If you said that Sandy Marchese suffers from multiple personality syndrome, you wouldn't be far off.

One never knows if she will turn up in uniform to ticket a car illegally parked in a handicapped zone; don a hard hat to demonstrate ways travelers can respond to a terrorist attack; or pop up on stage as Olga Bogachev, one of many characters she assumes as a member of the April's Fools Comedy Improv Troupe.

• Related: Who's Redondo's Greatest Person?

In her multi-level home in south Redondo Beach, Marchese literally dealt from a deck of business cards to reflect her numerous identities—among them, event planner for Masterpiece Meetings & Events; marketer/trainer for Protection at Location (PAL); past president of CERT (Community Emergency Response Team); public safety commissioner; Volunteer in Policing (VIP); Redondo Beach Toastmasters; April's Fools Comedy Improv Troupe; and improv teacher in Manhattan and Hermosa Beach.

It's a stretch, manning DUI checkpoints with the Redondo Beach Police Department one night and performing comedy improv at the Hermosa Beach Second Story Theatre the next.

"Most of it started in 2006," said Marchese, who radiates a sweet-natured calm as she sits beneath a humorous mobile in her art-filled living room. "I did an early retirement from the electronics industry, and my interest in the community peaked around the same time and just kept increasing."

Because she assumes her various roles with such relish, skill and dependability—traits that have endeared her to police and fire officials, politicians, residents and fellow actors alike—Marchese was selected as a Redondo Beach Patch Greatest Person.

Valerie Gorsuch of Palos Verdes Estates, who nominated Marchese for the Greatest Person distinction, is continually awed by how effortlessly her fellow actor manages to juggle so many hats.

"She is phenomenal ... intelligent, funny, organized," said Gorsuch, who first met Marchese ten years ago in a comedy improv class and later joined her in the April's Fools Troupe.

"How Sandy can do so many things and be so organized and successful at all of them is what is so impressive," Gorsuch said. "But with all of the hats that she wears, the one I like best is that she's a really good friend!"

A native Californian, Marchese has lived in the South Bay all her adult life, first in Torrance and—for the last 20 years—in Redondo Beach, a city she came to know intimately as a member of the Redondo Historical Commission.

A would-be math teacher in school, the woman-of-all-trades graduated from Cal State Dominguez Hills with a degree in business administration and marketing and found her niche in the consumer electronics industry, a job that took her to Japan, China, Korea and remote sections of Asia on multiple occasions and cemented her lifelong love of travel.

"Have bag, will go," Marchese said, her tone merry. (Ironically, the part-time comedienne with the saucy expressions and ginger-colored hair is a bit self-conscious about her smile and even less willing to give her age.)

More revealing than any number is how she rebounded after her photographer husband, Dennis Millard, died from pancreatic cancer in 1999.

"I was looking for things to get me out of the house," said Marchese, who has "nieces and nephews I adore" but no children. "I had my work, but at night, not having your [mate], the evenings are longer."

To cope with her loss, Marchese entered the 39-mile Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, participated in a 10K for pancreatic cancer research, and spent a lot of time reading books at Borders, which is where she saw a flyer for a beginning improv class. Having acted in college, she decided to go for it.

"Improv comedy is very therapeutic," she said, recalling how the class helped ease her out of her grief. "Six nights a week I cried, and one night a week I laughed. And pretty soon it switched. The laughter overtook the sadness."

Marchese's assistance in launching the April's Fools Comedy Improv Troupe, a tightly knit group of actors ("Many are professionals," she said), brought another kind of acceptance.

"It came at the right time," she said. "The longer you're in with a group of people, especially a comedy group, the more comfortable you become."

After retiring from the electronics industry as a chief operations officer in 2007, Marchese went to work at Masterpiece Meetings & Events, which orchestrates meetings all over the U.S. and overseas, and began to redouble her efforts in the community.

"Redondo has so many wonderful programs," she said with disarming earnestness—as if she were talking about an offspring's accomplishments.

Through a Volunteers in Policing (VIP) course offered by the RBPD, Marchese got a behind-the-scenes look at police work. As a VIP alum, she dons her dark gray uniform, badge and police radio for a minimum of four hours a week, during which she and 15 other volunteers respond to accidents, help with 10-Ks and patrol the city as “an extra pair of eyes” for the police.

“We’re not sworn officers, so we have our limitations.”

The VIP course was followed by an eight-week Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) class given by the Redondo Beach Fire Department, said Marchese, whose passion for travel and comedy extends to preparedness. “I just realized how important it is to be prepared for any kind of natural or manmade disaster.”

Serving as president of the CERT Alumni Association (from 2009 to 2011), Marchese played a big role in organizing volunteers to dispose of the dead fish cramming King Harbor last March. "That was a big event and it could have become a health hazard, had the fish remained there," she said.

Paul Lepore, division chief of the RBFD, said, "CERT's incredible performance during the recent fish kill incident in the harbor is attributed in part to Sandy's leadership. She and her team effectively managed over 600 volunteers that were instrumental to the success of the clean up process."

Describing Marchese as "one of my favorite people," Lepore praised her "innate ability to recognize people's talents and get the most out of them."

Heading up CERT gave Marchese a firsthand view of how volunteers can be used. "If there were a disaster here, there are only about 20 firefighters on duty in Redondo at any one time." In a city of more than 66,000 people, she added, many people would have to rely on themselves.

While experience has shown her that many people come forth to volunteer, they can put themselves and others in harm's way if they are not properly trained, she said. "Training through CERT gives people the skills, so that if you have spontaneous volunteers coming out, they can work with people who know what they're doing."

Marchese said her dedication to preparedness generated from her late husband, who had experienced a sizeable earthquake in northern California. "He saw firsthand what it could do," she said. "He was always putting the right latches on cupboards and tying things down. So, it's always been in the back of my mind."

If you think there is a limit to Marchese’s civic-mindedness, think again. Leadership Redondo Beach, an 18 month commitment, introduced her to every agency in the city, from the Redondo Beach City Council to the L.A. Harbor Commission to the Redondo Beach Unified School District.

Offered by the Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce, "the idea is to draw people in who may have an interest in being a leader in the city," she said.

Has Marchese considered running for office—say the city council?

The smile widens, eyes twinkle. It was, after all, Mayor Mike Gin who appointed Marchese to the Public Safety Commission, something Jared Van Sloten, the chairman, appreciates.

"Sandy has been a consistent participant and contributor to the safety of the City of Redondo Beach since she was appointed to the commission," Van Sloten said. Her "leadership and integrity" are vital aspects in pursuing projects that will contribute to the continued welfare of the community, he added. 

Coinciding with her other activities, the Leadership Class of 2010 Project—a $90,000 event plaza to replace the decrepit bandshell in Veterans Park—will come to completion in early 2012. In addition to this, Marchese is working to promote PAL, a preparedness training company spawned by her event planning business.

Such projects, along with her devotion to safety and preparedness, and efforts to lure new business to Redondo, make Marchese a natural for elected office, should she decide to take that route, friends say.

Her keen sense of comedy timing doesn't hurt, either.

For upcoming April's Fools shows and tickets, visit the organization's website.