A lieutenant for the St. Joseph Department of Public Safety has received a special honor. Wilton “Butch” Terry was given the US Coast Guard’s Enlisted Person of the Year, Reserve Component, award last month in Washington DC. He was selected out of more than 7,000 reservists for his work in planning the large-scale movement of cargo in an exercise last year. St. Joe Mayor Mike Garey says Terry is a great asset.
“It’s a great award for him in recognition of the hard work he did in 2015 with a special project, and Butch is a great guy,” Garey told WSJM. “He’s committed to the city, the country. He’s a great example of what we can be.”
The St. Joseph City Commission honored Terry with a resolution Monday, congratulating him and expressing gratitude for his service. Terry is a machinery technician assigned to Coast Guard Port Security Unit 309 in Port Clinton, Ohio, and as a result of his award, he was promoted from Petty Officer First Class to Chief Petty Officer. He’s a Lakeshore graduate who joined the Coast Guard in 2000 after having served in the US Navy and the Army National Guard. Terry came to the St. Joseph Fire Department in 1998, and lives in Stevensville.
Pictured: St. Joseph Mayor Mike Garey and Wilton Terry.
