Get to know your neighbors 100

Get to know your neighbors

100Longmont Times-Call Community Review March 30, 2014

Good HealthWhat’s More Important?

1925 West Mountain View Avenue, Longmont, CO 80501

303.776.1234 :: www.longmontclinic.com

Nothing is more important than your health or the health of your loved ones — so knowing

where to turn for exceptional medical care is crucial. Let our team of highly-trained,

knowledgeable and personable doctors travel with you on the road to good health.

PRIMARY CARE SPECIALTY CARE URGENT CARE

Medical Specialties

Allergy/Asthma • Cardiology • Dermatology • Endocrinology • Facial Plastic Surgery • FamilyMedicine • Gastroenterology • General Surgery

Head &Neck/ENT Surgery • Infectious Disease • Internal Medicine • Obstetrics/Gynecology • Occupational Medicine • Orthopedic Surgery

Pediatrics • Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation • Rheumatology • SportsMedicine • Travel Medicine • Urgent Care • Urology • Vascular Surgery

Health Services

Anti-Coagulation Clinic • Audiology • Diabetes Care Team • Laboratory • Nuclear Medicine • Nutritionists and Dietary Services

Osteoporosis Center • Pain Management • Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging • Skin Care

Visit our web site for more detailed information on our programs and physicians.

Jill Andreozzi..............................5Cathy Balan.................................5John Beck ...................................6Michael Bell ................................6Angel Berdiales.........................8Karen Bianco..............................6Hank Blazon................................6Kimberly Brayman....................6Heather Britton..........................7Robin Bryant...............................7Tim Chaffin..................................7Giselle Collazo............................7Wilma Crofford..........................7Kelsey Deems..........................10Cliff DeJong..............................10Meca Delgado.........................10Liz Donaghey...........................11Murry Drescher.......................11Donald Dreyer.........................11Sabrina Duey...........................11Liz Durfee..................................14Gary Elmquist..........................12Craig Engelhorn......................14Sandra Esters...........................14Wes Everett...............................14Joycelyn Fankhouser............14Patty Fiest..................................15Emily Flemming......................15Megan Forrest.........................15Charlie Garcia..........................15Deb Gardner............................18Chris Gischel ............................18Mary Ann Grim ......................18David G. Hawkins...................18

Cynthia Hess............................19Ellen Hine..................................19Virginia Huppe........................19James Insogna........................19Jay Jakosky...............................22Roberta Johnston..................22Jeffrey Justice..........................22Leslie Kaczeus..........................20Steve Kaczeus..........................20Konni Keuter............................28Bobby King...............................28Deb Kitt .....................................28Jason Kokenzie.......................29Stacy Kokenzie........................29Gay Kuhlman...........................28Christopher Kukich................28Chad Kupper............................29Josie Lamp................................24Maciel Leon..............................30Linda Liang...............................29Kay Lloyd...................................29Mary Macomber.....................30Richard Macomber................30Gary Markowitz ......................30Pat McCarthy...........................31Miguel Medina........................26Eliberto Mendoza..................31Joanie Moore...........................31Chuck Morris............................31Betty Ann Newby...................31Stan Owens..............................32Clay Peck...................................32Anne Postle .............................32Simon Quince..........................34

Carmen Ramirez.................... 32Ray Ramirez..............................32Brian Rezac...............................36Alma Rico................................. 38Michael Roberts......................36Glenda S. Robinson..............36Benny Romero........................36Stephen Ross...........................42Phoenix Sagen........................36Anna Sauer...............................36Pete Schones...........................40Melissa Seipelt ........................40Dan Siddall ...............................40Lenny Sigwarth.......................40Josh Sipfle.................................40Tyler Sorensen.........................44Amulya Srivastava.................44Jason Stillman.........................44Whitney Swander...................44John Taft....................................44Ana Temu..................................48Rachael Teufel.........................48Frank Tiff....................................48Sally Van Meter.......................46Garian Vigil...............................44Maria Villagran........................48Rebecca Vincent.....................48Ron Vogel..................................50Sarah Wise................................50Richard Wolniewicz...............50Diane Wood.............................50Kyle Zimmer.............................50

Who’s insidebusinesses, raised families,taught generations, servedas leaders in government,survived a flood, andinspired us.“100” allows us to meet

so many members of thecommunity for the firsttime. At last, we can put aface with that name, or aname with that face.There’s always the unusu-

al and the humorous, likethe man whose prized pos-session is his “flood tub.”That’s the hot tub that wassubmerged by the St. VrainRiver during the Septemberflood but still works. “Floodtub lives!”Enjoy this slice of our

community, from the foot-hills to the Carbon Valley,from Berthoud to Erie. It’san easy read — and inmostly alphabetical order.

— John Vahlenkamp,managing editor

The youngest is 9. Theoldest, 100. Another servedas an interpreter for someof the greatest ColoradoRockies players. Anotherwon a Grammy. Yet anotheris two-degrees separatedfrom Salvador Dali.You will find these and

others in “100.” That’s thetheme we chose for thisyear’s Times-Call communi-ty review edition.Community review is our

chance every year to take abroader look at the regionwe cover and to tell storiesthat often are missed in theday-to-day coverage ofnews.Among these 100 people,

several already have madeheadlines, but many morequietly have made a differ-ence in their communitieswith little if any recognition.They are native residents,

newcomers and immi-grants. They have built

Fromthe editor

COMMUNITY REVIEW • MARCH 30, 2014 • 3

In BusInessnessomen

BuI sn InBuI sn InessomenW

Dr. Jill BilesDentist/Co-Owner

303-776-9701900 S. Main Street, Suite 201

Longmont, COwww.avanti-dental.com

Jill has beenwithAvanti Dental Caresince July of 2006 and became apartner in 2010. She regularly attendscontinuing education courses tostay current with the latest dentalprocedures andmethodologies. Sheis alsomember of theADA,ColoradoDental Association, Academyof General Dentistry and theAmerican

Academy ofDental SleepMedicine.Jill’s patientsinspire hereveryday andare the reasonshe lovesdentistry.

TAWNA IRVINE AND TAMMY ORR -SAVING SHOES ONE SOLE AT A TIME

You may ask, How did two women get into this male-dominated business? Owner Tawna Irvine and her colleagueTammy Orr worked for Phelps Shoes for 25 years, until the familywanted to retire. Tawna bought the business from them in 2009.

She got started in shoe repair in Boulder during a recession;a friend taught her the craft. It was on-the-job training in severalshops where she learned multiple ways to get the best results.Tammy sews expertly. Put their talents together and expectexcellence.

“We have such good customers,” Tawna says. “They like usbeing women. We get really good feedback.” Tawna had trainingas a pedorthist – “like a pharmacist for the foot.” She takesover-the-counter orthotics, tweaks and fits them and makesthem work for the customer. That service makes Phelps differentfrom other shoe repair businesses. If she can’t make them work, she recommends getting a diagnosis froma podiatrist. Phelps also carries sandals and slippers from Vionic, one of the few brands with arch supports.When it comes to saving old shoes from the trash heap, Tawna is persuasive: “There is a lot of footwearthat people think is not repairable – but it is. If you’re not sure, ask us. Even less-expensive footwear canbe repaired, like the boots made of man-made materials with rubber soles. You can get another year out ofthem; don’t send them to the landfill.” They also rejuvenate purses, zippers, leather coats and belts.

Want stunning proof of how these two superb women excel at their craft? Visit the fascinating Facebookpage of Phelps Shoe Repair and see how they transformed a battered pair of loafers into the pride of anycountry club habitué!

Phelps Shoe Repair, 2255 Main Street, Suite 103, Longmont, 303.776.9762

frod miagnosig a settinr gecommends shw eorkt ,hem makc ean’s thI eb fusinessesr .epais rhoo ethef rrom

Tammy Orr and Tawna Irvine

Sunflower Community AcupunctureJill Andreozzi L.Ac., Dipl.O.M, R.N.Owner & Clinic Director

11753 North 75th Street, Longmont720-684-8865

www.SunflowerCommunityAcupuncture.com

Jill holds a Master of Science in Oriental Medicine frSouthwest Acupuncture College, Boulderbrings twenty-two years of nursing experience to herskills as a practitioner. In our clinic, we use rencircling a spacious community room with surrambient sound for privacy and enhanced therapeuticeffect. We offer a sliding scale of $20 - $45, soacupuncture can be an affordable component in yourtotal health care. Our Community Acupuncturis designed to remove the barrier of cost so you canreceive quality treatments frequently enough tobe truly healthy. See our web site for mordetails and to schedule appointments.

Medicine fromr. She alsorience to herse reclinersith surroundtherapeutic

45, soonent in yourncture modelso you canugh tore

Dr. Pygott has been providing outstandingaudiological services to patients in the Longmontarea at the Colorado HearingTinnitus andBalance since 1999.As amember of numerousprofessional organizations including theAmericanAcademy ofAudiology and ColoradoAcademy ofAudiology she expands herknowledge in the field of tinnitustherapy through exclusive trainingopportunities.Colorado HearingTinnitus and Balanceis proud she is ableto preserve an over35 year old traditionof exceptional patientcare in all aspects ofmedical treatment forhearing, tinnitus andbalance disorders.

2030 W. Mtn. View Ave. • Ste. 500Longmont

(303) 776-7770www.colohear.com

DR. NICOLE PYGOTTDirector & Doctor of Audiology, Au.D. F-AAA

Linda SnyderOwner, Snyder Jewelers

303 776-29922201 Ken Pratt Blvd.,

Longmont, COwww.snyderjewelers.com

When Linda Snyder says she grew up in the jewelrybusiness, she means it literally. Her grandfather Hobartand father John opened Snyder Jewelers in 1948. As achild, she would go to the store with her mom and dad.She made pretty bows, put charms on bracelets, sizedwatchbands, replaced watch batteries and cleaned silver.Linda is a certified graduate gemologist and specializesin custom design. In high school, Snyder loved workingat the store after school. She learned more every day andeventually started making jewelry at night and sold it atschool the next day!Snyder Jewelers specializes in custom design, finequality, large selection and on-site restoration repair andappraisals.Linda believes that building relationships ismore importantthan just “closing the sale”. “It is important tomake well informed decisions soone can feel completely confidentin the quality, uniquenessvalue of the purchases madeMy team will take the time toeducate and inform our guests.At Snyder Jewelers you willbe treated like friends andfamily, and we provide theopportunity to select from alarge collection of uniquehigh quality, beautiful, andfairly priced jewelry!

e . “It is important toisions soonfidents andade.e tosts.willandheae,d

4 • MARCH 30, 2014 • COMMUNITY REVIEW

Stacy Kokenzie, Christopher Kukich,Maciel Leon, Linda Liang, Kay W. Lloyd,Gary Markowitz, Eliberto Mendoza,Joanie Moore.

Sixth row: Chuck Morris, Betty AnnNewby, Stan Owens, Clay Peck, RayRamirez, Carmen Ramirez, Brian Rezac,Michael Roberts, Benny Romero, AnnaSauer.

