Peggy Sorenson of Cripple Creek won the Jack Snow Outstanding Volunteer Award given by the Colorado Tourism Office.

Sorenson is the inaugural recipient of the award established this year by the tourism office, a division of the Office of Economic Development and International Trade.

Vivacious and enthusiastic, especially when it comes to sharing history of the Gold Camp District, Sorenson plays a major role in the city’s tourism sector.

“Peggy is one of the hardest working volunteers in Teller County. Her dedication to the Gold Camp Victorian Society, the Two Mile High Club, and the Gold Camp Association is astonishing, and it is clear that she works hard to make Cripple Creek a better place,” said Klaryssa Murray, the city’s destination marketing coordinator.

A voice for the city, Sorenson helped launch the Gold Camp Trolley Tours in 2016.

The tours, presented by the city and hosted by the Gold Camp Victorian Society, are a kind of theater production in a trolley. With a cast of characters from the good ol’ days that suddenly appear from various buildings, the tours enhance the city’s reputation as a harbor of ghosts. As well, the tours highlight the city’s Victorian architecture and its dedication to preserving history on Bennett Avenue.

The tour stops at Mt. Pisgah Cemetery, where many of the old guard are buried, including a prime spot for Pearl DeVere.

DeVere, the region’s most famous madam, talks through her portrayer (Sorenson) to visitors about her brothel, the Old Homestead House. Elegant and refined, leastwise in the living areas, the brothel is a show-and-tell for guests on the trolley.

Sorenson relishes her role as a Victorian lady, as she and her husband Curt dressed as their alternate personas for the awards ceremony in Snowmass. “Needless to say, we stood out,” she said. “People said ‘why are you dressed like that?'”

In fact, Sorenson “dressed like that” in Victorian finery as she often plays the role in parades, dances and high teas.

A member of the Two Mile High Club, Sorenson helps lead the annual Aspen Tours, a fundraiser for the nonprofit organization whose members care for the donkeys throughout the year.

“The award was an absolute surprise, came out of the blue,” she said, sitting on a rock in the donkey pasture while eating a sandwich. She had just brought lunch from the local deli for the volunteers who were working all day in the barn.

To add flavor to her volunteerism, Sorenson joined the Gold Camp Association, an umbrella organization for nonprofits, the city of Cripple Creek and business owners.

A kind of clearing house for all events in Cripple Creek and Victor, the association is a collaboration intended as a collective marketing tool.

“When Peggy won the Jack Snow Outstanding Volunteer Award she received a well-deserved standing ovation. I cannot think of anybody more deserving of such an honor and it was clear that everybody in the room was excited for Peggy as she walked up to accept her award,” Murray said. “Cripple Creek is lucky to have such a dedicated volunteer in our community and we are so very proud of her.”