Spotlight on Sierra Madre Volunteers 

Spotlight on Sierra Madre Volunteers is a weekly column that spotlights the people who donate their time to help keep their city ticking.  Check each week to see which of the folks you work side by side with is being recognized in the latest edition.  Click the photo to enlarge it.

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Hank Landsberg -- Radio Man

Since Hank and Bonnie Landsberg came to Sierra Madre in 1986, Hank (click photo to enlarge) has moved within most non-profit organizations, helping whenever and wherever he was needed.

His work started with the Rose Float Association where he continued helping the group in many types of volunteer activities for about nine years. Then his ham radio talents came in handy for keeping track of the progression of the Fourth of July Parade route. Before he knew it, Doug Hayes, who was chairman of the Fourth of July Committee, asked him to join the group as Doug's right-hand man.

For years Hank had covered the famous parade on his radio station, KCHZ. "And that was the impetus for adding live music to the Fourth of July celebration. We soon hired a Dixieland band to play after the parade." The Night Blooming Jazzmen still entertain in Memorial Park after the parade.

Back to the Fourth of July Committee, Hank became Chairman Doug Hayes' co-chairman, and they led all activities, with seven other members, for about 10 years, until Doug became a City Councilman in 1996. Hank took over as chairman and continued in that post until about two years ago when he retired from the position and Matt Bosse became the present Fourth of July Committee chairman.

For years Hank offered free Sunday night movies in Memorial Park during the summer. He would set up early evening and invite the community to "tune in" to the sound track with their FM radios. It was a popular family event in which people brought their dinners and the kids played until the movie started. 

Then, in the late '80s, Hank joined Kiwanis Club. He has served as president five terms and is still a member of the service group.

Recently, Hank was approached by the Fire Safe Council to research the feasibility of establishing a low power, AM radio station to be used for information services and public safety.

"We can use the same info for public events and for emergencies such as possible fire or mud problems, evacuation, that sort of thing," Hank explained.

After all of that Hank is buying a second business analogous to his Henry Engineering business. For Henry Engineering, Hank designs, produces, markets and sells equipment for the broadcasting industry. He has shipped over 100,000 products from his "world headquarters" in Sierra Madre.

His new business is a power conditioner product "that gets rid of noise and power surges," he explained. It protects equipment from being damaged, he said.

Hank was born and raised next door in Upper Hastings and graduated from Pasadena High School in 1970. He and Bonnie were married in 1985 and moved to Sierra Madre soon after. Three weeks later his employer moved to Albuquerque, so Hank opened his own equipment production service for the broadcasting industry. That was the beginning of Henry Engineering.

Bonnie is an enthusiastic quilter. The Landsbergs have a cat named Mocha, a very loved cat.

"Volunteerism," he said, "is the glue that holds the community together, and with all of the budget problems, free help is nothing to sneeze at."