Captain, civilian awarded as employees of the year

The votes are in for the city of Newport Beach Employee of the Year award and taking center stage are Fire Captain Jerry Strom and civilian employee Linda Foeldi.

Strom has been with the department for 42 years and now serves as captain of the Balboa Island Fire Station

He has worked for a number of years in the department’s junior firefighter program, geared to fifth graders.

Foeldi has been with the department since 1998 working as a department assistant in Emergency Medical Services. She does much work supporting the paramedics and processing paperwork.

She is the first civilian non-sworn Fire Department employee to be honored as employee of the year.

Both Strom and Foeldi will be honored at events throughout the year, including awards dinners put on by the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce in October and the Law and Order Night in April sponsored by the American Legion Post 291 on the Balboa Peninsula.

— Kelly Strodl