While Kate Crawford and her husband had been coming to Pagosa Springs for 30 years to vacation, they made the permanent move to Pagosa Springs in 2018. When she arrived, she knew she wanted to get involved in her new community.
Crawford had only been in town for a short time before she came across a booth outside the Choke Cherry Tree staffed by Habitat Archuleta volunteers. Her choice of where to volunteer was obvious.
“I love volunteering because I’ve been blessed so much in my life. My parents always taught me to give back,” she said, adding, “and that just kind of fell in my lap.”
Crawford had nine years of experience fundraising and event planning for the Ronald McDonald House in her home town of Albuquerque, N.M. She applied her skills for Habitat Archuleta, hosting the first ever Hats Off for Habitat event, which quickly became a yearly iconic event in Pagosa Springs.
Crawford said that when she joined the board of directors, “We were struggling in the community; no one knew we were around anymore. So, we knew we had to boost our visibility.”
With the dedication of Crawford, the board of directors, Board President Paul Lehmann and Executive Director Lori Henricksen, Habitat Archuleta resurged in 2019 as a prominent nonprofit in Archuleta County.
After Crawford hosted a free Christmas event with various crafts for kids, she said the community understood, “‘We are here. We’re in the community, and we’re here to stay.’”
Crawford said that as she got more involved with Habitat Archuleta, she grew to appreciate the passion of its volunteers and staff.
“Meeting the families and being able to provide them with a safe place to live was just so rewarding,” she said. “Habitat became another passion.”
Crawford was board president from 2021 until the end of 2022. She and her husband, Mike, moved to the Front Range for a short time after her tenure.
“Coming back here this last May, we drove into town, and we just looked at one another and said, ‘This is where we need to be,’” she said.
Because of Kate Crawford’s superior dedication to Habitat Archuleta as a volunteer and board president, she was awarded Volunteer of the Year at this year’s Volunteer Appreciation Party.
“I don’t do this to get recognition,” she said. “It’s the way I was raised, to help others … what an honor. I’m still just over the moon. It’s the last thing I ever expected.”
Now that she has retired from the board of directors, she said she’s excited to get back on the build sites and set aside her administrative duties.
Kate Crawford added she likes to bike and goes for a walk every day with friends.
While she looks back on her Habitat Archuleta career and looks forward to what’s to come in her dedication to the organization, she added she’s been “very thankful. It’s just been a lot of fun.”
