2020/02/10 - Mayor's Column: Going Above and Beyond the Call of Duty!
“An Open Door to O’Fallon”
A Weekly Note from Mayor Herb Roach
At the last City Council Meeting, we had the honor of recognizing a number of public safety individuals for their excellent work going above and beyond the call of duty.
First, we recognized and thanked the O’Fallon Board of Police and Fire Commissioners. Those members are Russell Thoman (Chair), Gene McCoskey, Scott Battoe, Calvin Brown, and Susan Holden. This volunteer board dedicates hundreds of hours helping make rules for the appointment, promotion, and removal of all full-time police and fire officers on the basis of merit alone.
Throughout the year, these commissioners have to commit a lot of time to training, testing, and interviewing many potential law enforcement officers in order to help make sure O’Fallon has the best people in place. We all owe them a debt of gratitude.
Next, we were able to help Detective Brian Gimpel celebrate his recent honor. Detective Gimpel received the Flame of Hope Award from the Special Olympics at their recent conference in Chicago. This award is given annually to one law enforcement officer in the state of Illinois who has demonstrated an unfailing commitment to the Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run. As coordinator of the O’Fallon Police Department Special Olympics Torch Run, Detective Gimpel has raised over $200,000 over the past six years. In addition to his fundraising efforts, he dedicates hundreds of hours of his time helping Special Olympics and their athletes.
Lastly, we were able to announce that Tele communicator Jared Runyun was recently a recipient of the Life Saving Award from the Southern Illinois Police Chiefs Association. As a 911 operator, Jared, along with two Fairview Heights police officers, were able to save the life of a person through their quick and decisive action. Had Jared not been able to quickly guide the police officers to the victim, all while keeping the person who had called 911 calm, the situation would have turned out much worse.
I also want to mention that while Jared Runyun is not working as a tele communicator at our 911 dispatch center, he is bravely fighting fires for the East Side Volunteer Fire Department. In fact, Jared was recently appointed as Fire Chief (a volunteer position) for the East Side Volunteer Fire Department.
Thank you to these individuals and all of our brave first responders!
As residents of O’Fallon, you should always be able to reach out to your elected officials and ask questions about what is happening in O’Fallon. Having open communications is important to me and something I care very deeply about. Thank you for reading, and please remember, my door is always open!