Community: Local Eagle Scouts honored at banquet
Three Eagle Scouts were recognized for outstanding achievements last Thursday during a banquet at the Mormon Church in Burbank.
The honorees belong to the Verdugo Hills Council of the Boy Scouts of America, whose members are from Glendale, La Crescenta, Burbank and parts of Los Angeles.
Liam Paul McKenna, a Burbank resident and an eighth-grader at St. Finbar School, received the Glenn A. and Melinda W. Adams Award for conducting an outstanding Eagle Scout project. He worked with the city of Burbank, as part of Burbank’s Host City program, to help coordinate a send-off for the athletes and staff representing Zimbabwe and Botswana, who went on to participate in the Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles.
He raised funds to purchase special souvenirs for the athletes and, through his promotional activities, packed the send-off party with guests. Mayor Bob Frutos attended the banquet to present Liam a certificate for his contributions to the program.
Liam joined Cub Scout Pack 219 in 2007. He earned his Arrow of Light in April 2012. In the spring of 2012, Liam was a founding member of Boy Scout Troop 219, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus No. 3472, called the “Cabrini Knights.”
As a Boy Scout, Liam has been awarded the United States Heritage Award-Gold Medal, International Catholic Awareness Medallion and Messengers of Peace Award. In the fall of 2013, Liam was elected to the Order of Arrow, the honor society of the Boy Scouts of America. He became a Brotherhood member in 2014.
In addition, Liam, along with his classmates, started a coat drive, which has evolved to include St. Finbar School, St. Finbar Parish, Knights of Columbus and Boy Scout Troop 219. After four years, 890 coats have been sent to the children living on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.
Also during the evening, Ron Sowers of La Crescenta and David Geisen of Burbank received the National Eagle Scout Assn.’s Distinguished Eagle Award. The honor is given to Eagle Scouts who continue providing outstanding contributions to Scouting and their community as adults.
Geisen came through the Verdugo Hills Council from Cub Scouts to Boys Scouts. He and his brother, Tom, were among the five original members of Boy Scout Troop 210 in Burbank. He earned his Eagle Scout award in 1982.
Geisen then served as assistant Scoutmaster of Troop 210 for more than eight years and was also assistant Scoutmaster of Troop 233, which served children with special needs.
He serves on the executive board of the Verdugo Hills Council and has been chairman of the Friends of Silver Fir Committee since 2000. The committee oversees maintenance and operation of Camp Silver Fir at Huntington Lake, which is one of two camps owned by the council.
During his Scouting career, Sowers has earned five palms and was a member of the Order of the Arrow and Knights of Dunamis. He also spent four summers working at the Lake Arrowhead Scout Camps, starting as dining hall steward and teaching Scouting skills and then rowing and canoeing.
Optimists honor five police employees
From the officers who patrol the streets to those who serve behind the scenes, the Magnolia Park Optimists Club recognized five employees from the Burbank Police Department.
They were applauded by members and their families during the “Respect for Law” dinner program held recently at the Elks Lodge in Burbank.
“This award is so little thank you for all they do. God bless them for all they do!” said Doreen Wydra, Optimist president. “We should even do this more.”
Police Chief Scott LaChasse served as master of ceremonies and told the audience what makes the department a success is teamwork.
“And that’s the approach we take at the Burbank Police Department,” he said. “We stay together, work together and prosper together and it is truly a team and I think the entire community benefits from the team effort of the department.”
Adam Baumgarten received the Detective of the Year honor. He is a Burbank native and graduate of John Burroughs High School. He joined the Burbank Police Department in 2005 and has served as a patrol officer and was a member of the Crime Impact Team and Gang Enforcement Team. He was promoted to detective in 2013 and is considered highly proactive in the enforcement of crimes involving gangs.
Michele Larson was named the Non-Sworn Employee of the Year for the second time. She first received the honor in 2009. She joined the Burbank Police Department in 1992 and over the years has served as communications operator, data entry operator, police technician, network systems analyst I and network analyst II. In July 2004, she was assigned to the city’s information technology department and returned to the police department in November 2007 as a crime analyst.
Police officer Cindy Guillen was named Co-Officer of the Year. She became a police officer in 2000 and has worked the park detail in addition to being a defensive tactics instructor and Explorer adviser. She also served as a community resource officer from 2011 to 2015. Guillen is the contact person for neighbor disputes and mediation with the city attorney and other law enforcement offices. She is the public information officer for the Spanish-speaking media.
The other Co-Officer of the Year is police officer Joshua Kendrick. He joined the Burbank Police Department as a recruit in January 2006 and became a police officer in June 2006. In 2011, he started as a community resource officer, performing such duties as recruitment, press information including social media, conducting the Community Academy, handling community complaints and event organizing for National Night Out, Police-Fire Service Day, Coffee with a Cop and Shop with a Cop.
John Kemmerer was named the Police Department Volunteer of the Year. In 2015 alone, he logged 548 volunteer hours. He became a Burbank Police Department Volunteer in 2007 and has spent most of his volunteer time at the front counter helping the public. He also volunteers at the Burbank Animal Shelter, the Hoof & Woof Walk to benefit the K-9 and mounted police units and the Baker to Vegas Race. Recently, he began training new police department volunteers.
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JOYCE RUDOLPH can be reached at rudolphjoyce10@gmail.com.