Former Sierra Vista Mayor Rick Mueller accepts an Association of Defense Communities Defense Community Champion Award from Mayor Clea McCaa at the Thursday, Feb. 23, City Council meeting.
Former Sierra Vista Mayor Rick Mueller accepts an Association of Defense Communities Defense Community Champion Award from Mayor Clea McCaa at the Thursday, Feb. 23, City Council meeting.
Last week the Association of Defense Communities (ADC), together with Navy Federal Credit Union, recognized former Sierra Vista Mayor Rick Mueller as a 2023 Defense Community Champion National Honoree at a conference in Washington D.C.
One of 17 individuals named as Defense Community Champions in 2023, Mueller was just one of three also awarded national honors. Mueller served 10 years as a council member and 12 as mayor before leaving office in December 2022.
“Mueller’s decades of leadership have been instrumental in maintaining a close partnership with Fort Huachuca for the benefit of the community and the installation,” City Manager Chuck Potucek says. “This national honor is well deserved.”
The City of Sierra Vista was previously honored by the ADC with its 2016 Excellence Award, when it was lauded as a model defense community serving as an example for its peers nationwide.
“Thank you to the people for the opportunity to serve you,” Mueller said at a council meeting in February, when he was recognized as a Defense Community Champion. Mueller credited fellow council members and City staff, particularly City Manager Chuck Potucek, former Assistant City Manager Mary Jacobs, and current Assistant City Manager Victoria Yarbrough, for doing the hard work.
“Without them rolling up their sleeves, figuring out how to get it done, we would not be recognized as a leader across the country in military communities,” Mueller said.
To see an ADC video profiling Mueller in recognition of being named a Defense Community Champion, head to the Association of Defense Communities YouTube channel or follow this direct link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzXUj-P4OUM.
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