The Mayor’s Office of Volunteerism and Engagement (MOVE) manages an ongoing non-competitive volunteer recognition program to honor outstanding volunteers for their service to others and the community. The “MOVE UP” award was established to acknowledge and recognize volunteers in the City of Albuquerque and surrounding communities.

Individuals who meet all nomination criteria will be recognized in the following way:
 Official certificate signed by the Mayor of Albuquerque and MOVE UP outstanding community volunteer pin.
 Recognition through listing on the MOVE website.
 Possible feature on GOV16 television broadcasts and other media outlets.

Nomination Criteria:
• Nominations are open to outstanding volunteers in the City of Albuquerque and in Bernalillo, Sandoval, Torrance, and Valencia counties.
• Recognition is for volunteers demonstrating exemplary or outstanding service to individuals, organizations, or the community at large.
• Members of the MOVE Advisory Board will review nomination forms on a quarterly basis and verify volunteer service. Awards will be posted online (www.cabq.gov/move). Nominees will be notified at quarterly intervals throughout each year.

On July 25, 2008, Mayor Chavez recognized the following volunteers at a reception held at the Albuquerque Museum:

Fred Bales. Nominated by the Metropolitan Homelessness Project/Albuquerque Opportunity Center for the Homeless. Mr. Bales has volunteered at AOC for the past two years, donating six hours of his time each week for the past year. Aside from offering office support, he provides transportation for residents, and has conducted multiple clothing drives for them. His contributions have played a key role in helping the AOC achieve a 30 percent placement-into-housing rate for residents.

Karen Beezhold, Big Brothers Big Sisters Volunteer. Nominated by Ivory Conrad for her efforts in helping her son, Brendyn, raise his confidence level during the past year. Not only has Ms. Beezhold taken Brendyn on outings almost every weekend, she has attended his basketball games and school performances. Ms. Conrad says, “Karen has shown my son the true meaning of friendship, trust and just being a kid.”

Michele Brandwein. An 11-year survivor of cancer, she gives generously of her time and caring by providing support to others who attend support group sessions at People Living Through Cancer. She provides transportation to medical appointments for those in need of assistance.

Chet Brown. Mr. Brown has donated 600+ hours of volunteer time at the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum since 2002. His involvement has included helping the Curator develop collections and providing tours of the museum. He recently donated a balloon to the museum for use as a hands-on exhibit.

Dr. Karen Brown. Dr. Brown has been a volunteer at the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum dating back 3.5 years before its doors opened. She has accumulated approximately 550 volunteer hours working with collections, cataloging and preparing artifacts. Aside from that, she trained 100+ volunteer greeters and docents.

Kerrie Copelin, Big Brothers Big Sisters Volunteer. Nominated by Ivory Conrad for her dedication to helping her son, Schuyler, gain self-importance. Aside from spending time with Schuyler on weekends, Ms. Copelin has attended several of his basketball games and joined him for lunch at his school. Ms. Conrad says, “Kerrie is truly a blessing to us and is a wonderful friend, confidante, and role model for Schuyler.”

Eleanor Corrigan & Lucy Keller. Ms. Corrigan began volunteering at Barrett House emergency shelter in 1986. In 1987 she was joined by her friend Lucy Keller. Since that time the two of them volunteered as a team every Thursday morning. Aside from helping with office work, they went above and beyond to make the shelter a special place for residents. The ladies retired in February 2008 after 20+ years of dedicated service. Executive Director, Dorothee Otero, says, “Barrett became a better organization because of the commitment of these two wonderful ladies.”

June Curtice. Ms. Curtice began volunteering with Hospice of the Sandias in June 2006. Since that time, she has visited four patients 2-4 times per month. She takes her duties seriously, cares deeply for her patients, and has been known to seek out patients who might be overlooked by others. She has a tremendous amount of empathy!

Martha DeKeno. Ms. DeKeno is 84 years young! She has volunteered weekly at United Blood Services for 19 years. Her assistance in preparing mailings and packets to advertise blood drives is greatly appreciated.

Katree Edmonds. Through her work as a Life Skills class instructor, Lt. Colonel Edmonds has done much to improve the quality of life for women at Susan’s Legacy during the past two years. The agency provides services for women with co-occurring mental and addictive disorders. She uses her training in humanistic neuro-linguistic psychology to help the agency’s clients determine their personal levels of success.

Hodgin Neighborhood Association. Nominated by the City of Albuquerque Park Management Division for their faithful participation in the Adopt-A-Trail Program. Neighborhood association members have donated well over 300 volunteer hours during the past several years by performing clean-ups along the Hahn Arroyo Bicycle Trail.

Stephanie Jaeger. Ms. Jaeger was nominated by the staff of Susan’s Legacy for her outstanding work in teaching life skills classes to the agency’s clients. Her workshops promote cooperation, personal integrity and mutual respect.

