Everyone is proud when a member of their family gains recognition for their hard work. The Chin-MacQuoid-Fleming-Harris family is especially proud that the Park City Rotary Club recently named one of our own – Craig Cooper, Suzanne Harris’s husband – the 2018 Volunteer Citizen of the Year. We agree that Craig personifies “Service above Self” in every way possible. Although Craig never talks about himself or all he does for our community, we would describe this humble, quiet man as the most generous, caring person we know. We would like to share with you just a few of the many reasons why Park City views Craig Cooper as a true unsung hero.
Joy from giving back
Most Parkites know Craig through his weekly volunteer DJ work on KPCW, which he has done for over 25 years. This is the most public act of selfless service he performs; the rest is done generously and modestly out of the public eye. Craig has been faithfully delivering food to the Peace House shelter every Friday for over two decades. Each year, he spends thousands at his own expense purchasing items such as children’s toys, desserts, or even hair dye simply because it will make the residents’ journeys a bit easier. Further, many years he prepared home-cooked Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners and delivered them to the Shelter. Craig continues to make sure the Peace House residents, particularly the children, have special treats on all the major holidays, and often surprises them with flowers just to brighten their day.
Public service is what makes a community great
Craig has been an active member of the public service organization Park City Elks Lodge since 1985, and served in many leadership positions. Since 2002 he has headed the committee that honors the five branches of our local first responders. Every year Craig helps organize the event, present the awards, and he has secured the gifts for the five recipients for the last ten years. Believing that public service is key to making our community great, Craig also founded the Park City Lions Club in 1996. His leadership and support have made a difference to hundreds of people the Lions Club assists, such as those with compromised vision or physical challenges, and children’s book purchases for local elementary schools, libraries, Sub for Santa, People’s Health Clinic and Peace House.
The bright spot in someone’s day
Craig often takes food to the Christian Center from Park City Market and brings lunches to their volunteers on a monthly basis. He likes to express his gratitude for their service and brighten their days. For the past decade, Craig has purchased scores of daffodil bouquets from a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, put them in vases, and hand delivered them to the Veterans Senior Care Center in Salt Lake and a Senior Care Center in Heber. He does this to just brighten the day of an elderly person.Craig has supported many other local non-profits in Salt Lake and Park City such as The Park City Institute, The Hope Alliance, Shriners Children’s Hospital, Make A Wish Foundation and the National Ability Center.Another little-known kindness of Craig’s is that he buys hundreds of greeting cards every year and sends them to everyone he knows for birthdays, anniversaries, or merely to cheer someone up.
Please join us at in honoring Craig Cooper’s 25 years of selflessly giving of his time and support. We hope you will agree that he is the quintessential example of “Service Above Self” in Park City. We are so proud to know Craig is a member of the Chin-MacQuoid-Fleming-Harris family!
Special Guests at the Miner’s Day Parade
Craig Cooper and Suzanne Harris Cooper
