A New Mexico military veteran who was motivated to become a security officer at La Merced Elementary in Belen after the deadliest mass shooting at an elementary school in U.S. history is a KOB-TV Pay It 4ward award winner.

Retired Air Force Sgt. Eric Green has volunteered at La Merced for 10 years since the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, where 26 people were shot and killed.

Green recently was given the Pay It 4ward award for helping to make New Mexico a better place through his dedication to the school. KOB 4’s Pay It 4ward program invites people to nominate others for the opportunity to receive $400, the program’s website said.

“We have a wonderful man named Mr. Green who is our security officer. He volunteers his time and has for the last 10 years since the Sandy Hook tragedy,” La Merced Elementary Principal David Olander told KOB 4. “He takes care of the school, takes care of our teachers and he’s here every day rain or shine, completely voluntary. Because he loves his community and loves these kids.”

Green feels like part of a team at La Merced, he told KOB 4.

“I love them, every one of them," Green told KOB 4. "They’re great. The children are great. I love to watch the children who I started out with, walk through just before graduation. They deserve it. They deserve to feel safe."

Green told KOB 4 that he wants to pay the award money back to the kids.