Twelve years of volunteerism were celebrated at RSVP’s 145th monthly luncheon meeting recently. The meeting was dedicated to Bob Smith, founder and former leader.

Administrator Marie Graver said, "All of us in the office have missed Bob very much. He was a presence and a leader like none other."

Tributes of all sorts have been paid to the Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol and the good work they have done in Rancho Bernardo.

They are keeping watch on your homes while you’re away, visiting you or your loved ones’ homes on a daily or weekly basis, cruising retail and bank parking lots, driving by schools, playgrounds and parks at after-school hours, giving out handicapped parking violations, fingerprinting at the Northeastern substation, handling traffic detail when necessary, observing and checking speed monitors, and let’s not forget McGruff, the wise (old?) dog who knows and cares about children’s safety.

But, McGruff needs your help. The police department’s free presentation is called "Stranger Danger" and is carefully scripted not to frighten the listeners. Officer McGruff has already spoken to more than 34,000 children over the last ten years. The team also frequently fingerprints the children. Channel 10 awarded McGruff a Leadership Award several years ago.

The team loves working with children. Their goal is to help kids make smart decisions and to stay as safe as possible. The team believes that if their efforts keep only ONE child from harm, all their work will have been worthwhile.

The SDPD no longer can afford supplies for the McGruff team, and supplies are running low. Brochures for the parents and fingerprint cards for the children cost about $450 a year.

If you have an extra $5, $10 or $20, McGruff would be very proud to have you sponsor a portion of his supplies. Merv Adams, team leader, reminds you that all contributions are tax deductible.

Checks can be made to the RB Foundation with "McGruff" listed in memo and sent to Officer McGruff, c/o RSVP, 17110 Bernardo Center Drive, San Diego, CA 92128-2002.

At recent monthly meetings, a number of new nametags were handed out with the number of "stars" equivalent to the number of years served: TWELVE stars to Jim Artherton and Frank Terschan; SIX stars, Dick Perry and Barbara Athans; THREE stars to Toni Van Overmeiren; TWO stars, Ben Secor and Phil Bridgham.

Norm Murkoff and John Dussault were given Certificates of Appreciation for their quick, intelligent help to a YANA (You Are Not Alone) participant whom they found in diabetic distress during a scheduled visit. They rushed to give him juice which he said saved his life.

Jim Artherton and Stan Gingold, who are retiring this month, received Distinguished Service Award plaques. Jim was an Assistant Administrator and has relocated to Omaha; Stan was a co-founder of the award-winning McGruff Team and "put on the dog" for most of the 34,800 children the team visited.

Want to become a member of RSVP? Are you 50, retired, have a valid CA driver’s license and able to pass a SDPD background check? You are needed. Call Marie Graver, administrator, at 538-8146.

All in all, over 242,000, hours of RSVP volunteer activity have been contributed to Rancho Bernardo since June 1992. Their statistics are posted every month on www.RBernardo.com/ We thank these 60 dedicated seniors.