Each year, the county presents a staff member with the Employee Making a Difference Award and a community member with the Citizen Making a Difference Award.
Employee Making a Difference Award
This year, Community Development Planner Lucie Tuthill, was recognized for her contributions to King George County.
Every day, Ms. Tuthill goes beyond her job duties for the county. Not only does she help permit technicians on a daily basis, assisting residents at the front counter and on the phone, but she also took a personal interest in helping the King George Public Animal Shelter with reactivating its Petfinder.com account to increase and promote animal adoptions for the county. During her lunch breaks and after hours, Ms. Tuthill regularly photographs every animal in the shelter and updates them on the county's Petfinder page as they come in and as they are adopted out. She also consistently goes out of her way to assist King George residents with both zoning and environmental needs and questions. Ms. Tuthill genuinely cares and wants to help the public to the best of her ability. Even if the resident's ask is not technically in the realm of her department, she will seek out an answer for the customer. She goes out of her way to give advice to the public and will meet in person with anyone at a moments notice. She persistently does this throughout her work day, wanting to go the extra step to make a difference in people's lives.
Please join us in congratulating Lucie Tuthill on being this year’s Employee Making a Difference Award recipient.
📸 Lucie Tuthill and Matthew Smolnik
Citizen Making a Difference Award
This year, Marilyn Tolliver Johnson was recognized for her dedication, compassion, and unwavering service that has left a lasting mark on King George County.
Ms. Tolliver Johnson is a lifelong member of our community. She's someone who grew up in King George and has lived here for many years, and she continues to give back to this county in many ways. Beginning at a young age, Ms. Tolliver Johnson accepted the call to serve the public. Over the years, her duties evolved, her titles changed, and her responsibilities grew, yet her commitment to King George never wavered. What truly sets her apart extends far beyond a professional résumé.
Marilyn Tolliver Johnson is active in her church community, teaching youth, supporting ministries, and serving in leadership roles that reflect her deep and genuine faith. Service is not a duty but a way of life for her. It is in the way she speaks to people, the way she listens, and the way she shows up for others. She does all of this not for recognition but simply because it is the right thing to do.
Perhaps one of the most powerful examples of her compassion is the care she provides to elderly members of our community who may not be her relatives but are loved like family all the same. Ms. Tolliver Johnson took it upon herself to ensure these vulnerable members of our community were not alone in their time of need, providing them with support and treating them with dignity during their final days. When one passed, Ms. Tolliver Johnson quietly organized funeral arrangements, calling upon her friends at the King George County Sheriff's Office to serve as pallbearers—offering compassion and honor to a community member as a final tribute to a life well lived.
Ms. Tolliver Johnson will help anyone, anytime. She greets every person like a friend and offers guidance, encouragement, and warmth with sincerity. She quietly makes a difference every day.
Please join us in congratulating Marilyn Tolliver Johnson on being this year’s Citizen Making a Difference Award recipient.
📸 Marilyn Tolliver Johnson and Matthew Smolnik