San Marino Chamber of Commerce is once again hosting a luncheon honoring two members of the city’s public safety personnel.
San Marino Police Department Sgt. Candice Torres and San Marino Fire Department Firefighter-Paramedic Jeff Tsay will be recognized at the 9th Annual Police & Fire Appreciation Luncheon on Thursday, Sept. 22 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at San Marino Center.
“An afternoon of honor and celebration has become a September tradition for the chamber,” said Chamber President Stewart Rogers.
He said this event is one of the chamber’s biggest events of the year. More than 200 people are expected to attend.
The chamber is committed to ensuring that the city’s police officers and firefighters know their service to the community is appreciated during these trying times, according to Anne Turk and Diana Doi, co-chairs of the annual event.
Police Chief John Incontro said Torres, who was nominated by police department supervisors, has been involved in numerous programs that directly impact the community.
“In the past year, she’s been involved with the National Charity League, the Girl Scouts and Southwestern Academy,” he said.
Incontro said Torres, in addition to several other police employees, organized and put on a women’s self defense program. He said she is passionate about teaching individuals how to protect themselves.
Torres was the force behind San Marino Police Department starting its ‘Coffee With A Cop’ program, which allows community members to have coffee with a San Marino police officer to ask questions and share any concerns that they might have.
“She worked to get everything organized and put it together,” Incontro said.
He said Torres’ work has had a positive impact on the community.
“She was noticed giving some money to and helping a woman in need,” Incontro said.
He said it was a difficult choice to nominate just one officer, but Torres stood out the most for the work she’s done throughout the past year.
“She’s a great cop,” Incontro said. “She really enjoys what she’s doing and what we do here.”
Torres has been working for San Marino Police Department for approximately a decade and was promoted last year to the rank of sergeant.
San Marino Deputy Fire Chief Mark Phillips said SMFD first puts out a ballot for department personnel to nominate a firefighter for the Chamber of Commerce honor and then division and department chiefs make the final decision. He said before he even got a chance to bring nominees to the chiefs, Tsay came out as the clear choice from how many votes he received from his colleagues.
“Jeff has done an exceptional job this past year as a firefighter/paramedic and our paramedic coordinator,” Phillips said.
He said becoming a paramedic coordinator involves a lot of responsibility.
Phillips said Tsay recently became a fire investigator after going through training. He’s now taking classes administered by the state to become a fire officer.
“Jeff has not only gone above and beyond in the last 12-month period,” Phillips said. “He’s done a lot in the community.”
Tsay speaks Mandarin fluently and taught a CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) class in Mandarin for the Chinese Club of San Marino.
“He’s also been the leader for the Community Pancake Breakfast for a few years now,” he said.
Tsay recently returned from the Soberanes Fire, which is an 105,705-acre wildfire that began on July 22 from an illegal campfire in Garrapata State Park in Monterey County.
Tsay began working for SMFD in 2010 as an auxiliary firefighter.
“He came in as an auxiliary firefighter and worked his way up and went to paramedic school,” Phillips said.
San Marino Chamber of Commerce thanked the following chamber members for their support as this year’s Event Sponsors: Anneticipation, Athens Services, California American Water, Diana Dee’s Stationery, Joanna’s Floral Expressions, RE/MAX-The Loeffler Team, San Marino Security Systems and the media sponsor, San Marino Tribune.
The community is invited to attend this event to recognize the city’s police and firefighters. To make reservations, call the chamber office at (626)286-1022 or visit sanmarinochamber.com. Reservations must be received by Sept. 15.
