Costa thrives on volunteering – JH News&Guide

Everything Sue Costa does exudes energy. She whisks from one activity to another with ease. She is talkative and eager and enthusiastic about whatever she does. Even her email address includes a “swim-bike-run” nod to a triathlete’s lifestyle.

Costa, 70, splits her time between Jackson and Kona, Hawaii. (She learned quickly she didn’t like the cold.) Jackson arrived on her radar after spending time here skiing with her then-husband in the 1980s and ‘90s. Coming from Michigan winters, the duo liked to ski, and their daughter moved to Jackson eight years ago.

“Oh, now I have a great reason to come back to Jackson Hole,” she said she remembered thinking. And now that she has grandchildren, the reason is solidified.

Her first forays into the community included working at the garden center formerly known as Twigs, now Graze Garden and Home. She watered plants at 5 a.m. She dog sat and bounced from home to home caring for dogs, (“People love their dogs here,”) and experiencing different parts of the valley.

“All the while that I was in Jackson, I was volunteering,” she said. Gigs at the Good Samaritan Mission, Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church, Hole Food Rescue and Grand Teton Music Festival introduced her to people and activities in the area.

“I try different activities so I meet different people,” she said earlier this month while working one of her volunteer shifts for the Grand Teton Music Festival. “In my hiking group, I met someone who likes to swing dance, so I tried that. I feel like Jackson has become home.”

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