Born in Moab, Melo is a graduate of Grand County High School and lived in Spring Glen, near Price, during his elementary school years. He attended EDI Technical College in Las Vegas.
Melo is in his 16th year of employment for the school district. He started on the painting crew in 1996, according to a news release from the Grand County School District..
District officials said Melo enjoys his job “because of the variety of the work and the people he meets. He enjoys challenges.”
Melo has been married for 33 years and has two children and two grandchildren. He uses Skype to visit with his grandchildren online.
In his spare time, he likes to hunt and fish, and especially loves being with his grandchildren, according to the news release.
The Southeast Education Service Center is a state-funded regional education center that supports kindergarten through 12th-grade learning in Grand, San Juan, Carbon and Emery counties. The Spotlight program honors teachers and staff members in the southeast region who display “consistent and unique ways of working with the kids beyond their regular duties,” according to information from the center’s website.
The local school boards and administration nominate recipients of this award, said Grand County Board of Education officials.