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Though it was already announced at the city council meeting earlier this week, Captain (Chief) Lennie Hollingsworth has retired from the Riverside Sheriff's Office. He handed his badge over and everything.
No word on who will be the next top cop here, but there will be a meeting with the heads of both Wildomar and Lake Elsinore soon to discuss it.
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| On the left is Captain Lennie Hollingsworth address the crowd. On the right you see a gift presented to him by his son and Emcee Chris. |
About 100 people attended his retirement party at the Wildomar Elks Lodge. His next destination is the state of Idaho... and he's not even waiting for Springtime.
Mayor Bridgette Moore, Mayor Pro-Tem Tim Walker and his wife Maria, councilmember Marsha Swanson, City Manager Gary Nordquist and his wife, along with assistant city manager Dan York, represented Wildomar in helping give the chief a happy send off.
Floating around somewhere out there is a great shot of all the Wildotuckian Brass and Captain Hollingsworth. Alas, it wasn't snapped with my camera, and haven't been able to track it down yet either.
Floating around somewhere out there is a great shot of all the Wildotuckian Brass and Captain Hollingsworth. Alas, it wasn't snapped with my camera, and haven't been able to track it down yet either.
There was a roast of sorts by the emcee (Chris), fellow RSOer, a humorous anecdote from his son about his father (also a member of RSO), words from his father, and many others that took a turn at the mic to pay tribute to a longtime friend or colleague.
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| A great couple of cakes rounded out the dinner of tri tip. |
I want to thank captain Leonard Hollingsworth for his good cheer and friendliness during our acquaintance.
When my wife's mother died earlier in the year, he took time to console her once she'd returned from laying her mother to rest.
When my wife's mother died earlier in the year, he took time to console her once she'd returned from laying her mother to rest.
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| Joseph and Grace Morabito, Captain Leonard Hollingsworh and Mayor Bridgette Moore. |
There've been many other times, chance meetings at a Starbucks as an example, where he'd spot us and go out of his way to say hello; certainly a quality guy from a quality family.
In June of 2015 he agreed to meet with me and chat for a blog. We spoke on the record for the better part of an hour about all sorts of things, but mostly about how he arrived in Wildomar.
When I thought I'd taken enough of his time, shut off the recorder and thanked him for the conversation. As it happens, we spent another half hour chatting about all sorts of topics.
When I thought I'd taken enough of his time, shut off the recorder and thanked him for the conversation. As it happens, we spent another half hour chatting about all sorts of topics.
Postscript: Hey Lake Elsinore, I'm sure it's pretty hectic living that extreme dream lifestyle, and it is the busy holiday season and all, but I'm surprised you guys were satisfied with that goose egg you posted, as none of your city peeps attended your police chief's last hurrah in town.
For the uninitiated, Wildomar and Lake Elsinore have long shared the same chief.
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Retirement is like a long vacation in Las Vegas. The goal is to enjoy it the fullest, but not so fully that you run out of money.
Wildomar Rap Thanks Captain Lennie for the good work he's done in the community, and all the handshakes and smiles over the many months of knowing each other!
— Jonathan Clements
Get used to saying good-bye to "Station Commanders" for Lake Elsinore Station of Riverside County Sheriff's, Wildomar has had 5 since incorporation, the average span is about 2 years. Kind of funny though that a number of them have lived in Murrieta, a city protected by its own police force.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the "Police Service Joint Power Authority Feasibility Study" the city is a paying to be a part of will lead to something different.