An excellent profile of an award winning ranger exemplifying the heart of public service.
American Ranger of the Year
By M.S. Enkoji - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Friday, July 27, 2007
As a 3-year-old, Scott Cramolini gazed up at a park ranger astride a horse on a park visit and saw his life before him.
Cramolini never really considered another career after that, visiting ranger stations as a youngster, working at one as a teenager and, finally, being sworn in as a ranger as a young man.
"When you love your job and have a passion for it, it is you," said Cramolini.
Cramolini, a Ventura ranger with California State Parks and Recreation for 25 years, is America's Ranger of the Year, chosen largely by park visitors. ReserveAmerica, the camp site reservation giant, selected Cramolini as the third recipient of the annual award.
Cramolini is park ranger in five state beaches that line Ventura County's coast, including Point Mugu. He's spent his whole career there.
In a nominating message, an Ojai woman said Cramolini was memorable because he reassured her she could take refuge in her camper on the beach during a wildfire that burned 162,000 acres in Ventura County last September.
Cramolini told her not to worry about a seven-day camping limit while she was evacuated from her home.
"He stopped by numerous times during our stay to check on us and to see if we knew how our home was faring," Bettye Berg wrote to ReserveAmerica.
Cramolini remembers it as another day on the job.
"I was just trying to help her out," he said.
