Vote for our 2019 Volunteer of the Year
Mar 04, 2019 04:02AM ● By BEACON Senior News
You can also mail in a ballot. Ballots must be received by April 8, so plan ahead.
Mail your ballot to: BEACON Senior Newspaper P.O. Box 3895 Grand Junction, CO 81502
Florence Balbier
Nominated by Diane Barger, Mesa County RSVP
Florence Balbier decided to make a difference in the lives of others over 44 years ago. Most of her volunteering has been with the VA Hospital and St. Mary’s Hospital Gift Shop, but she has also shared her talents by volunteering for VA Hospital, MarillacHealth, Girl Scouts, Mesa County, 9 Health Fair, Salvation Army, Project Linus, and more. She has been a part of Mesa County RSVP for 34 years and has logged over 15,578 hours, which demonstrates her dedication and passion to making a difference for others. Florence took the lead with other volunteers as they created crafts and novelties that were sold to help raise funds for vital St. Mary’s programs. One of her handmade specialties is making hanging knitted kitchen towels, which she still provides to the St. Mary’s Gift Shop.
Anna Geertsen
Nominated by Stephanie Storey, Mesa View Elementary
Mrs. G is a foster grandmother that volunteers in my third grade classroom. She is a lifesaver! Mrs. G approaches every day with a positive attitude. Her smile is infectious and her love for children is obvious. Her dedication is apparent every moment and we are so lucky and blessed to have her in our class.
Sandra Harvey
Nominated by Nicolette Laurita-Kelley, Taylor Elementary School
Sandra Harvey is an exceptional volunteer. She is consistent and always on time. She spends two days a week in one of the kindergarten classrooms, has an amazing relationship with the adults in the classroom and the children love working with her. Consistently, she brings snacks and gifts for the children and teachers. It’s very apparent that Sandy loves being at Taylor Elementary and she is a wonderful asset to the classroom.
Jennifer Kivlin
Nominated by Andrea Nickerson, Orchard Avenue Elementary
Jen has been coming to our school for eight years. She is known as "Grandma Jen" by many of our students. She is always here and ready to jump in and help any student with any subject. Our students look forward to working with her, reading with her and just visiting and sharing time with her. She has truly made a difference in students’ lives by being here and helping them reach goals they didn’t think they could and may not have without extra support.
Nile Leach
Nominated by Briana Board, Eureka! McConnell Science Museum
Nile joined our team last March and has shown amazing dedication and initiative in his volunteer work at Eureka! McConnell Science Museum. Eureka! mostly utilizes volunteers for docents and maintenance of exhibits. Nile helps with maintenance, but on his own initiative, he also helps us organize our many supplies for camps, afterschool programs, exhibits and more. Nile has instituted helpful organizational and inventory monitoring systems, earning him the special title of Operations Management Volunteer. Though not always as glamorous as the name suggests, Nile can often be found helping sort Lego sets or snap circuit sets after they are used with afterschool programs. He is dedicated to making sure students and visitors have the best experience with our science materials. Eureka! relies on many talented volunteers to reach our mission of creating excitement for math and science. We are especially grateful to Nile who volunteered over 500 hours from March through December 2019, and more than 130 hours so far in 2019!
Laura Lenhardt
Nominated by Debbie Horwitz, HopeWest
Laura’s significant number of volunteer hours (more than 1,500 in 2019) is just the beginning of what she brings to HopeWest. Valued by her peers and the staff she works with, Laura’s enthusiasm and dedication are contagious. Her artistic genius and engineering acumen contributes to the creation of amazing décor for HopeWest’s fundraising events, but more importantly, she is humble and selfless—always looking out for her fellow volunteers and finding ways to make them feel special. Her commitment to HopeWest’s mission manifests in everything she does.
