Lisa Hall of Sharon wound up at the American Legion post in Jaffrey after someone recommended it as a place to do karaoke.

While she was there, she struck up a conversation with Denise Barlow, who was tending bar.

“I probably started asking her about becoming a member there, and that’s how our conversation really began,” Hall said.

Hall and her husband, Bill Fisher, eventually became members of Post 11 in Jaffrey, and their relationship has grown from that first discussion to the point where Hall nominated Barlow – the post’s office manager and bar manager – as the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript’s Hometown Hero for May.

“She just goes above and beyond, not just for the Legion, but outside the Legion, as well,” she said, citing the events Barlow runs for veterans, children and others, along with her participation in Hope Fellowship Church Trunk or Treat.

Hall also noted that Barlow donated an entire night of tips to the “Go Gold” campaign for Isaac Phillips, a New Ipswich teenager with a rare form of childhood cancer called synovial sarcoma.

“Anybody who needs help, or anything, she’s always right there,” Hall said.

Barlow, a Peterborough resident, has been with the Legion post for 19 years, at first as a second part-time job along with working at Nonie’s in Peterborough before becoming full-time in 2009. She said she developed her spirit of giving from her father, Joshua Bennett, a police officer and Legion member in Burlington, Mass., when she was growing up.

Barlow said her father taught her about the importance of giving back, and of spreading love and kindness.

“It could be as simple as buying someone a coffee,” she said.

In his memory, she challenged herself to commit 30 acts of kindness in January – the 30th anniversary of her father’s death – and 92 acts in June, as he would have turned 92.

“I’m about a third of the way there,” she said. “I’ve given myself a little more time than I usually give myself.”

With the American Legion, Barlow and a team of six to eight people work on helping the veterans who are members of the organization, as well as fundraisers for the scholarships the Legion offers.

“We have a great team here,” she said. “They’re great about helping out when needed.”

Services include acquiring gift cards for veterans, youth and families, toy drives and whatever else arises.

“We’ve paid for car repairs, oil, firewood,” Barlow said. “When it’s brought to our attention, we get together and try to decide what to do next.”

Regarding the “Go Gold” campaign, Barlow said, “I can’t imagine what that family is going through,” and “I’m fortunate enough to be able to do that.”

Barlow, who is 66 with three daughters and seven grandchildren, said someone recently asked her when she would retire.

Her answer? She doesn’t know.

“I’m passionate about what I do,” she said. “I still have some more in me.  We still have more to do.”