Por Margie M. Palmer

At its eighth annual “Salute to Local Heroes Gala,” La Mesa Chamber of Commerce honored seven local residents for their service to the community.

The Mardi Gras-themed event was held Feb. 24 at the Town and Country Resort & Convention Center in Mission Valley.

Although the Chamber of Commerce organizes the event, deciding who the awardees are is up to the departments where they work.

“I think we take it for granted that when we call 911, someone will be there,” Chamber of Commerce President Mary England said. “So it’s nice to give a face to that service.”

Although the chamber hosts the event, it does not pick the recipients of the honor. Each year a letter goes to the Police Chief, the Fire Chief and American Medical Response (AMR). La Mesa Police Department nominates two officers or people from that organization along with two Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol folks; the Fire Chief selects one person from the fire organization and AMR provides the names of two others from their organization.

During the evening, the Police Chief, the Fire Chief and a representative from AMR took the stage with their respective heroes to talk about why they were selected to receive this award.

“The will do anything to make La Mesa a safer placed to live, work and play,” Police Chief Walt Vasquz said of the seven heroes honored at the event.

This year’s honorees included: (from AMR) paramedics Jon Alva and Robert Ivery; (from La Mesa Fire Department) Capt. Dave Hardenburger; (from La Mesa Police Department) Det. Bucky Wright and Master Officer Lillie Chase; and (from RSVP) volunteers Ray Rendina and Nonie Beach.

Paramedic Jon Alva has been serving the citizens of East County and La Mesa for more than three years. Last year he and his partner responded to a dispatch call reporting a critically injured motorcyclist. Alva’s communication and clinical skills kept the motorcyclist alive.

Paramedic Robert Ivery has been serving patients in La Mesa and East County since the early 1980s. Throughout his tenure he has inspired many caregivers and students throughout East County and he treats each student and patient with kindness and respect. Ivery is well-respected by the community of La Mesa and by his peers at AMR.

Fire Capt. Dave Hardenburger is a 20-plus-year veteran of the fire service who has been with the LMFD since 1998. He was honored for his “instinctual awareness” that led to him saving a child who was choking on a grape, Fire Chief Rick Sitta said.

“When you get the child call, that really get’s your gears going,” Sitta said.

Det. Bucky Wright has been with the LMPD for seven and a half years. Wright made 63 arrests involving sales and possession of narcotics, wanted fugitives, robbery, burglary, assaults and identity theft suspects in the past year alone. He also represents the LMPD by working with the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Apprehensive Team.

Master Officer Lillie Chase has been with the LMPD for nine years. In Oct. 2015, Chase and her partner were dispatched to a report of a suicidal female who was attempting to jump off a bridge. Using the element of surprise, Chase reached through the concrete bars of the guardrail and grabbed the female around her chest. She, her partner and a citizen were eventually able to pull the female to safety.

RSVP Ray Rendina has been with the agency since Feb. 1998 and since that time he has volunteered more than 5,100 hours. Because he is so dependable and always has a “can do” attitude, Ray is one of the favorite volunteers among the dispatchers.

RSVP Nonie Beach also joined the agency in February 1988 and she’s volunteered over 4,000 hours of her time. In addition to being part of the RSVP Color Guard, she’s always been diligent in performing her duties. Her 18 years of service have made her a valuable team member within the LMPD.

– Margie Palmer is a San Diego-based freelance writer who has been racking up bylines in a myriad of news publications for the past 10 years. You can write to her at [email protected].