When Hurricane Irene was predicted to make landfall along the Northeastern Coast in August 2011, Jeff Ruggiero went into action mode – which is really just about the only mode for the commu-nity's über multitasker. And, oh yeah, he runs his own septic service and portable sanitation business, too – Best Septic in Westminster, Vt.

Ruggiero's community service and willingness to go many extra miles – both literally and figuratively – earned him the 2011 Person of the Year award from the Great Falls Regional Chamber of Commerce.

While Ruggiero, 47, isn't one to seek accolades, he is definitely proud of all the work he does for his community.

"I put a lot of heart and soul into the town and into my business in general," says Ruggiero, a former town board of trustees selectman for Westminster, a village of about 3,300. He also has served for more than 25 years on the town's volunteer fire department, currently as safety officer/captain, working with the chief and deputies to ensure the operations run smoothly.

"It's a very close-knit community," he adds. "When we have a fire call, neighbors that are not even part of the fire department help ... they run errands, they bring us food ... you've got to see it to believe it."

His modesty notwithstanding, Ruggiero's actions were nothing short of miraculous – working as part of a team that saved several lives after homes and trailers were destroyed in heavy flooding in Irene's wake.

FLOOD AND FURY

When heavy rains and flooding were predicted days in advance, Ruggiero readied his business, knowing residents would likely need portable sanitation services. "I figured people would need it if their leach fields flooded," he says. "But I didn't know (the storm) would wash out people's houses."

Ruggiero drove seven hours to a PolyPortables Inc. distributor in New York to get 20 restrooms (to add to his fleet of 100 PolyPortables Integra models).

By the time it hit Vermont, Irene was downgraded from hurricane to tropical storm, but it still ravaged the village – located inland, not far from the Connecticut River. Flooding began in the middle of the night, Ruggiero recalls, as he was driving home with the restrooms – and anticipating a much-needed nap. That nap never came.

"It was pretty much a 24-hour, nonstop marathon," he says. "I had planned to go home and sleep. I slept only three hours and started getting calls from the fire department.

The mountainous, rural area doesn't flood often, Ruggiero notes, but to let the water through, teams opened the dams north of the region. "We've had flooding (before), but nothing like that," he says. "This is the worst I've ever seen."

For the next 24 hours, Ruggiero handled fire department emergencies while his wife, Lisa; their sons Cris, 20, and Justin, 16; and Best Septic employee Brenda Barbour took care of business, delivering units to those in need. His brothers delivered containers from the family's waste management company, Ruggiero's Trash.

To aid rescue efforts, the Westminster Fire Department was joined by battalions from the nearby communities of Saxton River and Bellows Falls – all working to send out lifelines to rescue families from the rising waters. First, the department saved two people whose trailer had washed away, and then they reached another person trapped in a home surrounded by floodwaters.

"When we had the back-to-back rescues, the water was just coming so fast and rising so high, we just had to keep focused. You have a lot of people helping you; it's really  something cool to be a part of," he says.

Ruggiero and his fire crew worked for more than a month cleaning up the village and roads. But he says Best Septic – amid the waste management, septic services and portable sanitation departments – spent nearly three months getting the village and surrounding regions back to normal.

A BIG HONOR

As much as Ruggiero enjoys his volunteerism and community service, a priority, of course, is his day job at Best Septic. The company, founded a decade ago, owns more than 100 restrooms and hand-wash stations from PolyPortables. Their truck fleet includes a 1990 Ford L8000 with 2,500-gallon steel tank; a 2003 Ford F-450 with a 500-gallon waste/300-gallon freshwater steel tank, and a 2003 Ford F-350 with a 200-gallon waste/100-gallon freshwater aluminum tank. All trucks were built by Imperial Industries Inc. and use National Vacuum Equipment pumps.

The most recent additions to the fleet include a 2003 Western Star dump truck, a John Deere bucket loader and a John Deere 160 excavator.

Ruggiero was attending the 2012 Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo International when buddies back home called him to say he was nominated as Person of the Year. Usually, four or five people are nominated from the 14 communities the Chamber represents.

Students in a local high school class read the nomination papers, considering the nominees' accomplishments as detailed in an essay. Their decision is based on a blind process, where names and identifying information is unknown to the judges.

This year, however, according to Great Falls Regional Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Roger Riccio, the class was deadlocked on two nominees. So for the first time in 30 years, the final vote landed with the Chamber's board of directors, which decided Ruggiero and another nominee would share the award.

Ruggiero was nominated by Barbour, a longtime family friend who has worked for Best Septic for two years.

"Jeff has a lot of compassion for people and their situations," Barbour says. "He is always willing to help make an event happen if it is for the people or kids in the community.

"He's not just a firefighter; he also helps with fire education at the school, he runs the big ladder tower and the kids get to go up in it; he's excellent with kids, so patient and understanding; they just love him.

"You'll always find Jeff behind the scenes ... going above and beyond to make sure fundraisers work well. In the time that I've known Jeff and Lisa, I just don't know anyone who does as much," Barbour says.

SHARES AWARD WITH OTHERS

Ruggiero may have been surprised by the nomination, but he says he was "speechless" when he won. "I wasn't expecting to get it," he says. "In this community, this is a very, very big award."

But as much as Ruggiero devotes his life to his community – on and off the job – he is the first to credit others. "When they gave me (the award), I told everyone, it was for them – it was everyone."

Ruggiero credits his parents with his passion for volunteering. "I think I got that from my mother and father," he says. "My father was involved with businesses his whole life, and he did a lot of functions with chambers of commerce. I really liked going with him. I love people; I love getting involved."

It may seem like there aren't enough hours in the day for Ruggiero to fit anything else in, but he hopes to get more involved with the village's selectmen again in the future, as well as heighten awareness about recycling in and around Westminster.

Ruggiero is quick to reflect the honor he received on others.

"What drives me is the community itself. I enjoy the people; they're just so supportive," he says.