Meet DMCC's 2026 Volunteer of the Year, Larry Brooks!

Del Mar Deputy Mayor John Spelich, DMCC President Katie Militello, 2026 Volunteer of the Year Larry Brooks, State Senate District 38 Field Representative Diana Kutlow, and County District 3 Constituent Services Representative Omar Teran Sosa honor Larry's service to the community.

Larry Brooks was announced as the Del Mar Community Connections Volunteer of the Year at the 2026 Annual Volunteer Appreciation Event held on May 5th: DMCC's Volunteers Hit it Out of the Park! In recognition of his countless contributions, Larry was presented with an award trophy from DMCC, a proclamation from the City of Del Mar, a "Cheers for Volunteers" award from State Senator Catherine Blakespear's office, and finally, a County of San Diego proclamation naming May 1, 2026 as "Larry Brooks Day" across San Diego County.

Larry Brooks is one of those rare people who seems to draw from a bottomless well of empathy and energy and makes himself invaluable to an organization in a variety of ways. He does it all! Last fall he helped DMCC to make our 25th Anniversary Fall Benefit a special event by creating a video yearbook of the attendees’ photos from the year 2000, and he was a key member of a Connect Team of volunteers in a pilot of in-neighborhood DMCC services, and he is a frequent contributor to our relatively new Public Relations committee. All of this is in addition to Larry’s longtime role as the presenter of DMCC’s Remarkable Del Mar History. DMCC President Katie Militello nominated Larry for volunteer of the month last October because “Larry is one of DMCC’s longest contributing volunteers. He always looks out for his neighbors and shares whatever resources and skills he has with others in the community. He's always willing, able and cooperative to help out in promoting DMCC to those who can use our help. We are so grateful to have his dedication and support.”

Larry is a true native Southern Californian. Born in Pasadena and raised in Avalon and Long Beach, Larry graduated from the US Coast Guard Academy and retired after 22 years of service with the rank of Captain. He then worked for Chevron for 21 years as an arctic environmental research scientist. He retired to Del Mar in 1995 and began renovating an old house. In 1998 he reconnected with Martha, whom he had not seen in about 30 years.  They were married in 1999 and created what Larry describes as their “Brady Bunch” family with five adult children and eventually 12 grandchildren.

Larry has been the longtime president of the Del Mar Historical Society (DMHS), preserving Del Mar’s legacy and promoting important community-defining initiatives such as the Alvarado House and the Del Mar Voices oral history project. He was a leader of the group that renovated a vacant property acquired by the City of Del Mar through a citizen effort, making the Del Mar Community Building a new and viable public gathering place and the headquarters of the Del Mar Foundation, DMCC, and DMHS. He has ensured the personal safety of his neighbors through the Certified Emergency Response Team (CERT). Larry’s current crusade is to encourage older adults to think creatively and record their own personal histories and make a record for their younger loved ones: “I encourage all DMCC folks to consider writing their life stories for their grandchildren. It is very easy today with cell phones and apps.”

To learn more about Larry or volunteering for DMCC, visit www.dmcc.cc/volunteerofthemonth.

Thank you Larry!