Seventh row: Pete Schones, DanSiddall, Lenny Sigwarth, Tyler Sorensen,Jason Stillman, Glenda S. Robinson, AnaTemu, Rebecca N. Vincent, Ron Vogel,Kyle Zimmer.

Top row: Mike Bell, Hank Blazon,Heather Britton, Robin Bryant, TimChaffin, Wilma Crofford, Cliff DeJong,Meca Delgado, Murry Drescher, DonaldDreyer.

Second row: Sabrina Duey, CraigEngelhorn, Sandra Esters, JoycelynFankhouser, Patty Fiest, EmilyFlemming, Megan Forrest, Deb Gardner,Chris Gischel, David Hawkins.

Third row: James “Bo” Insogna, JayJakosky, Roberta Johnston.

Fourth row: Jeffrey Justice, KonniKeuter, Bobby King.

Fifth row: Deb Kitt, Jason Kokenzie,

Jill AndreozziAge: 43Occupation: Acupuncturist, owner of

Sunflower Community Acupuncture inHygiene

Years in St. Vrain Valley: 7What brought you here?

What kept you here?Acupuncture school. We lived inNew Mexico prior to then andwe had a daughter who was 9years old, and we wanted her tolive in an area where there weremore school options. ... Now?The community, definitely. I’vemet a lot of people around here, andI’ve met more working in the hospitalsin the area. I love the people here.

What exactly is “CommunityAcupuncture?” I have seven reclinersset up in about a 1,000squarefootroom with soft music. I schedule them

every 15 minutes — I bring them in,they sit down and I tend to them, all ina community setting. They basically rollup their sleeves to the elbow, roll uptheir pants to the knee. People takenaps in here. It’s actually quite relaxing,which is really conducive to healing. ...

You don’t feel like you’re in aroom with other people. Youfeel like you’re in your ownspace.

How do you handle patientswho are afraid of needles?I explain to them thatacupuncture needles are very,very tiny compared to the

needles they’ve become accustomed toin Western medicine. You might feel atiny sensation with an acupunctureneedle, but that’s it. I’ll put the firstneedle in and they’re immediatelyrelieved that it’s not as painful as theythought it was going to be.

Cathy BalanAge: 59Occupation: Administrative assistant

for Longmont Council for the ArtsYears in St. Vrain Valley: 15What brought you here?

What has kept you here? Iam a Colorado native from theSan Luis Valley. I grew upspending time in themountains all around me butleft the area after high school.All my adult life I looked forthe opportunity to return tothem. In 1999 my familymoved to Longmont. We lovebeing close to the mountains and in thecommunity of Longmont.

What are your favorite personalshows in the LCA’s Muse Gallery: TheEcoCreations shows are alwaysinteresting. The artists are so creativewith recycled/found materials, such as a

dress made from plastic bags or aworking clock from recycled computerparts. Grahame Atkinson has done aoneman show using his Earth Motherseries, which was incredibly moving.

The comics show, “SequentiallySpeaking,” opened my eyes tothe depth of story preparationand character design involvedto create a chapter in a comic.

What’s your first memoryfrom childhood? My fondestchildhood memory is the daysI would drive to ski at WolfCreek Ski Area with my father,who helped start the area.

Many times the warming hut wouldhave to be dug out to reach the door.Inside was a huge potbellied stove towarm my cold feet and hands. Thesememories and his work for the areawere honored when he was inductedinto the Colorado Ski and SnowboardMuseum Hall of Fame in 1996.

Who’s on the cover

BrakesTune-UpsCV-AxlesWater PumpsTiming BeltsAir ConditioningManufactures ScheduledMaintenanceCheck Engine LightsOil Changes

Free Shuttle Service!Honest Car Care & Repair

1116-A Colorado Avenue303-485-9303

Friend Us on Facebook for even morereasons to go to Stonum Automotive!!

StonumAutomotive

READERS’ CHOICE!

10% OFFLabOr

Up to $50 maximum discount.Not valid with any other offers.

Expires 4-30-14

$10 OFFany Oil Change

Not valid with any other offers.Expires 4-30-14

$10 OFFany

alignmentNot valid with any other offers.

Expires 4-30-14

UpdatedComfortableWaitingRoom, Free CoffeeBar,WiFi, Children’sPlay Area

OFF $1 OF0 F

automotive crencounter

Ale

tonum!

J.W.

The Shop These PeopleHAVE recommendedto a Friend!!Friend!t a !o

Fastfriendly service! I gotmore done to my truck then I

thought, still stayed within my budget

and it rides better then when I bought

it! My wife’s car has been here too and we

have nothing but positive things to say!

Thanks for all your hard wor

PeoplT ehesS ehoT phe

rew I ve ever

ntered!

ex E.

Handado thewn,

trhonest & ui

Theprettyums upink aboutnum!

recommendeV dEFriend!t a !o Friend!t a !o

dse mostustworthy

I’ve ever

Veryhappy with Stonum

Automotive! Very friendly

service, super fast getting to my

car AND repairing it, plus -the

cost was cheaper than their quote,

and we had a coupon on top of

everything else.

Annie S.

Excellent

job on my brakes

and I appreciate the

battery cable clean up.

Thanks!

Jeff D.

Always

an awesome job,

great customer service

and reasonable pricing.

Great job guys.

Mark B.

0% OFF $10

Ston

J

S

g to say!your hard work guys!Steven N. “Tht” ph suthiSton

“bestmuch

what IS

Theyexplain and

answer all my

questions.

D.B.

Locally Owned& Operated!


John BeckAge: 76Occupation: Retired, master plumber for 42 yearsYears in this area: 64What brought you here? What has kept you here? What brought me to

Berthoud from Indiana was my mother had severe asthma. The climate agreedwith her so much we stayed. ... I was in the seventh grade and was acceptedwell from my other classmates. My father had a plumbing and heatingcompany, so I was fortunate to receive a lot of business knowledge, even whilestill in school. An apprentice school helped me to become a journeyman pipefitter and a master plumber. What kept me here was I married a Berthoud girland we had three children who went through the Berthoud schools. Now 4 ofmy grandchildren have graduated from Berthoud. Also I was blessed to have worked for 42 yearsfor a large (mechanical contractor) from Fort Collins to Denver.Can you mention a few of the organizations that you have volunteered for and why you

think its so important to be active in your community? It seems I have always volunteered;some of these are: eight years on the school board; 10 years on the Berthoud Town Board; 32 yearsas a volunteer firefighter; many years of service in my church; ; and a board member of theBerthoud Historical Society. Recently, I became a volunteer driver for a new transportation servicenamed R.A.F.T. in the Berthoud community. It helps people who need a ride to Longmont orLoveland who does not have anyone to help them. This service covers Interstate 25 to Carter Lake,and Campion to Yellowstone Road just north of Longmont.You moved to Berthoud in 1950. What do you think is the biggest difference between

Berthoud then and now? One of the differences is the many homes outside of the city limits.Back then, it was a few farm yard lights between Berthoud and Longmont and Loveland. ... I was sovery fortunate to grow up here in the 50s. Those days are gone, and we must fill the emptystorefronts and tell other people how nice it is to live here and support our nice town.

Mike BellAge: 62Occupation: Longmont Police Department Traffic SergeantYears in the St. Vrain Valley: 36What brought you here? What has kept you here? The Federal Aviation

Administration brought me to Longmont. I have stayed because of themountains, the wonderful changing weather and the dry climate.What do you wish motorists knew about your job, and why? I wish that

motorists knew the importance of wearing safety belts and motorcyclehelmets. In my career, I have investigated the untimely deaths of 58 peopleinvolved in traffic crashes. In all of the motorcycle crashes, had the motorcyclists been wearing ahelmet, I believe that they would have survived. In most of the deaths resulting from vehiclecrashes, the deceased would have survived if they would have been wearing their safety belts atthe time of the crash. The forces, in even a low speed traffic crash are far greater than what weoften think.What is your favorite vacation, and why? Any cruise. When the ship moves from the dock, you

are on a new adventure away from your regular life and society. A true escape!

Karen BiancoAge: 64Occupation: Teacher at Crossroads

SchoolYears in St. Vrain Valley: 52What brought you here? What has kept

you? Our parents moved here in 1962. ...Dad worked putting up all the stuff thatwould make the phone operate in yourhome. ... There were several colleges nearbyand (my parents) liked that because theydidn’t have to send you out of state. AndLongmont schools prepared us well to go to any of the schoolsin that small area. We have traveled all over, and Longmont iswonderful. It is a community that could be much larger, but thething is, it’s still a community. It’s like Crossroads School, there’ssomething for everyone.Your travels included a mission trip to Nicaragua. What

did you find? We worked 16 days with Casa Unida and I got toteach seven vacation Bible schools, all of them enthusiastic. Themost we had was 110 kids. ... All I can say of those people is theyhave nothing, but they were so joyful. We can learn a lot. (Smiles)I would love to send all the teenagers in America over. ... We builtour own classroom. We laid bricks. Very primitive, all hand tools.It was backbreaking work, but you really felt so much love.What prepared you for a less traditional setting at

Crossroads, after 31 years in the public schools? Me and (myhusband) Michael are both teachers. He was industrial arts, so hereceived a lot of children that didn’t fit the mold. And at CentralSchool, we had gone from very highend rich people in Victorianhomes, and we became a central hub for bilinguals. The wholecomplexion of the school changed, and our goals changed. ... Sowe both worked with children that were often not in the APclasses. But their parents had the same goals, they wanted theirchildren to be very successful. And that was our job. ... You knowwhat it is? Showing love. You have to show love and listen. Theseare the things that will help you across all generations.

Hank Blazon•Age: 72Occupation: RetiredYears in St. Vrain Valley: 60What brought you here? What has kept you here? Born in Longmont,

moved to farm east of Mead in 1945 (and) attended school in Mead.Graduated in 1960. Moved to Denver to attend school. Graduated fromNational Electronic Institute 1961.What was it like growing up with a dad who was a leader in the Latino

community in the 1930s? Dad had a pool hall for about two or three years inthe late 1930s. Dad and Marian Gallagoes had Latino dances at the oldMemorial Building at Roosevelt Park. In addition, he also owned properties inLongmont. In 1942, he bought a farm east of Mead, where he retired farming.How did your dad’s role as a strong Latino leader in the community shape who you’ve

become? Because he was involved in the Longmont community, this encouraged me to also buyproperties and also be involved in the community.

Dr. Kimberly BraymanAge: Midlife and thrivingOccupation: PsychologistYears in St. Vrain Valley: 16What brought you here? What has

kept you here? I moved here as a singlemother of three young children fromCanada to go to graduate school. I thoughtLongmont would be a good, safecommunity to raise my family in. Mychildren grew up and now live in Africa,Canada and Colorado, and after lookingliterally the world over a few years ago, Ichose to stay because in my heart this feels like “my home.”Although I strongly feel my Canadian heritage, this is the place Ifeel roots and the place I most want to serve with my work.What were you doing in the Philippines earlier this year?

