In April 2010 Chuck Bell was named a University of Phoenix Volunteer Leader Award Honoree, an award given by HandsOn Network and the University of Phoenix to 10 outstanding volunteer leaders in the nation. These leaders have motivated others and served as catalysts for change in their communities.
The award celebrates the first anniversary of the landmark Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which authorized the largest expansion of national service in America in decades. Chuck received a $10,000 cash prize to donate to the charity or non-profit of his choice and he chose to donate this money to Poudre Wilderness Volunteers, which he co-founded 15 years ago.
In 1995 Chuck, a retired American diplomat who was volunteering as a ranger for the U.S. Forest Service in northern Colorado, became extremely worried about budget cuts to the ranger district’s staff. To counter the effect of those cuts, and to ensure that the Northern Colorado community could continue enjoying the trails and wilderness areas of the Canyon Lakes Ranger District, Chuck and Art Bunn founded Poudre Wilderness Volunteers.
Poudre Wilderness Volunteers recruits, trains and equips citizen volunteers to serve as “ranger-educators” for the U.S. Forest Service lands of northern Colorado. The organization assures that visitors have a safe, enjoyable wilderness experience and encourages them to minimize their impact on the land. Through Chuck’s leadership and ongoing participation, PWV has become the largest, all-volunteer organization of its kind in the nation, with more than 250 volunteers dedicated to educating and assisting users of the backcountry.
In addition to being one of PWV’s founders, Chuck has served as the Chair of PWV’s Board of Directors for two years, been an active member of PWV’s Advisory Board for 14 years, and completed six or more trail patrols in each of 13 years – for a grand total of over 160 patrols!
In addition to PWV, Chuck’s passion for the environment led him to create and lead other organizations. Using his experience as a guide with Ski for Light International, which offers cross-country skiing for the visually impaired, he started Trek for Light, a llama trek for visually impaired persons who want a safe but exciting wilderness experience. Trek for Light’s dedicated volunteers are now getting ready for their 17th annual summer adventure.
Chuck also served six years as a board member of the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory, helping steer it from near financial collapse to a healthy, vibrant organization, and currently he is a director of the American Birding Association, helping transform it into a major voice for birds and birders in North America. Chuck and his wife Nancy are avid international birders and both recently passed the 5,000 mark on their bird species “life lists.”
In his Foreign Service career, Chuck served as Public Affairs Counselor at U.S. Embassies in Zambia, Zimbabwe and New Zealand, and as a public diplomacy specialist in Norway, Côte d’Ivoire, Tunisia and Morocco. He also served two years as a Voice of America news correspondent in French-speaking Africa.
Since retiring from the Foreign Service and moving to northern Colorado, Chuck has dedicated his life to conserving natural resources and educating wilderness users. As a 2010 University of Phoenix Volunteer Leader Honoree, Chuck says, “I feel I have energies and talents that can help others. I’d get terribly bored if I wasn’t out there …starting something that will benefit others and the environment in which we live.”