GREENWICH When the David N. Theis Award was created last year, it was done to honor those with a lifetime of commitment to public service.

Terry Betteridge fits that description with ease.

Betteridge was presented with the award Thursday night at Tamarack Country Club by the Glenville Volunteer Fire Company. The town native and owner of Betteridge Jewelers on Greenwich Avenue, Betteridge was credited for his decades of giving back with donations and as a volunteer.

“Terry is someone who is particularly generous in our town,” Susan Bevan, a movie producer, resident and a major supporter of the fire company, said. “I think I’ve worked on dozens of benefits and different charity events and Terry always says ‘yes.’ It’s a wonderful thing and he deserves this accolade very much.”

Betteridge said he was honored.

“I love my town and I want it to be exceptional,” Betteridge said. “I really think it already is. What town has been that blessed with so many people who have given it so much?”

Betteridge, who has a degree in ecology, is a longtime volunteer with town conservation projects and volunteers with the Greenwich Boy Scouts.

As part of the award, Betteridge was presented with a Glenville Volunteer Fire Company vest and badge. The inaugural winner of the award, State Rep. Livvy Floren (R-149th) was among those praising Betteridge.

“Whenever a benefit fundraiser is planned by PTAs or philanthropies, black ties or bazaars, galas or golf outings, Terry Betteridge is always the first person contacted,” Floren said. “His universal reply is, ‘Sure. Happy to help. What do you need? What can I do?’ He cares and he shares.”

First Selectman Peter Tesei and State Sen. L. Scott Frantz (R-36th) thanked Betteridge for his contributions. Frantz said he was amazed that Betteridge was somehow able to “shoehorn in 36 hours in a 24 hour day” and praised him for volunteering without fanfare or publicity.

Betteridge was also presented with a certificate of merit signed by U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).

The fire company began the award as a tribute to Theis, a longtime town volunteer and selectman who died suddenly in 2014. Floren paid tribute to Theis in her remarks, as did many others.

“David Theis has done in death what he always did in life, he has brought our community together,” Floren said. “There is an African proverb that states, ‘A good name shines on forever.’ Dedicating this annual award to him is indeed appropriate. Even Dave’s middle name shines. The N stands for Noble.”

Both Floren and Theis’ longtime partner Kerrin Coyle were presented with flowers by the Glenville Volunteer Fire Company.

“David was a hero to an awful lot of us,” Betteridge said. “He was a really great guy who cared about his town and took on the responsibility of being a selectman even though it is an awful lot of thankless work. He worked for so many different organizations and he just didn’t stop. To be mentioned alongside him is really flattering.”

The event was also a fundraiser for the volunteer fire company. Police Chief James Heavey, a member of the Volunteer Fire Company who served as master of ceremonies, said the company went on 1,025 calls last year and is dependent on community support.

There was both a live and silent auction at the event and, since volunteer firefighters are largely responsible for their own equipment, people were able to make donations to cover needed equipment.

The main goal of the company’s fund-raiser remains, as it did last year, raising enough money to purchase a brush truck, which would help firefighters respond to brush fires in heavily wooded areas like Glenville.

“It’s sort of like a mini pumper that can use four wheel drive and get into areas like the Audubon or the Boy Scout camp, all the places where a full size fire truck might not be able to fit,” Heavey said. “It can respond when we have a brush fire and, with our water shortage now, this is one of those things that’s even more important. This isn’t just for Greenwich. It’s for the entire town of Greenwich.”

More information about donating is online at http://www.glenvillefire.org along with chances to volunteer with the company.

kborsuk@scni.com