Colorado Operations has named the state’s first Volunteer of the Year. Sebastian Schwender, supervisor of gas operations in Castle Rock, Colorado, was selected to receive the award.

Sebastian, with the help of local technicians, has organized numerous efforts to benefit the local community, including adopting a street in Castle Rock, blood drives, two different holiday parade entries and an entry in the Touch-A-Truck event for kids in Castle Rock.

As part of the Adopt-A-Street program in Castle Rock, our team chose to adopt Park Street, which is near our service center. Crews meet and volunteer twice a year to clean up any plastic, paper or other trash along Park Street, creating a “miracle mile” of clean roadside.

Sebastian’s leadership here is catching on. Crews in Palmer Lake, Colorado, heard about the project and are looking at adopting a street near the offices there. As Volunteer of the Year, Sebastian gets to give back even more. The award allows him to designate a $250 donation to the nonprofit organization of his choice. He chose the Help & Hope Center in Castle Rock, which is a human service organization dedicated to helping people in Douglas and Elbert counties who are in serious economic need, at risk of homelessness or in a similar crisis situation. The Help & Hope Center addresses immediate needs by providing food and other necessities for homeless, low-income and working poor in the community.

“This is a program near to my heart,” Sebastian said. “They really do tremendous things for the Castle Rock and Douglas county areas.”

Congratulations Sebastian! Thanks for all you do to improve your community.

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