At of our Chamber Family Get Down by the River this year, we recognized and honored our local first responders.
These local heroes exemplify an above-and-beyond approach to helping the community.
Check out their stories below…
Asheville Fire Department – Nominated by their fellow firefighters.
A note from Mr. Goldstein of Asheville: “I wanted to send a short letter of thanks. On 9/2 we had an incident at Eagle Market Place around 12am. Due this incident the water in our building was shut down. The following day the water was still shut down. The day of 9/3, I got a knock on my door and there was a fireman who gave me several bottles of water. The name of this very professional firefighter is Isaiah. I want to thank the Asheville firefighters of Station 1 for helping the people in my building and I want to personally thank Isaiah for the help he gave me. I am disabled in a wheelchair chair and had no water so their help was greatly appreciated.”
An account from one of Ryan’s colleagues. “This morning, we saw a man across from our office who was crawling down the sidewalk. Multiple people had passed him, not stopping to assist. I went to talk to him to see how we could help, and he shared that he was trying to get to his car and that he couldn’t walk. Kassi was calling our community paramedics at the same time, and as I was trying to get him situated, Ryan drove by off-duty in his personal vehicle, stopping to help. In a flash, he was able to help this gentleman into his truck and drive him to where he was trying to get to. He didn’t have to help – he could have kept on driving – but in that moment he chose to be a helper. Firefighters are heroes every day in big ways, and while this may have seemed minor to Ryan, it was monumental for the man he helped this morning.”
On the evening of August 7, 2022 off-duty AFD Captain Anna Pigman was driving home when she came across a house on fire off Fairfax Ave. She noticed that the fire department had not arrived yet and knew she needed to take action. Captain Pigman left her car and headed toward the burning house in civilian clothes. Panicked people on the scene started shouting that there was still a person inside. She immediately approached the house and walked around the side where she found an elderly man trying to crawl out a side door from a room full of smoke. She quickly ascended the stairs, pulled the man out of the doorway and assisted him to a safe location to wait on emergency personnel who arrived just minutes later. The subject was taken to the hospital and was treated for 1st and 2nd degree burns and smoke inhalation. He was later discharged from the hospital and is expected to
have a full recovery. The actions of Captain Anna Pigman saved this man’s life.
On July 14, Lauren McAdam, Austin Hall and David Kane were assigned to Ladder 8, A-shift. During the shift, a distressed citizen entered the station. An elderly woman was experiencing a difficult situation. Lauren immediately engaged the member of our community.
Lauren ascertained through her conversation that the concerned citizen is the primary caregiver to her 4-year-old autistic granddaughter. Due to a complication with her food assistance program, the citizen was out of funds and subsequently unable to purchase food for herself or her granddaughter. The citizen
was understandably upset and embarrassed by this unfortunate situation. Earlier in the day the citizen had contacted 211-not having reliable transportation she was directed to walk to her nearest church, municipal building or fire station. Station 8 was within a mile of her home. The citizen kindly asked if crews could provide her with 3 specific grocery items, she believed that the administrative issue surrounding her food assistance program would
be resolved within a day or two. She needed groceries to bridge the gap. Her
granddaughter has highly specific dietary preferences. Lauren, Dave and Austin immediately formulated a grocery list that was appropriate for the special needs granddaughter, traveled to Ingles and used personal funds to purchase several days’ worth of groceries along with additional toys for the
granddaughter. The groceries were delivered to the grateful citizens door within an hour of meeting her.This action was performed instinctively with grace and humility. Accolades and
recognition was not sought by either of them. These actions are outside the purview of a professional firefighter. However dedicated members of the Asheville Fire Department like Lauren, Austin and David realize that firefighters occupy a special position with public trust. Regardless of the circumstances, Asheville Firefighters are
here to help.
Asheville Police Department – Nominated by their fellow officers.
Officer Patrick Destefano has been with the Asheville Police Department since 2018. In just four
and a half-year’s he has become a leader at the Asheville Police Department with his peers and co-workers. Officer Destefano has consistently been a top-performer for the Asheville Police
Department each year he is one of the top producers in criminal charges, arrests, search warrants written and served. Officer Destefano is currently assigned to the Housing Unit. Each week he is responsible for addressing violent crime and gun crime in the city. Each week he encounters the most dangerous and violent offenders in the city. He is responsible for the
seizure of illegal firearms and illegal narcotics. Officer Destefano is always willing to respond and come in to work on his time off when needed in critical incidents. Officer Destefano is also a
champion for community engagement and community policing. He works with the residents and children in his housing areas to provide them with a better quality of life.
