WESTERLO — Westerlo resident Michael Sikule has been appointed to the Board of Catholic Charities Tri-County Services.

Sikule, who was appointed in January, has volunteered with the Hilltown Community Resource Center, based in Westerlo, for a decade. The group is run by one of the dozen organizations under Catholic Charities, which is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany.

“They do some amazing work,” said Sikule. “They try to meet the needs of the people.”

Some of the group’s work includes running a food pantry, a backpack program for local children, and offering assistance to about 100 area residents.

Sikule himself has been a resident of Westerlo for the past 32 years.

He requested his appointment to the board after asking at the Hilltown Resource Community Resource Center if there was a board he could serve on. He’d like to advocate for the people in the Hilltowns, he said.

Sikule also volunteers at the Patroon Land Farm in Knox, which is part of the Northeast Regional Food Bank.

Sikule is retired from the finance department of the New York State Thruway Authority and has a degree in accounting.

“The board is pretty diverse,” said Sikule. “They’re very welcoming, and I’m looking forward to working with and meeting new people.”