Mayor James White Named Citizen of the Year

Many thanks to the Maplewood Chamber of Commerce for sharing this information with the community. Have some news to share? E-mail editor Ryan Martin at ryan.martin@patch.com.

The Citizen of the Year Award was awarded to Maplewood Mayor James White. Mayor White grew up in and has continued to reside here all of his life. After spending 30 years as a St. Louis County police officer, he served 10 years as Maplewood's police chief, for which his daughter described as “a dream come true”. As chief of police, White is credited with improving the professionalism of the department and making operational changes that ensured officers had the proper equipment.

After retiring as chief, White continued his public service efforts by running for mayor of Maplewood for which he ran unopposed. As mayor, he has worked to bring greater visibility to area nonprofits and shows strong support for initiatives that create neighborhood ties, such as the block party events. White is active within the business community in attending and taking part in ribbon cuttings, attending networking events and being available to business owners and community leaders.

Mayor White and his wife Lucy raised five children here in Maplewood. They can be found around town attending and supporting community events such as the Summer Concert Series, , and the . They are actively involved at their church, , where they volunteer many hours.

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