On Betty Lee’s most recent birthday, Mesa Fire and Medical Department Chief Mary Cameli, delivered a photograph to her friend of 20 years.
During that visit, Lee, 90, told Cameli a story that had inspired her. On a news report the night before, a lady had turned 100 years old, and had always wanted to ride in a police car. The community had rallied together to grant her that wish.
“So we asked her, in her 90s, what was something she had always wanted to do?” said Cameli. “And she said she’s always wanted to get to ride in the firetruck. And so we said, ‘That’s something we can do.’ ”