An afternoon fundraising event to benefit the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Benevolent Posse, known as “Boots ‘n Badges,” will be held at the Red River Ranch in Los Olivos on Saturday, May 13.
The event is slated to run from 2 to 5:30 p.m. and will feature up-close, live demonstrations by several Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Deputies including its bomb squad and K-9 and mounted enforcement units.
Among the highlights planned for the event, the mounted unit will show how it trains its horses in crowd control techniques, the bomb squad will demonstrate its robot by destroying a suspect package and the K-9 unit will work with its drug-sniffing and patrol dogs.
“Guests will be greeted with a specialty cocktail, enjoy a series of gourmet food stations, wine from Brick Barn Wine Estate, beer from Firestone Walker along with boot-stomping music from Los Angeles based band Jambalaya West, plus they’ll receive a keepsake gift,” said event chairperson Suzanne Kramer-Morton.
“Attendees will also get to enjoy Red River Ranch, one of the most gorgeous ranches in our valley. We deeply appreciate ranch owners Al and Denise Frink’s personal involvement in hosting and participating in this event, donating the use of their beautiful property to benefit the men and women of the Sheriff’s Office and help us to protect our protectors,” said Morton.
Aided by fellow Posse board members, Richard Kline, Sue Pohls, Jay Gerlach, Scott Biddinger and Posse Board secretary Marianne Freeman, this event and its auction will benefit the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Benevolent Posse in its efforts to provide funds for items and equipment needed to help the men and women of the sheriff's department.
The sheriff’s posse has helped the sheriff’s office obtain emergency equipment including COVID-19 personal protection equipment, protective vests, night vision goggles, specialized weapons, computer equipment, drug sniffing and patrol/tracking/bomb/explosive dogs, a headquarters barn for its mounted enforcement unit and specialized equipment for its dive team.
It has also supported the DARE program in north county elementary schools.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Benevolent Posse is a not-for-profit public benefit corporation with all contributions tax deductible under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue code.