Granite Shoals to recognize volunteers with breakfast
STAFF WRITER JENNIFER FIERRO
GRANITE SHOALS — When Granite Shoals city leaders host a pancake breakfast for volunteers, don’t be surprised to see City Manager Ken Nickel flipping flapjacks.
After all, he said, cooking the pancakes is the least he can do to show his gratitude for the numerous hours volunteers have spent to make the city a great place to live.
The free breakfast for volunteers and their families is 8-11 a.m. Saturday, June 10, at the Granite Shoals Fire Hall, 2221 N. Phillips Ranch Road. All volunteers and their family members are invited to the come-and-go meal.
The pancake breakfast will include sausage, juice, and coffee.
“I can cook pancakes and sausage,” Nickel said. “I do it all the time. The staff will be doing the serving and the cleanup.”
It took Nickel several minutes to count all the people who have volunteered during the past 12 months on advisory committees, in beautification efforts, for the annual Christmas by the Highway display, to build a new wildlife viewing station, and more.
“I think I have close to 200 volunteers,” he said. “These folks are willing to make a difference, to make Granite Shoals more efficient, more effective. They do a great job doing things we wouldn’t be able to do.”
He noted the unsung heroes who serve on the beautification committee and take care of the flowers and plants at City Hall as well as the individuals on the parks committee who took it upon themselves to call the maker of a slide that was damaged and under warranty to have it replaced.
The list goes on and on, Nickel said.
“Those folks are committed to making our area better,” he said. “I have nothing but the highest praise to those who give their time, money, and energy.”
Usually, the City Council hosts a reception for volunteers before the start of a regular meeting, but Nickel said city leaders wanted to do something different this Saturday.
“I think it’s important the families see we’re doing things,” he said.