Alex George — President

Alex@KeepCloudcroftClean.org

Alex has been a massage therapist since graduating from The Lauterstein-Conway School of Massage in Austin, Texas in 2011. Before his career in massage therapy, he earned a degree in Exercise Sport Science from Texas Tech University, where he volunteered with the athletic department and later became an assistant strength and conditioning coach. 

In 2004, he moved to Cloudcroft, New Mexico. After falling in love with the mountains and expanding his love of nature Alex decided to stay in Cloudcroft for two and a half years. While living in the mountains, Alex took advantage of the area’s natural beauty while hiking and jogging the region’s trails. The Rim Trail, Osha Trail, and old fire roads were among his favorites. As he hiked, he would pick up trash to keep the trails beautiful and clean. In October of 2006, Alex moved back to Texas and selected Austin as his new home for fourteen years.  In 2020, he relocated back to Cloudcroft.

During his childhood, Alex and his family traveled and camped during the summers and on school breaks. One of the lessons his parents instilled in Alex was to clean their campsite before leaving to make sure there was no trash left behind. It was because of their influence that Alex’s passion for environmental preservation was born.

Alex participated in Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts from second grade to high school. His Boy Scout troop participated in many volunteer events and also organized and attended camping events at Camp Billy Gibbons in central Texas. Alex’s childhood experiences with camping and his participation in Boy Scouts set the stage for his passion for conservation and environmental perseveration.

In the summer of 2015, Alex received notice that one of his favorite swimming holes near Austin was in a state of disrepair due to leftover garbage. At first, his goal was simply to organize a camping trip to clean the swimming hole, but why stop there?  The idea quickly grew into a dream of cleaning the entire Greenbelt system while promoting education centered around recycling and conservation. It was then that Keep Austin Clean was born!

Now in Cloudcroft, he noticed the same was needed here.  After seeing the huge roll-off dumpster at Bluff Springs, Alex decided to build a new team…and Keep Cloudcroft Clean was born!

Since then, we’ve built a wonderful community support / volunteer system who share the same goals as KCC. It will never end, but together, we are reaching our goals of keeping the forest and Village clean one clean-up at a time. 

Sonnie Hill — Vice President

Sonnie@KeepCloudcroftClean.org

Sonnie was born in Laramie, Wyoming but she grew up in Albuquerque in a home revolving around all things academia.  Her parents were educators.  Sonnie’s dad not only taught at numerous universities, but chaired more than one English departments in the United States as well as teaching abroad.  He was also a top authority on Mark Twain and the author and/or editor of several books.  While this did include several moves during her childhood, it also gave Sonnie the invaluable experience of living in different places, experiencing other cultures, and meeting a multitude of interesting people throughout her younger years.

Sonnie’s mom was also an educator and went on to attain her P.H.D. in her 50’s.  She was ahead of her time, but she was also the epitome of a well rounded woman and mother.  She was not only the one who involved Sonnie in Brownies and Girl Scouts, but she was also a troop leader.  “I will never forget the camping trips and working for my different badges!”

But the thing that probably had the most impact on Sonnie’s love of nature was her family’s cabin in the Jemez mountains in northern New Mexico.  No matter where they lived, they would make the pilgrimage to “the cabin” every June.  “We spent the entire summer living in our cabin without running water, central heat, or television in the beginning.”  Over the years, everything was updated, but she will never forget the times when things were simple.  “We would hike, explore, chop wood, carry water, and eat freshly caught trout for breakfast.”  And so it began!

Sonnie moved to Cloudcroft permanently in 2002 but has been visiting for many years prior to making it her home.  She immediately became involved in the community and eventually owned three businesses that were all in operation at the same time.  She attained her realtor’s license and began to really learn a plethora of information about the mountain!  Sonnie also served on the Chamber of Commerce Board for several years and eventually became the President.  Now, Sonnie owns and runs an Airbnb within the Village.  “This is my home, and I love it!!”

“I have watched many things change over the years.  Some have been improvements, but I feel that a few things have gotten lost in the shuffle.  We have more tourists than ever, which also means we have more trash.  I am invested in keeping our beautiful mountain exactly that!  Having Alex George and Ray Yepes create this incredible organization is a blessing!  We have an amazing team and a wonderful group of community volunteers that make all this work!”

Ray Yepes — Treasurer

Ray@KeepCloudcroftClean.org

Ray’s passion for the environment came about through a difficult lesson as a young teen. During a drive to the beach with his brother and uncle (Ray’s role model), Ray did something that would drastically change his perspective on the environment. Before hitting the road, Ray’s uncle stopped by a convenience store to fill up and get a few snacks for the road.

Not long after the stop, Ray finished his drink and tossed his empty cup out the car window. Much to his surprise, his uncle slammed on the brakes, causing a loud skid sound from the tires at a busy intersection. Ray’s uncle looked at him and firmly told him to, “get out and pick it up.” Embarrassed, Ray refused to comply at first with his uncle’s command. However, his uncle made it clear that they were not leaving the spot until Ray picked up the cup he had thrown, and after a few awkward minutes, Ray had no other choice but to comply with his uncle’s request and pick up the trash he had just tossed out the window.

People witnessing the event kept staring at Ray, and, when a mortified Ray finally made it back to the car, cup in hand, some of the spectators on the street applauded and praised the uncle for his teaching of an important lesson.  Ray felt humiliated to the point of tears—it was a very painful lesson to learn, especially for a 14-year-old kid.

At first, Ray was angry with his uncle and refused to talk to him for the next few hours. Later that day, his uncle broke the silence and approached Ray. He offered a hug and then asked Ray a question that changed his life, “If you don’t care about the environment, who do you think will?”

His uncle went on to say that, while Ray may not see it right away, the lesson of caring for the environment would change his life. He was right; that moment was a turning point in Ray’s life.  Whenever his uncle saw a piece of trash lying on the ground, he would stop, pick it up, and put it in a trashcan, and, not long after the fateful drive, Ray found himself following his uncle’s footsteps.

His uncle’s painful, but effective lesson was followed by many other lessons regarding the importance of preserving the environment, and more significantly, the importance of each individual doing his or her part. Ray now believes that leading by example is vital, and he has been known to stop during walks with his daughter to pick up a can and bring it back home for recycling.

Today, Ray sees education as the key to teaching people to care for our planet, which led Alex and Ray to create Keep Austin Clean.

Kelley Shaw — Social Media Director

Kelley@KeepCloudcroftClean.org

Kelley first came to Cloudcroft at 19 years old from Austin, Texas.  She had some brief time in Arizona and Utah, but she always came back to Cloudcroft. 

“It is my home, my community, and my place of peace.” Kelley has always been called to help the planet.  “I am a triple earth sign, so it just comes with the territory!!  I used to make my siblings pick up trash in our neighborhood in Austin.  It’s important to understand that it might not be your trash, but it’s your planet!” 

Kelley currently lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  She runs Keep Cloudcroft Clean’s social media and supports our amazing team from Santa Fe.  “I’m proud to do this work, and I love seeing the team’s effort in keeping this gorgeous village clean!”