2020 Salute to Public Safety
In support of the members of the Chino Valley community who dedicate themselves to the wellbeing of others, below are our honorees for this year's Salute to Public Safety.
View the full program HERE
Event Sponsors:
City of Chino
City of Chino Hills
Health Service Alliance, Team Lally
Gold Sponsors:
Champion Newspapers
Ontario International Airport
Walmart
Walmart Supply Chain
Chino Valley Fire
Waste Management
Silver Sponsors:
Chino Valley Medical Center
KB Real Estate
Southern California Edison
Foddrill Construction Corp.
Tri-Counties Association of Realtors
Apollo Insurance Services
Shell Roofing Solutions
Towneplace Suites Marriott Ontario Chino Hills
Watson Land Company
Bronze Sponsors
Chino Commercial Bank
Pacific Energy Network
Vista Medical Group
Accredited Tax, Inc.
Goodenough Travel
State Farm, John Edgar Agent
H & R Block
Curt Hagman's Chino Valley Salute to Public Safety
Chairman of the Board for the County Board of Supervisors Curt Hagman salutes first responders in the Chino Valley. Thank you Chino Valley Fire, Chino Police, Chino Hills Police, California Institution for Men and California Institution for Women.
Chino Valley Business Leaders Thank First Responders
Chino Valley Chamber of Commerce businesses would like to thank our first responders including Chino Valley Fire, Chino Police, Chino Hills Police, California Institution for Men and California Institution for Women. We appreciate all that you do for our community.
View the full program HERE
Deputy Eileen Negron
Chino Valley Sheriff's Department Deputy of the Year
Deputy Eileen Negron was hired by the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department in 2005 and has been assigned to the Chino Hills station since April 2013. During her time at the station, she has worked to develop her patrol and investigative skills.
Deputy Negron has a great talent for interacting effectively with people during the course of her work day. Her excellent ability to deal with people has led to multiple citizens contacting the station to commend her. She is a good decision maker and a leader. In recognition of her leadership and investigative skills, she was assigned to serve as the acting detective in May of 2019.
With just a few months in the position, Deputy Negron has coordinated surveillance, overseen a search warrant on a residence, authored over 30 search warrants, and served effectively at the detective level.
Chino Hills Police Department supervisors selected Deputy Negron as the Deputy of the Year because of her excellent work ethic, decision-making skills, and consistently high performance.
Steve Burns
Chino Valley Fire District Employee of the Year
Steve Burns has served as the Fleet and Facilities Coordinator for the Chino Valley Fire District for five years. Steve and his wife, Sheri, have been residents of Chino for more than two decades. They have two adult children, Brent and Stevie.
Corporal Jason Larkin
Chino Police Department Officer of the Year
Matthew Robertson
2019 Chino Valley Firefighter of the Year
Matt Robertson is a Firefighter/Paramedic and a four-year veteran of the Chino Valley Fire District. Matt and his wife, Crystal, reside in Huntington Beach with their two sons, Barron and Boden.
Matt grew up in Chino Hills where he graduated from Ayala High School. He studied Fire Science at Mount San Antonio College and completed a state-accredited fire academy at Riverside Community College. He studied paramedicine at Orange Coast College before receiving his paramedic license from National College of Technical Instruction in 2010. Matt is currently working to complete his bachelor’s degree in Emergency Medical Services Management from Columbia Southern University.
Matt was nominated as Firefighter of the Year by his peers for his service and commitment to the District. He is a member of the District’s Urban Search and Rescue and Swift Water Rescue teams. Matt is an International Association of Fire Fighters Survival Instructor. He has competed in the annual California Fire EMS and Disaster Conference (CFED) paramedic competition. He placed first in 2018 and second in 2019 with team member Adam Barker.
Matt’s positive attitude, professionalism, and solid work ethic are just a few of his attributes. He serves on the Fire Ground Survival Committee and is an instructor for the District’s new hire academy. He is a member of the Chino Valley Fire Foundation and is the facilities coordinator for the Make a Child Smile program. He is on the Saint Paddy’s Festival committee. He also serves as a member of the ALS Association’s Golden West Chapter. In his personal life, Matt enjoys skiing, mountain biking, endurance sports, and camping with his family.
Congratulations Matt for being selected as the 2019 Firefighter of the Year!
Glenna Oliver
Chino Police Department Civilian of the Year for 2019
Public Safety Dispatcher Glenna Oliver is an exceptional employee. She has been a member of the Chino Police Department for 22 years and has held the positions of Communications Training Officer, Tactical Dispatcher, and Peer Support Coordinator.
Glenna is well known throughout the department for her kind, caring personality, which shows how deeply she cares for those she works with. Glenna’s enthusiasm for the Chino Police Department and its members is second to none. She has the ability to connect with every person she encounters, and her concern is truly genuine.
