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Orem honors former councilmember, awards employee scholarships and highlights school-safety work
Summary
The council paused to remember former councilmember Margaret Black, presented the 2026–27 Babel employee scholarship winners, and received an SRO presentation on school-safety innovations and a national award for the Orem SRO unit.
The meeting opened with a remembrance of former Orem City Council member Margaret Black, who the mayor said served on the council from 2007 to 2016 and had a long record of civic engagement. The mayor led a moment of silence and extended condolences to Black’s family.
The council then presented the 2026–27 Babel Scholarship awards, a city employee program launched in 2021 that provides tuition support to city staff. Deputy City Manager Carrie Ruck said 41 employee scholarships have been issued to date and that 17 past awardees later earned promotions within the city. Staff introduced awardees and invited them to receive recognition from council.
Orem Police Sergeant Neil Skoggard and Sergeant Mike Lockach presented an overview of the School Resource Officer (SRO) unit and described the unit’s work with Alpine School District, threat-assessment protocols, the guardian program and the department’s adoption of a grid response system for quicker emergency response. Skoggard noted the unit was recognized with the NASRO Model Agency award in 2024 and emphasized continued training and partnership work.
What councilors said: Members thanked SRO staff for their work and praised the scholarship program as a workforce development tool that helps employees continue education and advance within city service.
Next steps: No formal action was required on these items; they were presented for recognition and information.
