan. 29. New board members are Liz Edwards, director of development, Sight Savers of America; Gillian Goodrich, Mike and Gillian Goodrich Foundation; Elizabeth Hutchins, attorney, Sirote & Permutt; Barrett Brock MacKay, community volunteer; Maria Claudia Norena, director of strategy and innovation, University of Alabama at Birmingham Division of Preventative Medicine; Deidra Perry, sales manager, Birmingham Magazine; Carol Ratcliffe, faculty, Ida V. Moffett School of Nursing, Samford University; Amber Scanlan, vice president, director of client and community relations, PNC Bank; and Chanda Temple, director of public relations, Birmingham Public Library. New board officers are Kathryn Harbert, president; Carla S. Roberson, vice president of development; Brenda M. Hackney, vice president of finance; Lajuana T. Bradford, vice president of planning; Barbara Blair, vice president of programs; Lisa Q. Miller, corresponding secretary; and DeValerie Harry Williams, recording secretary.