From Jan. 31 to Feb. 15, I was in the Philippines volunteering. Mypassion is to assist in healing individuals in my private practiceand also to help individuals and groups affected by naturaldisasters, such as Hurricane Yolanda. I am traveling with aninternational team to offer trainings to local relief workers andcivilians and to do research. Upon my return, my private practiceresumed and my office, which includes two social workers,offered any one in the community insurance to sliding scale to apro bono session who is still emotionally suffering from ourflood.What’s your flood story? I lost the roof on my residence, and

all of my coping skills came into affect as “it rained inside.” Mywonderful cowboy and I reroofed my house (I remodel housesfor stress management). It got five skylights as a way to makelemonade out of lemons. Professionally, we saw all of my clientsdeal with a much higher level of stress as many were oustedfrom homes, lost basements, some from Lyons entire properties.We did Skype sessions. We had teenage girls come and handout towels and let them take showers while we made browniesin the office kitchen. We did our best to support those we saw.


Heather BrittonAge: 32Occupation: Emergency communications specialist with the Longmont Police

DepartmentYears in St. Vrain Valley: 22 yearsWhat brought you here? What has kept you? I moved here in 1992 with my

family from Minnesota. I moved to Mississippi for a short time, and Coloradodrew me back. I love the atmosphere and opportunities that are here. I feel like Ilive in a small town but still have the conveniences of being near or in a big city.

What is the best part of your job? I enjoy helping people, so being able tohelp someone every day is exciting. No matter how small a problem appears tothe person calling, it is a big deal, so I want to do what I can to make thatproblem just a little easier for the person calling. I come to work every day not knowing what the daywill bring and find that exciting. I have the duty of taking care of the officers and firefighters on thestreet to make sure that they are safe. I am one of many who are the ears of the city.

If a genie granted you three wishes, and you could not wish for more wishes, what would beyour first? I would wish to be taken away to a tropical island where I don’t have to do anything butrelax and be spoiled. My husband and I just had our second baby in October. To have some relaxingmommy and daddy time would be a dream.

Robin BryantAge: 54Occupation: Assistant to the vice chancellor for administration, University of

Colorado Boulder; parttime potterYears in St. Vrain Valley: Almost 3What brought you here? What has kept you here? After 28 years of living

in Boulder and raising our two daughters, my husband and I were looking foranother community to live in for our retirement years. We have friends wholive here and had heard wonderful things about the Longmont communityand the support for art and artists. Everyone I have met has been sowelcoming and supportive and friendly.

You recently organized a local ceramics group, Longmont Clay. What doyou hope to accomplish with the group? The overall goal is to connect with and developrelationships with other clay artists and create a community of people who are passionate aboutclay. As in many art mediums, working in clay can be a solitary path. I find connecting with andlearning from other clay artists to be inspiring. I have been a member of the Boulder Potters Guildfor many years and that organization offers an instant community of others who are passionateabout clay. When I moved here, I was trying to figure out how to meet others in this communitywho work in clay. Through a friend, I met Katy Diver, who teaches totem classes out of her studio.My husband and I then took a totem class from Katy and through the relationship with Katy, westarted talking about combining functional and sculptural clay for a show. Longmont Clay recentlyheld a show at the Firehouse Art Center and it was so wonderful to see how the two differenttypes of work complemented each other. Ultimately, I would love to see regular clay shows andsales in the community and promote clay as easily accessible art that people can add to their everyday life. ... In the short term, my goal is to invite members of the community who are working inclay and would like to connect with others working in clay, to email [email protected].

What are your favorite local places to go see art? Muse Gallery, Firehouse Art Center and theSun Rose Cafe.

Giselle CollazoAge: Noun or imperative?Occupation: Mother, musician and

business development manager at RallySoftware

Years in St. Vrain Valley: 15What brought you here? What has

kept you here? I first came here for apersonal relationship. I soon discoveredLongmont’s people, parks, breweries,restaurants, arts, history and all thesebeautiful old trees.

As a performer in the band Idlewhile, you have aninsider’s view of the local music scene. What about thescene have you learned that most people don’t know?

I don’t know if any of this is littleknown or unique, but here’swhat I’ve seen:

1) The camaraderie around here feels pretty special. Manymusicians here respect and champion each other’s work.There’s a lot of moral support and collaboration among usbehind the scenes, too.

2) The great partnerships between us and several localvenues ensure variety and quality for audiences in their own“backyard” while offering compensation, exposure and goodstages for the musicians. The local media, both commercial andindependent, have also been great to work with.

Describe the best moment you’ve had on a local stage.The best moment is when folks respond so passionately to ouroriginal songs, songs they’ve never heard before! That’s when Iknow souls have been stirred, that I am right where I belong,and I feel immense gratitude. Oh yeh, and there’s the othermoment when someone brings me a beer while I’m playing. ;)

Tim ChaffinAge: 61Years in St. Vrain Valley: 16What brought you here? What has kept you here? I began a 25year

career while in high school in Montrose, Colorado, working parttime in theCable TV industry. I continued on with the same company, TCI Cablevision,after college working in Colorado, California and Missouri as a general and areamanager. I decided to move back to Colorado after finishing my tenure inMissouri when an opportunity became available with Longmont Cable Trust —Channel 8. In my position as general manager, I have been able to meet andcreate video programming with city, county and state legislators, localcommunity and business leaders and area nonprofits.

What’s the weirdest situation you have had to deal with at Channel 8? Longmont CableTrust (LCT) was established in 1984, broadcasting programming on Channel 3 of the local Cable TVsystem for 26 years. The FCC forced LCT to vacate the Channel 3 position in May of 2010 to complywith the Federal Regulations, thereby, allowing another broadcaster the rights to the Channel 3position in the Denver television market.

To comply with FCC regulations, LCT and Comcast Cable repositioned the broadcast of theprogramming to Channel 8. LCT has been broadcasting on Channel 8 for the last four years. LCThas been providing community, governmental and instructional programming to the communityfor 30 years.

What is one lesson you wish could teach your teenaged self? Get your priorities straight,don’t dwell in the past, always move forward and dance your way to happiness.

Wilma CroffordAge: 100Occupation: I was an accountant for the

Jefferson County schools. I retired after 21years.

Years in the St. Vrain Valley? 28What brought you here? What has

kept you here? My father moved to a farmnorth of Simla (Colo.); he moved there in1918. I grew up on that farm until I marriedin 1933. (After moving to Littleton myhusband and I) moved to Lakewood in ’37and lived there over 20 years, raised two daughters there. ThenWheat Ridge and we lived there 20plus years before we cameto Longmont in 1985. We were looking for a small town. Afterwe came here it wasn’t as small as we wanted, but we foundjust the right house for us, so it was what we wanted.(Daughter Elaine: “And I lived in Boulder so I was close by.”)

What is the most remarkable thing to come along in yourcentury of living? Electricity. I think electricity. Of course, theremay have been electricity and I didn’t realize it because when Ilived on the farm, we never had it. So when we finally livedwhere we had it it was a revelation to us.

Your ability to recall the events of your life is exceptional.What advice do you have for someone who wants to stayas mentally sharp as you are as they age? I would say stayactive and do exercise. Keep exercising. I’ve been exercising mywhole life. I still go to the hospital and exercise in the warmwater three times a week. I still do it.


Angel Berdiales, owner of Shalom Bikes, poses for a portrait at his shop in Frederick


N o budget. No train-ing. No logisticsworth the name.

Not the most auspiciousway to re-enter competitivecycling. But for Angel Ber-diales, last year’s RaceAcross the West was arebirth. A door that closed30 years ago in Lima, Peru,had creaked open and lethim through.“I feel like a little boyagain,” said Berdiales, 52.“God finally gave me mydreams again, but in a differ-ent direction.”This June, those dreamswill put him back on the gru-eling run for the second time— though admittedly with abit more preparation thistime. There’s even a causenow, a church mission tripthat he’s using the ride toraise money for.But before all that, therewere youthful dreams of glo-ry.In Peru, dreams wereabout all Berdiales couldafford. He started bicycleracing when he was 11 yearsold, but he couldn’t affordexpensive training or gear.(During his first competi-tion, joined on the spur ofthe moment and an official’simpromptu invitation, Ber-diales cycled in flip-flops.) Soimprovement was slow, littleby little, year after year.By his early 20s, it allseemed to come together.He had his own bicycle shopnow, more experience, moreopportunity. And at last, hehad his first big win.“In 1984, I was nationalchampion for beginners,” he

said.”I was excited. Ithought, ‘Oh, finally!’”He joined the Peruviannational team, and interna-tional competition beckoned.But in 1985, “finally” became“final.” A bad accident dur-ing a 1,000 kilometer raceended his career; the news-paper picture of Berdiales ina neck brace still has thepower to induce a wince ofsympathy.“I started thinking ‘Maybenext year I’ll return,’” hesaid. “But it never hap-pened.”Instead, life moved on. Sodid Berdiales. He became aChristian in 1989, a Coloradoresident in 1991, a husbandin 1992. For four years afterthat, he hopped betweencontinents until his wife’simmigration paperworkcould be approved, stayingin the U.S. just long enoughto hold down his work per-mit.“I spent 85 percent of mytime in Peru,” Berdialessaid, chuckling at the memo-ry. “I was spending so muchtime, I almost lost my ownlegal papers.”The bike life never left, butit started to take a differentform. After working in sever-al bike shops, he once againhad a chance to start hisown in Frederick. In 2003 —on the Fourth of July, as amatter of fact — Berdialesopened Shalom Bikes, aname that means “peace inGod.”“Each year, I thoughtabout racing, but now thekids are growing up, goingto school.” he said. “I tried a

couple of times, to Mt.Evans, but my time was realslow because I’m not in my20s anymore.”What finally turneddreams back into reality was,appropriately enough, Sha-lom Bikes. About a year ago,he decided that while busi-ness was good, it could bebetter.“I spent time thinkingabout the promotion of theshop,” he said. “What do Ihave, $1,000 for advertising?No, I don’t have that. Whatdo I have? Oh, I can ride.Why not one of those crazyrides, like across America?”He ended up settling onthe Race Across the West, an860-mile bicycle race fromOceanside, Calif., to Duran-go, Colo. It was a journeythat would test a cyclist withheat, with elevation, withfirm deadlines for each sec-tion.It didn’t take long for Ber-diales to realize he was a lit-tle under-gunned. Most ofthe racers, he said, had fullbackup teams and two orthree support vehicles totake on the course.“My crew is only mydaughter, my son and mywife — and my van,” he said.“We had no good logistics,no experience and lots ofchallenges.”They kept up, but some-

times by the skin of theirteeth. At one stage, Ber-diales said, he and his wifestudied a map at 9 p.m. andrealized they had 200 milesleft to complete a stage bythe next morning. Thatprompted a frantic burst ofenergy.“We had to ride all night,but we made it,” Berdialessaid. “We were excited.”He smiled and shook hishead. “And then, the nextstage, we got lost.”The family was 40 milesinto the next stage beforethey realized they’d takenthe wrong route. Gettingback took too long; a plealodged with the race officialsgot no response. There hadnever been much hope ofwinning, but now even fin-ishing seemed unlikey.There just wasn’t enoughtime.“By that point, we werediscouraged,” Berdiales said.“My kids were saying ‘Gohome.’”Then his wife Monicaspoke up. No, she said. Shedidn’t care how well he fin-ished, she told him, only thathe kept trying to completethe course.“You need to finish,” shesaid.“Normally, she didn’t lovebikes,” he said. “But she hasa lot of determination.”The road ended at Cortez,close but not close enough.Berdiales was too late. Hewas out.And then, abruptly, he wasback in.A morning phone call

brought the news. The Racefor the West board hadreviewed Berdiales’ case anddetermined that yes, he hadgotten lost and no, the delaywas not his fault. If he couldfinish the last 50 miles of therace in three hours or less,his time would qualify.“Ooooh, my kids jumped!”Berdiales said, laughing.“Everyone is hurrying up,yelling ‘Keep going, we’reback in!’ We made a plan,checked the maps, and wefinished in two hours and 25minutes.”It was an exhilarating wayto end. And it’s led to a newstart. In late February, Ber-diales and his family decidedto take on the race again, butwith two key changes.“We decided if we raceagain, we need a budget ...we need good logistics,” hesaid. “And the second thingis, we need a purpose. We’dseen teams cycling for can-cer, for the military, for char-ity ... we needed to race forsomething.”So this year, Berdiales isracing for his church’s youthgroup, to help raise funds fortheir mission trip. It’sbrought together all hisloves — his faith, his family,his sport — in one packageand pushed him to shooteven higher. If everythingworks out, he said, in 2015he wants to try the big one,the Race Across America.Heavy dreams for some-one who thought he’d neverrace again.“God gave me somethingspecial in my old years,” Ber-diales said.

