More than 300 Agoura volunteers recognized at annual city ceremony




STEPHANIE BERTHOLDO/Acorn Newspapers TIME TO GIVE—Valerie Fox received special honors at the Agoura Hills Volunteer Recognition ceremony. She logged 187 volunteer hours last year with the Community Disaster Response Team.

STEPHANIE BERTHOLDO/Acorn Newspapers TIME TO GIVE—Valerie Fox received special honors at the Agoura Hills Volunteer Recognition ceremony. She logged 187 volunteer hours last year with the Community Disaster Response Team.


Volunteers are the heartbeat of the city.

On Feb. 11, Agoura Hills paid tribute to the more than 300 volunteers who donate thousands of hours of time and expertise to a wide range of city programs.

The 21st annual Volunteer Recognition ceremony was held at Agoura Hills City Hall.

Mayor Denis Weber said the city’s volunteer force “just gets bigger and better.” Volunteers, he said, range in age from 10 to 92.

“Everyone can make a difference in their community,” Weber said. “There is no way a city this size can do the things it does without volunteers.”

Twenty committees staffed by volunteers keep the city humming.

The Community Disaster Response Team comprises 47 members dedicated to helping the city’s residents in case of emergencies.

One of the biggest volunteer committees is responsible for organizing the annual Reyes Adobe Days. The team consists of 60 members and is rivaled in size by the 57-member Friends of the Agoura Hills Library.

One committee is a onewoman show—the Community Center Alliance, overseen by Joice Corridori.

The Tax Preparation Committee, manned by Tim Crosby, Herb Eckerling and Shelia Kaddor, offers tax prep help to seniors year after year.

A new volunteer committee started last year. The Volunteers on Patrol help Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station officers with their duties.

Valerie Fox, a CERT member, was named Member of the Year and received a commemorative plaque for her work in 2008. Fox logged 187 hours in training, meetings and community events. Weber said her specialty was “treatment and triage.”

“Volunteers are wonderful,” said Councilmember Harry Schwarz. “Without volunteers our programs would be nothing.”

Other committees honored this year included the Community Concert Band Board, the Community Center Joint Powers Authority, the General Plan Advisory Committee and the One City/One Book Committee, which is manned by teachers, librarians, students and other residents.

Seventeen docents that give their time to the Reyes Adobe Historical Site were also honored, as were the Senior Advisory Committee, Senior Program volunteers, Teen VIPs and the Tennis League coordinators.

Also recognized were the Architectural Review panel with its two members, Albert Croft and Garry Roller, and the Business Task Force, with nine members who work to help local businesses.

The five-member Planning Commission was also honored, as was the Agoura Hills City Council.

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