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Police Honor Volunteers, Officer Who Headed Program

Almost 200 police, volunteers and community leaders gathered last Thursday night to honor the 139 volunteers who serve the Pasadena Police and the officer who has headed the program for the last three years, Donna Cayson.

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FOR PHOTO GALLERY OF EVENT, CLICK HERE

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Officer Donna Cayson receives commendations from Acting Chief Chris Vicino

Volunteers play a vital role in the dept.'s ability to maintain its service levels by performing duties which otherwise would have to be done by paid officer.

Last year, the Volunteers contributed over 14,850 service hours. This equates to a payroll value of over $278,000, the equivalent of almost 7 full-time employees, according to police literature.

The Volunteers are assuming greater job responsibilities - Steering Committee Bill Irwin noting that the Volunteers were listed as a line item in the dept.'s budget last year for the first time.

Acting Chief of Police Chris O. Vicino detailed the importance of the Volunteers' contributions and outlined some of what is in store for the upcoming year.

Acting Chief Vicino awards John Kendall with the Kacy Jones Award

In particular, a cadre of Volunteers have been tasked with revitalizing the dept.'s website - which Vicino said in today's world is "first point of contact" with many citizens.

Vicino presented the Kacy Jones Award to Volunteer John Kendall, who has put in so many volunteer hours he is almost a fixture at police headquarters.

The Outstanding Volunteer Service Award was presented to police chaplain Father Robert Gaestel.

Acting Chief Chris Vicino presents "Outstanding Volunteer" award to Father Robert Gaestel

The evening ended with an outpouring of recognition for Officer Donna Cayson, who has headed the Volunteer program for three years and is now being rotated out of that position into another dept.

Cayson was presented a police dept. commendation, gifts, and in a touching tribute, every CAPP team member walked by her and each presented her with a single rose to form a very large bouquet.

The new Volunteer coordinator is Officer Kim Smith, who spoke about the power of ordinary citizens standing up for their beliefs and taking action.

For more information about volunteering to support the Pasadena Police dept., call the community services section at (626) 744-4501.