ALAMOSA — El Pomar Foundation’s San Luis Valley Regional Council awarded $40,000 in merit grants to San Luis Valley organizations on Wednesday at the Nestle Toll House Café in Alamosa.

Council members distributed merit grants to groups providing a variety of services to the Valley from arts and theatre to animal assistance and youth education. Valley council members present for the awards ceremony on Wednesday included Keith Cerny, Lori Dooley and Larry Zaragoza. Merit awards were also presented on behalf of council members Tom Gilmore, Kathy Rogers and Karla Shriver. El Pomar Trustee Andrea Aragon helped make the presentations on behalf of council members and El Pomar Foundation CEO/Chairman Bill Hybl.

Receiving awards on Wednesday were:

Boys & Girls Clubs of the San Luis Valley, $10,000

Creede Arts Council, $2,500

Creede Early Learning Center, $2,500

Creede Repertory Theatre, $7,500

KRZA Radio, $2,500

San Luis Valley Animal Welfare Society, $2,500

San Luis Valley Special Olympics, $2,300

Upper Rio Grande Animal Society, $2,500

Valley Crimestoppers, $5,000

Valley Humane League, $2,700

Long-time SLV Regional Council member Keith Cerny said he was grateful for the opportunity to give back to the local nonprofits through the merit grants. As a part-time resident of Creede, he said he chose to give part of his merit grant to the Creede Arts Council to support the arts council’s work in promoting art in its many forms in the community including visual arts, music and theatre. He and other El Pomar regional council members also supported the Creede Repertory Theatre with a combined merit grant that will help the theatre update its lighting system.

Several animal assistance organizations received merit grants including the Upper Rio Grande Animal Society, located in the western part of the Valley, which serves many communities, and SLV Animal Welfare Society on the other side of the Valley, which has rescued and found new homes for countless animals during its years of service in the Valley.

Dooley chose to share some of her merit grants with the Creede Early Learning Center, which performs an excellent service in preparing youngsters for school, she explained.

Zaragoza split his merit grants with two organizations close to his heart, the Valley Humane League, a long-time Valley animal assistance organization, and SLV Special Olympics. Zaragoza said his son who passed away 15 years ago was a special child who loved sports, so Special Olympics has special meaning for him as a father and a long-time coach. He said Special Olympics provides the opportunity for folks who might not otherwise be included in athletic activities to participate “like everybody else.”

El Pomar council members also provided grants to assist law enforcement in solving crime through SLV Crimestoppers and promote public radio through KRZA which not only serves the Valley but also the Taos, N.M., area, and the Boys & Girls Clubs, which planned a forum Wednesday night to find out how its services could be expanded in other parts of the Valley.

Aragon said El Pomar Foundation is glad to support organizations in the Valley and hopes to provide even more funding through competitive as well as merit grants in the future.

Captions: El Pomar SLV Regional Council members Keith Cerny, center, and Lori Dooley, right, present a merit grant to John DiAntonio, Creede Repertory Theatre./Courier photos by Ruth Heide

El Pomar SLV Regional Council member Lori Dooley, right, presents a merit grant to Beverlee Keilman, Creede Early Learning Center.

On behalf of El Pomar Foundation Chairman/CEO Bill Hybl, Andrea Aragon, right, presents a merit award to Frank Peek, San Luis Valley Animal Welfare Society.

El Pomar Foundation SLV Regional Council member Keith Cerny, right, presents a merit grant to Debbie Whitmore, Creede Arts Council.

Accepting a merit grant from the El Pomar SLV Regional Council are representatives from SLV Crimestoppers from left Corina Settle, Kathy Lorenz, John Rosecrans, Nikki Rosecrans and Sam Maestas.

On behalf of SLV Regional Council member Tom Gilmore, El Pomar Trustee Andrea Aragon, front right, presents a merit grant to KRZA. Accepting the award are from left in back Patrick Stanford, Mike Rieck and Ralph Symbleme and from left in front Gerald Rodriguez and Margarita Quintana.

On behalf of SLV Regional Council member Karla Shriver, El Pomar Trustee Andrea Aragon, right, presents a merit grant to the Upper Rio Grande Animal Society represented by Jim Leist and Michele Santi.

El Pomar SLV Regional Council member Larry Zaragoza presents a merit grant to the Valley Humane League, represented by Diana Hamilton, left, and Marianna Young, right.

El Pomar SLV Regional Council member Larry Zaragoza presents a merit grant to San Luis Valley Special Olympics, represented by, from left, Geralyn Cummings, Karie Valdez and Laverne Valdez.

El Pomar Trustee Andrea Aragon, right, presents a merit grant to Aaron Miltenberger for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the San Luis Valley.