PUEBLO, CO — Whether she's bowling with her Special Olympics team members, she calls her "MVP's" or singing songs in her special needs classroom at Minnequa Elementary school in Pueblo, Shari Houser seems like an energizer bunny.
"I've got a secret, and it's called 'napetizers,'" jokes Houser as she explains how she keeps up with her busy schedule. "My kids will vouch for m,e I take 'napetizers on the weekends.
Houser's contagious laugh and sense of humor help break down any barriers in the classroom between her, the students, and her team of paraprofessionals.
"They love, and they connect," said Houser about the paraprofessionals. "They know part of our kids are going to come in, and it's a tough morning, or it's this or that, and it doesn't matter. They don't take anything personal."
It's the kind of unwavering support she also gets from her friends.
"I'm blessed with this community of friends that if I needed anything for any kid or any athlete, I'd pick up the phone and all my friends are like, 'What do you need? What can we do?'" said Houser. "It's a community of giving and I'm just a beacon of sparkle."
"You dream about having a parent like this," said Houser's daughter Brooklynn Abraham.
Abraham says she and her sister never wanted for anything, even though Houser was a single parent often working three jobs to make ends meet.
"I remember making sandwiches when we were little, she'd get all my friends together and we would go hand it out to the homeless," said Abraham. "I never really understood. Why are we giving people we don't know stuff that is hard for us to even get, and she just always told me that this life is a life of service and I didn't know until she was leading by example."
In her News 5 Lighthouse Award nomination, Houser's other daughter wrote:
She never complains, and she's never had a bad attitude towards anything she does for her community. She never expects anything in return, and she gives to everyone out of the pure kindness of her heart.
A kindness that has touched the life of 44-year-old Grant Morris, Houser's best buddy for the last 12 years. Houser recently asked her principal, Katie Harshman, if Morris could be part of the staff at Minnequa. In no time, Morris became a regular volunteer.
"Grant comes in every Thursday, and he works in the library, and he checks everybody out," said Houser.
When we told Grant she was being honored by News5, he immediately stood up and praised her and helped us present to her the News5 Lighthouse Award.
Grant Morris: This is good, happy days for you and me, and this is for my team.
Shari Houser: It is.
Grant Morris: You are the best coach.
Shari Houser: Happy days for you and me and our team. You're right. I love you. Thank you.
We hope you have someone in mind who should be our next winner of the News 5 Lighthouse Award. We've given the award to community leaders, veterans, volunteers, and so many more unsung heroes. Fill out the form below to nominate someone today.
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