On Monday, Oct. 21, Foothills Community Toastmasters held its fourth annual Toast of the Town awards for use of public speaking and leadership. This year’s recipients were Pastor Eddy Ledesma of the New Hope Community Church and Deputy Sandy Capps of the LA County Sheriff’s Dept.

Pastor Eddy has been active not only as a pastor of his own church but also as leader in the interfaith activities in the Foothills area. He regularly participates with various non-profit community organizations to help the members of the community regardless of their faith. 

Capps, in addition to her duties with the sheriff’s department, has been active in helping the homeless the Foothills community through the group Making It Happen and is the treasurer of the Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council. This is in addition to her duties trainer to ensure all sheriff deputies and LA County court personnel are prepared for anything from emergency first aid to shooter situations. 

The Toast of the Town took place at the home of Richard and Susan Stewart beginning with a potluck dinner followed by the awards ceremony. 

“It is always an occasion when someone receives an award,” said club president Jeff Harman, “even more so when those awards are well-deserved. We feel that it is important to acknowledge those who are truly using their skills of public speaking and leadership to serve our communities. That is what we are about. This was a wonderful way to celebrate to very special people who are dedicated to helping the Foothills community.”