OnanupcycleFrederickbike shopowner regains

dreamof competitive cyclingAngel BerdialesOccupation: Owner, ShalomBikes in FrederickAge: 52Years in Carbon Valley: 12

Story by Scott Rochat • Photo by Matthew Jonas • Longmont Times-Call


Kelsey DeemsAge: 22Occupation: Barista at the Barking

Dog CafeYears in St. Vrain Valley: 2What brought you here?

What has kept you here?After six months of longdistance dating, I packed upmy life in east Tennessee andclosed the 1,300 mile gapbetween myself and my nowexboyfriend. When therelationship ended, we bothrealized it was the very reasonI found myself exactly where Ineeded to be. I didn’t know it at thetime, but I didn’t find my heart until Iarrived in Colorado. For that and tohim, I am forever thankful.

You live in Longmont, but you areactive in the Lyons Community. Tellus a little about the involvementyou have had with the Lyons FireDepartment and the community.From the moment I stepped intoLyons as a bank teller, I was welcomedwith open arms. I found myself gettingto know the community as a wholeafter taking on a second, and nowonly, job at the Barking Dog Cafe. I amalso an auxiliary member with Lyons

Fire Protection District. What thatbasically means is, I don’t fight fires —I fund raise. After the flood ofSeptember 2013, I started a Tshirtfundraiser that benefits LFPD and theLyons Community Foundation. So far, I

have raised a total of $5,500.I may live in Longmont, butmy heart was found in thepeople of Lyons.

Why do you want toattend Pikes PeakCommunity College inColorado Springs, when doyou plan to move, andwhat got you interested inthe zoo keeping program?

My passion has always been withanimals. I have a love for zoos andhave always dreamed of being a zookeeper. During a visit to CheyenneMountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, Ilearned about an awesome twoyearprogram at Pikes Peak CommunityCollege. Most of the keepers evenwent there. I finally made the decisionto apply and was accepted within 24hours. I will be making the move thissummer to start school for the fallsemester. My goal is to have my veryown tower of giraffes. I have honestlynever been more proud of myself forchasing after my dreams.

Cliff DeJongAge: 70Occupation: Retired; president of the

St. Vrain Photographic Society; alsowrite a weekly column for a Nascarfantasy website calledfantasyracingcheatsheet.com.

Years in the St. VrainValley? 3

What brought you here?What has kept you here?Wehave two (children) in Denver,two in Longmont and one inErie. We moved back herebecause my wife missed thegrandkids. So I live herebecause my wife lives here. And thegrandkids of course — I love them too!

You’re the president of the St.Vrain Photographic Societybut yourdegrees in math and computerscience would have seemingly littleto do with that hobby. Does youraerospace background — working onthe Apollo program and with ballisticmissiles — have anything to do withyour photographic interests? It reallydoes. I understand the technical side of

photography very well, but it’s thecreative side I need help on. (The club ismade up roughly halfandhalf of moretechnically inclined members andcreative types, he explained.) When Ilook at the stars at Rocky Mountain

National Park — which I’vedone quite often; if you’ve everdone that, looked at the starsand the Milky Way atmidnight, it’s an overwhelmingexperience. How do youphotograph (and truly capture)that? So that’s what I like tothink about.

You write a weeklyprediction column and blog

occassionally forfantasyracingcheatsheet.com. Howdid that come about? I worked anawful lot in statistics, and got involvedwith Nascar through a fantasy league. Ideveloped a method for determiningwhere everybody would finish, everyrace, and I sent it off to (the) websiteand they picked it up (starting in 2010).If you look up my name, Cliff DeJongand Nascar, it’ll bring up all kinds ofstuff.

Meca Delgado•Age: 30Occupation: Boulder County Healthy

Youth Alliance program specialistYears in St. Vrain Valley: 23What brought you here?

What has kept you here?Besides the amazing beautythat surrounds this area andthe numerous outdooractivities one can enjoy in ourarea, there are two things thatkeep me in Longmont. First ismy family, which most arelocated in the Boulder Countyarea. In enjoy having most ofmy family very close, seeing each otherregularly for birthdays, holidays, andrandom reasons to spend time togethermeans the world to me. The secondreason I stay in this area is the sense ofcommunity I feel here.

What’s the most common badhealth habit you see and your adviceto families facing that issue? Due tomy work with the Healthy YouthAlliance we focus on preventingunhealthy habits before the age of 13.For example preventing smoking,marijuana use and drinking before theage of 13. Age 13 is a focal point,

because the chances of youthssuffering longterm negativeconsequences from engaging in thesebehaviors declines, with every year ofdelayed initiation. Some of the longterm negative consequences prevented

are addiction, heavy use,lifetime use, and thederailment of healthy braindevelopment duringimperative years. My advice tofamilies is to startcommunicating with theirchildren about these issuesearly. Talk to your childrenabout all of these concerns.Make sure conversations are

age and development appropriate buttalk about it.

What was the worst day of your lifeand why? I can think of a few bad daysin my life; days when I wish I could takesomething back, make a differentdecision, or spend more time withsomeone I love, but none stands out asthe worst day of my life. I am anoptimist. I view the world as glass halffull. When I have a bad day or make amistake I do my best to learn from it. Itry to grow and become a betterperson from all of my life experiences,good and bad.


Liz DonagheyAge: 32Occupation: Boulder County

marijuana licensing authorityYears in St. Vrain Valley: Moved to

Longmont in 1998; joined themilitary/traveled for about sixyears; moved back toLongmont in 2005; preparingto move to Berthoud.

What brought you here?What has kept you here?Originally I moved herebecause my parents movedhere for a job opportunity. Ihave stayed because I love thearea and culture. I really enjoy theactive lifestyle of the area, and I willnever get over the beauty of themountains.

Have your experiences in two yearsas Boulder County’s marijuana

licensing authority brought you anysurprises? Every day I learn somethingnew. I’m not sure surprise would be theright word, but it’s been nice to learnabout the owners of the marijuanabusinesses in Boulder County. The

owners have been great towork with — attorneys,investors, moms and dads, justregular hard working folk.

How does that positiondiffer from what you weredoing on the county staffpreviously? Before beingappointed as the marijuanalicensing authority, I workedfor Boulder County on internal

communications and was the projectmanager for a wastewater localimprovement district. It’s been a shift infocus, but otherwise it’s still aboutcommunication and public relations.The more we keep communicationopen the better things flow.

Murry DrescherAge: 61Occupation: Cardiologist, Longmont

United Hospital’s Milestone MedicalGroup

Years in the St. VrainValley: 1½

What brought you here?What has kept you here? I’moriginally from New York. Igrew up in the big city,Brooklyn. The job brought mehere. I moved here fromPlantation, Fla. A colleaguethat I’d formerly practiced within the Fort Lauderdale areatold me about three years agoabout plans to form a medical grouphere. My wife went to CU. I was familiar

with the area.What do you think about the area

after having moved here? I really likeLongmont. I like the people a lot. I likethe hospital. They treat me very well. Ilike my colleagues. I really like the place

a lot.Would you recommend the

Longmont area to othermedical professionals?Absolutely. This is a great placeto practice. It really haseverything. You have niceplaces to eat here. It’s close toDenver. It’s close to Boulder. Ilive about a block north of theBoulderLarimer County line, in

the Berthoud area. It’s really beautiful. Ihave coyotes walking by my fence.

Sabrina DueyAge: 17Occupation: Student at Frederick

High SchoolYears in St. Vrain Valley: 13What brought you

here? What has kept youhere? My family and I movedto Frederick when I was inkindergarten. My parentswanted to move to the smalltown like Frederick becausethey wanted me to grow up ina smaller community. I havestayed in Frederick becauseevery time that I would try torun away as a child I would,unfortunately, always find my wayhome after a few hours.

What inspired you to becomeinvolved with depression awarenessand suicide prevention? My junioryear was a very hard time for not onlyme but for my classmates, as weexperienced the death of our dearfriend, Jordan McMullen. We were allblindsided as we found out that hehad committed suicide. This man who

had such a happy, kind and carefreespirit was one who we never thoughtwould take his life. Jordan McMullenhas inspired me to become involvedwith teen depression and suicideawareness. I want to help teens who

become depressed notmake the decision to endtheir lives. I want to teachteens that they areimportant and their liveshold value in the world. Inorder to accomplish mygoals, I plan to attendcollege at Colorado StateUniversity and major in theHuman Development and

Family Studies program.What are your educational career

goals in the next 10 years? As ofright now my educational and careergoals include me hopefully graduatingearly and getting my bachelor’sdegree in human development andfamily studies. After college, I plan towork as an interventionist and helpteens with depression and suicideawareness. As an interventionist I wantto focus my attention on students inhigh school.

Donald DreyerAge: 70Occupation: Veterinarian; recently

retiredYears in St. Vrain Valley: 43What brought you here?

What has kept you here? Igraduated from Colorado StateUniversity’s veterinary medicalschool in 1969, practiced inDenver for about two yearsand then joined a practicehere, the Animal Hospital, in1971. I’ve really enjoyedLongmont. Probably the mostenjoyment has beenbecoming friends with people whilehelping their pets, and in a general way,helping society.

What changes in veterinarymedicine have you seen in the yearsyou’ve been here? To start with, ourpractice was about 5050 large andsmall animals. For the last 30 years, it’s

primarily been small animals. Thereprobably are higher expectations now,both on the part of the veterinariansand the pet owner. There’s morelaboratory equipment, more digitaltechnology, wholebody Xrays, all of

which helps us to do betterdiagnoses and treatment.

