Monroe County District 1 Commissioner Lamarcus Davis presented on Tuesday, Jan. 7 a Citizen Service Award to Kelly VanDeVusse.
VanDeVusse is a sales executive with solid waste service AmWaste, which provides trash collection and disposal services for the City of Forsyth.
Commissioner Davis said VanDeVusse, a member of the Forsyth Main Street/Downtown Development Authority Board of Directors, is willing to help the community in any way possible. For example, VanDeVusse provided a dump truck to help with the cleanup effort for a home that burned down on Blount Hill. She also bought items last week for citizens needing assistance during the cold weather.
Commissioner Davis said of VanDeVusse: “Any time you call on her, she’s willing to help.”
Monroe County District 2 Commissioner Eddie Rowland presented on Tuesday, Jan. 7 a Citizen Service Award to Virginia Remick.
Remick, a Monroe County native, is an active member of Ebenezer Methodist Church, serving in many administrative positions while also playing the piano and organ and singing in the choir.
Remick, who earned an accounting degree from Middle Georgia State University, worked on her family’s dairy farm, drove a Monroe County school bus for seven years, and eventually retired from Riverwood International.
Remick is an active current and past member of numerous local civic organizations, including the Monroe County Farm Bureau, Town and Country Garden Club, Woodmen of the World, the Vietnam Veterans of America, the Forsyth Lions Club, the Monroe County Saddle Club, the Community Care Council, and the Central Georgia EMC Foundation Board.
In addition, Remick has served on the Monroe County Board of Equalization for 42 years and as a Monroe County poll worker for 21 years.
Remick is married to husband Elmo. The couple has three children, seven grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.
Commissioner Rowland said of Remick: “Her example and teaching have helped instill in her children and grandchildren the desire to serve and help the community. Most of whom attended Monroe County public schools and still live, work, and volunteer in Monroe County.”
Monroe County District 3 Commissioner John Ambrose presented on Tuesday, Jan. 7 a Citizen Service Award to Lorri Robinson.
Robinson has served as Monroe County’s Finance Director since 2018, overseeing a significant turnaround in the county’s financial fortunes. Commissioner Ambrose, who is beginning his 11th year in office, said the county’s management has improved dramatically under Robinson and County Manager Jim Hedges’ leadership.
Commissioner Ambrose, a Monroe County resident for the past 40 years, said, “We’re in the best shape we’ve been in since I’ve lived in Monroe County.”
Commissioner Ambrose said Robinson has been a “cornerstone” of Monroe County’s success, making even the most intricate financial details understandable so that Commissioners can make informed decisions. Commissioner Ambrose said Robinson’s kindness and sense of humor makes working with her “an absolute pleasure.”
Commissioner Ambrose said of Robinson: “Lorri has demonstrated time again that financial management is not just about crunching numbers. It’s about vision, strategy and unwavering dedication. Lorri, your commitment to excellence has not only ensured our county’s financial stability but has also enabled us to achieve goals we once thought were unattainable.”
Former Monroe County District 4 Commissioner George Emami presented on Tuesday, Jan. 7 a Citizen Service Award to Chuck deVries.
deVries is the President of the River Forest Homeowners Association. deVries has lived in the River Forest community for the past 18 years and has served on the River Forest board for the past four years.
Former Commissioner Emami said deVries could be elected “mayor” of River Forest subdivision if there was such a position. Former Commissioner Emami said deVries puts in a lot of hard work dealing with the challenges of leading such a large neighborhood with more than 600 lots.
Former Commissioner Emami said deVries is also an outstanding family man. deVries was accompanied at the presentation by his wife Charlene, his daughter Lindsay, and his granddaughters Adalyn and Olivia.
Former Commissioner Emami said of deVries: “It’s people like Chuck and the others that that have been honored tonight that are really keeping the fabric of this community together, that are doing the hard work, while in many cases putting their own families and their own living situations aside in order to do it.”
Former Monroe County Commission Chairman Greg Tapley presented on Tuesday, Jan. 7 a Citizen Service Award to Sloan Oliver.
Oliver is a retired U.S. Army officer who lives in south Monroe County. Oliver lived all over the U.S. before settling in Middle Georgia in January 2002 when he was assigned by the Army to Robins Air Force Base as a crew member on the Air Force’s E-8C JSTARS Surveillance aircraft. Oliver was a member of JSTARS for the next 11 years, deploying to the Middle East three times.
After retiring from the Army in 2012, Oliver married wife Sam and moved to Monroe County, where he has become an active member of the Monroe County Historical Society, Bolingbroke Community Club, Monroe County GOP, Chapter 946 of the Vietnam Veterans Association, Northway Church, and Historic Macon. Oliver also writes weekly columns for the Monroe County Reporter.
In addition, Oliver has become active in keeping county roads clean, advocating for and participating in litter pickup not only in Bolingbroke, but throughout Monroe County. Oliver has organized seasonal cleanups that regularly rid the county of enough trash to fill dozens of large bags.
Former Chairman Tapley said his grandfather used to say, ‘There are only two types of people in the world: those that lift and those that lean. . . And so tonight I want to tell y’all about somebody who lifts, and what he lifts is trash.”
Former Chairman Tapley said of Oliver: “I want to thank him publicly for taking pride and ownership in his county and his community and setting an example, leading by example, and being a lifter and not a leaner.”
