Community Service Awards

Teacher of the Year - Polli Hamlin

Firefighter of the Year -- Commissioner Larry Mundt

Police Officer of the Year -- Deputy Pat Meehan

Teacher of the Year - Polli Hamlin
Ms. Hamlin has taught children with special needs with great passion, endless patience and with grace and kindness.  She is a friend of nature and of music.  She often incorporates both into her classroom.  Ms. Hamlin inspires adults and children alike by exposing them to alternate ways of thinking.  She has a unique way of turning a student’s mistake into an inspiring success. Having been lucky enough to spend time in Ms. Hamlin’s classroom, I have learned many things about teaching to the whole child. We are grateful she has chosen to be a teacher of such high quality.
Our children’s lives are better because of her.  We thank her!

Firefighter of the Year -- Commissioner Larry Mundt
Larry joined the MKI Fire department as a volunteer in 1979, and his 32 years of service has earned him the distinction of the longest serving volunteer in MKI Fire's history. In addition to volunteering as a firefighter, he served on the Fire Association's Board of Directors prior to the formation of a district, and also joined the Medical Response Unit, which he participated in for nine years.  When the district was formed in 2000, he was appointed by Governor Kempthorne as one of three Fire Commissioners. He is currently serving his third term for sub-district three, and continues to respond to fire emergencies. Larry is proud of the fact that MKI's commissioners are volunteers, alongside its firefighter's who dedicate their time to meetings, trainings, and responses.
Commissioner Mundt has devoted endless hours to the safety and education of our community. As a Commissioner he is required to spend many hours overseeing the issues that do continually arise.  As a firefighter, he is required to attend classes to stay up with the latest in on scene service. And Commission Mundt does all this without being paid “one silver dime”.  We are grateful he has chosen to selflessly give of his time to Mica Flats/Kidd Island residents.
Our lives are better and safer because of his valuable contributions to the community.
We thank him.

Police Officer of the Year -- Deputy Pat Meehan

Deputy Pat Meehan began his career with the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department in the spring of 2002 when he was hired as a seasonal Marine Deputy.

Following a summer on the water, Deputy Meehan was hired full-time as a Detention Deputy in the county jail where he worked the floor and as a transport officer until testing for and getting accepted to Patrol in December of 2005. 

Deputy Meehan has since worked as a Patrol Deputy, performed duties as a substitute District Deputy for Chris Fresh in District 4 (which encompasses Mica and Worley) while Chris was on military deployment, and is also a member of the Crowd Control Team.  Deputy Meehan was also a Field Training Officer to new recruits prior to his own deployment overseas.

Deputy Meehan deployed with his Naval Reserve unit to Kuwait, Iraq and Bahrain in early 2010 for a 12 month mission where they performed security for “high value assets.”  While gone he received a Navy Achievement Medal for his participation in training Iraqi Marines in First Line Defense.

Deputy Meehan is currently attending North Idaho College where he is working towards earning his Associate of Science degree in Criminal Justice.  He is a home group leader in his church, is married with 5 children at home, and enjoys camping during his free time.