Have there been changesin what you’ve seen aboutpeople’s preferences in pets,and how they care for them?I think our practice is nowabout 10 percent exotic birdsand 90 percent dogs and cats.Of those, about 60 percent aredogs and 40 percent cats. Pets

have become much more of the family,so to speak. In a number of instances,we’ve been seeing smaller families withmore pets. We see far fewer pet injuriesfrom car accidents. People are betterabout keeping their dogs on leashes.People are better about keeping theircats indoors.

Longmont’s Newest Golf and Entertainment OutletCome see what everyone is talking about!!

900 S. Hover (corner Hover &Nelson) • 720-340-4867 • www.frontrangegolf.comCall for a tee time today or just stop in and be part of the fun!!!C ll f

We have happy hour every weekTuesdays-Fridays from 4-6!Tuesday is Fat Tire Tuesday.

2 for 1 pints of Fat Tire all day!

Meet at theGolf & Tap

Play Golf Today! Looking for a new hangout?•Three Full Size Indoor

Golf Simulators• 60 Different Courses• Practice Facilities

• Leagues • Tournaments

• Expanded bar nowwith12 beers on Tap!

• Full Service Bar• Lounge Area• Big Screen TV’s • Parties• Or Fun with the Family!


Gary Elmquist, pictured with the organ he plays at First Evangelical Lutheran Church, graduated from Longmont High School and taught math there until he retired in 2004.


M ath and music.These are the

gifts GaryElmquist enjoys, and theseare the gifts he’s chosen toshare with the Longmontcommunity.Elmquist, 63, retired in

2004 after 30 years of teach-ing mathematics in the St.Vrain Valley School District.And after 36 years of play-

ing the organ at First Evan-gelical Lutheran Church inLongmont, he’s still goingstrong.“I’ve always felt like it was

a privilege to use what talentI have, what talent I’ve beengiven. Hopefully, it serves apurpose,” Elmquist said. “It’ssatisfying when you’re ableto enhance worship, whichhopefully I do.”Born at Longmont Hospi-

tal at Fourth Avenue andCoffman Street, Elmquistwas baptized at First Luther-an and grew up on a smallfamily farm in the Rinn area,southeast of Longmont.“This is the church where

I grew up,” Elmquist said inFebruary as he sat in thechoir loft, where the organsits.His parents, Ray and Lor-

raine, both loved music.When Elmquist was 7 years

old, he started playing thepiano; his younger brotherStan began learning theinstrument the followingyear, he said.

“We were the cute littlekids that got paraded in frontof everybody,” Elmquistsaid. “It was enjoyable.”

When Elmquist was achild, the organ was on themain floor of the church, onthe west side of the sanctu-ary.

“You could sit and watchthe organist play,” he said,adding that it looked like afun thing to do. He couldn’tremember exactly, but hesaid he probably startedplaying organ in junior highor high school.

He became First Luther-an’s full-time organist in1978.

“It was just somethingenjoyable. I am not a profes-sional musician, but it’s beensomething that’s been anenjoyable sideline,” Elmquistsaid.

The tradition, when thechurch was built in the late1930s, was to keep theorgan’s pipes out of sight. AtFirst Lutheran, the pipeswere in a tower on the eastside of the church, he said.

Thirty years ago, thechurch purchased a neworgan. Surrounding it in thechoir loft, the silver pipesrise toward the ceiling.“For this job, I don’t think

you can beat the organ, andwe’re lucky to have a niceorgan,” Elmquist said.Of all the music he plays,

Elmquist said his favorite isthe “Hallelujah” chorus fromGeorge Frideric Handel’s“Messiah.” Although thepiece has become a Christ-mas standard, First Luther-an’s choir performs it at Eas-ter — the holiday for whichthe oratorio was written,according to Smithso-nian.com.The “Hallelujah” chorus

might be the hardest pieceElmquist plays, he said.“When we do it, and it

comes off well, I feel reallyproud,” Elmquist said.As he grew up, Elmquist

attended elementary andjunior high school in Mead.He worked on his family’s

farm, near Interstate 25 andWeld County Road 20, grow-ing sugar beets, corn andbarley, and raising milkingcows, he said.

“It was a good life,”Elmquist said.

His least-favorite farmchore was milking the cows.

“It was never done,” hesaid.

At the time all Mead andLongmont-area studentsattended Longmont HighSchool — but he did notattend what is now called theMain Street School. Hisgraduating class of 1968 wasthe first to spend all fouryears of high school in theSunset Street building,which opened whenElmquist was in eighthgrade.

“That was quite a privilegeto go a brand new highschool,” Elmquist said. With425 students in his class,everyone knew everyone, hesaid.

“I grew up with a lot ofpeople who were and stillare good friends,” he said.People were close then, andchurch events were animportant place to socialize,he said.

In high school, Elmquist

took college-prep classes,sang in the choir and foundhis love for math. He wenton to earn his bachelor’sdegree from the Universityof Colorado at Boulder, thentaught in Colorado Springsfor one year.“I was able to do it, and it

was interesting. That’swhere it led,” Elmquist said.He returned to the St.

Vrain valley to teach at MeadJunior High, then at Long-mont High School.“Math is tough for a lot of

people,” he said, adding thathe hopes he made it “lesstough” for his students. Hestill teaches night classes atFront Range CommunityCollege.“Even though this is

where I’ve always lived, ...Longmont’s changed a lot,”Elmquist said, pointing outthat the city isn’t a farm townany more.He appreciates that the

city has become morediverse as it’s grown.“We were all kind of alike,”

Elmquist said of the city hegrew up in. “It’s good tohave people from differentbackgrounds come togetherand get to know each other.“It’s still home, and it’s still

special.”

Keys tosuccess‘I’ve always felt like itwas aprivilege touse

what talent I have,what talent I’ve beengiven’Gary ElmquistAge: 63Years in the St. Vrain Valley: 63Occupation: Organist at FirstEvangelical LutheranChurch; retired mathteacher

Story by Victoria A.F. Camron • Photo by Lewis Geyer• Longmont Times-Call


Liz DurfeeAge: 59Occupation: Art and gift gallery ownerYears in St. Vrain Valley: 34What brought you here? What has kept you here? During college I did anOutward Boundtype trip that included kayaking and rock climbing in theColorado Rockies. Six years later I bought a coasttocoast bus pass. ... (I) leftMassachusetts and headed west, stopping to visit a high school buddy inBoulder. Thought I’d stay and explore the area for a year or two. ...As the founder of Rabbit Brush Gallery in Hygiene, what has been the

most rewarding part about bringing original art to local audiences? Ienjoy connecting people — and handmade art has an artist behind it, acreative person with a vision that they hope others may connect to on some level. Sometimes it isthe image that evokes a response in the viewer through the subject matter or use of colors, or ashared laugh, or an appreciation of the craftsmanship or the creative process and so forth, butthere is frequently a connection being made. It is also gratifying that there is such a growingconsciousness about how buying from small local businesses keeps a community strong.If you could say one thing to describe Hygiene to someone who has never been there,

what would it be? Hygiene is a gem in beautiful rural Boulder County with an incredibly diversecommunity (check out the Jaguar parked next to the beatup ’75 Ford pickup with a load of haynext to the rack full of bicycles). I think to borrow a phrase from William Kittredge, it is one ofthose “last best places.”

Craig EngelhornAge: 52Occupation: DistillerYears in St. Vrain Valley: 17What brought you here? What has kept you here? I had just left AT&T BellLaboratories in Naperville, Ill., and my wife got a great chance for a positionhere. We were willing to move, especially to Colorado — a state we had fallenin love with years before. ... Being small town folks decided to look at Lyons.Lyons is a very eclectic community with an incredible music seen and a lot ofartistic talent. I’ve been kicking myself ever since we arrived for not movinghere sooner.From an engineer to a distiller. How does that happen? I was a sciencedork as a kid. I obtained my electrical engineering degree at MIT (MissouriInstitute of Technology!) and landed my dream career at Bell Labs. I’m driven by the desire to learnnew things, and after convincing Dale Katechis to start a brewpub, I became a brewer at the OskarBlues’ Lyons brewery for four years. While at Oskars, I investigated distilling. Sadly, the rules wereoverbearing and I gave up. I dabbled in construction and remodeling for several years as one ofmy partners at Spirit Hound, Wayne Anderson, would pester me to start another brewery.Ultimately I suggested we start a distillery.What life experiences have you had that make you, you? I’ve restored old cars, built all kindsof things fromwood. I’ve even built my own telescope, grinding the mirrors by hand. The combinedknowledge from years of projects like that gave me the confidence to suggest that we could buildour own whiskey still from copper sheets, handhammering complex shapes and welding ittogether. We were able to build an incredibly unique, beautiful and functional still. In high school, Iwas a tour guide at a small Flour Milling Museum, an experience that taught me that I really lovespeaking to a crowd. Showing off our wonderful accomplishments to our customers is one of thefavorite parts of my job.

Wes EverettAge: Just turned 60Occupation: I am a selfemployed audioengineer and consultant. Owner of EverettAudio, specializing in digital multitrackrecording.Years in St. Vrain Valley: I have nowlived here for close to 24 years.What brought you here? What has

kept you here? I moved to Longmont inJune of 1990 to join Colorado ConcertSound.As the sound engineer at the Dickens Opera House, what

have you found are the particular characteristics of thatroom that you have to account for? The size of the DickensOpera House is the main characteristic I have to deal with.Providing even coverage for everyone in the room is hard toaccomplish using the older speakers we have. The owners aredetermined to upgrade the system so that we can give thepatrons a better listening experience.What bands that have performed at the Dickens Opera

House were the most satisfying for you to work with?Wehave had some great bands at the Dickens. Hard to beat localband Last Men on Earth for their large productions and greatshows. Traveling blues rock bands headed by Hamilton Loomisand Dustin Pittsley have been some of the best regional acts.Bands love to play this beautiful room.

Sandra EstersAge: Decline for safety reasonsOccupation: Domestic violence detective at Longmont Police DepartmentYears in St. Vrain Valley: 11 years working hereWhat brought you here? What has kept you here? I grew up in northernColorado; family and career have kept me here. I love my work in the DomesticViolence Unit and am always so humbled and honored to share the lives of thevictims I meet.What is the hardest part of your job? The hardest part of my job isworrying about victims and their well being, even when I’m not at work. Theyare living, breathing, real people who struggle to survive, mentally, emotionallyand physically; their challenges do not go away when I am off duty. I want to be sure I’ve doneeverything I can to ensure the people with whom I’m working are safe.What did you want to be when you grew up and why? I’ve always wanted to pursue careersthat served humanity. Until my junior year of high school, I wanted to be a teacher and an Armymedical doctor. I changed my mind and decided to enlist in the Army instead. After serving in theArmy in Military Intelligence, I studied Eastern European and Russian history with the hope ofworking for NSA. Life happened, though (as it usually does), and I changed paths again. Ultimately,I came to work for the Longmont Police Department because I truly enjoy serving people andhelping them find their way in the world. I have the perfect job!

