|
Imperial County Sheriff's Lt. Charlie Lucas (left), Ramses Cavares and Iave Flores-Gallegos serve up food during the Sheriff's Volunteers annual barbecue Sunday in the Casa De Manana building at the Imperial Valley Expo in Imperial. (DENNIS JACOBELLI PHOTO / September 30, 2012) |
IMPERIAL — The 22nd annual Imperial County Sheriff’s Volunteer Service Organization’s annual pit barbecue dinner drew hundreds of hungry, happy people in support of an integral service to the department Sunday at the Imperial Valley Expo.
Proceeds from the event go to the Sheriff’s Office’s six varieties of volunteer activities including the Imperial County Reserve Unit, Explorer Post No. 500, Activities League, Aero Squadron, Mounted Posse and the De Anza Rescue Unit Inc.
More than 4,500 pounds of beef were donated from the community to the event, and around noon, Imperial County Sheriff Ray Loera said he was positive that it would “all be gone by the end of the day.”
Various businesses also donated door prizes to be raffled off at the event, which filled the Casa de Mañana building at the Expo.
“It shows me that there’s a lot of support from the public. They recognize the good,” Loera said.
Friends and families from all around the Valley streamed in and out of the event Sunday with many walking out carrying multiple sacks of barbecue plates. Others hung around inside, enjoying music and the company of others.
The Sheriff’s Office has about 100 volunteers of all ages and all walks of life, and they provide various services including search and rescue, extra patrol, aerial searches and more. However, they all are integral to the Sheriff’s Office, ICSO Senior Deputy and Volunteer Liaison Yvonne Naud said.
Many volunteers are specialty trained and a “good resource for us” to include those skill sets in the work the Sheriff’s Office does around the county. The fundraiser Sunday is the single-largest fundraiser for the volunteers and helps offset the costs of their services.
ICSO Senior Deputy and Explorer Post Coordinator Andrew J. Lowenthal said ICSO volunteers are a “huge asset” who also often have a lot of fun in their experience.
The youths ages 14 to 21 in the Explorer program get a hands-on idea of what it would be like to work in law enforcement as they shadow actual deputies out in the field.
ICSO Explorers also have a parents’ auxiliary program so the volunteer involvement usually becomes a family affair as well, Lowenthal explained.
“These folks involved in the program as volunteers give their volunteer time and resources that in turn taxpayers don’t have to pay for,” he said. “It facilitates the mission of the Sheriff’s Office and the people of Imperial County.”
The money raised Sunday will get divided among the different volunteer programs to pay for much-needed equipment, training and alleviate budget pressure on day-to-day operations that go on 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Visit the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office Web site at http://icso.org/ for more information on how to volunteer.
Staff Writer Chelcey Adami can be reached at 760-337-3452 or cadami@ivpressonline.com
To join the discussion and add your comments to this story, please click here to be directed to Facebook.
Proceeds from the event go to the Sheriff’s Office’s six varieties of volunteer activities including the Imperial County Reserve Unit, Explorer Post No. 500, Activities League, Aero Squadron, Mounted Posse and the De Anza Rescue Unit Inc.
More than 4,500 pounds of beef were donated from the community to the event, and around noon, Imperial County Sheriff Ray Loera said he was positive that it would “all be gone by the end of the day.”
Various businesses also donated door prizes to be raffled off at the event, which filled the Casa de Mañana building at the Expo.
“It shows me that there’s a lot of support from the public. They recognize the good,” Loera said.
Friends and families from all around the Valley streamed in and out of the event Sunday with many walking out carrying multiple sacks of barbecue plates. Others hung around inside, enjoying music and the company of others.
The Sheriff’s Office has about 100 volunteers of all ages and all walks of life, and they provide various services including search and rescue, extra patrol, aerial searches and more. However, they all are integral to the Sheriff’s Office, ICSO Senior Deputy and Volunteer Liaison Yvonne Naud said.
Many volunteers are specialty trained and a “good resource for us” to include those skill sets in the work the Sheriff’s Office does around the county. The fundraiser Sunday is the single-largest fundraiser for the volunteers and helps offset the costs of their services.
ICSO Senior Deputy and Explorer Post Coordinator Andrew J. Lowenthal said ICSO volunteers are a “huge asset” who also often have a lot of fun in their experience.
The youths ages 14 to 21 in the Explorer program get a hands-on idea of what it would be like to work in law enforcement as they shadow actual deputies out in the field.
ICSO Explorers also have a parents’ auxiliary program so the volunteer involvement usually becomes a family affair as well, Lowenthal explained.
“These folks involved in the program as volunteers give their volunteer time and resources that in turn taxpayers don’t have to pay for,” he said. “It facilitates the mission of the Sheriff’s Office and the people of Imperial County.”
The money raised Sunday will get divided among the different volunteer programs to pay for much-needed equipment, training and alleviate budget pressure on day-to-day operations that go on 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Visit the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office Web site at http://icso.org/ for more information on how to volunteer.
Staff Writer Chelcey Adami can be reached at 760-337-3452 or cadami@ivpressonline.com
To join the discussion and add your comments to this story, please click here to be directed to Facebook.
