Gail Garber was the Enrichment and Senior Citizen Coordinator for Okemos Community Education until retiring in August. Previously she was the secretary at Cornell Elementary School. Gail brought many programs and classes to the community, including Daddy-Daughter and Mother-Son Nights, the Okemos Special Needs Day Camp, and the summer school program for children. The Meridian Senior Center was created under her leadership and has become an integral part of the community. Gail coordinated the use of the schools by internal and outside groups. She has been active in the community, serving on the Office on Aging’s Ingham County Nutrition Council, the Meridian Area Business Association Senior Committee, and the Meridian Township Senior Celebration Committee. She worked on the township millage committee to fund the Human Services and Parks and Recreation departments, and the Meridian Senior Center. Gail received the Michigan Association of Community and Adult Education’s Staff Person of the Year Award in 2001.

Gayelord Mankowski has been a Meridian Township police officer for 16 years. He is also a riot control instructor, has worked undercover narcotics, and started the township’s K-9 program. Gayelord serves as a community liaison for the Wardcliff, River Terrace, and Mobile Home Manor neighborhoods. In 1992, Officer Mankowski started the Spartan Buddies program, pairing MSU student volunteers with Wardcliff Elementary School children. The “ buddies” get together weekly for one-on-one activities, and enjoy monthly group outings. His work with the Spartan Buddies program earned Gayelord the Governor’s Service Award in 1998. Gayelord also started a summer program at Wardcliff called Friday Friends, and runs a holiday party for children at Wardcliff. Treats, presents and a visit from a special North Pole guest make this event one that the students anticipate eagerly. Gayelord and his wife Jocelyn, a fifth grade teacher at Wardcliff, live in Okemos. And yes, he is named after his home town, Gaylord, Michigan.