City honors citizens' volunteer efforts
Staff Reports

Vici Papajohn/Gulf Breeze News VIP officers receive 100-hour awards for their participation in the program. The award winners received letters from the White House along with personal letters of appreciation from President Bush. Left to right, Norman Schrader, John Crane, Don Shopmyer, Bruce Goderski and Walter Niekamp receive the recognition.

In a rare turnaround, those who serve were served in turn as nearly 150 volunteers were treated to a steak dinner hosted last week by the city of Gulf Breeze to celebrate volunteerism.

Many husband and wife teams were honored and some names were heard on multiple committees as volunteer city board members, Rec Board members, VIP volunteers, fire fighters and city council members filled the Bay Beach Inn.

"I cannot think of many things more noble," said City Manager Edwin "Buz" Eddy before introducing the volunteer fire fighters, "than to volunteer your own time, to wake up in the middle of the night, to go fight fires and answer the emergency calls of your neighbors."

The firefighter of the year award was presented to Francis Spearing, and all volunteer fire fighters were recognized and thanked for their service.

Vici Papajohn/Gulf Breeze News Shane Carmichael, Fire Chief of the Volunteer Fire Department, presents the Firefighter of the Year Award to Frances Spearing.

Five volunteers were honored for 100 hours of service in the Volunteers In Police Service, V.I.P.S. "The Gulf Breeze Police Department utilizes volunteers from within the community to assist officers in accomplishing our goal of traffic safety and enforcement (pace setting cruiser and assisting motorists)," says coordinator Sgt. Sharon Armstrong. The V.I.P.S. have been working with the city police department for nearly two years, and have supported outreach programs to cities devastated by Hurricane Katrina as well as local efforts.

Mayor Lane Gilchrist thanked City Council members Clay Ford, Mayor Pro Tem; Carl T. Hoffman, Rick Outzen and Beverly Zimmern for their dutiful service, and joked with the crowd that their minimal $1 annual stipend certainly did not reflect their true value.

The lovely evening was planned by the "dynamic duo," as Eddy called them after dinner, Marita Rhodes and Sandy Bell, who also coordinated door prize donations.