NEW YORK: Dignitaries and community leaders honored seven of Santa Clarita Valley’s “unsung heroes” Thursday during at the second SCV Community Volunteer Recognition Luncheon hosted by the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce.
Seven people who volunteer at various organizations in the valley were honored for their countless hours of community work. About 200 people were on hand for the event.
Each of the honorees were nominated by an individual or organization and selected because the public has “never heard of them,” said Terri Crain, president and chief executive officer of the SCV Chamber of Commerce.
“We seek out volunteers you never heard about,” Crain said. “These are unsung heroes, people that are off the radar,” Crain said.
Among Thursday’s honorees were Tim and Ana Bomberger, who spend their days volunteering for SRD Straightening Reins, an equine-assisted therapeutic nonprofit that serves teenagers.
The couple said they were unaware they had been nominated for the award until they received an email from SRD Straightening Reins’ founder Deborah Rocha.
“We are obviously very appreciative,” Ana Bomberger said. “We’re not usually in the public eye, but we’re very happy to be honored.”
The couple began volunteering for the horseback riding organization two years ago, Tim Bomberger said.
At Thursday’s ceremony, Rocha told the crowd of the Bombergers’ work with her organization, describing them as “amazing role models.”
Rachelle Dardeau, executive director of the Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center, helped honor Earle “Rusty” Moore, who spends his Tuesdays and Thursdays checking up on seniors who are housebound. Dardeau said the center can usually count on the 88-year-old, despite his being visually impaired.
In fact, he can always be seen “with a white cane, cowboy hat, and a smile on his face,” she said. “Often time, he’s (homebound seniors’) lifeline to the outside world.”
Ralph and Laurie Wagner, coaches with the American Youth Soccer Organization, were nominated by Kelly Robinson of American Business Machines in Valencia because of the many hats the Wagners wear for the youth soccer organization in Canyon Country, Robinson said.
The couple began coaching when officials told them there were no available teams for their children to join several years ago, Robinson said.
“They have provided for more than a decade a way for thousands and thousands of soccer players to play the most beautiful sport of keep-away ever invented,” Robinson said of the Wagners.
Pegah Hunt, a member of the Bridgeport Elementary School PTA, and Sandra Manning, a volunteer with the Santa Clarita Valley Child & Family Center, rounded out the list of honorees.
Keynote speaker Maria Strmsek, director of volunteer services at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, thanked the volunteers for their service to the community.
“Volunteers do brighten the world in so many ways,” Strmsek said. “I congratulate all of the nominees here today for all the wonderful changes they are making in the world today.”
Before the ceremony began, attendees held a moment of silence for longtime Santa Clarita Valley resident and volunteer Duane Harte, who died Nov. 23 of a heart attack. Harte served as chairman of the Santa Clarita Parks, Recreation and Community Services Commission.
