Miami Herald, The (FL)
1997-04-09
Section: Local
Edition: Final
Page: 3B

A social worker, prosecutor, teacher and two police officers will be among 10 civil servants honored tonight as the 1997 winners of the Green Family Foundation American Values Award.

The award, sponsored by the foundation and created through the United Way of Dade County, annually recognizes 10 outstanding ``rank-and-file'' public-service employees who also do volunteer work in the community. ``Our honorees exemplify the values of integrity, courage, respect and service to others, the kind of American values that have made this country great,'' said Steven Green, who started the Green Family Foundation with his wife Dorothea to support community and national service initiatives. ``By honoring these extraordinary individuals and their exemplary record of service, we hope to salute all public-service employees who make our communities healthier, safer and more caring places to live.''

The awards will be presented at 6:30 p.m. at the Grand Bay Hotel in Coconut Grove. Lula Rodriguez, deputy assistant U.S. secretary of state for public affairs, will be the keynote speaker. The winners each will be awarded $5,000.

Their strong public service record should inspire others, United Way President Harve Mogul said.

``It takes a strong public sector, human care sector and private sector working together to build a strong community,'' he added.

The winners:

* Tony Aquino, Homestead police officer.

* Mary K. Butler, an assistant U.S. attorney in Dade.

* Shawn Denight, Edison Senior High teacher.

* Mario J. Gonzalez, Metro-Dade firefighter.

* Michael Jones, Metro-Dade police officer.

* Dorrett Lindsay, Jackson Memorial Hospital staff nurse.

* Ellaneese Love-Burden, a youth and family social worker for Metro-Dade Department of Human Services.

* Natosha D. Rogers, Metro-Dade firefighter.

* Christie Treiber, Metro-Dade firefighter.

* Sonja Wagener, health care education coordinator at the Veterans Administration Medical Center.