VOC Volunteer Leader: Wes Go
Alex Schupp • June 14, 2016
VOC Volunteer Leader: Wes Go
We like to put different VOC volunteer leaders in the spotlight in order to recognize the inspiring work they do to care for Colorado's outdoors. Here, get to know our featured volunteer leader -- a man who truly wears many hats -- Wesley "Wes" Go!
Wes' leadership skills and involvement with outdoor stewardship all came together when he started volunteering at a local environmental center in New Jersey and joined an outdoor club. In order to lead trips for the club, he was required to learn First Aid and CPR. He decided to take his wilderness safety training a few steps further, though, and also completed training to become an instructor, EMT and firefighter, volunteering for the local Red Cross, ambulance squad and fire company, respectively. Nowadays, he volunteers on a search and rescue team.
Wes grew up in New York City, and a ski vacation to Colorado in the early 1990s is what cemented his love for the Rocky Mountains. When an opportunity to relocate to the metro Denver area arose 18 years ago, he and his wife snapped it up. The following spring, Wes' employer sponsored a tree planting project with VOC and needed volunteers and a crew leader for the day. "I made the 'mistake' of asking what was required of the crew leader, and was promptly assigned the job," said Wes. Thus, began Wes' relationship with VOC. By the end of that season, Wes had worked five projects and graduated from crew leader training. A year later, he had also become an OSI Instructor and, a year after that, a Technical Advisor.
"As a technical advisor, I love tackling the challenge of laying out trails and writing up construction notes for crews," said Wes.
In 2001, his wife was recruited to become a Crew Chef after assisting in the kitchen on a project. She agreed only if Wes would go through training alongside her. To this day, Wes continues to serve as Crew Chef once or twice a year, practicing his love of cooking for tired and hungry crowds.
Wes has also tried his hand as a Tool Manager and Team Lead on a few projects, but finds himself returning most often as a Crew Leader. He enjoys interacting with crews and making their VOC experiences -- a first for a majority of them -- fun and memorable.
"VOC offers the best chances to be a steward of the public lands on which I am already an active user hiking, climbing, biking and skiing," said Wes. Away from VOC, Wes is a geospatial scientist and engineer for a satellite remote sensing company.
Interested in learning more about VOC volunteer leadership or becoming a crew leader? Click here!
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After three meaningful decades, Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) will be saying goodbye to our longtime home at the Dos Chappell Bathhouse in Denver's beloved Washington Park. In the early 1990s, VOC signed a 30-year lease with the City of Denver to transform the historic bathhouse in Washington Park into a headquarters that could support our growing mission. With generous support from our community, we launched a capital campaign and raised $700,000 to complete the initial renovations, which were finalized in 1996. Altogether, including the original renovations, VOC has invested more than $1 million in improvements and ongoing maintenance, creating a space that is enjoyed by our staff, volunteers, and the broader Washington Park community. In 2000, the building was renamed in honor of Dos Chappell, VOC’s former Executive Director (1988–1999), whose vision and leadership left a lasting legacy on our organization and Colorado’s outdoor stewardship movement. This space has been more than just an office—it’s been a gathering place, a launchpad for thousands of volunteers, and a visible symbol of our commitment to caring for Colorado.
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