Community heroes, top employee honored in Rockdale

Rockdale County Chairman Oz Nesbitt announced the selection of Maria Brown and Joseph Spivey as 2017 Rockdale County Unsung Heroes during his March 9 State of the County address.

Brown and Spivey were presented the awards at the evening event for their tireless involvement in the Rockdale community.

Brown is an educator who has devoted 20 years in Rockdale as a proponent of education as a means to uplift the community. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in organizational management at Nyack University and Master of Education at Cambridge University. She is the mother of two, Bianca and Christina Brown, and she has been married to her husband, Cornell Brown, for 20 years.

Spivey is the owner of Q.C. Bar & Grill. With the help of EJ Dailey, Rockdale County DFCS Foster Program and Project Renewal, Q.C. Bar & Grill has provided Christmas presents to more than 100 children in the county each year, for the past 16 years. Spivey is the father of three children, Devante, Ketrina and DJ.

With the Unsung Hero Award, Chairman Oz Nesbitt, Sr. seeks to honor the dedicated, hardworking and often unnoticed citizens of Rockdale County.

Nesbitt also selected Muddessar Ahmad as the Charles P. Cole-Lewis Belcher, Jr. Citizen Involvement Award recipient.

Ahmad was honored for his dedication of time and energy to the Rockdale community.

Chairman Nesbitt said Ahmad “is a true example of the American Dream. He came to this country and pulled himself up by the boot straps and turned his chance in Rockdale County into an opportunity.”

Ahmad is a native of Pakistan and made Rockdale his home in the mid-2000’s. His initial shop on West Ave has now grown into a multi-business corporation. He dedicates his time to helping the community through key law-enforcement and educational initiatives. He also helps the elderly with taking care of their lawns and providing meals.

The Rockdale County Board of Commissioners (BOC) selected Ginger Wages as the County’s Employee of the Year for 2016. Chief of Staff Corey Hambrick surprised Wages with news of the award at the State of the County wvening event, which was met with great applause and support from her colleagues and the community.

Wages is the Courts and Justice Information Systems Application Analyst of the County’s Management Information Services (MIS) Department. She was selected from among three finalists as the individual who best exemplified exceptional customer service, outstanding initiative and operational effectiveness during the 2016 calendar year.

The BOC also recognized and congratulated the other award finalists: Dawn Steward, Code Enforcement and Sharron Webb, Rockdale County Fire-Rescue.