Bryan Culver, chair of the Leadership Lawrence Advisory Board, was recently awarded the Wally Galluzzi Chamber Volunteer Award.

Bryan Culver knows life can be turned upside down in an instant. From tragedy, however, one can find purpose.

In 2001, Culver’s 15-year-old brother Blake committed suicide, a fact he seldom shares. Part of Culver’s healing process in subsequent years has been dedicating himself to helping others.

Bryan Culver, chair of the Leadership Lawrence Advisory Board, was recently awarded the Wally Galluzzi Chamber Volunteer Award.

Culver, a 36-year-old central-Kansas transplant, has adopted Lawrence as his home, and he’s made it his mission to preserve the town’s “historic” culture while looking to the horizon for opportunities for growth.

“You look at purpose, or why you do something, and for me it’s the right thing to do,” Culver said. “But even more so, it’s about helping others and caring about people. You just have to be willing to do it and you’ll find opportunities to do so.”

Living in Lawrence for over 17 years, Culver has found more than his share of those opportunities.

“I don’t think Bryan knows the meaning of the word ‘bored,'” said Sue Hack, executive director of Leadership Lawrence, the chamber of commerce leadership development program. “He is going to be engaged in something all the time.”

In 2008, Culver graduated from Leadership Lawrence. The 33-year-old program takes a class of about 35 local professionals each year and runs them through 10 day-long classes over eight months. The goal is to show them the inner workings of Lawrence and Douglas County.

After graduation, Hack said, Culver wanted to stick around the program, volunteering his time to make sure each new class is better than the one before.

“Right after graduation he volunteered to be on a curriculum committee,” Hack said. “Shortly after that he was a day chair….”

Now, Culver is chair of the program’s advisory board and the classes are flourishing, Hack said.

“He didn’t just take the class and say ‘this is great.’ He continued to immerse himself in the program and has been such a valuable part of our team,” Hack said. “None of this gets pulled off without volunteers and Bryan probably does more than anybody.”

For his efforts, the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce recognized Culver by presenting him with this year’s Wally Galluzzi Volunteer of the Year Award during the Leadership Lawrence graduation ceremony April 24, Hack said.

Culver’s commitment began when he came to Lawrence to study at Kansas University. He graduated with a degree in business administration with an emphasis in finance.

Lawrence took Culver in, he said. Since then he has considered the town his home.

Formerly vice president of People’s Bank in Lawrence, Culver now helps operate a number of family businesses from his home base in Lawrence. The businesses include a fish farm and an RV fishing ranch, he said.

“It’s nice to be able to be outside and have the flexibility,” he said. “And to be able to spend time back home and here in Lawrence, working on community efforts and taking care of whatever pops up.”

In addition to his work with the chamber, Culver has lent his business expertise to the United Way of Douglas County, said President Erika Dvorske.

“He’s played a pretty significant leadership role in the United Way,” she said. “And what’s really remarkable is that he’s found a way to really engage the community and participate in interesting ways. He’s someone you can always depend on.”

Along with the United Way, Leadership Lawrence and the chamber, Culver serves on Lawrence’s planning commission, the board for Trinity In-Home Care, and the Douglas County Boys & Girls Club.

Culver also spends time volunteering as what he calls an “unqualified counselor,” talking to suicide survivors, something he calls both “fulfilling and healing.”

“It’s very much a part of the healing process for me to go and try to help others,” he said. “I can be there for them just to listen or to talk.”

Many mornings and evenings are consumed by commitments around town, Culver said. It’s a sacrifice he’s willing to make.

Every so often, however, Culver said he needs to make time to find himself under the big sky as a way to “unplug” and reconnect with his brother, who used to join him fishing, hiking and looking for reptiles.

“It allows me to think and relax and when I come back from those trips I feel energized and ready to get back after it,” he said.