Victoria Jensen. Mrs. Jensen has volunteered at the N.M. Veterans Affairs Health Care System for ten years. During that time, she has accumulated more than 2,600 volunteer service hours. Aside from being a dedicated volunteer at the Veterans Affairs agency, she is an active member of the VFW Ladies Auxiliary Post and supports other organizations through her church.

Bobbie Kirkman. Ms. Kirkman was nominated by the staff of TAX HELP New Mexico, a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. She helped start the program 30 years ago to allow Technical Vocational Institute students to gain practical experience in tax preparation. Since her retirement from the Internal Revenue Service, she has volunteered with TAX HELP New Mexico, having donated 186 hours this past tax season.

Lydia Koch. Nominated by her colleagues at Sandia National Laboratories for her success in obtaining bus service from the East Mountains to Kirtland Air Force Base. Ms. Koch worked with the N.M. Department of Transportation to design a route that serves East Mountain residents who work at KAFB, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, and Sandia National Labs.

Mary Martinez. During the past three years, Ms. Martinez has volunteered at Mano En Mano Thrift Store operated by the N.M. Community Health Worker Association. Every Thursday, without fail, she sets up window displays and helps prepare vouchers for client families in crisis. Her volunteer work has resulted in more than $4,000 in salary savings for the agency.

Trelee Messinger. Ms. Messinger is a volunteer with the Mid-Rio Grande Chapter of the American Red Cross. Aside from her work in compiling data for important reports, she took on the role of Staffing Officer for two major disasters, including the Trigo Wildfire. In doing so, she initiated and maintained volunteer schedules. She recently coordinated with the Albuquerque Fire Department to raise money for the Heroes campaign, a grassroots fundraiser.

Minor Morgan. Mr. Morgan has volunteered at Rio Grande Community Farm since the fall of 2006. In addition to serving as a board member and treasurer, he serves as executive director—completely on a volunteer basis. He has solicited and acquired significant amounts of grant monies for allow the Farm to expand. Through his efforts, a new drip irrigation system was installed and the Farm will begin growing organic vegetables which will be sold to Albuquerque Public Schools.

Nathan New. Nathan is directly responsible for increasing Citi’s employee volunteer hours from 5,000 in 2006 to 7,774 in 2007. Additionally, he increased the number of volunteers at the company’s call center from 150 to 400+. He not only preaches about the importance of volunteerism—he practices it by personally performing countless hours of volunteer service in our community.

Bea Novak. Mrs. Novak has been a volunteer at the N.M. Veterans Affairs Health Care System for 30 years, and has accumulated 4,618 volunteer service hours. She is the driving force for the American Legion Auxiliary’s sponsorship of the Health Occupations and Careers Program for disadvantaged students. She ensures the students receive gifts and recognition during the holiday season and at the end of the school year. She has frequently furnished warm clothing for some of the students, and her leadership and mentoring of these students has made a significant difference in their lives.

Carol Payne. Ms. Payne has been a member of AT&T New Mexico Club of the Pioneers since its formation in 1996. Since that time, she has been involved in numerous projects some of which include providing stuffed bears and basic reader books to school children, 911 emergency training to Albuquerque students, teaching business economic programs to APS students through Junior Achievement, and sending care packages to military troops in Iraq.

Albert Ripley. Mr. Ripley has volunteered with TAX HELP New Mexico for the past six years. During the tax season from late January until April 15, Mr. Ripley is a constant fixture at the TAX HELP New Mexico office. During the 2007 tax season, he donated 350 hours. He has helped serve several hundred New Mexicans through his years of service by providing a free and necessary service.

Susie Smith. Also known as “Dog Mom”, Ms. Smith has been the Animal Welfare Department’s longest-standing volunteer dating back to the 1990s. She helps train new volunteers and has been instrumental in finding homes for countless animals. She always says “yes” whenever animals are in need.

Team Compass. The staff of Adelante Development Center nominated employees of Compass Bank for their efforts to transform the back yard of a group home to make it usable by clients with severe disabilities. The project was turned down by other volunteer groups because of its magnitude. Team Compass employees worked many hours to complete the challenging task. Adelante clients who rely on wheelchairs and walkers can now enjoy the back yard without fear of injury!

Sheila Trudo. Ms. Trudo volunteers at the City of Albuquerque Animal Welfare Department several days per week. She is excellent at helping adoptive families find the right pet. She is the first to help find a solution when something needs to be fixed.

Youth Building Better Lives Program. Seven young people from the Youth Building Better Lives Program volunteered to paint Mano En Mano Thrift Store. The project was completed in several phases resulting in a fresh, clean appearance for the store. Their volunteer efforts saved the agency $1,000 in labor costs.


To nominate an outstanding volunteer, contact the MOVE office at 505-767-5815.