Westlake volunteers get their just rewards





WINNERS IN THE JACKET BRACKET—Members of the Westlake Village Disaster Response Team receive a big thank you from the city at a Feb. 25 volunteer recognition program.

WINNERS IN THE JACKET BRACKET—Members of the Westlake Village Disaster Response Team receive a big thank you from the city at a Feb. 25 volunteer recognition program.

For more than two decades, Debby Gustafson, a founding member of the Disaster Response Team in Westlake Village, has been helping others help themselves and their neighbors.

She recently retired from the all-volunteer emergency preparedness group but continues to assist the city as a community preservation officer and the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station as a member of the Disaster Communications Service.

Gustafson was one of 71 people who were honored by the Westlake Village City Council Feb. 22 for their contributions and commitment to the improvement of the community.

The recognition of individuals, who serve on nine committees and groups, began with a reception in the City Hall community room and continued in the council chambers, where city officials called each person to the dais to thank them for their contributions to the city throughout 2016.

Honorees included members of Volunteers in Policing, the Cultural Recreation Advisory Board and the Westlake Village Community Foundation.

This past year, the volunteers contributed 3,400 hours of community service.

“They are the framework of the community and backbone of the city. They are the residents who want to make a difference one act at a time,” Mayor Brad Halpern said, adding that their contributions help make Westlake Village an “absolute pleasure to work in.”

“Volunteers do not get paid. It’s not because they are worthless but because they are priceless,” Halpern said.

The largest group to serve the city in 2016 was the Westlake Village Disaster Response Team with about 30 members.

The group was formed in 1995 to help first responders in an emergency. Participants are trained to take care of themselves and their neighbors. They also take part in drills, city events and various other emergency activities.

To become a member of the Disaster Response Team, residents must first complete the Los Angeles County Fire Department Community Emergency Response (CERT) training.

As a result of her involvement with the team, Gustafson earned an amateur radio license and an emergency medical technician certificate so she could assist the sheriff’s department with communications in case of emergencies and provide on-the-spot medical care to anyone in need.

“Disaster knows no boundaries,” said Gustafson, whose altruism and initiative led to a part-time job at city hall.

She was hired by the city in 2013 to help the planning department reduce code violations in the city.

Gustafson said she enjoys working with property owners and city staff to address code-enforcement concerns before they become bigger issues.

“We have a small city where we can keep things in control. It’s a beautiful town and we want to keep it that way,” she said.

Gustafson, 67, and her husband, Wayne, raised their two children in Three Springs. They have since moved to a smaller home in North Ranch.

She will continue to volunteer for the sheriff’s department and work for the city, and looks forward to spending more time traveling with her husband once he retires this summer.

Many other longtime volunteers were recognized during the Feb. 22 meeting, including the late Irmgard Wood and Paul Plotkin, both of whom died last year.

Wood was on the Disaster Response Team for 21 years. Plotkin served for 10 years as a member of the DRT and the city’s Volunteers on Patrol.


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