By: Annabelle Williamson
The voice you hear every home football game which screams, “and these are YOUR Redwood Rangers!” is Patrick Lozano, a Redwood alumni of ’83 who jumps at any chance he can to serve and give back to Redwood.
Mr. Lozano was involved for 25 years with the Sheriff’s department for Tulare and Porterville. He took the advice to, “leave Visalia as your home and be a police officer in a different city.” After this experience, Mr. Lozano and his wife started their own security company, Echelon Executive Protective this summer.
This company supplies Redwood and Mt. Whitney with security during football games and dances. When he’s not working at his business, he likes to be more creative in the things that he does, such as announcing for Redwood.
Mr. Lozano has multiple years in experience with broadcast radio which makes him almost overly qualified for the position of RHS’s announcer. In addition to his contribution to the football games, Mr. Lozano also announces for the Ranger’s varsity basketball teams and he even finds this job more difficult because he doesn’t have a spotter- someone who sees numbers of the players and relays them to him. In addition to the jobs he does at Redwood, Lozano also announces for the Visalia Roller Derby.
Mr. Lozano uses his position at Redwood in order to continue to do what he loves and be creative even if he is doing another job. “It gives me euphoria to be able to have to opportunity to bring the game to life for the people in the stadium.” Mr. Lozano loves to get the crowd involved during the game by starting chants or asking certain military or officers to stand to be acknowledged.
“To be able to use my talent that I’ve acquired over the years for something at a high school level brings me joy. It is my creative outlet.”
Mr. Lozano
While Mr. Lozano was at Redwood, he was President of the Drama club, involved in baseball, track and cross country which allowed for love for Redwood to grow. Mr. Lozano always wanted to find a way to come back to Redwood. “To be able to do this work for Redwood is the best gig ever,” Mr. Lozano says. His love for Redwood and Visalia is shown through his continuous efforts in the community and through his work with Redwood football and basketball.
While Mr. Lozano is paid monetarily, it isn’t much. He says that it “covers the gas to get here” to the games. But it never was about the money, it is about his love for his alma mater.
Mr. Sozinho, Redwood Athletic Director, knows Mr. Lozano both inside and outside of Redwood. He believes that his creativity is used passionately in announcing for Redwood football and basketball because it connects him back to being a Ranger. According to Mr. Sozinho, “I think he does it to give back to his school. He does receive a little bit of money for his time, it’s not what he does it for. He does it because he loves Redwood. It’s his way of still being connected…he does it just to help his alma mater.”
“It’s always great to come home and do what you do best and do it for the people that you love best. I believe that once you’re a Ranger, you’re always a Ranger.”
Mr. Lozano