Larimer County Office of Emergency Management coordinator Ricardo Perez is the recipient of the 2025 Brendan Unitt Community Service Award. The Board of Larimer County Commissioners celebrated Perez’s work in the community, particularly in underserved communities, finding ways to help improve their lives.
With his bilingual language skills, Perez has been able to reach out to those in underserved communities, assess what their needs are, and then work toward fulfilling those needs. He has volunteered in several community projects, including serving on the La Familia Board and working toward improving the lives of youth.
Perez noticed that children in a local mobile home park were playing soccer in a dirt field with no equipment or fencing for their safety. Being a former professional soccer player, he began working with his connections, leaders in the mobile home community and a variety of partners to donate equipment, netting, and other accessories to transform the field into a new soccer park.
“By building the soccer field, you made those kids feel special,” said Larimer County Commissioner Jody Shadduck-McNally. “That’s something you can’t put a price tag on.” “The sense of joy that you gave to the kids to have a real soccer field instead of a flat piece of land” said Larimer County Commissioner Kristen Stephens…