Page 4 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • January 18, 2012 Ho-Ho-Kus Carol Tyler receives Brandeis Award for service by Jennifer Crusco Long-time volunteer Carol Tyler recently received the Dr. Harry Brandeis Memorial Community Service Award for her work in the Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus. The award, which was named for a respected Bergen County physician and philanthropist, is presented by the Community Resource Council in Hackensack to individuals who have made significant contributions to the community. Raised in Rutherford, Tyler said she grew up in a large family. “So I’m used to helping others,” she told Villadom TIMES. Tyler’s life-long love for animals led her to spend two years working as a veterinary technician. In 1987, Tyler became a New Jersey State Certified Animal Control Officer and worked for three Morris County municipalities. She served as a member of Palisades K-9 Search and Rescue, Boonton police matron, and school crossing guard. When she and her husband Gary moved to Ho-Ho-Kus in 1989, Tyler launched her family-owned animal control business, Tyco Animal Control Services, and soon became the animal control officer for the borough. Tyler now has contracts with 22 municipalities. She also has two shelters for the housing and adoption of unclaimed pets. As a State Certified Animal Cruelty Investigator, she works closely with the Bergen County Prosecutors Animal Cruelty Task force. In 2009, the Task Force recognized Tyler for her work as a cruelty investigator. Tyler said her most notable rescues include one in Saddle River in 2007, in which she and her team recovered 168 animals from a home, and another incident in which she chased, and ultimately lassoed, a runaway cow by Route 17 in Ho-Ho-Kus. The honoree joined the Ho-Ho-Kus Volunteer Ambulance Corps in 1989 and became an emergency medical technician during her first year with the organization. The following year, she was elected to the Ho-Ho-Kus Ambulance Corps Executive Board. As captain of the corps, she has worked to build membership. Over the years, she has recruited her husband and her daughter, Christina, to become EMTs. She has worked on the reorganization of the Ho-HoKus Office of Emergency Management and has served as an advisor to the Ho-Ho-Kus Community Emergency Response Team. Tyler has also worked with local Boy Scouts, Girls Scouts, senior citizens, and school groups. She is an executive board member with the Northwest Bergen Emergency Medical Association and a delegate to the New Jersey First Aid Council. She served at the World Trade Center in 1993 and on Sept. 11 and 12, 2001. She was active during many natural disasters and power failures. In 2010, Tyler spearheaded a fund drive for the purchase of a lightning detection system for the borough’s recreation fields. She has coached all three of her daughters’ softball and basketball teams in the Ho-Ho-Kus/Saddle River Recreation Leagues. She still plays softball and volleyball in the The Community Resource Council recently honored Ho-HoKus Volunteer Ambulance Corps Captain Carol Tyler, along with Robert C. Garrett, president and CEO of Hackensack University Medical Center (right), and Nicholas A. Laganella II, chair, Gift of Life America Fund, Inc. women’s league in Rutherford and enjoys hiking, horseback riding, snowmobiling, and jet skiing.