Officer Degrave has been with the Asheville Police Department for over three years. He is
currently assigned to a patrol shift, however his contributions go far beyond this assignment.
Officer Degrave is one of the Asheville Police Departments highest producers in responding to
calls for service, reports completed, and cases solved and cleared. He is also one of the top
producers in enforcement to include arrests, citations, and criminal charges. Officer Degrave
also comes in to work on his time off to assist the Housing Unit with addressing violent crime
and gun crime. He is dedicated to the effort to remove illegal firearms and the most violent and
dangerous offenders from the community. Officer Degrave is champion for community
engagement and providing a better quality of life for the residents of Asheville.
A West Asheville night patrol officer, Officer Brunkhorst has been an officer for 8 ½ years and is currently a K9 officer. Since August of 2021 he has responded to 1671 calls for service, with a large portion of them involving citizens experiencing mental health crisis, substance abuse crisis, or both. These types of calls are incredibly unpredictable. He consistently exhibits his ability to develop rapport with citizens in need. He approaches his role as a first responder with a level of care that lends itself to productive conversation with those he is trying to help. Over the past year he has faced several high-risk events and he’s taken the lead and engaged citizens in a way that gave officers the time and opportunity to achieve their goals in the safest way possible. With his calm demeanor, respectful approach, professionalism, and dedication to the safety of everyone, he has become an informal leader of his work unit. Younger officers look to him as an example of how to do the job well.
Officer Smith goes above & beyond every day that he comes to work. As one example, Officer Smith received employee of the month in March for helping an elderly woman whose internet and phone were not working. While at her residence, he took the time to help her by calling the phone company to get it all working. The call could have ended there. Instead, he also took the time to negotiate a better contract for her that reduced her bill by half. He then continued to program her Amazon Alexa. While not part of his job description, Officer Smith has the mentality to serve his community. In another instance, Officer Smith personally followed up with an individual that was a victim of theft to check on their well-being at their home. He took some basic items that were needed as the individual had all of their money stolen. On each call, he always goes above and beyond trying to help the community members he serves.
While pregnant last year, Allison had a seizure while driving and Officer Justin Lewis helped her get to safety and ensured she was OK. Allison credits Officer Lewis for saving hers and her now one-year-old’s lives.
Buncombe County Sherrif’s Office – Nominated by their fellow officers.
Recently Deputy Billy Watkins was seen calming an upset citizen. A judge sent us this account. The citizen was boisterous and loudly complaining. Deputy Watkins intervened. Watkins was firm and patient with the citizen. This rather difficult person went on to mention that she had blood sugar problems. After hearing this, Deputy Watkins took the initiative to give this person his lunch. This kind of service is not required of our deputies. However, this kind of service can change the perception of the most visible element of our criminal justice system, those of us in uniform. This is just one of the positive interactions Deputy Watkins has recently displayed in his service to our community in our courthouse. Deputy Billy Watkins went above and beyond in appeasing this citizen. Deputy Billy Watkins is a great candidate to be recognized as a Community Hero.
Detective Heather Welch has consistently gone above and beyond the call in her service to our community. She is always willing to help. In addition to her outstanding work in our Major Case Unit, Welch is known to volunteer in Special Investigations, and anywhere else there’s a need. Heather assists in the schools and is on Crisis Negotiations Team. On top of these, she’s just a very thoughtful person; has a wonderful personality and is a pleasure to work with. Detective Heather Welch is a great candidate to be recognized as a Community Hero.
Lieutenant Richie Moffat has worked this last year as a nighttime Watch Commander. This position requires tremendous responsibility due to working at night when others are off duty, Lieutenant. Moffat takes care of his assignment without assistance. Moffat is always available even after working a long night shift; Lt. Moffat is often the first to respond to requests made during day hours. And he is trusted and respected by the members of his squad. Lieutenant Moffat’s support from squad members is due to how he looks out for each of them. Moffat is the kind of supervisor who would not ask a deputy to do something he has not or would not do. Lieutenant Moffat is quick to take responsibility for the actions of his squad and quick to give praise to his squad members for the success they have achieved. Lieutenant Richie Moffat is a great candidate to be recognized as a Community Hero.
