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Chelsea Citizen Observer Patrol recognizes outstanding members

by

Erica Techo

Erica Techo

Erica Techo

Erica Techo

Erica Techo

Erica Techo

Erica Techo

Erica Techo

The Chelsea Citizen Observer Patrol was able to present Mayor Earl Niven with a check for $204,096 at their 17th annual awards meeting.

The check is symbolic and represents the amount of money the Chelsea COP program has saved the city through its volunteer patrols and services over the year. COP members patrolled for more than 18,509 miles last year, and Shelby County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Chris George said the city would have to hire 11.5 more deputies to get that amount of work done.

“You are the eyes and the ears and the heartbeat of Chelsea,” George said.

As keynote speaker, George recognized the contribution COP members make to Chelsea through their volunteer work. Even if some of the changes they make seem small, George said there is no way to measure the impact they are having on the future.

“Small acts of kindness, as insignificant as they may seem, add up,” he said.

The actions of COP members are a testament to their love for Chelsea, as well as a great example for what community members can do in the future, George said.

The awards meeting was held on Feb. 23, and community members, family members and law enforcement officers were invited.

At the awards ceremony, COP director Jim Thornton recognized members for their accomplishments, including those who attended all meetings, completed more than 150 patrol hours in a year, completed a total of more than 1,000 patrol hours since joining COP, or helped grow the COP program.

The 13 individuals who joined COP in 2015 were also recognized, and Councilman Dale Neuendorf presented members Jess Rawls and Hoyt Picklesimer with the rookies of the year award.

“As we all know, growth is the lifeblood of any organization,” Neuendorf said. “And we live in a time right now when so many volunteer organizations, service clubs, groups that have to give of themselves are really shrinking. And as you heard from Jim [Thornton], we have 13 new members in the COP program this past year, which is just absolutely outstanding.”

Two members were recognized for their patrol activity helping lead to an arrest in 2015. Sheriff John Samaniego presented the award to John Devenyns and Matt Mellen, who reported an erratic driver in November 2015. The driver was arrested and charged with DUI.

Members of COP were also recognized with the presidential service award. The collar pin is awarded at the bronze, silver and gold level, and the levels are based on total volunteer hours. A total of 18 awards were presented, and members Bill Weldon and Donald Shirley received lifetime pins, which represent more than 4,000 volunteer hours logged. Weldon holds the records for most volunteer hours, with 5,213 hours logged.

The final award of the night was the Volunteer of the Year award, which was presented to Mike Cooley.

“It’s a pleasure for me to make this presentation,” Niven said. “This man has had a rough week; he lost a member of his family, his brother, but we are mighty proud of Mike Cooley as our volunteer of the year.”

A full list of award recipients is below:

100 percent meeting attendance

150 patrol hours in 2015

1,000+ hours of patrol time since joining COP

Program growth award (for recruiting/training new members)

New members

100th member

Members who prepared 10+ incident reports in 2015

Five years of service

10 years of service

Presidential Service Awards

Bronze (100-249 volunteer hours)

Silver (250-499 volunteer hours)

Gold (500+ volunteer hours)

Lifetime (4,000+ volunteer hours)

Patrol activity resulting in a significant contribution to an arrest

Rookie of the Year

Volunteer of the Year

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