Glendale

Montrose Search & Rescue deserves a spot

Every year, I look forward to reading your Top 103 list. For the past several years (not sure exactly how many), you have left out a very important and dedicated group of individuals who volunteer their time and provide our community with an extremely valuable and highly skilled service.

This group is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year to respond to a variety of calls such as lost hikers, airplane crashes, stranded climbers and hikers, vehicle accidents over the sides of mountains and many other calls.

This group is the Montrose Search and Rescue team (based out of the Crescenta Valley Sheriff's Station). While your list did include a dedicated member of that team, it did not include the rest of these individuals, who attend meetings twice a month, skills training once per month and numerous additional trainings and certifications in the area of rescues and medical training that are ever ongoing.

They all have their own careers and families, yet continue to serve our community and save the county of Los Angeles a large amount of money, because they only receive $1 per year for their service.

I would love to see this group make your list once again, as they deserve credit and recognition for their devotion and dedication to what they do, voluntarily.

LISA EDWARDS

Copyright 2002,  Los Angeles Times