Babysitting Woes!

As you all know, we have just moved to a new area and are getting settled in. There is such a long list of things to do to get settled in - administrative type things - getting new library cards, finding the nearest bank branch, nearest coffee shop, some kids activities, finding a new church, all of those types of things. One of the things that has come up is finding babysitters. We were so fortunate to have a fabulous babysitter and several back up babysitters in our last town. We got spoiled by having such great sitters. We could go out and not have to worry about the kids doing well and having a good time and being well cared for. We have a military function to go to and have no sitter, so we are faced with trying to find someone on sort of short notice. So far, no luck. But, I am still doing the phone work, trying to come up with a list of names to try out in the future.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to go about finding babysitters? So far, I have tried contacting the child development center on the base to ask about a list of the certified red cross babysitters, but they don't keep a list. I have asked around the neighborhood, and called friends of friends for recommendations. What do you think? How do you go about finding babysitters?