During the month of May, we celebrate our Public Service Employees and all the hard work they do for our communities. The individuals below have been nominated by their colleagues for their incredible contributions to our region. 

Daryl Hedgspeth
City of Durham Impact Team Manager - Environment & Street Services

Daryl and his team are essential to us at Keep Durham Beautiful - they are the ones collecting the trash and plant debris after we host volunteer events in public spaces. Daryl is easy-going, quick to respond to last minute requests, and always willing to help. During our busy seasons, he and his team can visit dozens of location in a week, on top of all their other regular duties. I've never heard a single complaint from him or anyone on his team, and they make requesting the debris/trash removal so easy. Daryl has regularly stated that he is more than happy to be helpful in situations where volunteers are giving freely of their own time to improve Durham and their environment. Daryl and his team make what we do possible!

-Nominated by Dawn Keyser, Keep Durham Beautiful Program Director

Tim Gainer
City of Raleigh Operations Supervisor, Yard Waste Center

Tim literally wears many hats at the yard waste center at the City of Raleigh facility. He not only manages the site operational staff creating mulch and compost, but is the liaison with NCDEQ for permitting, manages our capped landfill, provides customer service for residents on site dropping of materials, coordinates with vendors, advises on staffing and budget needs, works with Fleet Management on equipment maintenance and repairs, conducts revenue analysis and rate projections, and leads our Solid Waste Services department first food compost pilot. He leads with passion and is a great role model to staff.

-Nominated by Sylvia Beyer, City of Raleigh Assistant Director, Solid Waste Services

Josh Womack
Village of Pinehurst Fire Captain

Josh consistently goes above and beyond in service to the community through his dedication to public safety, leadership, and commitment to excellence. He played a key role this year in helping the Village successfully fill six new firefighter positions, ensuring the recruitment of highly qualified candidates who will strengthen emergency services for years to come. In addition to his service with the fire department, he has spent many years as a Fire Academy Instructor at the local community college, where he mentors and trains the next generation of firefighters while instilling the values of integrity, teamwork, and courage. Whether responding to emergencies, guiding recruits, or solving challenges, Josh embodies the very best of public service, making a lasting impact on both the community he protects today and the future first responders he helps prepare.

-Nominated by Beth Dunn, Village of Pinehurst HR Generalist

Carlos Lyons
City of Durham Senior Operations Manager, Collections Environmental & Street Services

Open Table Ministry hosted an Overflow Winter Shelter at Asbury United Methodist Church in partnership with the City of Durham. Early on, we identified a solid waste disposal challenge at the site, given the number of organizations sharing the building. Carlos, our point of contact in the solid waste collection department, stepped in quickly and arranged for additional bins in an impressively short turnaround. He was responsive, effective, and genuinely a joy to work with. Among all the community liaisons we partner with, he truly stands out.

-Nominated by Drew Wooten, Open Table Ministry Executive Director

Durham County Sheriff's Office Emergency Communications
Durham County

The Durham County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Communications Team is the calm in the chaos, serving as the steady voice and reassuring presence during some of life’s most urgent and unpredictable moments. As the critical first point of contact in emergencies, they work long hours under intense pressure, handling the unexpected with professionalism, compassion, and quick decision-making. Their dedication helps keep both the public and first responders safe, and while their work often happens behind the scenes, their impact is felt every day across Durham County.

-Nominated by Denise Pratt, Durham County Communications Manager

Loryn Clark
Town of Chapel Hill Deputy Town Manager

Loryn is dedicated to supporting employees' growth and development in innovative ways that contribute to a positive culture. She is creative, co-designing our THRIVE program, which brings employees together to meet each other, to learn new skills, and to experience parts of our organization they might not otherwise see. THRIVE is a flexible framework for delivering experiences that respond to employees' changing interests and needs. She helps connect our employees to the outcomes of their work - drawing lines between their daily work and the benefits our residents experience. Her vision of a workplace where people are empowered to bring their best ideas, their best selves, and their heart to work is compelling and she's been leading from the heart for over 30 years. She is a model and mentor to our newest employees and a trusted advisor to us all. Her laugh and optimism are contagious and her thoughtfulness about the people she works with and the community she works for are inspiring. We wouldn't be the same without her.

-Nominated by Mary Jane Nirdlinger, Town of Chapel Hill Deputy Town Manager

Tania Dautlick
Executive Director of Keep Durham Beautiful & City of Durham Employee

Tania Dautlick, Executive Director of Keep Durham Beautiful (KDB), exemplifies the kind of civic leadership that transforms communities from the ground up. Under her stewardship, KDB — a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and core environmental partner to the City and County of Durham — achieved remarkable impact in 2025, mobilizing 5,558 volunteers across 557 events who contributed nearly 12,000 service hours valued at an estimated $338,082. Through Tania's vision and organizational leadership, Durham residents removed more than 59,000 pounds of litter, collected nearly 9,000 cigarette butts, and expanded the city's urban canopy through the planting and distribution of over 1,000 trees and more than 24,000 native bulbs and flowers. Her commitment to environmental equity is equally evident in KDB's education programming, which reached 2,580 residents through initiatives such as Litter Kits in Schools, Creek Week, invasive plant removal workshops, and the Durham Garden Tour — directly advancing the City's sustainability goals. Tania's ability to galvanize thousands of community members around a shared environmental mission, while delivering measurable outcomes that enhance Durham's public spaces and ecological resilience, makes her an outstanding nominee and a model of civic excellence.

-Nominated by Stacey Poston, City of Durham General Services Department Assistant Director

Melissa Bielby
Village of Pinehurst Library & Archives Supervisor

Melissa is a shining example of how public service can enrich and connect a community. She has helped shape the library into a vibrant, welcoming place where residents of all ages feel supported, encouraged, and inspired to learn. Her ability to build meaningful relationships with patrons and provide thoughtful guidance makes the library an invaluable resource for so many. At the same time, she serves as a dedicated caretaker of Pinehurst’s history, preserving important records and stories so future generations can appreciate the community’s unique heritage. Through her innovation, attention to detail, and genuine care for others, Melissa continually elevates library services and demonstrates the lasting impact of compassionate public service.

-Nominated by Beth Dunn, Village of Pinehurst HR Generalist