SGT Michael Boles, 2nd Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment, received the first Pinnacle Patriot award from Pinnacle, the company that manages The Villages of Benning
Boles drives around his Bouton Heights neighborhood in a golf cart each evening picking up trash and debris
Boles said he was surprised to win the award
After a long day at work, SGT Michael Boles said he doesn't like to unwind in front of the TV - he'd rather pick up road kill and trash around his neighborhood.
Boles, 2nd Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment, has lived in Bouton Heights since 2005, and has acted as what he calls its "watchful eye" since 2006. For about an hour each evening, Boles drives his golf cart around the neighborhood, collecting trash, road kill, fallen tree limbs and debris, and sometimes returns to mow grass, he said.
"It's one of the things I like to do," Boles said. "When I come home and (my home) doesn't look right, I want to fix it and better it."
Boles' efforts were recognized officially. Pinnacle, which manages The Villages of Benning, presented Boles with the Pinnacle Patriot Award during a luncheon June 25 at the Patton Village community center. Boles is the first recipient of the award, created by Terri Bond, Pinnacle's housing director.
Bond said that after meeting Boles for the first time at a town hall meeting, she was so impressed with his character that she wanted to find a way to honor him.
"This man is the most incredible Soldier I've ever met," she said. "He's serving his community proudly and asks for nothing. He only wants to give. He not only touched my spirit, he touched my heart."
Boles said he had no idea he would receive an award when he arrived at the luncheon.
Boles received a brass eagle engraved with the words, "There is nothing wrong in America that can't be fixed with what is right with America," a quote by President Bill Clinton. COL(R) Keith Lovejoy, Fort Benning's housing director, presented Boles with a Garrison Commander's coin on behalf of COL Thomas Macdonald, garrison commander.
"This was the very least we could do to honor this Soldier," Bond said. "He's got such clarity, directness and sincerity. It's very seldom you come across people with qualities like that."
Because of a back injury during a 2007 tour in Korea, Boles said he has difficulty standing and walking for long periods. But, he hasn't let that hamper efforts to improve his neighborhood, he said.
"It's painful some days, but I enjoy doing it," he said. "Every time I pull into my housing area, I can say my community looks that much nicer. That's the reward."
To stay up-to-date on issues around Fort Benning, and to get ideas of ways to help around Bouton Heights, Boles said he attends as many town hall meetings as he can.
"Just because you don't live there, it doesn't mean there aren't some ideas you can take back to our own community," he said.
"Everything's fixable. It just takes somebody to get out there and take charge of it and clean it up."
Bonds said Pinnacle plans to make the Pinnacle Patriot award an annual event.
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