Chris Hartman
Contributed Photo
A Santa Ynez man has been elected president of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Benevolent Posse, which also announced its slate of executive officers for the coming year.
Chris Hartman is assuming the gavel from Sara O’Shaughnessy, who will remain a member of the board of directors for the nonprofit organization that provides the County Sheriff’s Office with needed equipment and supplies.
The posse's board also re-elected Richard Kline of Los Alamos as board chairman and elected David Baskett of Santa Maria its treasurer, Diana Vandervoort of Santa Barbara as secretary and Dana Mazzetti of Montecito and Jay Gerlach of Santa Barbara as vice presidents.
Hartman grew up in Marblehead, Massachusetts, and attended Westmont College in Santa Barbara, earning a bachelor of science degree in management, marketing and related support services.
He joined Smith Barney in Santa Barbara, serving as vice president for 20 years, and in 2010 joined Santa Barbara-based TKG Financial, where he is currently a private wealth manager.
Hartman is a member of Ranch Church in Santa Ynez, Vikings Charities and the Santa Barbara Republican Central Committee and has served on the Sheriff’s Benevolent Posse board since 2012, the past five years as vice president.
He and wife Karen live in Santa Ynez with their two children, Matthew and Christopher.
The Sheriff's Benevolent Posse works to help the Sheriff's Office maintain efficiency, improve performance, morale and effectiveness and seek innovative solutions to increasingly complex problems faced by local law enforcement.
Consisting of local non-law-enforcement volunteers, the posse assists the Sheriff’s Office by filling needs not funded by the county budget.
Recently, the posse helped obtain emergency gear, including COVID-19 personal protection equipment, protective vests, night-vision goggles, specialized weapons and computer equipment.
The posse also provided drug-sniffing and patrol, tracking and bomb and explosives detection dogs, a headquarters barn for the sheriff’s Mounted Enforcement Unit and specialized equipment for the dive team.
It has also supported the Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or DARE, program in North County elementary schools.
Posse members work 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.