Behind the Badge
It’s award season — no, not the Oscars, but that’s just around the corner — and police agencies are honoring their own for outstanding work done in 2015.
The Fullerton Police Officers’ Association last month got the party started by handing out its Officers of the Year Awards — awards that also went to top-performing members of the agency’s professional staff as well as volunteers.
Below are the FPD employees honored at the Dec. 11 ceremony, with comments from the person or persons who made the nominations. Winners were selected by a vote.
In this file photo, Corp. Stephen Bailor smiles as he receives his promotion certificate from Chief Dan Hughes.
File photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Uniform Officer of the Year
Corp. Steve Bailor and
Corp. Scott Moore (tie)
Bailor — “Many think of Steve as just a motor officer whose only job is to write tickets and take accident reports. But he is so much more. Steve is truly a traffic ambassador for the police department.
“In the last year alone, Steve has had the responsibility of organizing traffic control for two large city events, The Final Leg Ceremony for the Special Olympics in July and the Founder’s Day Parade in September. Steve did an awesome job in working with the other city departments in organizing and coordinating these events.
“Steve received praise from the chief and the city manager for his outstanding efforts in making these events a success. Additionally, Steve has many other responsibilities in the traffic bureau. He is the motor training officer and it is his responsibility to conduct the quarterly training for the traffic bureau.
“Steve does an outstanding job of coordinating and supervising the training as it takes place. Steve was also responsible for coordinating and supervising several of the DUI checkpoints conducted throughout last year. Steve took this responsibility seriously and ensured the officers he was supervising adhered to all the laws that dictate how a checkpoint must be run.
“Finally, for those who work closely with him in the traffic bureau, Steve is a great person to work with. He has a great attitude and is always willing to help out and lend a hand to anyone that is asking for help. The people working with Steve seem happier when he is around and interacting with them. He truly makes it enjoyable to work here.”
Corp. Scott Moore. File photo by Steven Georges
Moore – “Corp. Moore is a longstanding FTO (field training officer) and often has a trainee with him and with that comes great patience and understanding. He is great at getting our officers up to speed on how to be good Fullerton police officers. He is always conducting great on-scene investigations and his reports are very thorough.
“In most of my contacts with Corp. Moore, he has usually been waist deep in a large bucket of worms; however, he is very patient and takes his time and always has a positive outlook. He is a very hard worker.”
Det. Brent Rebert. Photo courtesy of FPD
Detective of the Year
Brent Rebert
“Det. Rebert is often the first person to arrive in the Detective Bureau and the last person to leave. He takes great care insuring all of his cases receive the proper handling and equal amount of investigating.
“Det. Rebert has one of the highest caseloads; however, he never seems to complain. Even with Det. Rebert’s caseload, he is the first person willing to lend a helping hand. He has so much knowledge regarding investigations and is not afraid to pass the knowledge on.
“He has great integrity and does what needs to be done because it’s the right thing to do. He takes time in talking to his victims and does his best to put them at ease. Det. Rebert is an all-around great guy and detective.”
Lead dispatcher Amy Worley. Photo courtesy of FPD
Dispatcher of the Year
Lead Dispatcher Amy Worley
“Amy just completed her time as the administrative lead for our Communications Center. This is not necessarily the most popular position for our leads to take. For much of the time, they are no longer dispatchers, but supervisor/managers without any additional compensation and less attractive days and hours.
“During Amy’s time as the administrative lead, she was responsible for the furtherance of our new 800MHz radio upgrade. This is a $1-million-plus project that takes a lot of time and effort to manage. In addition, there were equipment upgrades to the dispatch center that also were managed well and without incident.
“Amy always has a positive attitude and smile on her face. She practices superior customer service in the dispatch center and creates a positive work environment. We have many fine dispatchers, and Amy is certainly in that group.”
Supervisor of the Year
Sgt. Tony Bogart
“Tony wears many hats around the department. In addition to his duties of running the Directed Enforcement Team, Tony is a cadet advisor, a member of the Honor Guard, the Peer Support Team, the Versaterm Committee and the strategic planning committee. Tony also headed up the recent re-design of the new Ford Explorer patrol vehicles.
“Tony is the go-to tech-guy in the department and fields numerous calls per week at all hours, answering questions about technological issues and taking his time with each problem and figuring out a solution.
“In addition to handling all of his responsibilities at the PD, Tony is also heavily involved in this community. Tony still participates in Fullerton Little League as an umpire and runs various booster clubs at the high school his children attend.
“Tony does all this while taking courses to complete his master’s degree. He is a pleasure to work for and is a role model for every officer in this department. He takes care of his guys and is always willing to answer questions or to lend advice.
“I could say a lot more about Tony, but I will end this by saying that Tony is a proud member of this organization and is a perfect example of what it is to be a Fullerton police officer.”
Records clerk Phyllis Cox. Photo courtesy of FPD
Non-Sworn Employee of the Year
Records Clerk (Investigations Secretary) Phyllis Cox
“Phyllis is a hardworking and very valuable employee of our department. She always has a friendly smile and is a pleasure to work with. She is always pleasant to talk to and is always asking how we are doing.
“Just a great lady! She usually drops what she is doing when a task is given to her and her hard work is very much appreciated. I believe she is deserving of non-sworn employee of the year.”
In this file photo, Fullerton PD Reserve Officer Randy Richards, left, and Andrew Heying volunteer their time to sort out socks that were included in HomeAid CareKits for the homeless.
File photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Volunteers of the Year
Reserve Officer Randy Richards
“Randy always volunteers to help out with department events, demonstrations and anything else that comes up. He recently coordinated a large donation (bag of essentials to give to people in need) such as socks, small snacks, water, etc. He goes above and beyond in everything he does for this department and has a great attitude and demeanor. He’s truly selfless.”
RSVP Myron Roberts. File photo by Jim Banks
RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol) Myron Roberts
“Myron is a very special person who has shown a great deal of support and dedication to this police department by serving 20-plus years in a variety of ways (vacation patrol, records, even narcotics). Myron is an exemplary gentlemen who is always upbeat and joyful when serving at the police department.
“Myron doesn’t complain about his workload and is always the first to support and encourage the men and women employed by this police department. Myron is no stranger to serving; he proudly served in the U.S. military during the Korean War.”
Corp. Ginny Johnson. Photo courtesy of FPD
President’s Award
Corp. Ginny Johnson
“This award has been historically presented to members who are not currently board members who have given of themselves throughout the year for the betterment of the Fullerton Police Officers’ Association. These recipients typically go above and beyond what is normally expected of them.
“The 2015 FPOA President’s Award was presented to Virginia ‘Ginny’ Johnson. Although she has since been elected to be one of the 2016 Board Members, it is not expected that members attend all of the monthly board meetings. This was not the case for Ginny as there was rarely a time when she was not present at the monthly meetings. In fact, she volunteered to take on the role of acting secretary when the secretary was unable to be in attendance.
“For the past two years, Ginny volunteered to chair the FPOA Holiday Party Committee. This is a huge commitment and she did a fantastic job. Many members commented to me how awesome the gathering was this past December.
“Ginny also gives of her time to help with such events as the iCureMelanoma 5k Run and more. She is a highly motivated individual who loves our organization and has a real passion for the City of Fullerton.”