Joycelyn FankhouserAge: 46Occupation: Social worker, BoulderCounty Department of Housing andHuman Services flood recovery coordinatorYears in St. Vrain Valley: 18What brought you here? What has

kept you here? I attended college at theUniversity of Northern Colorado. … Imoved to the Midwest for a short timewith my husband with the intention ofmoving back … after five years. Almost five years to the day,we moved to Longmont. … My husband and I handpickedLyons while renting in Longmont … The culture in Lyons, thegreat school and the people helped us to decide to stay.Where were you when the flood hit Lyons on Sept. 12,

2013, and how did you react? (On Sept. 11), my daughter waskayaking and called it the “the champagne powder ofkayaking” as, at this time of the year, the St. Vrain is typicallydry. The river is right behind our home. … Later that evening,my phone alerted me to flooding in the Four Mile area. … Myhusband … went to look at the river. He came home and toldus to pack as it was nearly cresting the bridge. We ... went to afriend’s home on higher ground in Lyons. … We thought itwould just “be for the night” until the water went down. Whata surprise that was.What is the biggest challenge, personally or

professionally, that you have faced since the flood? I wasworking in child protection. ... I split my time between floodrecovery and child protection for several months. I did nothave damage to my home, but I could not live there. We wereblessed to find a rental in Boulder, but my two daughters werein school in Longmont. Trying to balance work with getting thekids to Longmont was very challenging. In November, (countyofficials realized) they needed a person to do what I was doingin Lyons across the county. … I started as the Boulder Countyflood recovery coordinator just before Christmas.Understanding the flood recovery process, getting to know allthe rules and players was a challenge, but I was also excited tolearn about something new while helping the town I love.


Patty FeistAge: 64Occupation: Retired from the position of coordinator of the organicchemistry teaching laboratories at CUBoulder, a position I held for 25 years.Volunteer at the flood store in Lyons.

Years in St. Vrain Valley: 33What brought you here? What has kept you here? The beauty of the areaand the affordability of a building lot brought us to our homesite northwest ofLyons. The grand views and accessibility to outdoor activities kept us here.Plus, it is a great place to raise kids: a small, closeknit community with goodschools.

As a volunteer at the Lyons flood store, what is the most surprising wayyou’ve seen someone help flood victims in Boulder County? The river levels in the daysimmediately following the Lyons floods separated both the town and the outlying areas intoisolated communities. In each, leaders stepped up to organize, and everyone gave what they couldto help and even save — their neighbors. Once just neighbors, the communities became families.It was an incredible experience. It warms my heart to know I live among courageous, helpful andcompassionate people, people who openly share resources, people who would knock on my doorin the middle of a rainy night to save my life.

What are the most interesting places you’ve visited? Our daughter went from kindergartento 12th grade in the Lyons schools, then completed a college education at CUBoulder. Her interestin international affairs took her to a stint in the Peace Corps in ... country of Togo in West Africa.Now she is teaching young adults English and business skills at a private university in Lome, thecapital of Togo. We have visited her twice, both times residing right among the Togolese, learningthe local customs and rich culture of the hardy, helpful and peaceful people of Togo. We have alsobeen on an African safari, and we traveled to Turkey in 2013. We stood at ancient Troy, walked inold churches and mosques in Istanbul, marveled at Ephesus, and hiked to ruins on an island in theAegean Sea. At the time of our visit, many young people in Turkey were protesting againstgovernment policies, and so we were right in the midst ... of history in the making.

Emily Flemming•Age: 35Occupation: Pastor, Lyons Community Church; founding member of RebuildLyons, One Life at a Time campaign; board member of Lyons Community BasicNeeds & Emergency Fund; coordinating committee member for the BoulderCounty LongTerm Flood Recovery Group and member of the CaseManagement & Needs Assessment Subcommittee; member of the LyonsHuman Services Recovery Working Group.

Years in St. Vrain Valley: Moved to Lyons July 5, 2013, two months beforethe flood.

What brought you here? What has kept you here? I was invited to serveas the pastor of Lyons Community Church, which is why I moved to the St.Vrain Valley with husband Regis, 9monthold daughter, Lillian, and our 6yearold blue heeler,Leon. Regis was raised in Estes Park and still works in Rocky Mountain National Park. His love forhis job is the real reason I ever came to Colorado in the first place. What a blessing that I’ve alsofound work and a town that I love and now proudly call home.

What is the biggest benefit and downfall of b eing a female pastor? Raised SouthernBaptist, I grew up unaware that women could be pastors. I joined the United Methodist Church inMunich where a wonderfully strong female pastor taught me that love and skill can transcendpolitical opinions. The biggest benefit of being a pastor is joining diverse people on all types ofspiritual journeys. Being a fulltime student, wife and mother and parttime pastor is challenging(and I am grateful than I learned to juggle in high school, literally!) The biggest downfall is makingnew friends, usually easy for me until they find out I’m a pastor. I think God cares more about howwe love and care for one another than about our sexual hardware.

You can juggle? Before I was a mom or a wife or a pastor, before I worked in corporate businessand before I studied German literature and was a teacher, I dreamed of becoming an actress. I hadbeen doing community theater since third grade. In high school we put on a production of“Barnum.” Our teacher brought in professional clowns and circus performers who taught us tojuggle and walk a tight rope. ...I can still toss around oranges well enough to impress the kids. It’s askill that’s certainly come in handy since the flood.

Charlie GarciaAge: 58Occupation: Currently teach fourthgrade at Erie Elementary School; havetaught there 37 years.

Years lived here: In Old Town Erie for 35years.

What brought you here? What haskept you here? From the moment I walkedinto Erie Elementary in 1977, the day Elvisdied, until today, the school has had awonderful atmosphere of community. I feelright at home alongside caring anddedicated staff members, supportive parents and delightfulchildren.

You were recognized with a special teaching award in2013. What does that say about your approach to teaching?The Century Link/Denver Nuggets Leadership in EducationAward I received last year was a great surprise. I am trulyhonored that I was recognized for doing what all teachers doevery day: being compassionate to their students, trying newways to help a child learn and participate, and embracing theresponsibility of being an educator. My colleagues at ErieElementary inspire me daily with their dedication to children.Their passion for teaching is contagious. I am proud to be apart of this enthusiasm.

What could be done to improve students’ educationexperience? Educators are tirelessly working to improve theeducational experience for all students. I have been blessed tobenefit from the dividends of creating constructivepartnerships with the families of the students I teach.Somehow, the natural curiosity of children must be fosteredand maintained as educational decisions are finalized. Ateacher has the awesome responsibility of creating andsustaining a community of learners within their classroom andschool. Teachers must ensure that their students feel safe andare accepted as valuable members of their educationalcommunity. As educators, legislators and community members,we must always remember to put children first when discussingeducational reform. We know so much about how childrenlearn; we cannot lose sight of that which makes a child love theprocess of learning and discovery.

Megan ForrestAge: 20Occupation: Care coordinator at Cafe ofLife Zone Chiropractic and Massage Studio


kept you here? I was born in Boulder, butwas raised here. Many of my familymembers are still currently living inLongmont. I am being held hostage, Imean, kept here by the Boulder CountyBombers (my roller derby league), my career and my family.

What is your proudest moment? I have hit so many lifemilestones while living here. It makes it hard to single one outas the “proudest.” One of the most recent ones would have tobe my first bout with BCB as a Bombshell. Not only did we winby a substantial amount, I received the MVP Jammer award.That bout was my first experience with competitive derby, andit was epic.

Who inspired you most in your life? My parents inspiredme the most out of everyone in my life. My dad inspired me tobe an athlete and to push hard to achieve my goals in life. Mymom inspired me to be happy with my life and to do things formy own reasons. My parents gave me a very wellroundedoutlook on my life and my future; because of their love andsupport, I know I can accomplish anything I set out to do.


In BusInessnessomen


Two great agents…..One exceptional team!First Choice InsuranceAgency is a locally owned, independent,Trusted Choice® agency offeringauto, home,business and life insurance.We represent top rated carriers such asAuto-Owners,Hartford,MetLife,Safeco,StateAuto,Travelers andmanymore!Co-owners UrsulaMarry and DebbieMorton have over 45 years combinedexperience in the industry.We invite you to put our ‘award’ winningcustomer service commitment toworkfor you!

ursula marry & debbie mortonCo-Owners

303-772-81015855 Firestone Blvd.

Firestone, CO80504

Ursula MarryCIC, CISR, CPIW

Debbie MortonCISR, CPIW

Linda Heil, is a Longmont native and owner of Paw AuPair. Linda truly loves what she does and is loved by allher furry four legged clients. We provide top-quality carefor your pets in the secure familiar environment of theirown home. We understand how important it is to find highquality service as well as professionalism. Linda and herstaff pride themselves in providing such a service. Whetheryou need our servicesfor dog walking, petsitting, trip to thegroomers or vet’soffice, we canmeet your needs.For your peaceof mind, Paw AuPair is bonded andinsured, veterinarianrecommended anda member of PSI.Linda truly loveswhat she doesand is loved byall her furry fourlegged clients.

linda HeilOwner - In Home Pet Sitting

Paw Au PairIn Home Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Service303-485-8498 • www.pawaupair.com

[email protected]

Linda Heil, is a Longmont native and owner of Paw AuPair. Linda truly loves what she does and is loved by allher furry four legged clients. We provide top-quality carefor your pets in the secure familiar environment of theirown home. We understand how important it is to findhigh quality service as well as professionalism. Lindaprides herself in providing such a service. Whether youneed our servicesfor dog walking, petsitting, trip to thegroomers or vet’soffice, we canmeet your needs.For your peaceof mind, Paw AuPair is bondedand insured,veterinarianrecommendedand a memberof PSI. Lindatruly loves whatshe does and isloved by all herfurry four leggedclients.

Dr. Jamie Gilgren has been practicingaudiology and fitting hearing aids since 2002.She is board certified by theAmerican Board ofAudiology. She has extensive experience fittingand programming today’s latest hearing aidtechnology,Bluetooth technology, and assistivelistening devices. She also has extensive

knowledge in the diagnosisand treatment of hearingdisorders. Dr. Gilgren takespride in doing the best jobfor her patients and enjoyshelping people of all agesto hear and communicate

better. Dr. Gilgrenspends her freetime four-wheelingand campingwithher family.

dr. Jamie GilGrenBoard Certified Audiologist

2318 17th Ave, Unit HLongmont

303.532.4956www.hearingrehabcenter.com

Jan Kahl grew up helping at her father’s jewelry store inBoulder. Now, her son Jason Scarbrough, who occasionallyhelped out, is currently working at Niwot Jewelry fulltime. 17 years ago, with her father’s encouragement, Janopened Niwot Jewelry. Today it’s a family affair: husbandVern provides expert watch, clock and jewelry repairs(a somewhat lost art in today’s “throw-away” society);Jason uses his friendly, welcoming personality to servicecustomers and assists with repairs.

You get the best of both worlds at Niwot Jewelry: a full-servicesales, design and repair jewelry store that offers variety,combined with intense commitment to personal service.National buying trips and a commitment to carry Coloradobrands results in a unique and varied selection that you’ll notfind elsewhere!

