Montgomery Serves Awards 2020

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Neal Potter Path of Achievement Award 

Honoring lifetime service by individuals age 60 and up

 

Robert Marques

Bob Marques’s list of volunteer commitments is long and impressive. The common thread among all of them is his constancy in responding to the call for help for the needy and those in crisis. Bob exemplifies the true spirit of volunteerism and community. 

Bob has devoted much of his time to the Montgomery County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), playing an extremely active role as a member of the CERT Go-Team. He responds when the team is activated to help evacuated residents after building fires, assists the county Fire and Rescue and Police departments in looking for lost persons, and helps during severe weather events.  He uses his first aid and CPR/AED training at large community events and other activations of the Go-Team. He represents CERT and the county at outreach and recruitment efforts. Throughout the year he served as both a primary instructor and assistant in CERT classes for adults, teaching them to be more resilient for their families and communities in times of natural disaster and potential acts of terrorism. 

For several years Bob has participated in the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Teen CERT program as an instructor and during final practicals. He has been involved in all aspects of the Teen CERT training program, which involves sessions in disaster preparedness, fire safety, basic and advanced first aid, search and rescue, disaster psychology, terrorism awareness, and active shooter/school safety. In 2019 he was a primary instructor in the Bystander Care program (Providing Help Before EMS Arrives) for motor vehicle collisions. 

Bob  also volunteers with the Gaithersburg Washington Grove Volunteer Fire Department. During the past year, he has spent more than 100 hours working with Junior Fire Brigade teens (JFB). In addition to attending monthly meetings, drills, and community service events, Bob serves as a Junior Fire Brigade advisor and sits on the interview board for new members. In this capacity, he has ensured that the JFB is a racially and ethnically diverse group, representative of the entire county. The JFB gives young men and women a unique opportunity to learn more about public safety and providing service to the community, and Bob is a major driver of that effort. 

Along with his public safety-related service, Bob volunteers with the Gaithersburg Help food bank, Rose of Lima Catholic Church/Brethren Service Center, St. Paul’s Catholic Church, and the American Red Cross. Whether it’s selling Christmas trees, unloading trailers full of donations, or participating in a medical mission to Honduras, Robert Marques has shown a lifelong commitment to volunteering and exemplifies the true meaning of volunteer spirit. His actions have touched thousands of lives for the better and made Montgomery County and our neighbors a safer and better place to live. 

 

See all of this year's honorees