12/09/2020
𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 “𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐝𝐠𝐞” 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎 𝐂𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠 𝐖𝐞𝐛𝐛 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞-𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲’𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐮𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬’ 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠.
Recognized by the Commissioners for their exemplary public service were:
𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧, 𝐋𝐚𝐰 𝐄𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫: Walborn, described by his peers as a true “cop’s cop,” will retire in March as a detective from the county’s Criminal Investigations Department (CID). A U.S. Army veteran, before joining CID, Walborn was a Harrisburg police officer and a member of the county Crisis Response Team (CRT). As a CRT member, he showed extraordinary heroism in a stand-off and gun battle in Hall Manor in 2012.
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐕𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫: Vance has served as Steelton’s fire chief since 1998 and as member of the department for almost 50 years. Vance’s career with the borough’s fire service began with the Baldwin Fire Company, which later merged with several other Steelton-area departments.
𝐆𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫, 𝐄𝐌𝐒 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫: Miller has served as the Williamstown Area EMS chief for 15 years and is a field training officer for the Harrisburg police, where he was an officer for two decades. He is a former county 911 dispatcher and had the honor of serving under Craig Webb while working for the Lower Swatara Township EMS.
Walborn and Vance were unable to attend today’s ceremony and will receive their plaque and proclamation at a later date.
“These three men are heroes, and during this pandemic, the magnitude of their selflessness is magnified,” said 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, who has oversight of the county Emergency Management Agency. “These awardees remind us of the daily sacrifices of all of our police officers, firefighters, and EMTs, who drop everything at a moment’s notice to help others.”
Winners of the award, established in 2005, are selected by the local police, fire and EMS councils. The names of award recipients are displayed on a memorial plaque, which hangs at the county's Emergency Management Agency.
“If you add up the years, we are witnessing more than a century of remarkable public service,” said 𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐉𝐞𝐟𝐟 𝐇𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞. “These three are everyday heroes who often go unrecognized, but who answer the call at all hours of the day and night, and then go above and beyond the call of duty.”
𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐏. 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐜𝐤, 𝐈𝐈𝐈, a Steelton native, said Chief Vance embodies the borough’s fire department's spirit.
“I know Chief Vance well, and he is a fixture in our town,” Hartwick said. “All three honorees are the best of the badge. We are grateful for their willingness to serve.”
The Webb awards are presented to exceptional area first responders who exemplify the spirit of Craig Webb, who died suddenly during the 2004 holiday season. Webb’s distinguished career included service as a firefighter and chief of paramedics in Lower Swatara Township, a Dauphin Borough police officer, and a Dauphin County deputy co