Well-deserved accolades flowed at the 30th Annual Los Alamitos Police Appreciation Awards Luncheon, and Pattie Laird was among those singled out for praise from Chief Todd Mattern.
Laird received the “Policing Through Partnership Award” for introducing the Neighbor 4 Neighbor Disaster Preparation/Neighborhood Watch program, which she helped design, to enthusiastic residents of the Rossmoor Highlands. Neighbor 4 Neighbor provides a platform for neighbors to meet each other, build trust, and work together to prevent crime in their neighborhoods and, as a team, withstand and recover from disasters, whether they be personal setbacks or the big natural one we are expecting.
Mattern noted that looking for a way to describe Pattie, the first word that often comes to mind is “success.” To those who know her well, however, the appropriate word would be “kindness.” Rarely seen by anyone but those directly involved and never done for selfish personal reasons, her little acts of kindness have impacted hundreds of lives.
Pattie’s successes touch every aspect of her life: businesswoman/real estate agent, coach, athlete, civic volunteer, wife, mother and grandmother.
With 32 years of local real estate experience, she consistently has been one of the top agents in the area. A graduate of Orange County Fire Authority Academy Class 15, she served at Los Alamitos Station 2 as a paid-call firefighter/EMT. As head volleyball coach at Los Alamitos High School, she led the boys team to its first-ever league championship and the girls team to three league championships and first-ever CIF championship. In addition, she coached a volleyball team to a women’s national gold medal.
Counted among the pioneers of beach volleyball, Pattie also is an accomplished indoor player, collecting a gold medal in national women’s play as well as gold, silver and bronze medals at the Huntsman World Senior Games. As a youngster, she qualified for the Junior Olympics as a swimmer.
As an involved community member, Laird is active with the West County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and the St. Isadore’s Historical Society and has long supported Casa Youth Center and Second Harvest Food Drives.
She has three wonderful daughters, three adored grandchildren and an adoring husband.
