Bob and Sylva Cockrell stand with their Service to Seniors Award at the Monument Senior Center on May 30, 2023.

MONUMENT — A pair of longtime volunteers were recognized for their years of service at a luncheon on May 30 at the Monument Senior Center.

Bob and Sylvia Cockrell were presented with the Service to Seniors Award, given by the Grant County Senior Citizens Advisory Council to honor exemplary service over a sustained period of time to elderly residents of the county.

The award plaque was presented by Rick LaMountain, who lauded the Cockrells for their extensive volunteer work. For more than a decade, the couple have devoted countless hours to the Monument Senior Center, from assisting with the weekly lunches to helping plan and oversee major improvements such as new flooring, the installation of new kitchen appliances and restroom upgrades.

They’ve pitched in on fundraisers from rummage sales to the annual Buckaroo dinner and auction, help maintain a rental house owned by the senior center and give time to the Monument Food Bank. They also travel each year to places like Central America, Peru, Bolivia and Portugal, where they work as Habitat for Humanity volunteers to help build homes for people in need.

“For people like Bob and Sylvia Cockrell,” LaMountain said in his prepared remarks, “being good neighbors is not merely an avocation, but a calling, a way of life.”