Clock repair, gold buying servicesand estate valuations also set Jan’sstore apart from the rest. They will fixanything – including the metal tipof a customer’s cane! No matteryour budget or special occasion,you will be amazed and satisfiedwith the expertise, variety andimpeccable service at Jan’sfamily-oriented jewelry store.

303-652-1433300 2nd Ave., Ste 102

Po Box 1084Niwot, Colorado 80544

[email protected] 10 am - 4 pm

Tues - Fri 10 am - 6 pmSat 10 am - 5 pm

Jan Kahl,Owner Niwot Jewelry

Two local women vie for The TiTle of“mrs. colorado.”

Business women,Rose Chamberlain &Shelly Steele-Morehead, friendswith a mission, are competing sideby side in this year’s “Mrs. ColoradoPageant.” Rose, now known as“Mrs. Longmont” is no stranger tothe business world; she and herhusband together, own “ChamberlainCoins & Collectibles.” She is theowner of “Marketing and NetworkingSolutions with Rose Chamberlain”and also founded the women’sprofessional networking group,“Coffee and Connections.” Shelly,representing “North Central Colorado,” is the event & promotions manager forMartini’s Bistro. As a side business, Shelly is able to showcase her talent & creativitythrough “entICING creative cake design.”The pageant will be held April 12, 2014 at the beautiful Ellie Caulkins Opera House indowntown Denver. The mission of the Mrs. Colorado Pageant is to inspire women toseek personal excellence through preparation and competition. A special thank youfrom Rose & Shelly to the members of “Coffee & Connections” for all of their support.

n

g

Rose Chamberlain & Shelly Steele-Morehead


In BusInessnessomen


Olivia NeillCo-Owner, Happy Hounds Dog Care CenterDog Tested, Owner Approved

303 774-81581822 Sunset Pl. #2

Longmont, COwww.happyhoundscolorado.com

As Co-Owner of Happy Hounds in Longmont, Oliviafills many roles. Aside from the daily challenges ofrunning a safe and clean daycare, boarding andgrooming facility, she offers private dog training.Olivia enjoys the one-on-one interaction of workingclosely with her clients and their dogs, while strivingto fulfill their training goals. Her passion for animalsspans a lifetime, from pet sitting for neighbors as ateenager, college summers working at a vet hospital,volunteering with rescue groups, helping rehabilitateshelter dogs, and over 9 years working as a dogtrainer. Drawing on these experiences helps Oliviadaily as a small business owner and drives hersupport of local charitable organizations.Happy Hounds provides superfun daycare for dogs of all ages andsizes, luxury boarding,wash and basic grooming serand is proud to have wplace the past two years inthe Reader’s ChoiceBest Pet Daycare/Boarding category.Come on by andcheck us out!

able organizations.es supervised &of all ages anda self-serve dogoming servicese won firstars ine

The passion Clarissa has is evident the moment you walkinto Fabulous Finds. Clarissa’s mother was a fashionista whotook her shopping in the best Philadelphia stores and favoriteconsignment haunts. “That’s where I learned the thrill of afabulous find as well as how to recognize quality brands andtop designers.” The store offers both clothing & accessoriesas well as furniture and home décor. Clarissa’s excitementabout sharing her “finds” is seen in the way the store isappointed—it definitely is “upscale”! And her enthusiastic andknowledgeable staff will help you consign or put together theperfect ensemble.

Active in the community, she stages fashion shows and silentauctions for worthy causes and seekshelp for people in need. “can make a real difference in thelives of many and we trpart.”

Opened in 2011, Fabulous Finds wRookie Business of the Yand has expanded thrtimes. “Guilt-Free RetailTherapy” is alive and wellthanks to Clarissa and her“fabulous” staff.

Clarissa EdElEn, Owner

she stages fashion shows and silentses and seeks“A little helpnce in thery to do our

us Finds wonYearreeail

is alive and weller

600 South Airport Rd.,Longmont

[email protected]

Fabulous Finds, Upscale Consignment

Co-Owner with husband Robertino

Raluca loan, who co-owns Romana Cake House Bakery and CoffeeHouse with her husband, Robertino, has always had a lifetime passionfor baking. Recognizing her highly creative and artistic baking anddecorating skills, husband Robertino encouraged and supported theopening of this bakery that brings a profound commitment to quality,flavor, presentation and customer service.

All their pastries and cakes are made from scratch using only thehighest quality, fresh natural ingredients, no artificial sweetenersand preservatives. They create a wide variety of products fromwarm, out of the oven morning pastries to individual desserts,all celebrations cakes, but what really sets them apart are theiramazingly delicious and elegant wedding cakes that could make abride and groom’s wedding day a dream come true!

It’s certainly not easy trying to raise two young sons, age 4 and 7 ½and supporting a busy, ever-changing business, but the second you step into the relaxedatmosphere of their European bakery and are welcomed by their smiling faces, you knowthat their dream of creating a friendly, family oriented business came true. Have a taste ofone of their desserts, cakes and pastries, and you’ll never want to go elsewhere!

1201 S. Sunset,Longmont

303-776-6605

Marj Sater and Vicky AndrewCo-owners, Front Range Mercantile

Marj and Vicky met when their sons played baseball together inHygiene. For over 25 years, they have been a family-owned and

operated business. What started as a hobby, became Front RangeIndoor Flea Market.

They operate on traditional values: customer service, satisfaction andhard work and they attribute their success to their great customers.

Many feel they are a part of the Front Range FleaMarket family.

The store and the 90+ vendors repurpose, re-useand recycle. You’ll find an incredible high quality selection of antiques,vintage, retro, mid-century, gift items as well as new products and a

great line of chocolates and candy.

As co-owners, Marj and Vicky thank you for voting them winners in theReader’s Choice Best of the Best contest for 7 years!! Quality, variety,

excellent service and value for your dollar are just a few of the reasonsfor this accolade and why Marj and Vicky will celebrate 25 years in

business this year.

Flea MarketFlea Market


Deb GardnerAge: 64Occupation: Boulder County commissionerYears in St. Vrain Valley: Almost 13 years inLongmont; since 1992 in Boulder County

What brought you here? What has keptyou here? I moved here in 2001 because theold town neighborhood where I livefeels like the neighborhood I grew upin in Illinois. I like the big trees, oldhouses and the diversity of people. Ihave stayed because Longmont hassuch a strong sense of community,and each year I feel more a part ofthat community.

What has been most satisfyingabout serving on the Board ofCounty Commissioners? Serving onthe board has given me theopportunity to help people when they need itmost. Sometimes this takes the form of simplyanswering a question for an individual, and atother times there are policy decisions we makeas a board that positively affect the lives of large

groups of people. Since the flood in September,this opportunity presents itself almost daily.Early in my tenure we made the decision toincrease the income level allowed to qualify forthe Child Care Assistance Program. Now morefamilies and children can participate in thisbeneficial program and the opportunity to helpmake this happen is very rewarding.

What has been frustrating as acommissioner? As a commissioner Iam more acutely aware of the need forhelp among our most vulnerablecitizens. Even before the flood causeda large group of our friends andneighbors to need assistance, it hadbecome clear that the economicrecovery was leaving large numbers ofindividuals and families behind. Myfrustration comes from the speed withwhich recovery is happening both for

the flood survivors and the time it takes tocorrect the systemic problems that drive anincreasing number of people to live in povertyevery day. But I am unfailingly optimistic andfeel the power of us coming together as acommunity, so I don’t stay frustrated very long.

Chris GischelAge: 47Occupation: Self employed, SimplyShabulous in Berthoud

Years in the area: Grew up inLoveland but have been in Berthoudfor 21 years.

What brought you here? What haskept you here? From Rochester, NewYork, but moved here when my dadwas transferred with Kodak in 1971.

Where did you get the idea foryour store? I have always had a loveand a passion for the past. I startedcollecting antiques when I was just 19years old. I believe that surroundingyourself with the things you lovebrings a certain enjoyment and serenity to your

life. My deep appreciation for bygone eras iswhat lead me to open my shop, “SimplyShabulous.” I specialize in items from the 1920sto the 1940s. There was a certain romance andexcitement from those times that deserves to

be preserved, remembered, andappreciated. Much of what I do isconsidered “rescuing,” as I see beauty,even in a piece that has beendiscarded. It’s amazing what a freshcoat of paint can do. Every vintagepiece deserves to be appreciated andenjoyed.

What is the proudest moment ofyour life? I am proud of many thingsin my life, but as with most of us, I findmy I am most proud of my childrenand grandchildren. There is no greater

accomplishment.

David G. HawkinsAge: 55Occupation: Ex house husband, andnow an electric vehicle converter


kept you here? The wife and I came tothe St. Vrain Valley, or the Town of Lyons,from Boulder Valley, or the City ofBoulder, for cheap rent. We stayed hereto raise our kids, a son 28, and adaughter, 25.

How did you get the nicknames “battery boy” and“electric Dave”? I got the nickname Battery Boy, or BB, froman old local of Lyons named George Murphy, who was afellow musician and taught Tai Chi. We would hang out atan old coffee shop that was in a small building off ofBroadway Street and Fourth Avenue. I walked in onemorning and he said, “Hey BB!” I said what? He said, “BB, BBHawkins!” and it stuck! I think the nickname Electric Davewas coined by the local musician KC Groves, but don’t quoteme on anything!

What sparked your interest in electric vehicles? I gotinto electric vehicles back in 1900 and 99, when I had beena house husband for about 10 years. Although I was raised agearhead and drove way too much in my deformativeyears, after I had kids I started to realize that we had anenvironment that infernal combustion engine vehicles wereaffecting, so before I became a house husband I was ridingthe bus back and forth to Boulder, and this was back in the’80s when the bus route was in its infancy! Anyway, my firstEV conversion is my daily driver, an S10 pickup, which Istarted in ’99. My kids grew up driving an RX7 conversionthat I bought used and rebuilt. The truck was really handywhen the kids were BMX racing out by Union Reservoir,especially when I was running the track and driving outthere multiple times per week.

Mary Ann GrimAge: 40

Occupation: History faculty, FrontRange Community College

Years working in St. Vrain Valley: 6

What brought you here? What haskept you here? I moved to Colorado in1998. I always knew I wanted to leave myhome state of Virginia. I was looking for amore progressive lifestyle and fell in lovewith the mountains. … What keeps mehere? I have a fantastic partner, a wonderful job,and a dog that loves the trails in Boulder. I hope Inever have to leave!

What inspired you to become a teacher, andwhy do you continue to teach? My love forhistory initially inspired me to become a teacher.

… I love presenting information, variouspoints of views and dynamic historicalconflicts that have changed the world. Thegreat thing about teaching history is thatit is different in each moment dependingon my students, their perspective and lifeexperiences. Lastly, I would have to thankprofessor Martha Hanna at the Universityof Colorado, Boulder. … She inspired mewith love of history and connection withher students. I continue to teach to

examine the past — learn from it and to encourageand inspire others to do the same.

