Santa Fe mayor proclaims Feb. 11, 2026, as Chaplain Joe Dubsiak Day

Mayor Michael J. Garcia read a City of Santa Fe proclamation declaring Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, as Chaplain Joe Dubsiak Day, honoring a local volunteer who worked with people experiencing homelessness for more than a decade.

The proclamation highlights that Dubsiak was a New Mexico native, born in Los Alamos in 1959, served in the U.S. Air Force (including two years stationed in Germany), worked in construction, and spent nearly two decades as a code compliance officer. It notes his family life and "a lifelong commitment to service, responsibility, and compassion," as recorded in the proclamation.

According to the proclamation read by the mayor, beginning in 2009 Dubsiak volunteered at the Interfaith Community Shelter at Pete's Place, where staff and neighbors praised his kindness and respect for people experiencing homelessness. The proclamation says he developed a special commitment to unsheltered individuals, "meeting people where they were" and distributing essential supplies with dignity. In 2019 he founded Chapel Joe Street Outreach, which the proclamation says distributed hundreds of sleeping bags and other resources.

The city also credited Dubsiak with organizing the annual homeless persons memorial vigil and with efforts to establish a safe living site. The proclamation records that after a prolonged battle with cancer, Dubsiak died on Oct. 27, 2025, and that the city honors his legacy of service, humanity and hope.

"Now, therefore, I, Michael J. Garcia, mayor of the City of Santa Fe, New Mexico, do hereby proclaim Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, as Chaplain Joe Dubsiak Day," the mayor read.

The transcript includes multiple spellings of the honoree’s surname; this article uses the spelling "Joe Dubsiak" for consistency with the primary form appearing in the proclamation text. The city did not record a council vote in the transcript; the proclamation was read and entered into the record by the mayor.