This week, Sheriff Joseph Roybal and members of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office celebrated National Volunteer Week.
In 2023, 234 active volunteers graciously served over 41,000 hours, which provided an estimated $1,312,552.95 in services (based on the national volunteer rate per hour) to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, and the citizens of the Pikes Peak region.
During a volunteer appreciation ceremony, Sheriff Roybal awarded Mr. Dale Wheeler the 2023 Volunteer of the Year Award, for his over 300 hours of work in our Citizen Patrol Unit.
The El Paso County Search and Rescue Team, comprised of 79 members and 12 K9 partners, was awarded the 2023 Volunteer Team of the Year Award. In 2023, the El Paso County Search and Rescue Team spent 18,148 hours deploying and assisting out-of-town visitors, and citizens in need in El Paso County.
“Our volunteers are invaluable as they provide essential assistance, support, advisement, and resources, to the nearly 900 members, professional and sworn, of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office,” said Sheriff Joe Roybal. “Volunteers who show up for our community, and our EPSO family, not as their career, but because they care.
“Whether it be Citizen Patrol, leading recovery programs for the incarcerated citizens in our custody, or the Go Team therapy dogs, the support these individuals grant to our Office is vital.
“I speak for the entire El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, and our community when I say we are grateful.”
Currently, El Paso County Sheriff’s Office volunteers assist in the areas of:
- Chaplaincy for Patrol and at the El Paso County Jail
- Operating programs for our incarcerated citizens such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, library programs, book clubs, and meditation.
- Range Assistants/Training Instructors
- Reserve Deputies
- Citizen Patrol
- Victim Advocates
- Criminal Investigations
- Language Services
- MOCOM (Mobile Command Vehicle)
- Search and Rescue
- Wildland Fire
- Therapy Dogs
- and more
During the ceremony, the following volunteers were recognized for their time of service:
5 Years of Volunteer Service- Alyssa Karpa, Donald Lorimor, Erik Waldrop, Harold “JR” Staton, Holly Kui, Jaan Heinmets, James Lovejoy, Jay Christianson, Joseph Farrell, Keith Lonnquist, Lawrence “Larry” Murphy, Lisa Staton, Mary Carnell, Michael Cluely, Michael Cobb, Michael Swierc, Reginald Francklyn, Rosanna Cheek, Ryan Fowler, Tina Foster
10 Years of Volunteer Service- Clifford Donnelly, Gregory Maxwell, John Hartling, Kenneth Perry, Renee Cowger, Richard Swope, Jr. Robert Milemon, Sean Banks, Thomas “Tom” Bagby
15 Years of Volunteer Service- Encarnacion Luna Keenan, Gregory Braeger, John Thurston, Thomas Cary Katalin, Thomas “Tom” Spencer
20 Year of Volunteer Service- Patrick Kerscher, Robert Crane
30 Years of Volunteer Service- Brenda Veitch, Brian Kinsey, Kim Veitch, Larry Lewis
35 Years of Volunteer Service- Patricia Cooperrider
To learn more about our Office, or to find volunteer opportunities, please go to https://www.epcsheriffsoffice.com/sections-administrative-bureau/admini…, or contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Hayley Suppes at [email protected].
