During Monday night's city council meeting, Greenville Mayor Dexter McLendon was unabashed in his support of CorStone Inc. and its President Samuel Roberts.

And with good reason.

CorStone arrived in the Camellia City in 2000. Since then, the company has sponsored an annual award for the city's top law enforcement officer and firefighter as a way to recognize these public servants' contributions to the safety of all citizens in Greenville.

&#8220I am sincere in saying this,” said McLendon, after Roberts, along with Greenville Police Chief Lonzo Ingram and Fire Chief Mike Phillips, had presented this year's awards to a pair of deserving city employees in Lt. Randy Courtney and fireman Jeff Burt. &#8220It is so refreshing to have an industry that wants to be involved in your community. Sam has come into this town and wants to be a part of it. He wants the quality of life to be better for his employees and Greenville to be a better place to live for everyone here.”

McLendon said he has come to call Roberts a friend.

&#8220I never hesitate to call on Sam, whenever I can help him or whenever I need his help,” he said.

Roberts was proud to address the council for the first time as a resident of Greenville. He recently moved his family from Rhode Island and expressed his desire for continued involvement in what's going on in Greenville. Along with presenting checks and plaques to Courtney and Burt, Roberts also presented $2,000 checks to Phillips and Ingram for use in their respective departments.

As the mayor said, it is a breath of fresh air whenever we hear of a company, corporation or business taking an active role in Greenville and Butler County. We applaud Corstone's contributions to our community and look forward to their future growth and continued support of our city departments and organizations.