Fernando Rodriguez named September Volunteer of the Month for Rock Springs

The Rock Springs Main Street/Urban Renewal Agency (URA) is pleased to announce Fernando Rodriguez as the Volunteer of the Month for September.

His gregarious personality has been an invigorating addition to the volunteer team at the Broadway Theater in recent weeks. Rodriguez began working the Broadway’s bar at the end of August and he’s gone above-and-beyond to elevate the venue’s customer service. He doesn’t just serve the drinks and snacks; he’s also been keeping track of popular food and beverage requests so that the Urban Renewal Agency can improve our offerings to best meet customer needs.

Born in Guatemala, Rodriguez has lived “on-and-off” in Rock Springs since he was 2 years old.

A dual citizen of the U.S. and Guatemala, Rodriguez works in software and also spent a decent chunk of his adult life living and working in California's computer sector. He’s also worked in Utah, Texas and Massachusetts.

“But I’ve always found my way back here,” he said.

After co-founding a software company, GlueOps, he moved back to Rock Springs from Utah permanently in 2019 when he was given the option of working remotely and living wherever he wanted to.

Rodriguez began volunteering at Broadway Theater after he found a sign-up sheet at an Urban Renewal Agency event. Along with his volunteerism at the Broadway Theater, Rodriguez also volunteers at Western Wyoming Community College, where he uses his expertise to help computer science students.

Rodriguez had a busy September; he married his wife Rachel — who also volunteers at the Broadway — and then headed off for a lengthy work trip the second half of the month.

Despite that, Rodriguez made time to volunteer four shows at the Broadway since Aug. 29: the Elton John tribute concert, the Starling Company’s August Ball, Saysoh Presents Futuristic, and the Community Fine Arts Center-organized Six One Five Collective concert.

“It’s a lot of fun,” he said. “I get to be around the community and it’s fun to interact with people. I have a computer job and so I enjoy doing something that’s not typing all the time. There’s also been a lot of good entertainment at the Broadway. Rachel and I come to shows all the time.”

Rodriguez encourages others to get involved volunteering at the Broadway to develop a greater connection with their community.

“I already know a lot of people in town because it’s not a huge community, but I feel like I’ve met a lot more people while volunteering here,” he said. “It’s fun to see all the people checking out the different parts of the arts scene and appreciating the different parts of the community. It’s exciting to be a very small part of that situation.”