Captain Jeff Littrell has done a fantastic job in his role as Jail Administrator for the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office. His role is easily the most difficult position at the sheriff’s Office in our current environment. Captain Littrell has navigated a very high liability area of responsibility with resiliency and a professional determination to make the detention facility the best that it can be. Captain Littrell has been transparent during a myriad of request to tour the detention facility by supporters and detractors alike. He has grown into this his position quite well. Littrell continues to make improvement in the detention facility. This is because Captain Littrell has the support and the trust of the staff that he leads in the detention facility at this important time in its existence. Captain Jeff Littrell is an ideal candidate to be recognized as a Community Hero.
Sergeant Mandy Ladd began her career with the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office 12 years ago as a detention officer. She is now a Sergeant supervising our transportation unit. Ladd also works as a liaison for the courts and our detention facility. Sergeant Ladd has developed a wonderful rapport with the Clerks and the Judges we support at the Buncombe County Courthouse. She continually makes sure all of our detainees are safely transported as needed. Sergeant Mandy Ladd is a zero-maintenance high performing loyal employee who has modeled professionalism for an extended period of time. Sergeant Mandy Ladd is an ideal candidate to be recognized as a Community Hero.
Emergency Management Services – Nominated by their colleagues.
Nick Prestwood, a Training Officer Emergency Medical Services Division, has been in the Emergency Services field for over 20 years. Nick began his career as a volunteer firefighter with Leicester Fire Department. He obtained his Paramedic certification and began working as such with Buncombe County in July of 2001. Since then Nick has been an invaluable asset to Buncombe County EMS, providing care to our community and experience to our new employees. Nick has been in the role of Training Officer for Buncombe County EMS for almost 1 year now and has undertaken several large projects. Nick has ensured that our staff has access to monthly continued education classes (except for the summer months) that enrich their medical knowledge and provide tools that assist their ability to provide the best care to our patients. Nick would like to see a true FTO program with dedicated field training officers established in the coming years under his navigation.
Brittany Robinson, an Emergency Management Specialist, has worked in Emergency Services for 10 years. She began her career as a Dispatch Operator for Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office. She moved to a position within Buncombe County Fire Marshal’s office, and now holds a Specialist position within our Emergency Management division. Brittany has worked with Health and Human Services as well as Public Health to coordinate many of the county wide vaccination sites with a focus on pediatric vaccine administration. She also played a large role in the restructure of our Search and Rescue Task Force 2 team. During the Jackson County Flood Brittany coordinated resources for the Task Force deployment and ensured that they had what they needed readily available to best assist in water rescue efforts.
Lisa Wilson, an Administrative Support Associate III, has contributed 8 years to Emergency Services. Lisa is our billing liaison for patients who need assistance paying their bill, or have questions regarding their bill or the services they have received. Lisa is also the administrative coordinator for our EMS Supervisors. Lisa ensures that our supervisors have the resources they need to perform their jobs effectively and efficiently. Lisa enjoys working with elderly patients the most; helping them navigate their questions compassionately in regards to medicare/medicaid. One of the biggest hurdles that Lisa overcomes daily is helping patients to understand our billing process. Lisa constantly goes above and beyond providing the best customer services available to our community during their most frustrating times. Lisa treats each patient with a level of respect and humility that should be mirrored and recognized by our entire department.
Ashley Prestwood has been a Field Paramedic for 10 years, providing exceptional care for our community in their time of need. Ashley has assisted mothers in the delivery of 5 babies during her 10 year span. This past year, Ashley assisted our Dispatch communicators with screening calls for possible COVID patients in addition to her role as a paramedic. Ashley’s efforts made it possible to better prepare our crews for the possibility of a patient infected with the COVID virus. This elevated the safety of our crews by ensuring that they had the correct Personal Protective Equipment on to keep them healthy and reduce the risk of infection while caring for COVID patients. Ashley loves taking care of patients and meeting new people. First Responder mental health is one of the largest barriers facing EMS.
Meredith Waldrup has contributed over 20 years to Emergency Services. Meredith began her career as a Paramedic with Buncombe County in 1999. She’s also worked as an RN in the Emergency Department at Mission Hospital for 10 years, as well as a Flight Nurse with MAMA for 5 years. Meredith assisted up and coming paramedics as a Clinical Educator for 5 years offering her knowledge and experience to further educate and shape the minds of some of our best paramedics. Meredith also took on the role of assisting Dispatch with screening calls during COVID in addition to her job as a Paramedic. Meredith and Ashley additionally played a large role in the coordination, development, and implementation of this years EMS week, recognizing the achievements of our current employees. Meredith loves meeting new patients and being out and about in the community. Meredith says that one of the biggest obstacles that she has faced in her experience, is being a woman in this industry. She said, “20 years ago there weren’t many females who were interested in this line of work. Since then, things have gotten better. I love being a resource to new female paramedics…making them feel welcome and accepted in this agency.”
