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Mountain Rec names Tom Boyd its volunteer of the year

Longtime local is honored at the district’s recent volunteer celebration dinner

Tom Boyd, seen here with his family, was honored as Mountain Recreation’s volunteer of the year at the district’s recent volunteer celebration dinner.
Courtesy Photo

On Wednesday, March 16, Mountain Recreation hosted its “first-in-a-while” volunteer celebration dinner in Edwards. The district invited volunteers and their families as well as the greater community to celebrate the extraordinary volunteer efforts across the district this past year. The event also honored Mountain Recreation’s 2021 volunteer of the year, Tom Boyd.

“It goes without saying that we wouldn’t be where we are and have the impact we have on our valley without our volunteers,” said Lizzy Owens, the community engagement manager at Mountain Recreation. “We were thrilled to see such a great turnout and connect with over 50 volunteers and their families. These volunteers provide more than recreation, they create community. We look forward to making next year’s dinner even better and connect with our 2022 volunteers.”

During the celebration dinner, many stories were shared, but one stood out above the rest. Mountain Rec’s board president Liz Jones took a moment to share about Boyd’s impact in 2021, presenting him with the 2021 Volunteer of the Year Award.



“From the beginning Tom took on a lead role to get the Edwards outdoor ice rink built. He wore many hats and was fully committed to ensuring the success of this great community asset,” Jones said. “Tom oversaw the organizing and training of all volunteers and provided steady communication and scheduling to maintain the rink throughout the winter. He easily spent hundreds of hours on this large project, touched hundreds of lives, and we couldn’t think of a better deserving individual.”

The community and Mountain Rec staff experienced Boyd’s impact firsthand.

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“Any weekend during the winter was a busy one at the Edwards ice rink,” said Brad Johnson, the Edwards Fieldhouse supervisor. “From first-time skaters to hockey drop-ins, the ice rink provided a free space for our community to connect and stay active. We can’t thank Tom enough for his work to bring the community together. He always has a huge smile and positive outlook within the Edwards community.”

Reflecting on 2021 and his work with the Edwards ice rink, Boyd had the following to say:

“The late great Ben Krueger made the rink for us when I was a kid on the Vail Golf Course, and I wanted to do for this generation’s kids what Ben and guys like Paul Golden and Andy Clark have done with other outdoor rinks throughout the valley,” he said. “It takes a huge team of volunteers to build and maintain this rink, and they put in hundreds of hours on cold nights and mornings. Thank you to them and to Mountain Recreation for creating the essential institutional support that a project like this requires. I am very honored to receive this award. Importantly, I’m fortunate that I work for the Vail Valley Foundation, which not only accommodates, but encourages volunteer activity so I couldn’t have led this volunteer effort without their amazing support.”

The Vail Valley Foundation, Singletree and Vail Honeywagon all provided Mountain Rec with financial support to make the Edwards outdoor ice rink possible.

In 2021 Mountain Rec saw a massive increase in participation across its youth programs in Edwards, Eagle and Gypsum. Thanks to more than 180 volunteer coaches, the district was able to help 2,495 kids across its five sports league sessions throughout the year. Additionally, the district received over 20 volunteers to set up the Edwards ice rink for the second year in a row and seven volunteers to offer belay clinics in Edwards and Gypsum.

To volunteer across the district’s various programs and facilities please reach out at info@MountainRec.org.


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