Barbara Bradley-Buttram

Growing up, watching her grandparents and parents volunteer in their communities, Barbara Bradley-Buttram adsorbed those lessons and proudly says she comes from “a family that gives.”

She has also made it a priority to volunteer for her own community and to be an example to her daughter, Annie.

Bradley-Buttram’s willingness to give to and support her community didn’t go unnoticed. La Promesa Elementary community school coordinator retired Gen. Andrew Salas nominated her as a Valencia County News-Bulletin Unsung Hero this year, citing her extensive volunteer work at LPE that includes helping with snack sales, serving on the Promise Keeper Team as a parent advocate/volunteer, donating hundreds of dollars of merchandise for the Student Leadership Club student store and serving as a chaperon for student field trips.

“She sets the example for her daughter, Annie, to be a life-long learner by her enrollment in a nursing course of study,” Salas wrote in his nomination. “She has come to after-school meetings to share in finding solutions to issues, and to consider new and better ways of inspiring students and improving outcomes.

“She is truly a shining example of determined public service and self-improvement with no expectation or desire for accolades that anyone can witness, be inspired by and emulate.”

Growing up in Corona and the Carrizozo area of Lincoln County, Bradley-Buttram and her family “moved over the mountain” to Veguita in 2017 to be closer to medical care.

In 2019, she found out just how special her community was when her husband took his own life.

“Valencia County has been a very special place because they’ve been incredibly supportive and kind through that incident,” she said. “They have been incredibly helpful, especially Freedom Worship Center and Sunshine Church. I have attended both and they walked with us through that.”

Bradley-Buttram said she wanted to be part of a vital community and decided to find a way to volunteer because “it’s rewarding to give back to the county and community that has given to us.”

It started with popping popcorn on Friday’s at La Promesa where her daughter was a student. Studying at the University of New Mexico-Valencia Campus to become a physician’s assistant, she had Fridays free — the day the popcorn needed popping.

“They needed someone to help and I said, ‘I can do that.’ I wanted to know the kind of place my kid was. I wanted to know about where the students are, know the teachers, know the administration,” Bradley-Buttram said. “I wanted to be able to be involved in the decision-making processes, to be a voice in what is happening with my child.”

Known as a “community school,” La Promesa actively engages students, their parents and community members in the success and direction of the school, seeking not only support but guidance from all stakeholders. One requirement of the community school grant LPE received is to have a site-based leadership team that incorporates parents, students, community members and educators. The team at La Promesa is fittingly called the Promise Keepers.

“We were able to establish the Promise Keepers to bring about something that is going to be lasting,” she said. “Something that’s going to be not just today or tomorrow, but something that’s going to be a forever kind of thing.”

Having a connection to her spiritual community also sustains Bradley-Buttram, and she has found ways to give back there too. When she saw the logo for the Chihuahua Bible Chapel’s vacation Bible school a couple years, she thought, ‘We could hake that a little more exciting.’

She approached the Veguita chapel’s Pastor Lee Ridley and asked if she could add some color to the logo. He gave his blessing.

“Last year, I got to create a logo and then it was on the t-shirts. It was really a surreal moment to see that logo on all the kids,” she said. “It was a calling card so the kids could have a moment of Biblical education in the summer for a community-based VBS, since it’s several churches that come together.”

Bradley-Buttram also volunteers for her church, Freedom Worship Center in Los Lunas, which works with New Life Church of God in Albuquerque, which was struggling to stay afloat.

“There was 10 people in their building and they couldn’t afford to pay the bills. There were five of us who went to do a rebuild. It is becoming more vibrant,” she said. “I’m the ministry operations director and do administration work.”

As the church is being rebuilt, it’s members and Bradley-Buttram are making connections with the community, offering support to clients in a nearby rehabilitation facility.

“Some of the guys there will come across the street for pizza. They come and find hope. Some of them are on staff now,” she said. “They come and just find consistency.”

In addition to volunteering in her community, and beyond, Bradley-Buttram is working to earn a degree so she can be a physician’s assistant. A former EMT, she wants to pursue a career in health care, but needs the math and science credits for the PA degree.

“I have a bachelor’s degree but it’s in church ministries, so I’ve been diligently working my way through the math and sciences classes,” she said.

As she continues on her academic path, Bradley-Buttram hopes her example will inspire her daughter to continue what has become a family tradition.

“I saw my parents volunteer. My mom worked at the senior center when I was a kid and my dad volunteered at the VFW,” Bradley-Buttram says. “I saw my grandparents give. I saw my uncle give. We were from a family that gives. When I was growing up in Carrizozo, we ran a food bank. I want my daughter to grow up and be a giver.”

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