Check Out Rocky Baldassare’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rocky Baldassare.

Hi Rocky, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I started at Community Table in 2015 after leaving the oil and gas industry. In 2014 I graduated from Colorado School of Mines with a degree in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering. After a short stint working for a fracking company in West Virginia, I returned to Colorado and was looking for something different. My mom was a volunteer at Arvada Community Food Bank (the name back in 2015 for Community Table), and said I needed to do something other than wait for jobs to respond to my applications, so I started volunteering 4 days a week. I loved volunteering, and it became my full time gig. After a few months I was offered a position as a part-time Pantry Supervisor. I respectfully declined. As unemployment started running out, I was running out of options. It was looking like a Chemical Engineering position in Colorado was not going to happen. So when I was offered the Pantry Supervisor position again I took it. I said I couldn’t promise how long I would stay, as I was still hoping for that Chemical Engineering job. That was 10 years ago. I am now the Chief Operations Officer at Community Table. Through the years I have loved growing with this organization. I would not change a thing. This is where my true passion lies. I am so grateful that life did not go by my plan, instead went in the direction it needed to go.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road. In December of 2020 I took some time off to go to rehab for alcohol and drug abuse. I had been struggling for years, and my CEO was the one who pushed me to go get help. Without this organization I do not know where I would be today. My life is completely different after getting sober, and I owe it all to Community Table and my CEO Sandy Martin. This is an organization that lifts people up, not push them down. I now have been sober for 1,755 days or over 4.5 years. I am so glad I now get the opportunity to help others through our services at Community Table and in my personal life.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am the Chief Operations Officer at Community Table in Arvada Colorado. I have been a part of the renovations of our new building over the last few years. It has been a tough project, but fun, and now to get to see the rewards of our work is amazing. My job is mainly people. I manage all programing at Community Table including the budget, some human resource things, and work with staff and volunteers to pursue our mission at Community Table, which is – A community in which people have access to food and resources to foster self-sufficiency. Without our volunteers we could not serve all the families and individuals in our community that we do. I am set apart from others in this field because this is not what I went to school for, or pursued a career in. I fell into this field, and have been able to use my engineering background to help this organization grow, and serve more in need. I am most proud of our new building which I helped design, and proud of our ability to expand our reach to those in need.

What are your plans for the future?
I recently had a little girl. I have a 2 year old son, and those two keep me very busy. Last year my wife, who I met in the recovery community, and I were able to buy a house in Arvada. We have been working on making it into a home. My future looks like helping my children to be strong, emotionally intelligent, and independent people in society. I hope to instill in them the love for helping those in need, and being there for all their achievements. We also recently got a minivan, so we hope to explore the United States in that with our kids. Next year we are planning to go to the balloon fiesta in New Mexico.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cotable.org

Image Credits
City of Arvada
Community Table