Meet Ed Patillo, CReATE volunteer

Ed Patillo came to CReATE for a volunteer opportunity that allowed him to tinker with mechanical things. He stayed for the jazz.

Well, actually, Patillo said CReATE Coordinator Tom Boman had something to do with it. "Tom's just got the kind of personality that just draws you in," he said. But they agree that a shared love of jazz music makes the hours they work together more enjoyable. They tweak, fix and clean while saxophones and funk guitars play in the background.

Patillo retired from Unisys after 34 years before coming to CReATE. He was a computer repairman who was ready to stop working on computers--but when he saw a volunteer opportunity that required mechanical skills, his interest was piqued.

"As a homeowner you get into these things," he said. "If you're not making millions of dollars a year, you find yourself fixing things." Now, he fixes wheelchairs and other mobility equipment on a regular basis at the CReATE shop in Salt Lake City. Boman said Patillo is the "backbone of the volunteers," training other volunteer workers when Tom is busy.

"It's a nice working environment," Patillo said. "It only takes a couple of months before you realize, this is kind of neat."

Thanks for helping us out, Ed!