The South Edition Suburban Journal is starting 2012 by honoring four people who are committed to helping their communities.

The recipients are involved in the community in different ways. However, they all share a common desire to make South County and St. Louis City stronger and more vibrant communities.

The 2012 honorees are Tom and Deanna Broadwell, Michael Petetit, Jim Williams and Jean Woodard.

Tom and Deanna Broadwell

Spreading the joy of food

Some people looked at a vacant parking lot and saw empty space. Crestwood residents Tom and Deanna Broadwell saw a chance for people to enjoy food.

The Broadwells, who own the Papa Tom's Gateway Dog House food truck, helped organize the first Art Feast on Oct. 22 at Crestwood Court. They and cooks from eight other food trucks parked in a half circle, bringing a wide variety of foods.

Art Feast was a success, drawing hundreds of people. It was such a success that Crestwood Court hosted Art Feasts in November and December.

In conjunction, artists from Crestwood Court ArtSpace set up booths to sell their crafts and pieces of work.

For the Broadwells, the two disciplines working side-by-side just seemed natural.

"Cooking and art are both creative," Tom Broadwell, 40, said. "The (Crestwood Court) management was down with the idea and got it going."

Papa Tom's food also is creative. These are not hot dogs or bratwursts with just a swipe of mustard. The menu offers interesting combinations. One item is the Blue Apple Brat, which consists of a bratwurst topped with crispy bacon, crumbled blue cheese, fire-roasted Fuji apples and sage honey on a fresh bun.

Art Feast also was a chance for county residents to participate in the food truck experience. Many of the food trucks work primarily in St. Louis.

"This was a chance for all of us to get out and serve food in some new spots," he said. "Hopefully, people had a positive experience and enjoyed themselves."

The Broadwells, who have been married for 14 years, also use their business to collect food to give to area food banks. They also had a coat drive during the November Art Feast.

"It's a chance to help some people," Broadwell said.

Michael Petetit

Fighting back against crime

Michael Petetit has become a bit of an expert on St. Louis crime.

During the past year, he has visited 26 neighborhoods to talk about the Neighborhood Ownership Model. It is a way for residents, police and prosecutors to lower the crime rate.

"There is no cavalry that will come to the rescue anymore," Petetit, 56, said. "We all have to become involved against crime. It's just that simple."

The Neighborhood Ownership Model has seven basic components: citizens on patrol; Neighborhood Orders of Protection issued by judges to prohibit criminals from returning to the neighborhood; impact statement letters for sentencing; victims making court appearances; victim support; neighborhood liaison police officers; and neighborhood police substations, which are funded by the neighborhood.

The model has been adopted by the offices of St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, Petetit said. Sixteen neighborhoods are adopting it with another 10 looking at it.

Petetit talks to neighborhood associations on his own time. He got involved fighting crime in November 2009. As a Lafayette Square resident, he was concerned by a large number of burglaries, car break-ins and robberies.

Petetit started the Lafayette Square Safety Committee, enlisting residents.

"I live and work in Lafayette Square," he said. "It was like enough was enough."

Since then, the committee has been disbanded and replaced with the Neighborhood Ownership Model.

He grew up in Kansas City. He believes that helps him when talking to St. Louis neighborhoods.

"I don't have any kind of baggage about where I grew up or what high school I went to," Petetit said. "I bring an outsider's view of things."

Jim Williams

Helping feed the hungry

Blame the Iraq War on Jim Williams' involvement in the St. Louis Area Council of Boys Scout's annual Scouting for Food Drive.

The Scouts collect food from donors across the St. Louis region. The donations then are taken to more than 30 fire houses as drop-off points.

For years, the U.S. Army Reserves then picked up and transported the food to the St. Louis Area Food Bank.

But when the Iraqi War started in 2003, the Reserve units were called to duty.

Williams, owner of Sunset Transportation, then volunteered his company to arrange transportation of the food. That was nine years ago and the company still does it.

"It's something we like to do," Williams, 59, said. "The Boy Scouts needed help and we were glad to step in."

Sunset Transportation is a logistics company, arranging transportation for products to move around the country. For Scouting for Food, Williams and his staff called different trucking companies and asked them to volunteer their services.

For the 2011 food drive, Sunset Transportation arranged for 53 trucks to move 1.8 million cans and boxes of food.

"They've all done a great job," he said. "Some of them are paying their drivers out of their own pockets. The important thing is that the food gets out to the people that need it."

Scouting for Food took place Nov. 19, just in time for Thanksgiving. The St. Louis Area Food Bank then distributed the food to more than 150 food pantries in the region.

Williams is now on the board of directors of the St. Louis Area Council of Boy Scouts. He dreams of Scouting for Food going nationwide, even to the point of friendly competition between cities.

"Can you see St. Louis competing against Atlanta?" he said. "I think it would be great."

The Sunset Hills resident also is busy helping his city. Williams paid to mount the now tattered flag that flew at Watson Trail Park when it was hit by the tornado on Dec. 31, 2010. The flag hangs on the wall at the Sunset Hills Community Center.

His wife, Betty, was driving on West Watson Road near the park when the tornado hit.

"A tree fell on the car," he said. "She was lucky, because it landed on the back end."

Jean Woodard

Senior citizen volunteer at hospital

Jean Woodard may be 91 years old, but she isn't letting that stop her from helping people.

A registered nurse, she has volunteered for 15 years at the St. Anthony Medical Center Emergency Room. Woodard doesn't take part in any medical procedures, but she is ready to hand out some "tender loving care."

"People come into the ER and they're scared and confused," she said. "Their relatives want to know what's going on. I'll talk to them, try to help reassure them that everything is going to be all right."

Her experience as a nurse is a bonus. She understands what the doctors and nurses are doing with the patients.

The South County resident was a bit of a late bloomer when it came to her career.

For years, she was a stay-at-home mother in Florissant, taking care of her family. Then in 1973, with the children growing older, she went back to school. She attended the nursing program at St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley and went on to become a registered nurse.

Woodard worked on a part-time basis for years before retiring. Then, her husband died in 1996.

"That's when I started volunteering at St. Anthony," she said. "I wanted to be useful to people."

When she joined as a volunteer, there were 12 other people in the program. Now, there are just two people left from her original group.

Besides her volunteer work, she stays busy with her family, which includes three children, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

"And I also stay busy with five cats," said Woodard with a laugh.