BELFAST - In a time when high school students are encouraged to pad their college applications with eye-catching acts of community service, Tyler Cross, the recipient of the Governor’s 2014 Youth Volunteer of the Year award, is a unlikely standout.

The 17-year-old from Brooks was honored largely for his work at The Game Loft in Belfast where he has been a member and volunteer for six years. But according to several staff members, it was only while helping him compile materials for a scholarship application to a 4H summer program that the scope of his contribution came into focus.

“We were looking through [Game Loft records] and it was like, look at all he’s done,” said Mike Robertson, operations director for the program. “He’s one who sneaks under the radar, but he’s here every day.”

This year, Cross has quietly logged over 100 volunteer hours at the non-electronic games based after school program, leading game groups, helping with special events and fundraisers, cooking and pretty much anything else that’s needed. 

“I was actually pretty surprised when they told me that,” he said. The logbook of volunteer time is something he could have looked at, he said, but he just never had a reason to.

“I don’t care how many hours I put in. I just do it because I enjoy it,” he said.

Like most members of the Game Loft, Cross initially came to the program looking for something to do after school.

As a sixth grader, living in Belfast, he signed on for a session of Dungeons & Dragons. He had never played the classic fantasy role playing game, and once he started, he didn’t look back. He moved on to other role-playing games, as a player and more recently a leader.

At an annual yard sale fundraiser, Game Loft co-founder Ray Estabrook asked Cross if he wanted to help the program as a volunteer. Cross realized he did. 

“That’s why I started coming here,” he said.

Since then, as long as he’s been able to get a ride into town, he said, he’s willing to do whatever’s needed.  

Game Loft Community Outreach Director Ariel Levangie nominated Cross for the Governor’s award. She said he moved quickly from being a new member who loved games to “the giving back part” of the Game Loft.

“He has a way with kids,” she said. “He’s funny and charismatic. He’s a great model for socializing. That’s what we do here.”                             

On Wednesdays during the school year, Cross leads a session the fantasy role-playing game Pathfinder for middle and high school students at Mount View School in Thorndike. On Mondays he plays the same game with a younger group in Belfast.

This Monday was an exception. A group from the Game Loft was headed to the waterfront for “live action combat,” which involves foam swords, lots of virtual amputations and more rules than either of those two things suggests. “It’s basically exercise,” he said.

He showed a hint of a smile. In photographs, he said, he tries not to.

Over the past week, he’s had plenty of practice not smiling, and he generally expressed mixed feelings about the public recognition. He had gone to Augusta for the ceremonial part and liked it well enough, but didn’t come back with stars in his eyes.

“I’m not much of a publicity person,” he said, “but I don’t mind the publicity the Game Loft gets for it ... so I guess I like it.”

In Augusta a representative of the University of Maine Orono had encouraged him to attend the school after he graduated. In this way, Cross figured the award might be helpful later on when he went looking for a job or applying to colleges. But for now, that kind of gamesmanship wasn’t foremost on his mind.

Ethan Andrews can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com