Jim Hearn moved to Mira Mesa in 1978 while still on active duty near the end of his 30-year career in the Navy. While raising his grandson, he participated in Boy Scouts for 12 years and was a unit commissioner and merit badge counselor. He was also an umpire for Mira Mesa Little League and for 10 years a referee and referee coordinator for the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO). Jim has been very active in the Mira Mesa Scripps Ranch Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol (RSVP) for 21 years, since its second year of existence, and only missed the first year because he was not yet retired. Over the past three years he has put in over 1000 hours/year with RSVP, and says that he enjoys it very much. He also serves as an ambassador for RSVP at Balboa Park and volunteers with the Diamond Gateway RSVP in addition to the Mira Mesa Scripps Ranch RSVP. His colleagues at RSVP say that he is always stepping up to the plate and volunteering, wherever and whenever needed. He was involved in helping set up the perimeter around Lake Hodges for the Chelsea King search and he assisted fire victims during the 2003 Cedar fire and the 2007 Witch Creek fire. In addition to his work with RSVP, he volunteers at the San Diego Police Historical Museum.
The Volunteer of the Year Dinner was held on April 16, 2016
Pictures of the dinner by Ted Brengel and Jeff Stevens