Volunteer Par Excellence: Dru Anderson

Editor's Note: The 29th Annual Joint Community Service Volunteer Awards gave public and lavish recognition for nine individuals who were chosen from scores of nominations. The strong ethos of volunteerism in Los Altos and Los Altos Hills is what many credit as the thing that makes the communities so strong.

 isn't adequate for nine people who have quietly made big contributions over years. So, throughout the coming days, we are reprinting the text from the introductions made for each individual at the Dec. 2, 2011 awards event.

Los Altos Hills Town Council Member Gary Waldeck introduced Dru Anderson in his introductory remarks below.

I met this year’s winner quite by accident while traveling on a Southwest Airlines airplane.  We were both returning home to the Bay Area and Los Altos Hills.  As a new resident in Los Altos Hills, I had little knowledge of our opportunities to volunteer.  

The winner was the then-current Chairman for our Los Altos Hills Emergency Communications Committee. 

Little did I know that once I had rather cavalierly introduced myself as a new LAH resident and a HAM radio operator … it turned out that She was too!  And … Wow! Did I ever hear about that!  By the end of the flight, she had vicariously introduced me to every member of the committee! I was ready to sign up!  Shortly thereafter, I did!  And I have benefitted from that decision ever since.  She is the person who encouraged me to take the opportunity to begin service to our Town.  

Although no longer the Chairman, the winner has continuously supported the ECC and maintained a continued focus to advance our skills. She has been in the forefront of each of the committee’s achievements over the past few years. And it doesn’t stop there.

With an intense interest in emergency preparedness, she received training to join our CERT program and with her drive for excellence, she became a leader there too. Once trained as a CERT member—was she finally done?  Nooooo! She then volunteered to receive the CERT Training in Southern California so that she could make her considerable organizational skills available in times of an emergency. As a CERT supervisor, she is instrumental in the planning and execution of CERT training exercises. In a real emergency, she is an Incident Commander.

For me, she was the spark plug that started my volunteer activities for the Town.  I am forever grateful to her for her gentle leadership and ability to "sell" the benefits of volunteering for our citizens.

Dru Anderson is the kind of person that this award was intended to honor.  You cannot find a more dedicated, hardworking and passionate Town volunteer.  

Dru – congratulations for all of your good work.