Robbie Stanton has been a Paramedic for 33 years, over 20 of those with Buncombe County. Robbie currently holds a position as a Community Paramedic, providing care to patients in active addiction. Robbie guides patients into recovery and provides patients with suboxone treatment and safe use resources (NarCan, Clean Needle Exchange, etc.). In the last year, Robbie has helped to structure safety for high needs patients as well as develop two teams within the program-Community Paramedic and MAT teams. Robbie says that he works daily to help overcome the stigma of persons with addictions needing help within our community. Robbie works diligently to educate the public on the disease process and develop relationships with a population within our community that often times gets overlooked.
The final three nominations came from the staff of the Asheville Chamber.
Since joining the Asheville Police department in 1998, Police Captain Mike Lamb has been dedicated and committed Law Enforcement professional with a strong commitment to community service, leadership, teamwork, mentoring, leadership development and the advancement of the community of the City of Asheville. “For the last several years, Captain Mike Lamb has been a steady presence at Asheville Downtown Association board and issues committee meetings. He keeps our groups updated on relevant policing-related issues and shares crime stats, as well as prevention tips for businesses and residents. Captain Lamb is always willing to meet with board members, business owners, downtown employees and residents to discuss any concerns and work towards solutions. We’ve seen Captain Lamb in action at events and on the street and he approaches every situation with kindness and compassion. His dedication to making our community a safer and better place is unparalleled” says Executive Director Meghan Rogers. His goal is to bring to the forefront his experience, skills and expertise in all facets of Investigation that can be used to advance and further the success and prosperity of the communities he serves.
Chief Patrick Crudup graduated from Mars Hill University and has been a dedicated city employee since 1997 when he began working for the city of Asheville in the parks and recreation department. He not only is committed to this community in the broad sense but he takes the time to know people on a more personal level. Chief Crudup has spent many years mentoring young adults, building their confidence, and helping to guide them to follow their dreams. Chief Crudup decided to transfer to the Asheville Fire Department in 2002 staying committed to the city of Asheville but also expanding his career opportunities. He stays dedicated to the youth of our community through recruiting events and programs such as the most recent recruiting tool of teaching a firefighting curriculum at Asheville HS. Chief Crudup is passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion and works hard every day to make anyone he encounters feel included and part of his team. Not only is he a mentor to those in our community but also to the men and women of the Asheville Fire Department. Our community is very fortunate to have Chief Crudup as a liaison between the community and the fire department because he is so actively involved in things such as business and neighborhood associations, veteran organizations, school programs, churches, sports programs and so much more. He often works extra hours to ensure he is present at events to support others or to fill in on overtime shifts to keep our trucks in service. Most can attest that you cannot walk the streets of Asheville, go out to lunch or stop at a grocery store without Chief Crudup knowing at least one person on the route!
Chief Crudup has worked his way up the ranks of the Asheville Fire Department and was recently promoted in July 2022 to Assistant Chief. Because of this tenor at AFD and his time here in Asheville, Chief Crudup is very well-rounded and knowledgeable not only in regard to the fire department but the Asheville community as well and therefore is an amazing asset to us all.
Clint Gorman is A-B Tech’s Dean of Emergency Services and was the college’s representative to Buncombe County and North Carolina Emergency Management team during the COVID-19 pandemic. Gorman served on the first epidemic management team in Buncombe County as the county’s EMS training officer and has played an active role in Buncombe County and state disaster management for decades.
During COVID-19, Gorman was instrumental to A-B Tech, Buncombe County and our partners during the pandemic. He spearheaded volunteer efforts to collect and distribute PPE, conduct trainings, develop training videos, provide alternate locations for hospital services, and more.
“Clint has been helping provide emergency services and saving lives for as long I as I can remember,” recalls classmate Judi Willard. I remember him racing out of class if the alarm sounded at the nearby fire department. It’s always been a part of who he is.” In an interview that captured his selfless giving to the community Clint said, I don’t perceive us as heroes at all. I perceive us as doing what we’re supposed to do. We are the community college and it’s up to us and our division. We’re all about serving the agencies that we’re working for. And whatever way we can do that, is what we’re going to do. Clint always shies away from the spotlight and gives credit to his colleagues and teams, but A-B Tech agrees that he is most deserving of being recognized as a hero.
