For several decades, "Bengal Billie" Neisess has put smiles on the faces of thousands of Helenans with his infectious charm and positive outlook.

Tuesday, the biggest smile in town belonged to Billie himself, as more than a dozen employees from both Student Assistance Foundation and St. Peter's Hospital left their jobs for a day to spruce up Neisess's house -- some yard work, some broken windows fixed, a fresh coat of paint around the porch and around the second story.

The project was part of the annual Spirit of Service Day, organized by Rocky Mountain Development Council with more than 250 employees from 10 businesses in town doing work on the homes of 43 people in and around Helena.

"I just appreciate getting all this done," said Neisess, 49, long known for his grocery bagging and bright smile at several Helena grocery stores, as well as his support of Helena High.

Neisess has lived in the house on 6th Avenue since 1969 and currently resides there with his sister. "When my parents were alive, my dad was a painter and he could almost do it himself," he said. "But now that he's passed away, he would look down on us and say, 'Yes, this really is good.' "

The numbers of homes and workers were both records for the 10th annual community service event.

Organizer Rose Felter said around 20 homes were picked up from a waiting list after last year's Spirit of Service day, with the remainder belonging to either people who nominated themselves or had their names sent in by friends or neighbors.

"Altogether we had close to 80 calls from homeowners in Helena," Felter said. All of the projects are on the outside of homes (for liability reasons), and range from pruning and mowing to house painting jobs, cleaning out rain gutters and window washing.

Once the homes are selected, Felter and other organizers help divide up the workforce. In addition to those providing free labor, several businesses donated materials for the day.

This was the first year employees from St. Peter's have taken part in Spirit of Service.

"Carol, Billie's sister, is one of our volunteers," said Peggy Stebbins, the hospital's public relations and marketing director. "She's been a volunteer for more than 20 years in our laundry, so when I saw them on the list, I said, 'We have to do this house.' "

Twenty-one employees from Student Assistance Foundation took part, as the student loan group took part for the second year.

"It's just a good community service project," said Todd Jones, SAF's benefits coordinator. "We're one of the stronger employers in town, and we need to participate."

This was also the first year of involvement for members of the Helena Building Industry Association. Having building pros help out allowed Spirit of Service to take on three projects that are normally outside the scope of the day's work by typically deskbound people.

Other participating employers included Anderson ZurMuehlen, Employee Benefit Resources, the City of Helena, Wal-Mart, Heritage Propane, Morrison-Maierle and American Federal Savings Bank.

Reporter John Harrington: 447-4080 or john.harrington@helenair.com.