During the early part of the fire situation in 2018, Mandi saw the need to collect supplies for our firefighters and for those who would be joining our local fighters. The city was being bombarded with requests from great residents who wanted to help and Mandi was one of them. She stepped forward and volunteered to coordinate, collect, and deliver all the supplies that were being donated. She collected the items at her home, away from the fire command center, which eased the growing responsibilities of our firefighting team. She stayed active on social media to inform the residents where supplies could be delivered. She worked with our city's PIO officer to keep the right kind of supplies coming in and then delivered the supplies directly to where they were needed. Her volunteer efforts greatly benefited our community during a very stressful time.
Manny is a valuable volunteer for the residents of Santaquin City. Manny’s volunteer efforts involve hosting classes to help our Hispanic community acquire their driving privilege cards so they can drive legally. Since the test is in English, Manny is able to teach the students some English and then read the questions to them when taking the test. He has helped a lot of our own community members in this way during the past year. He started serving the Hispanic communities shortly after graduating from the Utah Police Academy in 1996 and has continued this type of volunteer service in each community he has been employed as a Police Officer. Manny is a father to 7 children and married to his sweetheart Nancy. He is a big advocate for helping the community and always treats everyone with dignity, respect and kindness. Santaquin City appreciates Manny’s volunteer service.
Shane Waters is a valuable volunteer of our community. He is a member of our Miss Santaquin Committee and an employee of Nebo School District. He selflessly gives hundreds of hours throughout the year to the committee with the help and support of his family who consist of his wife Jennifer and his six children. For the past five years, he has made all of the Miss Santaquin Pageant backdrops for the stage and has constructed all of the parade floats for the royalty. The Pageant group feels fortunate to have him on the Miss Santaquin Committee and to be the beneficiaries of his beautiful designs and creativity that he magically pulls together on a limited budget. Thank you Shane, for all of your countless hours of volunteer service.
Jammie is always the first to jump in and volunteer when something needs done. Her passion to serve others has influenced a great number of Santaquin’s school aged children. As if being PTA president of Santaquin Elementary didn’t keep her busy enough, she also agreed to run Payson Junior High’s PTA and represent the PTA on the School Community Council. If you’ve ever been in one of these positions, you would know this is like having a full time job without the pay!
Jammie has spent countless hours at our school helping with assemblies, parties, registration and classes. She communicates school information to the parents and is often the first person people turn to for direction. She has organized and participated in fantastic committees that decorate a hallway for every holiday, spirit week, and special occasion. These little touches bring smiles to the kids, the faculty, and all those who visit the school.
Not only does she provide snacks and meals for the teachers and other volunteers at the school, she makes them all from scratch! Jammie also provided computer clickers for all of the teachers that didn't have one. They were so appreciative! She always has a smile on her face and a cheerful attitude for everyone. The happiness she helps create at the school level translates into a happier home life when the kids get home, having a greater reaching effect than she even realizes. Jammie is a great example to all that know her.
Jammie lives in Summit Ridge with her husband and children. She spends countless hours serving in both church and school, and oversees every event to make sure it goes smoothly. She is a great asset to our community.
Josh Nielsen is a tireless volunteer for the city of Santaquin. He coaches every sport possible for the recreation department and then asks if he can do anything more to help out. He serves on our recreation board as well. Josh also serves as a scout leader for our community. He has an amazing attitude about volunteering and is an overall amazing person. Josh is married and a father to four children. He is an attorney and his law office is here in Santaquin.
Hannah Tervort volunteers to run the Miss Santaquin program each year. She has done so for the past 6 years. This takes a lot of time every year and is a year long project that she does with a smile. She works so hard with the young women who try out and who win each year. The time and energy she puts in is commendable. The Miss Santaquin Pageant is held each March.
Cori has headed up the Little Miss Orchard Days pageants for the past several years. She organizes all aspects of the pageant and mentors the girls through all pageant preparation, service projects, and parent information night. She makes sure that each contestant feels like a winner, even if they don't go home with a title. When the pageant is over she organizes the winners and coordinates with the Orchard Days Rodeo for the ride-through on rodeo night in addition to organizing the pageant winner parade entry during Orchard Days. Her countless hours of unpaid service are a stressful joy in her life. Cori is a wife and mom of 3 busy kids and in her spare time serves as a volunteer EMT and lieutenant for the Santaquin Fire Dept.
