Mountain Recreation to honor Sam and Tanisha Bartlett as volunteers of the year
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This week, Mountain Recreation announced that Sam and Tanisha Bartlett were chosen as the 2022 Mountain Recreation Volunteer of the Year award winners.
The 2022 Volunteers of the Year and all the nominees will be celebrated at Mountain Rec’s Volunteer Appreciation Dinner on Thursday, March 23 at Brush Creek Pavilion. The nominees were Tom Boyd, Katie Davies, Kyle Denton, Anna Englehart, Ryan Fountain, Cary Green, Paul Gorbold, Jeff Kostka, Michelle Stolzfus and Mark Wurzer.
Sam and Tanisha Bartlett coach volleyball, soccer, basketball, softball and baseball for Mountain Rec. Considering that soccer has two seasons, this is a commitment that includes coaching four nights a week for more than six months a year. With an average of 15 players on each team, that’s a minimum of 75 kids that they impact — and likely much more each year. This is their fifth year of coaching for Mountain Rec.
“We coach because we love the time with our kids and their friends,” Sam Bartlett said.
“I believe that sports play such a big role in molding us into who we are, and watching these kids grow and better themselves, is such a blessing to me and I love it. I think more than winning or losing, helping these kids to believe in themselves, learning how to be a good teammate, and seeing the reward of working hard, is why I love to coach,” Tanisha said.
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The couple was selected from a group of exceptional volunteers that give up their personal time — whether that personal time is with a pet, a loved one, or just by themselves — to commit to hours a week and weeks at a time to teach children how to play a game or to clean up a free ice rink.
“Sports were so important to me growing up,” said Anna Englehart, a 2022 Mountain Rec Volunteer of the Year nominee. “I learned important life skills and what it means to be part of something bigger than myself — something I reflect on even now as an adult and want to share with my children and their friends and teammates.”
