Coral Springs recognizes long-term volunteer, local students

During the Tuesday, June 1, Commission Meeting, City officials recognized Sadie Silber for dedicated service as a volunteer for the City since 1996.

“We are so proud to have had her friendship and her service for all the years that we’ve had,” Vice Mayor Claudette Bruck said. “We’re going to miss you, and we wish you the very best.”

Silber is proud to say that she’s 95 years young and will be moving to Oregon to be with her son and his family.

“I’m going to miss everyone. It was wonderful working for the City,” Silber said. I’ve done a lot of volunteering in my day but never as happy as when I came here and I said I would never leave.”

City Manager Michael S. Levinson presented Silber with a bouquet of roses on behalf of the City in appreciation for her service all these years.

“You are an inspiration to all of us for coming day in and day out and serving the customers of our City most admirably at 95 years young. We are going to miss you greatly, especially me,” Levinson said.

Next, City officials recognized a group of J.P. Taravella High School DECA students who participated in and won different aspects of the State competition. Approximately 40 competitors participated in each event and Taravella took home multiple awards. Fifteen of these Taravella students went to the international competition in Louisville, Kentucky this April and the “Entrepreneurship for Everyone” placed top 10 in the nation.

The students recognized were: Stefan Hansen, Seth Moed and Daniel Neri for winning 1st Place in the Entrepreneurship Promotion Project; Alex Keintz, Tyra Smith and Katrina Hruschka for coming in 1st Place Finance Operation Written category; Rachelle Rawlins-Munchez also won 1st place in Principles of Finance 1st Year; Michael Sollod took home first place for Sports and Entertainment; Juan Palomino received fourth place for Sports and Entertainment; Brandon Johns received fourth place in Quick Serve Restaurant; Katie Santangelo and Ricky Cutler received sixth place in Hospitality and Tourism Team; Diego Zerga and Benjamin Poitevien won sixth place in Travel and Tourism; Jessica Fenoy received sixth place in Hotel and Lodging; Mark Gellman received sixth place in Marketing Management; and Nikolas Mears received sixth place in Principles of Business Management First Year.

“We are so proud of our students. DECA is an international marketing student organization and the students that are involved in this have to take it on themselves to do research, to learn how to make presentations and when they go to States they’re actually testing their knowledge of marketing and finance,” Advisor Laurie Acosta said.

Next, officials recognized some promotions within the Coral Springs Police Department.  Captain Kevin Montagna was promoted to Deputy Chief, Lieutenant Clyde Parry was promoted to Captain, Sergeant Amy Allen was promoted to Lieutenant, and Detective Gary Scheetz was promoted to Sergeant.

Deputy Chief Kevin P. Montagna is a graduate from University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice. He began his career with CSPD in 1982 as a Community Service Aide and has moved up through the ranks since then. In 2004 he was promoted to Captain and has supervised Patrol, Traffic and Criminal Investigations Component.  He also graduated from the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy in 2009.

Captain Clyde Parry holds an Associates Degree in Criminal Justice and is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice through Columbia Southern University. He began his career with CSPD in 1987. In 2006, he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant, where he supervised Patrol and the Vice Intelligence and Narcotics Unit.  He was “Officer of the Year” in 2002 and “Supervisor of the Year” in 2007, among other commendations.

Lieutenant Amy Allen graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in International Affairs and a Masters Degree in Criminal Justice Studies. She began her career with CSPD in 1996 as a Law Enforcement Officer and was later promoted to Investigator and transferred to the Vice Intelligence and Narcotics Unit.  She has received multiple commendations during her service.

Lastly, Sergeant Gary Scheetz, a graduate from Florida Atlantic University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice, began his career with the Coral Springs Police Department in 1994 as a Police Service Aid. In 1996 he became a Law Enforcement Officer and served in the Patrol and TAG Units. He has also received numerous letters of commendation and employee recognitions throughout his career.

“Collectively with these four promotions, we have about 80 years of experience and they are really the future of our department,” Police Chief Duncan Foster said. “The City is in very good hands with folks like these. Thank you for job that you do.”

Lastly, the City Commission recognized high school basketball player Brandon Knight.   He was the winner of the 2009 and 2010 Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year Award and became just the third junior to receive the prestigious award following LeBron James (2002 and 2003) and Greg Oden (2005 and 2006). Knight was the first student-athlete from the state of Florida to win Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year honors and has maintained a 4.28 grade-point average.

“I want to thank everyone for the support, and staying in Coral Springs has really put me in a great environment,” Knight said.  “I also want to thank my parents for always guiding me on the path to success.”

Related posts:

1. Coral Springs students win MLK scholarships
2. NSU students volunteer in New Orleans on spring break
3. Coral Springs firefighters bring a merry Christmas to local kids
4. Coral Springs accepting grant applications for Coral Springs events
5. Coral Springs offers informational videos to help local businesses gain a competitive edge

Short URL: https://browardnetonline.com/?p=8314