WHAT YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
Lights, Lights and More Lights
We hope everyone enjoyed the police department's annual guided light tour! Even after 14 years of doing this it seems our citizens get more creative with their decorations every year. We want to say thank you those who decked their halls with Christmas cheer and provided the entertainment for our tour. #youcouldseethemfromspace #noideawhatboughsofhollyare #hollyjollygoodtime
Priority Shipping Included
Santa has collected all of the letters submitted to his magic mailbox, and he's working on those responses! He received so many letters from all the good boys and girls that it may take a little while for his response letters to make it through the mail. Be on the lookout in the coming weeks for a special delivery!
#Can'tOvernightMailFromTheNorthPole
Bench #2? Check
It was only a few weeks ago we told you the City was once again attempting to collect 500 pounds of plastic bags to get our second bench. Well guess what?! In a little less than two months we've already collected 657 pounds of plastic bags and film! This not only gets us the second bench, but also gives us a strong start on our third! The totals have been reported to Trex, and our second bench should be ordered soon. Great job Tega Cay! #croquetclubwillloveit #greatwaytorecycle #donotthrowplasticbagsingarbage #donotthrowtheminregularrecyclingbinseither
Employees of the Year
Yesterday, City staff gathered for their final safety luncheon of 2019. Each year we use this luncheon to also celebrate the holiday season, spend time in fellowship and recognize our Employees and Department Heads of the Year. Nominees for Employee of the Year were: Captain Justin Daily of the fire department, IT Specialist Janet Broom of the police department, Diana Vick our receptionist at City Hall, Jeremy Franklin in our Utility Department, Dana Overlay in our Finance Department and Sgt. Justin Spencer our police department detective. We always recognize one inside/office employee and one outside/field employee of the year, and this year’s recipients are Dana Overlay and Sgt. Spencer.
Dana works in our Finance Department as an Accounting Specialist. She started with the City approximately 5 years ago after spending time working for the State of Arizona. She’s originally from Michigan and graduated with a Finance degree from the University of Michigan (we won’t hold that against her). Regardless of the holiday, she always gets into the spirit by decorating her office area and greats every day with a positive attitude and a smile on her face. She interacts with every department and assists them with analyzing their budgets and producing necessary reports they may need. She is an amazing member of our work family.
Sgt. Justin Spencer is our Detective with the police department, but he is also so much more than that. Sgt. Spencer is an Army Veteran who received a Purple Heart for his actions in Iraq, serves on the York County SWAT team and is a member of the US Postal Task Force for Fraud. In addition to his normal detective duties, this past year Sgt. Spencer organized a basketball game between TCPD and GHMS faculty (pretty certain some of them were ringers and weren’t faculty) and the Guns and Hoses softball game between TCPD and TCFD. Both competitions raised money for worthy causes and organizations. Those aren’t the only reasons he was chosen as one of our Employees of the Year, however. In June 2019, he responded to a SWAT call in Rock Hill for a double homicide where the suspect was fleeing law enforcement. Not only did Sgt. Spencer take fire from the suspect, he was able to successfully apprehend the suspect. He was awarded the Medal of Valor for his actions in that incident. In November, Sgt. Spencer was on his way home after shift when he heard a radio call for a small child suspected of being in cardiac arrest. He was the first to arrive on scene and quickly deduced the child wasn’t in cardiac arrest but was choking. He was able to clear the airway and provide care until paramedics arrived. The child made a full recovery at Levine Children’s Hospital. The following Sunday, on his day off, Sgt. Spencer stopped by the child’s home to check in on the family and make sure everyone was OK.
Our Department Head of the Year is Tim Gillette. Tim has been with the City for 33 years. Let me say that again… THIRTY THREE YEARS. During that time, Tim has served the City as the horticulturist, a code enforcement officer, storm water manager, IT, safety & risk manager, assistant Operations Director and now Operations Director. He’s basically our Swiss Army Knife. Whenever there is an odd task that needs to be done, or if a department needs assistance, Tim takes it on and sees that it is taken care of. This recognition is long overdue and we can’t thank Tim enough for the passion and dedication he has shown our organization and the residents of this city for so many years.
Please join us in congratulating not only this year’s recipients, but all of our nominees as well. They each represent the ideals and effort of all of our staff at the highest levels and truly have a servant’s heart. CONGRATULATIONS Dana Overlay, Sgt. Justin Spencer and Tim Gillette on a job well done!