It’s been 12 years since a handful of volunteers first donned their hunter green pants, grey shirts and signature cowboy hats with the purpose of lending a helping hand to the city of Sedona and its residents and visitors. The Sedona Park Rangers have been a mainstay since June 7, 2007.
Since then, they could be found walking through Uptown seven days a week, often answering questions from people from around the world. “It was a great year,” said Bob Huggins, who founded the program.
“In addition to helping visitors daily in Uptown, we assisted with over 15 community events and provided assistance to the city with their citizen engagement program.” Huggins said the success of the program has to be attributed to the quality and loyalty of their volunteers. It takes a very special person to wear the Ranger uniform.
“Asking a person to work throughout the year in all types of weather requires a great deal of commitment,” he said.
“Then to have that person stay on year after year shows their dedication and loyalty.” Many of the Rangers have been with the program for several years. According to Huggins, that’s not by accident.
“The Rangers are totally dedicated to serving the community and being engaged in a variety of activities in this wonderful environment,” he said.
“Some of the Rangers have been with us for 10 years or more, which demonstrates how dedicated they are.”
Those volunteering in Volunteer 2018 as Rangers included Judy Huggins, Marie Brown, Jerry Showalter, Ned Isom, Bill Ferguson, Mark DiNunzio, Michele Zahner, Tom Lamkin, Lynn Sine, Ken Jepson and Greg Stein.
“We currently have 11 active rangers, but ideally we would like to have 15 to cover double shifts during the busiest period,” Huggins said.
“We are always looking for volunteers who enjoy the outdoors, love to talk with people and want to participate in community service.”
Last year, the Rangers provided 1,585 hours of service. Since the program began in 2007, they have put in nearly 30,650 volunteer hours, while costing the city less than $30,000 for their services, the annual report states. Some of the events in which the Rangers assisted last year included:
- Spring Break and threeday weekends
- Community Christmas tree lighting
- Wine Fest
- Friday Night Flicks
- Celebration of Spring
- Stumble Run
- National Night Out
- Wag Fest
- Pumpkin Splash
- Halloween events
- St. Patrick’s Parade Huggins said that, while they plan to offer the same support to the city and community, they also want to add something new.
“This year, we plan to become involved in doing more conservation work in the parks, such as trail maintenance and upgrading the interpretive signs,” he said.
In addition to assisting visitors in Uptown, the Rangers provide Sedona Parks and Recreation and the community an organized, well-trained cadre of volunteers to help with events and provide assistance during times of emergencies.”
“Our Rangers are the best,” Parks and Recreation Manager Rachel Murdoch said. “They are friendly, professional and extremely knowledgeable about our Sedona area. Available seven days a week, they can be found as ambassadors in Uptown for our visitors or as volunteers at our local events helping our community. We appreciate the Ranger program and the dedication of the individuals on that team. I encourage anyone interested in volunteering to consider this great program.”
Those interested in becoming a Ranger are asked to call Huggins at 282-3465.