Glenna has been instrumental in the creation of our Peer Support Team and Family Matters Program. When a local police officer was killed, Glenna helped to coordinate meals and a visit to the other department’s dispatch center. She is often found checking in with those that have been off sick or have had a recent surgery.
Glenna demonstrates characteristics such as Commitment, Purpose, Passion, and Optimism. Many are honored to call her friend and this organization flourishes because she is a part of it. For her work ethic, dedication, and caring commitment to the members of this organization, Glenna is being recognized as the 2019 Professional Staff Employee of the Year.
Justin Hobgood
California Institution for Women Employee of the Year
We are here today to honor the heroic efforts of our very own Nurse Instructor (NI) Justin Hobgood, whose call to action extends far beyond helping at a roadside accident. As Registered Nurse Justin Hobgood was on his way to work at California Institution for Women in the early morning on Feb. 1, he had to put his skills to use to help a teenage driver after vehicle car flipped over. The driver was attempting to use the shoulder to pass a large truck, as she was merging onto the freeway, when she ran out of usable lane. The vehicle went up a dirt embankment causing the vehicle to roll twice before resting on the passenger side. Hobgood was directly behind the vehicle when the incident occurred and had to use evasive action to avoid becoming part of the accident.
NI Hobgood joined the CDCR CIW family January of 2018. He began his CIW journey in our Utilization Management Department. Through his professionalism, dedication, independence and strong interest in education, he recently promoted and joined the Nursing Education Department. He came to CDCR CIW after working at the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department West Valley Detention Center where he served as an intake and clinic nurse.
NI Hobgood graduated from the California Baptist University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing. Prior to his nursing career, NI Hobgood spent several years in the United States Marine Corps. During his time in the Marine Corps, he served as a Door Gunner and Crew Chief of a UH-1N Huey Helicopter conducting combat operations in Ramadi and Fallujah Iraq.
NI Hobgood grew up in Kenya, East Africa where he became an Eagle Scout. For his Eagle Scout project, NI Hobgood planned, organized, and implemented the construction of a small hospital in the Turkana Desert of Northern Kenya commonly referred to as the Sa-Hell due to its proximity to the Sahara Desert. Although the building is now riddled with bullets, due to the consistent conflict in the border region of Somalia, it is still standing and still aids the people through Doctors Without Borders.
When NI Hobgood is not pulling by-standers from burning vehicles, constructing hospitals in the Turkana Desert and serving his country; he enjoys tent camping with his family, landscape and wildlife photography, and learning about the newest research and best practices in nursing, which helps him contribute greatly to his new role as a Nurse Instructor. NI Hobgood is clearly a valuable team member anyone could be proud of. We are certainly proud that he chooses to call CIW home. We hope to help support him through his career and look forward to seeing him grow.
Sergeant Jose Espinosa
California Institution for Men Supervisor of the Year
Jose Espinosa started his career with the State of California on November 4, 2002, promoted to the rank of Correctional Sergeant at the California Institution for Men (CIM) on January 22, 2007, and is currently assigned as a Health Care Access Unit Transportation Sergeant. During his time in this assignment, he has by far exceeded the expectations of the position and have changed the entire dynamic of the way CIM conducts its medical transports. CIM has grown to the largest medical transporting institution in the state and continues to grow.
Sergeant Espinosa has taken control ownership of his current assignment and met the challenge of the ever-increasing demand as the Transportation Sergeant. Sergeant Espinosa has demonstrated unswerving abilities in coordinating Transportation staff, as well as with other institutions throughout the state in meeting very stringent deadlines required for many medical transports.
Sergeant Espinosa’s organizational and planning skills should also be recognized, as during a recent audit, he received HIGH praise from the audit team for his efforts in ensuring CIM meets and exceeds the demands for inmate transportation. Furthermore, during the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend, California was experiencing severe weather where several routes going to northern institutions were closed. Sergeant Espinosa was able to work with his transportation teams to ensure all inmates were transported to their destinations in the timeframes required by the department – He remained engaged in your duties until all transportation teams were home safely.
Sergeant Espinosa ensures his officers are highly trained and understand the mission at hand, which keeps the public safe by transporting over 500 inmates a month to various hospitals in Southern California.
Sergeant Espinosa’s dedication to his position is an example to all - no matter what time of day or night, you are always available to answer questions or resolve problems.
The work ethic, dedication and professionalism Sergeant Espinosa has displayed is an invaluable asset to CIM and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations.
Chino Valley Business Leaders Thank You
“Thanks to our First Responders for continuing to do an excellent job!” – Rosemarie Miller Harrison, AACE Home Care Inc.