The Exchange Club of Gilroy hosted its 20th annual Blue and Gold Awards Luncheon last week to honor public safety officers who go above and beyond their call of duty in South County. Here are the officers who won awards:
Ken Foster, CHP
California Highway Patrol Officer Ken Foster was nominated by his supervisors for being “the kind of guy you want on the road meeting people,” according to Captain Al Stallman of the CHP in Gilroy/Hollister.
Foster is a mentor to the other officers and maintains a great, upbeat attitude regardless of the circumstances, Stallman said.
“The trick is to get the public to say “thank you” to the officer after getting a citation. It’s not easy to do, but that’s how you know you did it right. Ken humanizes the stop. He’s professional and polite. People thank him after receiving a citation and then stop and say ‘wait, why am I thanking you?’ Ken gets that all the time,” Stallman said.
Foster has been with the Gilroy/Hollister CHP since 1995.
Shannon Catalano, Sheriff
Deputy Shannon Catalano was nominated for the Blue and Gold award by her peers for her strong commitment to public safety that put her life in danger a few months back.
Catalano was initiating a pedestrian stop on Las Animas Avenue east of Monterey Road just before midnight on Dec. 31 when a speeding vehicle slammed into her. She saw the vehicle coming and warned the pedestrian to get out of the way, and attempted to get away herself, but the vehicle swerved into her and knocked her to the ground.
An ambulance transported Catalano to a San Jose hospital for treatment.
The driver of the vehicle, Monica Diaz, a 28-year-old Gilroy woman, was subsequently arrested for driving under the influence. Catalano is still recovering from her injuries.
Mark Terasco, Gilroy Police
The Gilroy Police Department honored Officer Mark Terasco for intervening a suicide attempt and saving a 19-year-old man’s life in a Gilroy garage on April 15. Terasco arrived at the home within 30 seconds of receiving the call. He quickly assessed the situation, cut the rope and began administering life-saving measures to the unresponsive teen.
Terasco continued to administer CPR to the young man, who began to gasp for air, until paramedics arrived on the scene.
“Fire Department paramedics confirmed that the subject’s life was saved by Officer Terasco,” GPD Chief Denise Turner said.
Greg Dini, Morgan Hill Police
Officer Greg Dini’s of the Morgan Hill Police Department was awarded by his superiors for setting the bar high for other officers in his commitment to the department’s goals of reducing crime and increasing community participation, according to Captain Jerry Neumayer.
Dini routinely updates MHPD’s Facebook and Twitter accounts on his own initiative and even on his days off, Neumayer said.
“Through Greg’s efforts in updating social media, by either posting his own notes or press releases, he is educating our community on our successes and needs,” Neumayer said.
Dini also became the “go-to person” to attend neighborhood watch and community meetings, growing into his role as a liaison between community members and the police to foster positive communication.
Scott MacDonald, Gilroy Fire
The Gilroy Fire Department nominated Captain Scott MacDonald for the Blue and Gold for spending off-duty time working to win a federal grant for the department.
“Through his efforts, the Gilroy Fire Department was able to secure a grant in the amount of $225,000 for the purchase of state-of-the-art cardiac monitors,” said Fire Chief Alan Anderson.
The project came with an “inordinate amount of reporting” to meet federal requirements, Anderson said, and MacDonald hit the mark with copious accuracy.
“Captain MacDonald’s willingness to take on these extra duties has resulted in the City saving almost a quarter-of-a-million dollars and has a positive impact on our community,” Anderson said.
Jeff Boyce, CalFire
An award also went to Heavy Equipment Mechanic Jeff Boyce of CalFire, who has “always given unselfishly of himself and put in long hours to ensure the equipment is always safe for the people driving them,” according to a CalFire press release.
Boyce is responsible for the entire fleet of firefighting vehicles, including five engines, one ladder truck, two water tenders as well as many other support vehicles.
