RB Community Watch by Jacquie Nelson

Ralph Stewart will be honored on February 7
On Friday, February 7, Rancho Bernardo Neighborhood Watch and Emergency Preparedness will hold its 4^th Annual Recognition Dinner at Eastview Community Center. Among the guests will be past recipients of volunteer awards, who are still very active, as well as ten new recipients being honored for their volunteer work in 2002.

For the first time, NHW/EPP is awarding a Distinguished Service Leadership Award to a person who is not a Director or Coordinator of the two programs. Ralph Stewart has been thinking big and "out of the box" since he joined the group. In 1999 he initiated and helped organize the Spirit of the Fourth Giant Raffle; he was indefatigable in gathering prizes from our local merchants, retailers, banks and other institutions for the raffle, which raised much-needed funds for the organizations.

Although the 2000 "Frankie Laine in Concert" was cancelled at the last minute because of Laine’s illness, Stewart conceived the idea as a fundraiser, arranged the venue, sold tickets and had the program designed and written.

Since then Stewart has been going to the Police substation in Penasquitos every two weeks to write up the details on all the RB crimes, which are published monthly by NHW. This is the first time details have ever been published. He sits on the NHW/EPP Board of Advisors which meets six times a year.

He heads up the Emergency Preparedness Program in Seven Oaks, which started with just a few people and now has over 25. They have meetings once a month, full emergency Exercises at least four times a year, and have been successful in obtaining a defibrillator and have taken classes in learning to operate it.

He is now working on God Bless America Week, which has been approved and applauded by the SD City Council, Board of Supervisors and other agencies. If that is not enough, he always supplies the door prizes from merchants for this Annual Recognition Party. All this at the age of 87!

Recipients of the 2002 Annual Distinguished Service Awards are:

Leine Williams and Anne Le Reverend from Camino Bernardo have been chosen for their great work in organizing the first ever Neighborhood Watch.

Al Young and Raul Garcia are recipients from the Oaks North area. Young is a new block captain in the Villas and has spend much time delivering information to his 40 neighbors on a monthly basis. Garcia is the top communications (Citizens’ Band radio) man in the Emergency Preparedness Program.

Seven Oaks residents Jack Barrett, Peter Berkos and John Hoaglin are all part of the highly organized and successful Emergency Preparedness team under the leadership of Ralph Stewart.

Fay Schroeder is an active worker and Area Coordinator in Neighborhood Watch in High Country West.

Nancy Engstrom and Stan Speer both live in the Swim and Tennis district of RB. Engstrom is an Area Coordinator and Speer is a proactive Block Captain.

Neighborhood Watch and Emergency Preparedness honors these hard working volunteers, and would like to hear from anyone interested in joining this great group. Just call 538-8148 for further information.

Courtesy RB NEWSJournal
January 23, 2003