Sheridan’s Crayton Named Andrus Award Winner For Wyoming

Courtesy: Carla Crayton

Sheridan’s Carla Crayton has been named Wyoming’s Andrus Award winner for Wyoming today by AARP Wyoming. The annual award is named after AARP Founder Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus and goes to the state’s top volunteer over the age of 50.

Crayton won the award after an extensive voting process that included social media and online voting by AARP Wyoming members. The other finalists in the voting were Charlie Simineo and Tim Sheppard of Cheyenne. Crayton will be honored during AARP Wyoming’s Volunteer Summit at the UCross Ranch on October 16.

“I am just stunned,” Crayton said on Tuesday when notified of the award. “It is a wonderful honor and I am grateful. The other two guys do absolutely really amazing things. I was surprised to win with the work they do.”

Crayton founded the Sheridan Foster Parent Exchange from her living room in 2013 with her eight-year-old foster daughter. The Foster Parent Exchange offers free clothing for parents and children who are in crisis, transitioning to a new family situation. This includes everything from a pair of shoes or clothes to beds, and all for free.

“I started the Foster Exchange because I got a little eight-year-old girl in my home as a foster parent and I took her to the store and she was crying because she had been removed from her parents,” Crayton said. “I thought it was so traumatic for her, going to the store and trying to find the things she needed. I had never been a parent before. We bought her $300 worth of stuff and I didn't know if this was the right thing or the wrong thing.”

Crayton originally ran the Foster Parent Exchange out of her home, collecting children’s items that didn’t sell at local yard sales. Eventually, the Foster Parent Exchange would out-grow space in her home and move into a space on Main Street in Sheridan. The first six years of Sheridan Foster Parent Exchange Carla worked multiple other jobs at the same time to keep it going; including work as a youth mentor and special needs para professional. Last year the Exchange provided over 1,500 services in one shape or form serving Sheridan, Campbell, and Johnson Counties. The Foster Parent Exchange model has been replicated and Crayton is also mentoring similar programs in Torrington and Cheyenne.

“Any crisis that involves a child, we can be there to help,” said Crayton. “If there is a fire, or emergency and they need clothes for a kid who has lost everything, that is when we spring into action. We received a recent grant to create a database for resources to direct people to organizations who serve people in crisis. We know where to go now to get bilingual services, mental health services and mental health services that will come to you. Additionally, the database will provide information for people experiencing homelessness, suicide, fire, and any other impactful situations involving children.”

Crayton understands both sides of the foster parent and child experience having been a foster child herself. She has been a foster parent since 2012 and has provided respite, foster care, and mentorship for many children and adopted a kiddo from foster care when she got married to her husband Stephen in 2022. For that reason she understands what getting a little something extra or special means to kids who are in transition.

“One kid got seven shirts from us and he said it was more shirts than he had had in his life,” she said. “Another foster mom asked for help and we threw a couple extra things. It was simple things that are easy for us to give and helps them to care for these kids. It just meant a lot to them.”

The Foster Exchange isn’t Crayton’s only volunteer gig. She has served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) and works with her church’s vacation bible school and the YMCA VBS serving as a greeter for over 400 children. In previous years she has worked at an orphanage in Haiti, delivered bibles overseas, and worked with Adventures in Missions where she was a team of 35 that traveled around the world focusing on improving the lives of those who had been involved in human trafficking.

“It was an amazing journey,” she said of the work with human trafficking victims. “The worst month was working in the US and seeing all the trafficking that happens here.”

Terri Markham nominated Crayton, commenting "Carla does not serve for recognition - she serves because she believes every child deserves to feel safe, valued, and loved. What sets her apart is her rare gift for connection. If someone in Sheridan needs something-be it a crib, winter coat, or emotional support, Carla is often their first call. Her story is one of humble leadership, quiet determination, and relentless generosity."

The Other Nominees
Cheyenne’s Tim Sheppard was nominated by Cheyenne’s Sandy McFarland and is the Executive Director of the Wyoming Veterans Commission by day. In his volunteer life, he is a member of the AARP Wyoming Veterans Advisory Committee, and participates in Veterans Feeding Veterans, Veterans Talking to Veterans, Raising Readers youth program, and as a regional director for the First Lady’s Wyoming Hunger Initiative. His community work extends to his role as distinguished past governor for the Rocky Mountain District of the Kiwanis Club and in 2025 he became a Kiwanis International Trustee. The Army veteran is the vice president of the board for the Cheyenne After School Kids Program and the Past President of the Cheyenne YMCA. A graduate of Leadership Wyoming in 2007, Tim currently serves as its immediate past chairman of the board. He also participated in the Wyoming Academy 2024, a collaborative effort between Leadership Wyoming and the Wyoming Business Council.

