Twelve community members were recognized Friday at the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce’s Salute to Community Heroes and Year-End Awards Gala.
James F. Ellis is the UNC Public Safety officer of the year; Greg Sherman is the Town of Carrboro firefighter of the year; Patrick Spencer is the Town of Chapel Hill firefighter of the year; E. Paul Reinas is the Carrboro police officer of the year; Jean-Luc S.C. Kirk is the Chapel Hill police officer of the year; M.A. LaLumiere is the Orange County deputy sheriff of the year; Rodney Michael Cates is the Orange County EMS employee of the year; Barbara Jessie-Black, executive director of the PTA Thrift Shop, received the Jim Gibson Volunteer of the Year Award; Laurie Paolicelli, executive director of the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau, and Rick Steinbacher, associate athletic director for UNC-Chapel Hill, received the Town and Gown Award; Jonathan Howes, special assistant to the chancellor and adjunct professor of city and regional planning at UNC, received the Irene Briggaman Lifetime Achievement Award; and former Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy received the Citizen of the Year Award.