Richard Tieman Herrick, Jr. (Rick Herrick) began his service to the City of Big Bear Lake in 1999 serving on the Big Bear Lake Department of Water Board (DWP) of Commissioners for 6 years, 4 years as the Chairman. He was first elected to the Big Bear Lake City Council in 2006 and continued his City Council service with consecutive terms in 2010, 2014, 2018 and was most recently re-elected in 2022. Rick serves as the Chairman of the Big Bear Lake Fire Protection District, Chairman of the Big Bear Alpine Zoo Nay Foundation and Vice Chairman of the Big Bear Area Regional Wastewater Agency (BBARWA). Rick has been honored to serve as the Big Bear Lake Mayor six times over 5 terms as a council member. Rick’s additional leadership roles have included Chairman of the Big Bear Fire Authority, and Chairman of Big Bear Area Regional Wastewater Agency. Rick was appointed to the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority which oversees and allocates nearly one billion dollars to improve transportation within the County. Rick was the President of the Big Bear Chamber of Commerce, Director for the Big Bear Valley Recreation and Park District, and along with his wife Cathy own and manage Parallel Broadcasting Inc which runs KBHR 93.3 and 102.5 along with Big Bear News.com.
Rick spearheaded legislative efforts to design, build and fund the iconic 60 million dollar Big Bear Lake Bridge, a critical transportation link helping extend the life of the 1912 Big Bear Lake Dam. He was a major force that helped bring the Amgen Tour of California to Big Bear and chaired the funding committee which made it possible to showcase Big Bear to the world as the “Cycling Capital of Southern California''. Through the Nay Foundation he implemented a one million dollar donation to San Bernardino County to build the local Zoo’s Animal Care Facility. BBARWA’s “Replenish Big Bear” water project has benefited from Rick’s experience with the DWP and also his knowledge gained by serving for nearly two decades on the Regional Wastewater Agency.
Rick was born in Denver, Colorado then lived in La Habra and West Los Angeles with his parents Dick and Regina Herrick along with his one brother and four sisters. Rick graduated in 1979 from Loyola Marymount University with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration which included international studies in Germany and Israel.
Rick and his wife Cathy have been full time Big Bear Valley residents since 1994 when they built KBHR-FM 93.3 FM, later adding 102.5 FM and Big Bear News.com. They’ve won professional awards and recognition over decades from the National Association of Broadcasters, State Assemblymen, State Senators, County Supervisors and City Officials. “The Old Fire '' began burning late October 2003 and consumed nearly 100,000 acres along with 993 structures. By all accounts the devastating fire was halted with heroic firefighting efforts and a miraculous unexpected snowstorm. During the multi week event, Rick and Cathy delivered continuous on-air news and fire information which aided in the safe evacuation of tens of thousands in the midst of this historic event.
Among his other endeavors he worked with legislators to get Highway 330 reopened after significant portions were washed out during a major winter storm. He helped oversee the revitalization of the Big Bear Lake Village and the Moonridge Corridor plus set policies to add miles of additional sidewalks and trails for walking, hiking, and cycling. He helped develop policies and procedures for a Joint Powers Agreement joining Big Bear Lake and Big Bear City fire departments in an effort to reduce costs and provide improved safety objectives for every citizen in the Big Bear Valley. And when the Big Bear Municipal Water District (MWD) needed help to defray fish stocking costs, he worked with his fellow Council Members to pass a special budget allocation.
Rick and Cathy have two daughters, Dr. Nicole “Nicky” Herrick-Gorman, MD who graduated from UCSD Medical School and is the mother of Lincoln and Jack. Elizabeth “Eli '' Herrick, is a Business School graduate from CSUC including international studies in Torino, Italy. Cathy is serving on the Board of Trustees for the Bear Valley Unified School District. Rick is an active member of the community, having served as a coach for the Snow Summit Development Race Team and a past member of Rotary International. In addition, he is a cyclist and a private pilot who loves the outdoors including skiing, fishing, scuba diving, camping and hiking.