Photos By Sandra Small Photographer.

The La Mesa Chamber of Commerce held it’s 9th annual Salute to Local heroes on Wednesday, February 22nd at the Town & Country Hotel and celebrated our own group of “Oscar” winners, our 2017 local heroes. This year’s 6 heroes are as important to our community as any “Best Picture” or “Best Actor” award. They have made a tremendous impact on the lives of others. Our heroes were recognized for some of the following feats: A baby was delivered under unusual circumstances, a young man’s life was saved following a severe traffic accident, 117 stolen vehicles with an estimated value of over $1.3 million were recovered, a cold case homicide from 2014 that occurred in La Mesa was solved, firearms and illegal drugs were seized. 86 suspects were arrested, 70 search and arrest warrants were written and two Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol were honored for assisting the La Mesa Police Department in the daily tasks needed to run the organization, as well as for their thousands of volunteer hours. This year’s heroes are: Paramedics – American Medical Response, Elizabeth Robinson, Heartland Fire & Rescue – La Mesa, Fire Captain Billy Doig, La Mesa Police Department, Detective Tim Cook and Detective Jacob “Colt” and La Mesa Police Department Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol Mike Sparks and Bill Walton. These fine men and women have made a tremendous difference in our community. Our annual dinner allows us to come together and honor those who are dedicated to the citizens of La Mesa and to our entire community. Congratulations to this year’s 6 local heroes!