FOR A GOOD CAUSE -- Bobbie Hedrick

Paul Clinton

To fill the hours of her golden years, Bobbie Hedrick volunteers her

time at the Costa Mesa Police Department.

Hedrick performs an odd mishmash of duties during the three to four

hours she spends at the department four days a week. Mostly, it’s filing,

organizing and other secretarial tasks the department needs done.

Hedrick keeps those tasks from falling through the cracks. For the

senior citizen, the part-time volunteering job isn’t an exciting one, but

it serves an important role in her life.

“I enjoy being busy,” Hedrick said. “I can’t just sit home.”

By completing necessary clerical duties, the 71-year-old Hedrick has

taken the pressure off deputies. As a result, the Costa Mesa Chamber of

Commerce honored her as the Police Department’s Volunteer of the Year for

2000. Hedrick received the award at a ceremony held Friday at The Westin,

near South Coast Plaza.

Hedrick began volunteering in April 1998, shortly after retiring from

the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. For 24 years, the children at

Killybrooke Elementary School in Costa Mesa noticed Hedrick if they found

themselves in the front office. She was a clerk-typist.

Hedrick, at times, was also a playground enforcer, if needed. The

retiree, who has lived in the city since 1962, can’t isolate exactly what

drew her to the Police Department.

“I knew some of the personnel here before I went to work,” Hedrick

said. “Costa Mesa [has] a great department. The officers are very

pleasant . . . very professional.”

Hedrick spends about 15 hours a week at the department, during which,

among other tasks, she files fingerprint cards and mails out police

reports to offending drivers.

Besides her volunteering, Hedrick works for the Orange County Fair,

diligently pouring beer for thirsty fair-goers.

“My regular customers call me ‘Mom,”’ Hedrick said.