1 of 8
Erica Techo
Chief Deputy Chris George spoke at the COP awards banquet on Feb. 23, 2016.
2 of 8
Erica Techo
COP member Mike Cooley received the volunteer of the year award for 2015.
3 of 8
Erica Techo
COP member and councilman Dale Neuendorf (right) presents Mayor Earl Niven with a symbolic check, representing the monetary value of the COP program's volunteer hours.
4 of 8
Erica Techo
Mayor Earl Niven (right) presents COP member Mike Cooley with the Volunteer of the Year award.
5 of 8
Erica Techo
Sheriff John Samaniego presents COP member Matt Mellen with an award.
6 of 8
Erica Techo
Dale Neuendorf (right) presents COP members Jess Rawls and Hoyt Picklesimer with the Rookie of the Year award.
7 of 8
Erica Techo
COP Director Jim Thornton (right) presents Donald Shirley with a Lifetime Presidential Service Award for more than 4,000 hours of volunteer service.
8 of 8
Erica Techo
COP Director Jim Thornton presents Dale Neuendorf with an award at the COP Awards Banquet.
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
- Pat McDanal
- John Peacock
- Mike Cooley
- Bill Robertson
- Hoyt Picklesimer
150 patrol hours in 2015
- Jay Jerman
- Alicia Johnson
- Donald Shirley
- Pat McDanal
- Mavis Efferson
- Joe Murphy
- Dale Neuendorf
- Martha Coffey
- Mike Cooley
- Patricia Hipps
- Joel Dauber
- Roberta Dauber
- Bill Robertson
- Jim Powers
- Jim Thornton
- Hoyt Picklesimer
- Jess Rawls
- Robert Bush
- Robert Everett
1,000+ hours of patrol time since joining COP
- Jay Jerman
- Alicia Johnson
- Bill Weldon
- Eddie Huggins
- Sallie Williams
- Donald Shirley
- Pat McDanal
- Rod Jones
- Mavis Efferson
- Joe Murphy
- Dale Neuendorf
- Mike Cooley
- Martha Coffey
- Matt Mellen
- Joel Dauber
- Bill Robertson
- Roberta Dauber
Program growth award (for recruiting/training new members)
- Donald Shirley
- Alicia Johnson
- Jay Jerman
- Patricia Hipps
- Martha Coffey
- Bill Robertson
- Robert Everett
- John Sandridge
- Jess Rawls
- Hoyt Picklesimer
- Bill Robertson
- Jess Rawls
- Martha Coffey
- Patricia Hipps
- John Peacock
- Robert Everett
- Pat McDanal
- Donald Shirley
New members
- John Sandridge
- Eddie Burchfield
- John Ed Andrews
- Robert Bush
- Robert Everett
- David Cheek
- Don Lemley
- Richard Mauldin
- Frances Irene
- Donald Robinson
- Dominique Dubois
- Gail Owen
100th member
- Donald Robinson
Members who prepared 10+ incident reports in 2015
- Sallie Williams (10 reports)
- Donald Shirley (10 reports)
- Dale Neuendorf (10 reports)
- John Peacock (10 reports)
- Joe Murphy (12 reports)
- Hoyt Picklesimer (12 reports)
- Jess Rawls (12 reports)
- Robert Bush (12 reports)
- Bill Robertson (14 reports)
- Jim Powers (15 reports)
- Joel Dauber (16 reports)
- Roberta Dauber (19 reports)
- Mike Cooley (19 reports)
- Pat McDanal (23 reports)
Five years of service
- Matt Mellen
- Joel Dauber
10 years of service
- Joe Murphy
Presidential Service Awards
Bronze (100-249 volunteer hours)
- John Ed Andrews
- Dominique Dubois
- Robert Everett
- Robert Bush
- Linda Powers
Silver (250-499 volunteer hours)
- Jess Rawls
- Hoyt Picklesimer
- Jim Powers
Gold (500+ volunteer hours)
- Brenda Perkins
- Dale Neuendorf
- Jay Jerman
- Joe Murphy
- John Devenys
- Matt Mellen
- Patricia Hipps
- Jim Thornton
Lifetime (4,000+ volunteer hours)
- Bill Weldon (5,213 hours)
- Donald Shirley (4,594 hours)
Patrol activity resulting in a significant contribution to an arrest
- John Devenyns
- Matt Mellen
Rookie of the Year
- Jess Rawls
- Hoyt Picklesimer
Volunteer of the Year
- Mike Cooley
