When it came time to vote for the Hampden Recreation Council's Volunteer of the Year, finalist Carl "Ed" DeVore voted for someone else.
"I never knew my name was on the list at all," he said.
DeVore, 63, found out June 16 when he won the rec council's second annual Volunteer of the Year award at an awards dinner at the restaurant The Dizz in Remington.
"Omigod," DeVore said as his name was announced.
City Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke presented him with a certificate of recognition from the council, signed by her and Councilwoman Belinda Conaway.
Four other volunteers — Ronnie Warner, Robert Atkinson, Wilbur Johnson and Cyndi Heinecke — also won awards.
"It's to recognize the volunteers and show our appreciation," Rec Council President Lisa Myers said.
The Volunteer of the Year award is named for Gloria Frazier, a former longtime senior leader in Hampden's Roosevelt Recreation Center.
Frazier, who retired in 2008, was on hand and told the finalists, many of whom she had worked with through the years, "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have been able to get through it. All of you deserve an award. You all do outstanding service."
DeVore, who has lived in Hampden almost all of his life, has done every volunteer job at the rec center from running the snack bar during soccer games to managing the kitchen.
"Anything they need me to do, I do," he said, adding that he volunteers up to six days a week.
Why, the semiretired machine shop worker was asked.
"I love working with children," he said. "It keeps them off the street. If they didn't have (the rec center), they'd be in trouble. If I see one of them grow up and be a decent person, I feel I did my job."