Veteran Searcher Will Be Honored

For more than 60 years, if you were lost in Ventura County there was a good chance that Carl Hofmeister would find you.

A barbecue planned for July 27 will honor the 76-year-old orchard keeper and construction business owner for his decades of volunteer work with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue.

Hofmeister, who went on his first search with his father as a 13-year-old in 1934, retired this year as the Ojai Area Search and Rescue team captain.

At the barbecue, he will be honored by his team members.

“Over the years, Carl probably participated in 99.99% of all the rescues in the county. I’m sure there will be a big turnout,” said fellow volunteer Tom Farmer.

Hofmeister, whose family first settled in the Upper Ojai in 1896, said recently that what drove him all these years was the basic philosophy that if someone needed help he would provide it.

His work as a volunteer with the search-and-rescue team began in earnest in the 1940s, and over the years he has become an invaluable resource for the team. There are more than 150 volunteers that form the four rescue teams in the county.

Hofmeister has headed up the Ojai team for 46 years, elected each year by the other volunteers.

He will be replaced as the unit’s captain by team member Jim Wright.

The barbecue will be from 2 to 4 p.m. July 27 at Ojai’s Soule Park.

The public is invited. Tickets are $10. There is also a $2 charge for parking. For more information or tickets, call Farmer at 646-0111 or Wright at 525-9498.