The winner of the Mancos Citizen of the Year was no surprise when the presenter mentioned feeding the community.
"Without fanfare or spotlight, they provided much-needed support during the fire," said Howard Thomas, with the Mancos Valley Lions Club.
"And they have been feeding the community Thanksgiving Dinner for years," he said. "Pete Loyd and Rob Kirks are here for us in good times and bad."
Loyd and Kirks co-own P&D Grocery in Mancos.
The Mancos Valley Lions Club was last year's Citizen of the Year and got to decide who would win the award this year.
"We had a wonderful time being ambassadors for Mancos," Thomas said of the club's time as the Citizens of the Year.
Howard told the crowd at the Mancos Chamber of Commerce on Feb. 5 to hear the recipient of the honor, that the decision was a difficult one.
"Our town is full of generous, dedicated, caring people," Thomas said.
But when it came down to it, there were a series of contributions made by Loyd and Kirks that stood out.
Providing food and drink to the firefighters during the Weber fire, providing an annual free meal to the community during Thanksgiving and giving countless trays of food to community events, all made this year's winner stand out.
Both Loyd and Kirks said little when presented with the plaque proclaiming the honor.
"We are both men of few words," Loyd said. "It takes a great community to be involved with everything that goes on."
Loyd also used his moment in the spotlight to highlight an upcoming event. On Sunday, Loyd donated 50 percent of the proceeds from Mancos Pizza to local families dealing with expensive medical conditions.
"We hope to see everyone on Sunday," he said.
Loyd got into the grocery business when he was in high school. He worked at a market in Cortez and decided to open P&D 39 years ago.
He won Mancos Citizen of the Year in 1999 as well.
"I've been in the grocery business a long time," he said.
