Volunteer Spotlight: Melissa and Simon

Have you seen our beautiful new shaded picnic area? You can thank volunteers Melissa Waechter and Simon Williams for installing the posts and sunshade that give our campers and other visitors a place to escape the Colorado sun.

Melissa, a "Civil Service brat who is now more Coloradoan than Texan”, and Simon, originally from England who became a US Citizen this year, have helped MVHR with several maintenance projects this summer. With an ever-growing list of improvement projects and repairs, having volunteers to tackle these on a regular basis is a huge help to our operation.

Both Simon and Melissa have lived in Avon for about 18 years. Melissa works at The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch and it was through their volunteer program that she discovered MVHR. Skiing originally brought Simon across the pond. He started as a ski instructor with Vail Resorts and now works for Town of Avon’s transportation department.

One Saturday this summer, Simon decided to skip a round of golf and join Melissa at MVHR’s Community Volunteer Day instead. When he and Melissa discovered MVHR needed help on Ranch improvement side projects like installing the sunshade and working on the T-Bar fence in the back corral, they jumped right in. “Simon’s experience with maintenance equipment has been helpful with these projects and the other tasks like mowing and general maintenance”, said Melissa. Her power tool skills have come in handy, as well.

Both like to volunteer because they “find it rewarding to know our actions are helping the ranch and animals.” While neither of them has ever owned horses, they say they have always taken opportunities to ride, care and interact with them. They’ve had horseback riding dates in the Tetons, Hawaii and through outfitters in our valley. Melissa also spent a lot of time working at ranches and interacting with horses around Australia during her gap year.

When asked about favorite horses, Melissa says she finds a new one each time she comes out to the ranch and has enjoyed seeing Cora B growing and changing. She also gave a special shout out to now adopted Blue Moon and Herman, noting she is “happy to see that most of them have transitioned to happy homes.” So are we! Simon has an affinity for paint horses, but likes it when any of the Rescues come over to the fence line to say “Hi”.

Simon doesn’t just enjoy being around the horses. He says another bonus is meeting the staff and getting to know fellow volunteers. For Melissa, “the rewarding part of volunteering at MVHR is knowing we are making a difference, big or small, by each chore we can help with.”

We’d like to extend a big “Thank you” to Melissa and Simon for all the chores and projects they help us with at the Rescue! We’ll think of them each time we have a picnic or take a little break down under the sunshade and admire the beautiful views.