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Salute to Local Heroes is one of Club 33’s most popular programs of the year – and for good reason. Here are some remarks made by their presenters about this year’s honorees: citizens who put themselves in the line of danger for others; selfless acts of bravery; withstood one or two years of investigation and trial to insure perpetrators were convicted; made San Diego a safer place to live.
President Dick Troncone gaveled us to order inviting Chaplain Norman Carey of the Sheriff’s Department to present the invocation. The Colors were presented by the San Diego Police Department Color Guard; the Pledge led by Sheriff Explorer Kyle Brangwynne; and Gary Hassen of the SDPD, a Club 33 favorite, beautifully sang our National Anthem.
As sponsor Ben Clay watched from the dais, new member Keith Jones of Ace Parking introduced himself. Keith maintains a family tradition of Club 33 Rotarians following his grandfather, the late Evan Jones, his other grandfather, Malin Burnham, and his father, Scott. Ed Ecker traded his red badge for a blue one. Braden Riley Fletcher will soon be dining from a silver spoon as grandfather, Bob Fletcher, proudly announced the baby’s birth. Amnon Ben-Yehuda introduced several Rotarians from other clubs who serve on the District’s Don’t Wait Vaccinate Committee. He then brought to the microphone two young women from Hoover High who, along with their colleagues in the audience, had created immunization awareness programs at Hoover.
Tom Blair credited Jim Fitzpatrick for the original creation of San Diego Magazine’s Charitable Events Registry, and Joyce Glazer for help producing the current issue. Tom, however, solely took a fine for its distribution at our tables. Linda Stirling was next in fine line for pitching her company’s upcoming two 2010 Financial Outlook presentations. Interested in attending? Contact Linda.
The ever effervescent Bob Arnhym took command of the podium and gave an unsuspecting Mississippi Rotarian a bottle of wine and a “re-gifted” ball cap from Air Force One. We then met this year’s Local Hero honorees. Sheriff Bill Gore presented Eric Sturhann with the Courageous Citizen presentation. Eric, the manager of a Poway bank, experienced a bank robbery and followed the suspects in his personal car. He alerted deputies of his surveillance and the bad guys were captured, pled guilty, and are off the streets.
District Attorney, Bonnie Dumanis, told us of the brave acts of Blake Stech. A woman was being robbed and assaulted by two men. Blake never hesitated in coming to her aid. “I thought she was on the verge of death and knew I could help.” He chased the assailants despite their attempts to assault him. His testimony led to a conviction and the victim made a full recovery. D.A. Dumanis next honored Julio M. This star witness testified against vicious gang members in the execution of a police officer. Despite fear of retaliation during the two years of investigation and trial, Julio remained steadfast in his cooperation and testimony. The defendants were convicted and will never see freedom again.
Last year crime in the City of San Diego was down over 17%. San Diego Police Chief Bill Landsdowne credits that to his SDPD team and average citizens like those we honored this week. They “exemplify the spirit of what America is all about.” We met two more individuals who truly meet that test. Maurice Orange, who has a 7th degree Black Belt, was leaving his martial arts studio when he came to the aid of a robbery victim. He chased the hapless suspect for several blocks, put him in a head lock, and waited for ten minutes for police to arrive. Needless to say, the victim did not get away. Our next honoree, Christina Hennigan, was attacked in her garage by a suspect in six home invasion robberies/sexual assaults. She decided she wasn’t going to be a victim and fought back. The suspect punched her in the face as Christina, a marathon runner, chased him in pursuit. An off-duty Border Patrol agent heard her screams and held the suspect for police. WOW!
Every year we also honor a group or organization that has made an extraordinary effort in the area of crime prevention. This year we recognized the San Diego Regional Fraud Task Force for its very successful “Operation Bank Gig,” an unprecedented multi-agency operation involving the U.S. Secret Service, SDPD Gang detectives, SD District Attorney Investigators, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Navy Federal Credit Union, and California Attorney General’s office. It was the first time a violent street gang had been targeted for its involvement in a complex bank fraud. Sixty defendants were indicted by a Grand Jury on more than 340 felony accounts including conspiracy, grand theft, money laundering, forgery and burglary. Accepting the award was U. S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Gregory Meyer. We can all rest more easily knowing we’re in the excellent hands of our outstanding law enforcement agencies and so many courageous local heroes.
Our program, this week at the Town & Country, concluded with a touching eulogy for Alan Comstock presented by Girl Scout leader Jo Dee Jacob.
Editor of the Day: Patti Roscoe
Photography by Mike Conner
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