During their six-hour shift on Mondays, the senior volunteer patrol team of Bob Mains and John Jacobs scour parking lots in the city of Chula Vista to issue citations for illegally parked vehicles, cite abandoned vehicles and make sure RVs are in compliance with the city’s new RV ordinance.
While issuing tickets is a large part of their job, Mains and Jacobs do not turn away from other assigned tasks such as conducting vacation checks, checking up on seniors as part of the You Are Not Alone program and assisting the Chula Vista Police officers with traffic closures.
It is their commitment of going above and beyond their duty that has earned the duo the Senior Volunteer Team of the Year.
“One of the reasons we got the patrol team of the year is we take any assignment,” Mains said. “The more (assignments) you give us, the better.”
Dick Kiehl, administrator for the Senior Volunteer Patrol, nominated the tandem for the achievement.
“They are always ready to do whatever is needed and complete the assigned task and are faithful to their commitment to patrol and other assigned duties,” he said. “The Senior Volunteer team of Robert Mains and John Jacobs exemplifies the values of a senior volunteer and their work is of the highest caliber.”
Mains, 63, and Jacobs, 70, first became part of the Senior Volunteer team in 2014 and have amassed more than 1,204 combined hours of volunteer service with the Senior Volunteer Patrol.
Jacobs said Mains serves as the perfect partner because of his technological skills and abilities. While Mains said its Jacobs’ street smarts that complement the team.
They have such a solid reputation around the department that a Senior Volunteer dispatcher dubbed them “The A-Team.”
The members of the A-Team went through the Senior Volunteer Patrol Academy together. Although initially they did not know each other, their partnership formed days into training.
“I didn’t even know him,” Mains said. “But I saw him drive and I said, ‘He backs up and drives much better than I do. I am going to get this guy as my partner.’”
Both men are military veterans. Mains served 24 years in the U.S. Navy and presently works as a database administrator. Jacobs, a Vietnam veteran, had a 40-year career in the lumber business.
Their military background has helped make the transition to the Senior Volunteer Patrol much easier.
“I am learning how to honor a uniform again,” Jacobs said
Although they spend six hours with each other on Mondays, they never get tired of each other’s company, which they say helps accomplish their goals.
“We have never had any argument at all,” Mains said. “If anything, he’s toned me down.”