Dan Myers is a valuable volunteer in Santaquin City. He has volunteered to teach every class of the kids fishing class since the program started 4 years ago. Even when he didn't need dedicated hunter hours, which this volunteer work can fulfill, he would still come in and teach the kids about fishing twice a week. He has been our most dependable fishing teacher and is fully dedicated to the program. He is very patient and good with the kids. Dan's group has a lot of fun, they catch fish, and the kids learn how to fish on their own. Thank you for your service Dan!
Macie Steele is always willing to help with any of the events that the city hosts. She is in charge of the Children’s Parade and Family Night for Orchard Days. She has made those events bigger and better each year. This year she coordinated the teen dance for Orchard Days as well, which was a great success. She was also the Easter Bunny at our Easter Egg Hunt this year. She always has a positive upbeat attitude that radiates to those around her. She is full of energy- even with twins who were premature! Thank you Macie, for your volunteer efforts on behalf of our community!
Waylon Pruitt is our Orchard Days Car Show Chairman and Volunteer of the Month for October 2019. He works very hard to make sure that every detail is attended to which makes the Car Show a fun family event for our community. He has chaired the event for the past 3 years. He starts contacting the numerous sponsors in January each year and then spends the next several months collecting the donations. The tangible donations are raffled off the day of the show which generates additional proceeds. 100% of the proceeds are donated to charity each year. In 2018 the funds were given to the Make A Wish Foundation to help four children. This year the proceeds were given to the Primary Children’s Hospital for four different families. His wife Heather helps him each year with the treasury duties and collecting donations. He is a father to 2 children and has lived in Santaquin for about six years. Waylon stated that he does the car show for the kids in the city to show them that if they work hard, they can accomplish their dreams. Waylon is described by our Recreation employees as having a bottomless heart and great passion for the Car Show. Thank you Waylon, for all your hard work to make the Car Show a success.
Ted Roy is our November Volunteer of the Month. He is regularly seen walking along Summit Ridge Parkway picking up trash, pulling weeds, speaking a kind word to fellow walkers and waving hello to motorists. In fact, for the past little while, he has been seen on his hands and knees cutting out weeds along the road that were poisoned by our public works crew. His goal was to make the Parkway look as nice as possible for the Grand Opening of the road extension. When asked why he spends time giving service in this manner, he said he feels it is his civic responsibility.
When Mr. Roy was younger, he spent time serving on the sheriff’s posse and the sheriff’s rescue team while his profession was school teacher to children and teens. He has six children and his five boys have all received their Eagle Scout Award, which makes each one a 4th generation Eagle Scout.
Mr. Roy would like to start a campaign called Weed Angels which would focus on teaching children how to beautify their community by doing a little bit each day, such as pulling a few weeds or picking up trash on their way to the park. He is dedicated to beautifying our community and very much appreciated by all who live in Summit Ridge. Thank you for your service Mr. Roy!
The Robbins are great examples of the volunteer spirit. Dave, a lifelong resident, and his wife Kalei and their four boys have been running the Squash Head 4-H Sheep Showmanship Program in Santaquin for the past 6 years. Children between the ages of 8 and 18 are invited to participate in the program and they are taught how to feed, lead, shear, wash, and present the animals at several shows before they are sold. To help offset program expenses, Kalei and Dave approach local businesses to participate in a booster program to sponsor the children. Their Squash Head 4-H Petting Zoo has become a main attraction during our city Orchard Days Celebration.
Because many children do not live in areas where livestock are allowed, the Robbins allow the lambs to be raised on their family farm. The participants are taught money management skills to help the program be successful in future years. There is also a garden on the farm property that the 4-H students learn how to cultivate. After a successful harvest, the food is then donated to our local assisted living centers. On top of these volunteer efforts, Kalei is the Young Farmer and Ranchers Chair and Dave is the Vice President of the Utah County Farm Bureau. Their hope is that these efforts can advocate to our future generations the importance of agriculture. A big thank you to Dave and Kalei for their volunteer efforts in helping our children learn valuable life skills and promoting our agricultural heritage.