Marnie Margos
Nominated by Megan Tillotson, Roice-Hurst Humane Society
Marnie is an exceptional member of the Roice-Hurst family and shows her devotion to our animals in a multitude of ways. She started volunteering for RHHS in early 2019 and began with a fostering task that’s intimidating to most: a cat and her offspring each had a litter of kittens at the same time. When they came to the shelter, it was impossible to determine which kitten paired with which mother. Marnie opened her home to both mothers and all nine kittens until they grew old and healthy enough to be adopted. Today, both cats and all kittens are in their forever homes. Marnie continues to foster kittens during our busy kitten season, including complicated “bottle baby” cases that require round-the-clock care. She arrives at the shelter early in the morning to help staff with extensive cleaning and feeding, especially when the shelter is full or when we’re short-handed. She keeps her schedule free so that she may assist staff with tasks that aren’t always glamorous, but necessary for the wellbeing of our animals (laundry, washing dishes, cleaning litter boxes, etc.). Marnie is also heavily involved in the socialization of the cats in the shelter. She is one of only two volunteers who have gone through extensive training necessary to work with “behavior cats.” Marnie has contributed over 1,400 hours of volunteer service to RHHS, the equivalent of a three-quarters-time employee.
Mary McMinn
Nominated by Jennifer Potter, Rocky Mountain Elementary
Mary always goes above and beyond. She truly loves each student and holds them to high standards in the most loving way. She is a treasured part of our classroom. She knows what each student needs and works to help them be successful. She is always positive and many times knows better than I do as to what I need as the teacher. It is rare to find such amazing help—it’s for all these reasons and more that I nominate Mary!
Mike & Barb Oliver
Nominated by Marifrances Kelly, Habitat for Humanity Mesa County
Mike and Barb have been dedicated volunteers with Habitat for Humanity Mesa County for 14 years, giving an average of 156 hours per year. They always bring constructive attitudes, an incredible sense of teamwork and an extraordinary ability to express care in the areas they work in and all the people they come into contact with. They consistently go the extra mile by improving their work areas, doing extra repairs in order to keep our environment cleaner and sharing homemade treats for added encouragement. Their kind-hearted inspiration has also blessed our community through other organizations, such as Cross Orchards, Catholic Outreach and the Visitor Center.
Nancy Schmidt
Nominated by Cathy Barkley, Zippity Do Dogs Club
Nancy is a founding member of Zippity Do Dogs, a dog agility club. She has been club treasurer and board member for over 20 years, but she does so much more. She always goes above and beyond in loading and driving equipment and mowing the lawn for trials, meeting with local venues, and providing refreshments. She does whatever needs to be done with a quiet competence while providing encouragement and help for all club members. She is a selfless role model, as her volunteer work extends beyond the club, including duties with Gray Gourmet, Center at Foresight, Larchwood Inns, Fellowship Church bookstore and Angel Tree. She combines her love of dogs with community volunteering. She always says she doesn’t do that much, but that is far from the truth. She makes our valley a better place through her volunteer work.
Susan Smith
Nominated by Orchard Mesa Middle School
Susan is an incredible asset to the classrooms at Orchard Mesa Middle School. She is very helpful when it comes to helping students get started with their daily work and lending a hand to students as they work on essential projects in each of their classes. She provides a gentle nudge to those students who have a difficult time staying focused and on task. Many students on our campus need extra attention and Susan is right there to give them the support and positive reinforcement needed. She genuinely cares for kids and makes them feel loved and cared for. She is always willing to help teachers, is open to learning new things and is a great role model as a life-long learner.
Jim Liewer
Nominated by Gayle Smith & Doug VanEtten, Colorado Archaeological Society
It isn’t often that the guy behind the scenes gets recognized for his contributions, but Jim spends countless hours preparing field trips for the enjoyment of archaeology enthusiasts with the Colorado Archaeological Society. His commitment to the CAS-GJ club is evident in his readiness to share his knowledge on Southwest archaeology. Jim also encourages the ethics of “protect and respect” rock art, has researched the styles of exploring by other institutions and adheres to the best practices. He is a team player! He has worked alongside BLM staff to make experiences offered to others appropriate and within set guidelines. Jim works with the nitty gritty of how to keep up with the ever-evolving world of the computer and ramifications that social media may have on compromising rock art. Jim is a great candidate for Volunteer of the Year and an example of how one person can make a huge difference. Jim is a problem solver and innovator, and has made a difference in Western Slope archaeology.
