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Mr. Robert L. Pickels Jr., who now serves as City Attorney with the City of Sedona, Arizona, expressed; “It’s very overwhelming and humbling to be standing here and to be considered to receive this award."

Yuma, AZ. - Former State Senator and President and CEO of the Regional Center for Border Health, Inc., Amanda Aguirre, is honored to announce the 2015 Gabe Zimmerman Public Service Award for Community Builder was given to former Yuma County Administrator for the past 13 years, Mr. Robert L. Pickels Jr.

The 2015 Gabe Zimmerman Public Service Award ceremony took place at the 2015 League of Arizona Cities and Towns Conference held in Tucson, on August 20^th, 2015. This is the largest gathering of elected officials of the State of Arizona, where more than 1,000 state-wide government members attend.

Ms. Aguirre, who nominated Mr. Pickels Jr., participated as a member of the selection committee of the Gabe Zimmerman Public Service Award, which was created in 2011 by the Center for the Future of Arizona to recognize the role of non-elected public servants as the critical link between citizens and the people elected to represent them.

“This is the very first time that the Community Builder award is developed to recognize leaders from areas outside of Maricopa and Pima counties,” said Ms. Aguirre, “I couldn’t be more proud that the person I nominated was selected as the recipient of this important community service award.”

The categories that were recognized are:

• Community Builder – Recognizing efforts to advance community pride and connectedness through such areas as job creation and training, healthy communities, environmental and historical preservation, volunteer and philanthropic efforts, and educational advancement.  This award is open to public service employees in any city or town with less than 60,000 people, any county except Maricopa and Pima Counties, and any tribal government. 
• Emerging Leader – Recognizing early-stage public service employees committed to the overall civic health and community connection of the constituents they serve while bringing innovation, energy and compassion to their position and serving as a role model for others.  Open to public service employees of any city, town, county, state, tribal or federal government who are under the age of 40.
• Civic Leader - Recognizing extraordinary leaders who have demonstrated knowledge, skills and commitment to addressing Arizona’s long-term issues and the personal leadership capacity to make Arizona a better place for future generations.  Open to public service employees of any city, town, county, state, tribal or federal government. 

According to Mr. Lattie F. Coor, Chairman and CEO of the Center for the Future of the Arizona, the awards are named in honor of Mr. Gabe Zimmerman, director of community outreach for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who lost his life on January 8, 2011 while serving the citizens of Arizona.

“We were thinking of creating this award at our Center for the Future of Arizona, when and in January 8th of 2011 a tragedy in Tucson, the shooting, took the life of Gabe Zimmerman, and as we considered how we may proceed with this award we found that there was no one better, no one more represented the spirit of service that these wonderful officers and staff of our public agencies represent,” Mr. Coor said.

“Since that time in conjunction not only with the lead of the Association of County Supervisors, the Intertribal Government Association of Arizona, and the State of Arizona, we have put together a selection committee that solicits nominations from throughout the State.", he added.

The selection committee includes Jacob Moore, with Generation Seven Strategic Partners LLC, who is the Chairman; Judge Boyd Dunn, with Maricopa County Superior Court; Ms. Amanda Aguirre, Former State Senator, and President & CEO of the Regional Center for Border Health, Inc., Ms. Evelyn Casuga, Assistant to President – Special Projects of the Central Arizona College; and Ms. Deborah Embry, President & CEO of the Tucson Urban League, Inc.

Award nominees were judged on their contributions and achievements by the independent selection committee, said Mr. Jacob Moore, Chairman of the Center for the Future of Arizona, who presented the awards.

When receiving the 2015 Gabe Zimmerman Community Builders Award, Mr. Robert L. Pickels Jr., who now serves as City Attorney with the City of Sedona, Arizona, expressed; “It’s very overwhelming and humbling to be standing here and to be considered to receive this award. I want to thank my good friend Amanda Aguirre from Yuma County for submitting my name for this award. I am very honored to share the stage with these other recipients, too”.

Mr. Pickels Jr. added; “People that teach leadership often talk about the need for people in these kind of positions to take a step back and look and what we are doing and what we are accomplishing and that helps us move forward; it’s not very often for us to get the chance to do that”.

The2015 Gabe Zimmerman Public Service Award for Emerging Leaders went to Mr. Rocky Brown, with City of Maricopa.

The 2015 Gabe Zimmerman Public Service Award for Civic Leader went to Ms. Dawn A. Melvin who works with the Arizona Office of Tourist Outreach since 2004.

The Center for the Future of Arizona was established in 2002; it’s a Phoenix-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the goal of helping guide and inform the decisions that impact quality of life and opportunities for Arizonans, now and in the future.

To learn more about the Center for the Future of Arizona please visit the website www.thearizonawewant.org or please contact Ms. Patricia Denis, patricia.denis@asu.edu, 602-496-0293.

For more information regarding the Regional Center for Border Health, Inc. please contact Mariajose Almazan, Executive Assistant to the President and CEO at (928) 627-9222 or via e-mail at mrincon@rcfbh.org