After winning the October Team Member of the Month award last year, Officer Beard wasn’t prepared to receive another award so soon. The security team had just finished with a morning meeting and received a call from the front desk.

"I immediately thought one of these guys is going to get an award,” Beard admitted. “We work with a lot of good people. I about fell apart when our president came down the stairs and told me congratulations. It was overwhelming."

Beard was awarded the 2021 Team Member of the Year award for STAR Service. STAR stands for Safety, Teamwork, Accountability and Relationships. The selection process involves a separate scoring method from the monthly recipients. Beard won a lapel pin, an award and an Amazon gift card — which he used to purchase a fireplace for his home.

"Now every time we enjoy a fire, I think about how thankful I am to be working at such a great hospital," Beard said.

Beard isn’t one to sit back and watch. He is the first to arrive and never hesitates to jump into action. While working the night shift, he assisted emergency department staff in cleaning non-COVID treatment rooms between patients, answering patient call bells for non-clinical needs, transporting patients and filling in at the secretary's desk.

"Officer Beard performs his duties in an outstanding manner. It does not matter what the need is," Security Supervisor Tim Grosskopf said. "He is willing to stop what he is doing and help take care of any need. He has become a tremendous asset to the security department and VCU Health CMH."

A resident of Clarksville, Beard has worked at VCU Health CMH for more than a year. He spent most of his career as a first responder in law enforcement and emergency medical services.

"I have so much respect for the people I work with. Our ER nurses on the night shift go above and beyond. That drives me to help whenever I can do anything to make their lives easier," Beard explained. "We are a family here at VCU Health CMH. We fulfill our mission and purpose by working together to provide excellence in health care."

Other nominees for Team Member of the Year were: Ingrid Vaughan, MD, in Anesthesia, Lillian Gibson in Administration Representatives, Rick Clary in Pharmacy, Sandra Noel in Administration, Shelly Parham in Respiratory Therapy, Donna Overton in Occupational Health, Mary Hardin in Administration and Sandra Agostinelli in Infection Prevention.