Our Week 7 Community Team of the Week is made up of local superstars Karen Dier and Dr. Joel Carrithers. The team is rounded out by the Weld County Department of Human Services, and all of the overnight workers at local King Soopers stores.
Read the incredible stories from the Community Team of the Week below & send us your nominees here!
Karen Dier is a Director of Nutrition Services at North Suburban Medical and was nominated by her neighbor and Colorado Rapids Season Ticket Member, Jason Reynolds.
"Karen is amazing nutritionist" Reynolds said. "She has been going above and beyond during this time to provide meals for her patients. Karen has made multiple trips to the grocery store, so her patients could get a nutritious meals, since food deliveries have been delayed during COVID."
The Weld County Department of Human Service was nominated by Maria Chaves.
“Weld County Department of Human Services continues working hard to provide services for our community," Chaves said. "We continue to help those in need of necessary services such as food assistance, medical coverage, cash assistance, employment services, and other community outreach programs. We have made functional changes on how services can be provided with our offices closed to the public and have adapted to other ways of service. We continue to provide that customer service and compassion to our community. Many of the staff have volunteered with the food banks and other community partners to help provide additional support like food boxes and extra support to the elderly community. Everyone has worked extremely hard during this crucial time. We have demonstrated first hand what we stand for and have been representative of our mission statement. Engaging and partnering with the community to improve the safety, health, and well being of individuals and families through the delivery of responsive and collaborative services. Without our office services, many would go without essential needs.”
Joel Carrithers, D.C., A.T.C/L, is the Rapids chiropractor and was nominated by Senior Director of Soccer Development and USL General Manager, Brian Crookham.
Beyond helping with the club these past few months, Carrithers has been doing 'tele-health' visits with essential works - nurses, doctors, grocery store workers, truck drivers and more - educating them on how to keep active and offering supportive rehab and exercise programs.
The King Soopers overnight workers were nominated by store manager Gina Gabbie and assistant store manager Eleanor Perreault.
"In my opinion, these heroes are the backbone of any store," Gabbie said. "They are here every night and every morning, and they are the ones putting the store together."
"The overnight crew is diligent, on time, hard working, and self motivated," Perreault said. "These are the people who come in when nobody else is here. These are our silent heroes who do not get a lot of credit and we really want to honor them on how wonderful they are."
