Sara O’Shaughnessy of Santa Ynez has been elected president of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Benevolent Posse Board of Directors. She succeeds Richard Kline, who has been elected chairman of the Posse Board.
“It has been an honor to serve on the Sheriff’s Benevolent Posse the past five years. I’m thrilled to be elected as president and to be able to continue to help raise funds for the needs of the Sheriff’s Office,” said O’Shaughnessy, who has been board vice president the past two years.
Alocal businesswoman, O’Shaughnessy grew up in the Santa Ynez Valley and graduated from UCSB with honors. She spent 20 years in the publishing and advertising business in Southern California running West Coast ad sales for national magazines, most recently Field & Stream.
After 13 years living in Newport Beach, she and her husband and daughter returned to live in the Santa Ynez Valley 11 years ago.
The nonprofit Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Benevolent Posse was formed by local citizens to seek ways to help the Sheriff’s Office maintain efficiency, improve performance, morale and effectiveness.
The Posse Board is comprised of local non-law enforcement volunteers who donate their time, and efforts to assist the Sheriff’s Office fill its needs not funded by the constrained county budget.
The Posse also works to enhance relations between the community and county law enforcement, promote public safety through special events and activities, and serve as a citizen-initiated conduit for informing the community about public safety issues.
Recently, the Sheriff’s Posse has helped the Sheriff’s Office obtain emergency equipment including protective vests, night-vision goggles, specialized weapons, drug sniffing and patrol/tracking/bomb/explosive detection dogs, a headquarters barn for its Mounted Enforcement Unit; and has supported the DARE program in county grammar schools.
For more information, visit www.sbsheriffsposse.org.
— Kelly Hoover for Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.