Cheyenne’s Charlie Simineo may be busier in retirement than he was during his working life. Simineo has been appointed by the Governor to the Wyoming Senior Services Board, and was appointed by the Laramie County Commissioners to the Laramie County Senior Services Board. He is also Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Site Coordinator at the Laramie County Senior Center, who also helps out filling out income tax forms for members of the public (over 1,700 last year, alone). Doing taxes continues long after tax season is normally over by volunteering at United Way of Laramie County two times a month from June to October doing taxes. He is a Laramie County Election Judge and site coordinator at the North Cheyenne Christian Church Polling Place. For 18 years, Simineo taught three classes every semester on Medicare, Medicare Drug plans, Medigap, Long-Term Care Insurance and Medicare Advantage at Laramie County Community College. He is a facilitator for GriefShare which is a 13-week Christian based Grief Support Group. Charlie began doing this after the death of his wife. He just finished the 32nd cycle of facilitating this grief support group. Additionally, is a community service member of the Wyoming State Bar’s Arbitration Panel. Charlie Simineo was named the 2022 Eddie Wadda Community Service Award and the 2011 AARP-Wyoming’s Community Partner.

Past Winners

• Sheridan’s Jack Wood is a fireball who is always busy advocating for cancer research, working with the Sheridan Chamber of Commerce, donating time to the local softball leagues in Sheridan, the County Fair, the Hospital Foundation, and even sits on the Sheridan City Council. Jack was the runaway winner for the award in 2024.
• Sheridan’s Judy Hayworth was AARP Wyoming’s 2023 Andrus Award winner after volunteering all over her native Sheridan County. At The WYO Theater Judy is an usher, a ticket, taker, and cleaner of the theater. As a part of the Sheridan Memorial Hospital’s Auxiliary, last year she helped decorate 18 Christmas trees located at the hospital, as well as medical clinics; helped with mailings for the hospital, such as Christmas cards; and helped plan the annual five year old birthday party. As a volunteer in the Sheridan Memorial Hospital’s surgical waiting room, she gets coffee, makes calls on behalf of the families at the hospitals, and even brings goodies. As a volunteer for CASA, Hayworth is assigned to work with children from the time they enter the legal system until they are, hopefully, reunited with their families. 

• 2022 AARP Wyoming Andrus Award Winner Bernadette. “Bernie” Horst is a familiar face around Albany County, volunteering at The Albany County Library, The Wyoming Women’s Club; the Laramie Plains Museum, and Wyoming Women’s History Museum. Horst is perhaps best known for her work at the Eppson Center, where she remains active at the Eppson Center where she volunteers to update the grounds of the center by doing landscaping and decorating tables according to a monthly theme. For ten years, Horst has been a member of the Home Delivered Meals, delivering warm meals to those who are homebound or not able to cook for themselves. The University of Wyoming’s St. Paul Newman’s Center benefits from Horst’s efforts as she bakes snacks for students as they study for finals, contributes desserts for some Sunday night dinners St. Newman’s hosts for students.Horst also volunteers with the Laramie Women’s Club, The Wyoming Women’s History House, and PEO.
  
• In 2021, Torrington’s Paul Novak was named the AARP Wyoming Andrus Award winner for his better than 40 years on the Goshen Care Center Joint Powers Board of Directors. Since joining the Joint Powers Board, Novak has been a driving force in helping Torrington build a 24-unit Independent Living Facility; a skilled nursing home and dementia care unit with 75 rooms; and a 30-room assisted living facility, which opened in October of 2021. An extremely impressive array of care options and housing for older adults in a community of 6,700 residents.
  
• Don Cushman was the 2020 AARP Wyoming Andrus Award winner. After retiring 15 years ago, Cushman took a trip to Mississippi with the Presbytery of Wyoming to help repair homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina. That experience led Cushman to make a commitment to work more consistently with Habitat for Humanity in Teton County. Cushman began driving the 55 miles each way, often twice a week (4,500 miles) to build sites in Teton County, which has culminated in its current effort, a five-year, six-building run. He has been named the Turnkey Award - given to the volunteer with the highest number of volunteer hours on a project - numerous times, and was named Habitat’s Lee Kuntz Volunteer of The Year Award winner for the Rocky Mountain Region in 2016. 

• The 2019 Andrus Award winners, Karen and Walter Jones, spend their retirement years volunteering with the National Park Service in Grand Teton National Park. For four months out of the year, the Jones’ live in their camper and devote their time to ensuring that the visitors of the park have a fulfilling and educational visit. Their duties with the park include talks about bear safety, animal information, and cultural history. They can be found answering questions at the desk or out on the hiking trails.

• When the rules committee was making up those rules, it almost seems they had 2018 Andrus Award Winner, Kay Bjorklund of Thermopolis, in mind. Well into her 90’s, Kay remained a Chamber of Commerce Ambassador, welcoming new businesses to Thermopolis, as well as program director for her Kiwanis Club, lining up speakers for the club’s twice-monthly meetings. One week a month you can find Kay delivering Meals on Wheels to Thermopolis residents. Each weekend she is acting activities director for The Pioneer Home, where she lines up Wii Bowling tournaments and shuffleboard. Kay would also mention she carries a 231 average on Wii bowling. If that isn’t enough, she also volunteers one day a week in the gift shop of the hospital in Thermopolis, and works with the doorstep ministry of her church.
  
• Clayton and Gloria Jensen were honored as winners of the 2017 Andrus Award by AARP Wyoming. The Jensens are the coaches at the Casper Boxing Club in Casper where they have gained a reputation for changing the lives of at-risk young men and women. The mission of Casper Boxing Club is to promote sportsmanship, responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and individuality through education, dedication, desire, and a commitment to maximize excellence. The program seeks to use the mind and body as a catalyst to bring about change, creating an environment to reach youth who others may have written off as unreachable.