Retired Firefighter Ignites Havasu Spirit with Unmatched Community Dedication

It was a hectic Friday morning for Lake Havasu City’s notable resident, Shawn Lawless. His day commenced with planning for the upcoming October London Bridge Parade and organizing this year’s Christmas Parade of Lights. Meetings with real estate clients followed, all before picking up his two children from school at 1 p.m.

Lawless, 46, has resided in the Colorado River area for over two decades and has called Lake Havasu City home for 15 years. His journey began as a firefighter for the Golden Shores Fire District, moved to a flight paramedic role for TriState Careflight, and then served as the director of EMT education at Mohave Community College. Lawless also worked as a firefighter with the Lake Havasu City Fire Department and as a fire captain with the Northern Arizona Fire District.

Although he’s retired from active fire service, Lawless has stayed busy. For the last six years, he has led 32 Bravo, a Havasu-based media production company specializing in photography and videography for local businesses. Under the nonprofit organization I Love Lake Havasu, Lawless represents and leads in community service organizations and orchestrates two of the city’s most cherished events.

Transitioning from emergency first responder to event promoter was a natural progression for Lawless. He credits his media production company, 32 Bravo, with deepening his connection to the Havasu community. “I was heavily involved in the firefighters’ toy drive,” he said. “We would do about 15 or 20 events per year, and I gained a lot of experience with promotional events.”

Through 32 Bravo, Lawless created a community video series to highlight Havasu and produced projects for local online publication, River Scene Magazine. He then initiated his own media series, ‘The Bridge,’ before creating I Love Lake Havasu. This community-based nonprofit focuses on hosting great events and spotlighting existing ones.

“We’re a community-based nonprofit, focused on bringing great events to town and highlighting the ones that are already here,” Lawless stated. Last year, his organization was tasked with being the primary promoter for the Christmas Parade of Lights. Impressed by their work, they were also asked to manage the London Bridge Days events.

London Bridge Days, featuring the McCulloch Boulevard festival and a parade across the London Bridge, occurs every October. Lawless aims to make this year’s event special. “We want to give the community a parade they can be proud of,” he said. “We’re hoping to bring back some of the festival’s secondary events and celebrate the bridge that made this city.”

Beyond promoting community events, Lawless serves on the board of directors for Kids on the Colorado and is a member of the Lake Havasu Rotary Club. “I enjoy just helping,” Lawless said. “I take my training, education, and experience to serve the community, help others solve problems, and facilitate business growth.”

While the workload seems demanding, Lawless finds fulfillment in his community service efforts, which have given him a renewed sense of purpose post-retirement. “I lost a lot when I retired,” he explained. “My main job was to serve others. Now every day I wake up and wonder how I can make someone else’s day better and how I can help someone else.”