News

Kiwanis Club honors law officers and support personnel

Hendersonville Kiwanis Club Morris Kaplan Caring & Sharing Award winners and law enforcement superiors, pictured, from left, are Cpl. Brandon Corn of the sheriff’s office, Laurel Park Patrol Officer Dabrious Williams, Fletcher Police Chief Dan Terry, Fletcher police evidence custodian Laura Phipps, Laurel Park Chief Bobbie Trotter, Hendersonville police records specialist Sylina Surrett Holbrook, Hendersonville Chief Blair Myhand, State Highway Patrol Trooper Tyler L. Ervin and Sgt. Michael Owens.

By Bill Moss, Published: June 9, 2025

Brandon Corn nabbed drug traffickers and collared fugitives, and was darn good at it, Sheriff Lowell Griffin said.

But perhaps his most important job — certainly his most appreciated one — was less about catching bad guys and more about saving a community that nature swept into primitive conditions.

In the days immediately after Hurricane Helene, Griffin assigned Cpl. Corn full-time to look after the folks in Hickory Nut Gorge, one of the hardest hit areas in all of the North Carolina mountains from the unprecedented horrific storm.

“Cpl. Corn not only served as the senior-most deputy in this assignment but went above and beyond on more than one occasion to ensure the residents in these affected areas received supplies and other items necessary to survive,” Griffin said.

Corn was among the law officers and support personnel honored last month by the Hendersonville Kiwanis Club for service above and beyond ordinary duties.

Other winners of 2025 Morris Kaplan Caring & Sharing Award were Laura Phipps, a Fletcher police evidence custodian; Laurel Park Officer Dabrious Williams; State Highway Patrol Trooper Tyler L. Ervin; and Sylina Surrett Holbrook, records specialist with the Hendersonville Police Department.

Among Corn’s acts of quiet heroism was gathering and delivering firewood to an elderly resident without power during a cold snap; working with a relief agency to procure a camper for a Hickory Nut Gorge resident who had no shelter, and assisting with fire and rescue calls, a service “not traditionally within his job description,” the sheriff said. “Cpl. Corn remains assigned to Bat Cave and Gerton and continues to go above and beyond to assist in restoring these areas to a degree of normalcy by showing compassion, kindness and service above self.”

Corn and his wife, Hannah, have two children, Brayden and Makinsey. In church mission trips to Antigua, Guatemala and West Virginia, he has helped build homes, churches and hospitals. In his free time, he enjoys time with family, hunting and fishing.

Fletcher Police Chief Dan Terry acknowledges that until he brought on Laura Phipps, the department’s evidence storage was not as organized and airtight as it needed to be. A retired physician assistant with AdventHealth and a former medical director of Safelight, Phipps “has made a huge impact on operations” thanks to her organizational skill as evidence custodian, Terry said. Active in service agencies and social clubs, Phipps is married to Stan Phipps, a retired law officer from Florida and part-time investigator with Hendersonville police.

Laurel Park Patrol Officer Dabrious Williams is “the epitome of a community police officer,” Chief Bobbie Trotter said. “He not only responds to calls for service; he returns to the callers for follow-ups or just to check on them.” An eight-year law enforcement veterans, Williams was Rookie of the Year at the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office in 2018. He has been on the force in Laurel Park for a year and a half.

Working a 24-7 emergency like Hurricane Helene for days on end takes a toll on law officers, Hendersonville Police Chief Blair Myhand noted during the Kiwanis event. It may be subtle, but having a clean uniform makes a big difference. “While many were focused on emergency response, Sylina Holbrook quietly answered a different kind of call — ensuring our first responders had clean uniforms by providing laundry support when many officers lacked access to washers and dryers,” Capt. Kenny Hipps said in his nomination of Holbrook. “Her efforts contributed greatly to the well-being and readiness of those on the front lines.”

Holbrook also provided invaluable help by completing the FEMA forms needed for reimbursement of disaster-related patrol operations. “Her attention to detail and knowledge of these complex systems ensured the department was properly compensated and resources were preserved for future needs,” Hipps said, adding that Holbrook “represents the very best of what it means to serve others — quietly, faithfully and with a heart for the community.”

She and her husband, Scout, have two children, Evie, 19 and Cole, 15.

Trooper Tyler Ervin, a three-year veteran of the Highway Patrol, leads the Hendersonville-based division in total charges and DWI arrests and has received multiple commendations from the public for his service, Sgt. Michael Owens said. Ervin and his wife, Sarah, have two children, Waylon, 9, and Liberty, 5. A U.S. Air Force veteran, the trooper is a specialist in jujitsu and mixed martial arts.