Left Hand Laurel John Barto

NCA Clean-Up Day is sponsored by the Niwot Community Association and is one of Niwot's biggest events every year. One of the NCA's board members has always spearheaded the event since its conception over twenty years ago.

One NCA board member has been involved with the program for over 10 years, and has served as the lead program manager for the past four years. For his volunteer efforts in managing and coordinating Niwot's Clean-Up Day, this month's Left Hand Laurel is awarded to John Barto.

Barto spends about two months communicating with the various different groups who provide services for the event - including Western Disposal, Eco-Cycle, Wildfire Partners, Community Cycles, IT Refresh (electronics recycling), Bedder World (mattress recycling), Rocky Mountain Recycling (metal), St. Vrain Valley Schools, and Boulder County. "It's a long process to make sure we get commitment from everyone, but over the years I've gotten to know and work with the same leads of these organizations," said Barto.

He also said that they have success in getting the same people every year because they love coming to this event every year - and not just because of the donuts, coffee, pizza, and soft drinks provided to volunteers and workers every year. Barto regularly receives feedback every year from the organizations that they are impressed with the successful turnout as well as the dedication and friendliness of the volunteers.

Barto said that he understands that the donuts and pizza help bring organizations and volunteers back. He hears the refrain, "This is the one time a year where I eat a donut," from just about every volunteer.

"I took over as program manager from Tom Sesnic," Barto said, "who did a great job putting this together for many years before I took over. It's not an easy position to have."

A lot of work goes into putting Clean-Up Day together every year and the event has undergone a lot of evolution, especially in the past five years.

Every year, Barto has his fingers crossed that the weather will cooperate on the day of the event. The promise is that NCA Clean-Up Day will happen "come rain, shine, or snow," and there have been times where there were heavy snow storms overnight, or rain during the event itself. There have also been years where there was intense heat.

When the day comes, Barto is up at 5 a.m. to be in the Niwot High School parking lot by 6 a.m. for drivers who might drop their dumpsters off early. He has to ensure that the layout is precise to maintain the most efficient traffic flow. This means he relies on the assistance of his fellow board members and other volunteers to acquire certain materials (such as the coffee and donuts) while he gets the venue ready for community members.

John and his wife, Joanie, initially moved to Niwot in 1992. Niwot was the optimal location for them, halfway between each of their places of work. Joanie worked as a nurse at Lutheran Hospital in Wheat Ridge, and John's headquarters was with Hewlett-Packard in Loveland. Their son Scott grew up attending Niwot Elementary, Altona Middle, and Niwot High School. John came to Colorado from Cleveland, Ohio, and Joanie came from Detroit, Mich. They said they have no plans on leaving anytime soon.

"Like most organizations, [being involved] is all about the people," John Barto said. "Niwot and the NCA are made up of a great group of people." He credits the NCA board members and overall community as being the reason he continues to volunteer, and viewsNiwot as an amazing place to live as well as a place where it is "fun to plan events and programs".

Barto has been on the NCA board since the late 2000's, serving as the area five representative (the area between Niwot Road, 79th Street, Monarch Road, and Highway 119). It's been so long since he joined and got involved with the community and volunteer work, he doesn't remember how he officially started. But he does know he just loves giving back to and working with the community.