Chances are pretty good that if you have lived in the Santa Fe area for any time at all, you have crossed paths with Manny Ortiz.

It may have been the time you tossed pocket change into one of his Salvation Army Christmas kettles at Albertsons. Or perhaps your child attended an after-school program Ortiz was running.

You may have received Communion from him, or Ortiz may have taught you catechism at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. Perhaps your son is one of the scores of Boy Scouts Ortiz has mentored over the years.

Ortiz, 75, recalls that someone seeking his help once remarked: "Manny, you are all over the place," — a comment that prompted him to spread his volunteer wings even further, helping to the feed, clothe and entertain the elderly through the Retired Senior Volunteer Program.

He also spends a great deal of time on youth projects for the Kiwanis.

But Ortiz is especially well-known for his work with Santa Fe Boy Scouts. Since 1998 he has mentored, coaxed, encouraged, inspired and if necessary applied a swift but gentle motivational kick to the behind of 47 boys who rose to the rank of Eagle Scout.

One of Ortiz's first Eagle Scouts was Colin Nohl, now 22 and a business administration student at the University of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff.

"Manny is one of the nicest guys I have ever met," said Nohl, who first encountered Ortiz when he was 11, becoming an Eagle Scout at 14.

"He was always there for you, encouraging you, completely positive. He is an extremely open man who was very caring."

However, Nohl said, Ortiz would "stay on top of you if you started missing meetings. He would call you, offer you a ride. It was just caring, he was never stern. You didn't really want to let him down."

Nohl and other scouts and scout leaders tell how Ortiz, the father of two now-grown children himself, still attends his scouts' soccer and football games and other sports and school activities.

"He will never miss an event or chance to get kids together to do something," said Scott Caraway, 56, who was an assistant scout leader with Ortiz in the late 1990s at Christ Lutheran Church. The troop later moved to the Cathedral Basilica of Santa Fe.

Ortiz is known for his dedication to his scouts and his willingness to go above and beyond. Caraway recalled the time Ortiz took a job as a security guard at the Outlet Mall, even sleeping in his car, in exchange for camping equipment for his troop from one of the mall stores.

"When he first started out, he had a little sedan," Caraway said. It wasn't long before Ortiz retired the car for a much larger GMC vehicle so he could better haul his scouts to their events.

As for Ortiz's church work, the Rev. Oscar Coelho, associate rector at the Cathedral, also noted Ortiz's work for the St. Vincent de Paul Society, and his willingness to reach into his own pockets to help those in need.

"He is always very humorous and available to help," Coelho said. "Manny's acts out of the goodness of his heart. That's what compels him."

Ortiz's physical conditioning belies his 75 years. "In my head, I'm 16, and my body thinks it's 24." As often as not, Ortiz is at the head of the pack, leading much younger hikers on wilderness treks. His scouts sometimes have trouble keeping up with him. "I enjoy teasing them about that," he said.

Ortiz's dedication to helping children and teenagers began in 1956 when he was laid up in an Army hospital with a broken arm in Fort Lawton, Wash. He was so good with the kids at the hospital that he was kept there for 90 days, taking care of babies. It was a welcome break from his usual job of maintaining and repairing guided missiles.

All his volunteering and helping others has apparently kept him content over the years with wherever he was in his life.

"I didn't have a (midlife) crisis when I was 30, or 40, 50, 60 or 70," he said. "It just never bothered me."

Ortiz was born in Santa Fe and graduated from Santa Fe High School in 1953.

He retired from desk work in December of 1999 from the state Department of Transportation, where he had worked as an auditor and administrator for 11 years.

He also recalls a stint as a bank loan officer, which lasted for only three months — perhaps because he often talked people out of getting a loan, telling them they would be better of if they just paid closer attention to their spending habits.

Ortiz still keeps track of many of the 47 boys who became Eagle Scouts under his mentorship.

"I call them Manny's Eagle Hall of Fame. But they are not my Eagles. I have only helped them become Eagles." His grown Eagle Scouts have spread their wings and now live in communities across the country — from Sacramento, Calif., to New York City.

Of all the medals, badges and awards Ortiz has received, he seems most proud of the "dad pin" he received from a young Scout.

The youngster's father had been absent for much of the boy's childhood. And it was through Ortiz that the two reconciled and rejoined each other's lives.

"You feel good about how many lives you have affected," Ortiz said.