The Exchange Club of Scotts Valley, a community service organization dedicated to “making our community the best it can be,” holds an annual Blue and Gold Banquet honoring the Police Officer and Firefighter of the Year. For 2017, Scotts Valley Fire Fighter of the Year is Megan Bridges and Scotts Valley Police Officer of the Year is Paul Meier, both of whom were recommended for the award by their peers.
As the secretary/receptionist for the Scotts Valley Fire District, Megan Bridges doesn’t actually fight fires, but Fire District Chief Steve Kovacs said, “I couldn’t do my job, and fire fighters couldn’t their jobs without her.”
What earned Bridges the Fire Fighter of the Year award was not just her dedication as an office administrator but the special, extra-curricular services she does for the community. These include managing the Child Passenger Safety Program- a personalized, hands-on demonstration for parents, made by appointment, on how to properly use infant and children car seats.
Perhaps because Bridges, 30, is the mother of a four-year old son and two-year daughter, she says the car seat safety program is one the “favorite parts of my job and I’m really passionate about helping parents using car seats for their children properly.”
Bridges provides information about the lethality of improper use of cars seats, including the fact that motor vehicle collisions are the number one cause of unintentional death among youth. Bridges has instructed parents and guardians on proper and safe car seat use practices for more than 800 participants since 2009. Bridges makes appointments for individualized instruction, and asked that appointment calls be made in the morning- by calling 438-0211.
Bridges also works on the Fire District’s Safety, Health and Wellness Committee and is directly involved in developing practices to reduce exposure to cancer causing toxics that fire fighters are exposed to in almost every fire. Bridges is also a key volunteer helping organize the Relay for Life, an all-day family fund raising event for the American Cancer Society held at SkyPark, this year on June 2.
Bridges has worked for the Fire District since 2008, and has been a resident of Boulder Creek since 2012. According to Chief Kovacs, Bridges has “provided administrative support in every capacity needed in a multitude of tasks, including payroll duties, accounts receivable and payable, and anything else thrown her way.”
Scotts Valley Police Officer Paul Meier is a something of a rarity in Santa Cruz County law enforcement circles in that he grew up in Felton and Boulder Creek, and his first job after graduating the Police Academy was back on his home turf as a Scotts Valley Police Officer.
“This is home for me, and I feel very lucky to work so close to my home town…I have no plans to go anywhere else,” Meier said.
Maybe it is Meier’s lifetime of experience in the area gives him a local advantage for his distinguished record as a Scotts Valley Police Officer on patrol. In 2017, Officer Meier arrested more criminals (125) and made more traffic stops (463) than any other officer in the department, and came in second for the most DUI arrests (12), according to the police department.
Officer Meier also has a talent for identifying stolen cars. Last year Meier arrested six separate suspects driving stolen cars in ScottsValley, breaking the record for such arrests in a one year period in the department’s 50 year history. It was also first time a Scotts Valley Police Officer was awarded the notable California Highway Patrol 10851 award, named after the auto-theft penal code, awarded to Meier last year.
When Meier, 29, received the Police Officer of the Year award from the Exchange Club last weekend, he was on paternity leave taking care of his new baby girl, Charlotte. Meier attended CabrilloCollege before deciding on law enforcement career, and has been with the Scotts Valley Police Department for almost four years.
“Officer Meier’s passion has been demonstrated in his work ethic as well as his desire to teach,” wrote Lt. John Wilson, Meier’s supervising officer, in a statement for the award.
With more than 15 years of training, Meier is a master of martial arts, holding multiple black belts and instruction certification in three different disciplines. Meier is the department’s newest Defensive Tactics Instructor for his fellow officers, “sort of cribbing what I know about martial arts into Defensive Tactic Training for police officers,” said Meier.
Scott’s Valley police officers are solo on patrol, but have partners during their shifts. Meier’s partner is K9 Sgt. Brandon Polito, the handler of canine officer Atlas. Positive canine alerts from Atlas provided probable cause for vehicle searches leading to several significant arrests- including suspects with large amounts of methamphetamines and fraudulent credit cards.
According to Lt. John Wilson, “Officer Meier enjoyed working with Atlas so much he voluntarily completed the training and became ScottsValley first ever certified K9 Decoy.” According to Meier, what that means is, “I’m the guy that gets bit…the guy with the protective suit with big pads on my arms… who gets hunted down and attacked,” Meier said.