Of all your travels, what place have been yourfavorite and least favorite? I have been luckyenough to travel to Europe twice in the last threeyears. My travels are a way for me to experience thehistory I study first hand. ... Having a nonAmericanexperience and seeing thousands of years ofhistory was a big deal for me; I came from animpoverished, rural, conservative background. Inthe summer of 2012, I traveled to Germany. Myexperience was that Germany took great ownershipof her heinous past. This fall, I traveled to Polandand visited Auschwitz. There are no words todescribe the horror. Seeing it for myself wasmoving beyond words. Being steeped in theantisemitism, the hatred, was incredibly hard tohandle. I believe for me this was a necessary tripbut not one I would choose to go on again.


Cynthia “Cindy” HessAge: 55Occupation: Community manager,River Valley Village trailer park in DelCamino

Years in St. Vrain Valley: Been back1½ years. Formerly managed St. VrainVillage in Longmont, 20002008

What brought you here? What haskept you here? I bought a new mobilehome in 1999. Back then, there were nolots available. Developers werecontacting the owners of the olderhomes and offering to buy them out —we’re talking homes from the ’60s and

‘70s. So we moved into that home andthe manager at the time wasthinking about retiring, and shedecided from the getgo that I wasgoing to be her replacement. ... It’sa smalltown feeling, but you haveall the luxuries of a big city. What Ireally loved was the Greenway, butthe flood took that out. ButLongmont is so close to themountains. It’s just beautiful.

River Valley Village was one ofthe areas hit by the Septemberflood. Tell me about that: I was a littlemore prepared than some. When Iworked for a previous employer, I went

to St. Petersburg, Florida. But guesswhat you get in Florida— hurricanes. I wentthrough two of them. ...So when this happened,my residents wereworried and I was like“OK, this is what’shappening. This is whatwe need to do.” ... Itwasn’t really the riverthat got us, it wasGooding Ditch. The

water was coming through the eastside, coming through our fence, andthere’s no river there. Fortunately, only

half of (the park) got flooded. “Only”half, but that was still hard enough. ...Out of my vehicle, I set up a commandpost at a nearby 7Eleven just to bethere for my residents.

How are things going now?We’rebasically almost back to normal. We’restill replacing electric pedestals for thehomes that did go underwater, butthat’s just a timeconsuming thing. Theonly thing we have to clean up, wehave a field where the irrigation ditchesrun; some of our residents trying to getthe water out dug trenches. We’ll beputting in a basketball court and apicnic pavilion there.

Ellen HineAge: 68Occupation: Coowner of the Lyons ReRuns thrift shopYears in St. Vrain Valley: 40What brought you here and what kept you here? My husband and I werekind of traveling vagabonds. One day I said, “That looks fun! Let’s move here!”We have five kids, and we really love Lyons. Lyons is a great community filledwith artists and musicians. Anything you want will manifest in Lyons.

What’s the most unusual request you’ve had to fill at the shop? Duringthe flood, this guy came in and he had lost everything. He had really big feet,size 14, and he needed boots. “I know you won’t have this,” he said. “You babysit my store and I’ll be right back,” I said. My husband is size 14. I went homeand grabbed a pair of his boots.

You were one of the first businesses to reopen after the flood. Tell us your flood story.Wehad to be. We opened during the flood with flashlights. We had to give people clothes and shoesand blankets and towels. We were open again about three weeks, four weeks after the flood fulltime. But during the flood, we were open because people needed us.

James “Bo” InsognaAge: 55 (and not thrilled about it)Occupation: Professional photographerYears in St. Vrain Valley: 7; lived inBoulder for eight years

What brought you here? What haskept you here? Moved to Boulder in 1979at the age of 20 and did not know onesingle person. Best experience ever. Pickedit off the map when “Mork and Mindy” wasbig and ended up living two doors downfrom the house on Pine Street. Left in 1987to be with family in Scottsdale, Ariz. Moved back in 2007,bought a house with home studio in northwest Longmont. ...Longmont is just the right size town, everything is 10 minutesaway.

When did you start taking pictures? What do youremember about the first pictures you took?When growingup, I always took a lot of photos starting with the old 110camera. ... Then, after giving up the dream of being a rock starlike a lot of young men, photography was my creativeoutlet. Studied with The New York Institute of Photography,after that opened a studio in Boulder in 1984 on Pearl Street.The first photo ... that really changed my life forever was myfirst lightning image in 1987. … When I hear thunder roll, I amout the door. Always striving for that awardwinningimage. This will be my 27th year chasing lightning, aka “TheLightning Man.”

What’s the key to getting fantastic photographs oflightning and other nature scenes? People always say to me,“You must have to be really fast to get a shot of lightning.” Well,it’s the opposite. You must be very slow to do long exposuresand have a good tripod. The key is to watch where it is hitting.At night, open up your shutter from three seconds to 30seconds on delay or using a bulb, depending on the lightingand exposure. During the day is really tough; you have to use atrigger or be really fast. I do not use a trigger and I have gottensome day shots. … As far as nature scenes and storms, youneed patience, composition and lighting.

Virginia J. HuppeAge: 75Occupation: Have a bachelor of music degree (taught piano 50 years),taught junior/high school band, vocal music. Worked for Iowa State University.Have a master’s degree in guidance and counseling with a counseling office inmy home. Have written a couple books and write a weekly poem for theBerthoud Surveyor.

Years lived in the area: Born and raised in Berthoud, Colorado. Left forcollege a nd stayed 50 years, then returned to Berthoud in 2006.

What brought you here? What has kept you here? I love the mountainshaving grown up here and the small community and all the friends I have hereand I have always volunteered, all my life and my mother (also a Berthoudmuseum volunteer) and father farmed west of Berthoud and instilled in me, “to serve mycommunity, pay back what they have given to you, and then you can give it away to others.” Ibelieve when “all of us” are gone the only thing left to carry history on is our museums and wehave three museums in Berthoud that get a lot of attention.

While volunteering at the historical society, is there something you learned aboutBerthoud that you didn’t know growing up there? I knew my mother served as adocent/volunteer at the present museum downtown, but I didn’t realize she was in on the groundfloor and was one of the first nine docent/volunteers when the Little Thompson Pioneer Museumwas opened for the first time on July 19, 1980. Now I am following her, years later, and what is sogreat is this: I have the same goals as she did back in 1980s for the museums, and that is to keephistory alive so our people today see it, and the people in years to come will see and respect theobjects/history of long ago that others collected and maintained. This way you can keep thepeople of yesterday alive today in the minds of today’s citizens.

What is a memory that sticks out for you growing up in Berthoud? To think that my Huppefamily came to the Berthoud area around 1870 from Germany, settled here by farming and raisingcattle and lived along the Little Thompson River and were homesteaders here and came beforeme; when the town of Berthoud hadn’t been established until 1877. I feel so honored to be a partof that family and heritage.


Leslie and Steve Kaczeus both left hightech careers to open their brewery in June 2012. In two years, the Niwot residents have created a community hub that didn’t exist in Niwot before. Asidefrom its popular beers, Bootstrap features live music on Saturdays and Monday nights and other fun events during the week.


T he word “pub” isshort for publichouse, an ages-old

English term meaning acommunity gathering place.That’s what Niwot’s Leslie

and Steve Kaczeus have suc-cessfully created in less thantwo years since foundingBootstrap Brewing Co., 6778N. 79th St., in Niwot.Bootstrap — a name

coined by Leslie after thecouple was forced to paretheir original business planback to keep expenses incheck — is the fulfillment ofthe couple’s long-standingdream to go into businesstogether.“We spent a lot of time in

breweries and beer gardensthinking, ‘What are we pas-sionate about? What do weenjoy doing together,’” saidLeslie Kaczeus, whose Boot-strap business card reads“chief of stuff.”It turns out that during

those discussions the couplewere, literally, holding theanswer to their dreams rightin their hands.High-tech industry veter-

ans, the couple met whileboth worked at Longmont’sMiniScribe in 1986. In Juneof 2012 they opened Boot-strap in the town they love.“We live here in Niwot,”

Steve Kaczeus said. “Ourkids went to school here.And we always thought itwould be a great spot tohave a local brewery.”The seedlings for Boot-

strap go all the way back to

Christmastime 2005, whenSeagate announced it wasbuying out its biggest com-petitor, Maxtor. A mechani-cal engineer and programmanager, Steve was a Max-tor employee in Longmontwhen the news hit.“None of us knew if we

had jobs or not,” he said. “Sothat was kind of the catalyst.(Leslie and I) had alwaystalked about starting ourown business.”Steve survived the first

wave of layoffs the followingyear, when Seagate cut two-thirds of the former Maxtorworkers. But discussionsbetween him and Leslie oftaking his hobby — he hadbeen homebrewing for 20-plus years — and turning itinto a business continued.He talked to every local

brewer he could find andasked them about the busi-ness of running a craft brew-ery. They were welcomingand realistic with him, Stevesaid. And the more he heardand thought about leavingbehind some of the constric-tions of corporate life, themore excited he became.A turning point was sign-

ing up for courses with theAmerican Brewers Guild, anationally renowned brewingschool where he could learnthe science behind his hob-by.“Me being an engineer, I

needed to understand what’sgoing on at the molecularlevel. ... It was extremelyimportant for me to have

that as a background,because I didn’t have anyprofessional brewing experi-ence,” Steve said.Leslie flew out to Califor-

nia in 2011 to join Steve athis graduation ceremony,and afterward, the couplewas scheduled for a week’sgetaway to Napa Valley,where they would decideonce and for all if they weregoing to leave their jobs —he at Seagate and she run-ning a nonprofit — and pur-sue their dream.“I pulled into the parking

lot and I went in and saw hisface and I said, ‘OK, there’sno discussion,’” Leslie said.So the trip to Northern

California turned into a cele-bration of their decision,Steve said. Then came thehard work.They bought a turn-key,

3½ -barrel brewing systemand stuck it in storage. Les-lie started looking aroundfor a location, first in Niwotand then other cities in Boul-der County.She wasn’t having a lot of

luck, she said, until she sawa blurb in the Niwot paperthat CrossFit was closing itsNiwot location. She went into take a look.

“It had so much charac-ter,” Leslie said of the space.“A lot of the ones we hadbeen looking at were moreindustrial.”Steve said he loved the

space’s high ceilings, andadded that it didn’t hurt thatthe building’s owner is, as heput it, a “beer geek.”Friends and neighbors

stepped in and helped hiswife turn the space into whatyou see today, Steve said.“Leslie was really the pri-

mary driver of the construc-tion while I was completingmy time at Seagate,” he said.In less than two years

Bootstrap has distinguisheditself among Boulder Coun-ty’s busy craft brewingscene. The couple featurelive music on Mondays andSaturdays, trivia on Tues-days, game night onWednesdays, and they’readding other specialty event-features such as a dessertand beer pairing and maybesome beer dinners in thefuture, Leslie said.Supporting the nonprofit

and the arts scene in Niwothas been important to thecouple since the beginning,she said.The foundation of the busi-

ness, though, is the beer, forwhich Bootstrap has wonmultiple awards. The brew-ery keeps seven standardflavors on tap, includinggreen chile beer, and its 22-ounce bombers are in 27area liquor stores.The company recently

bought a 15-barrel fermenterthat will support enough pro-duction to begin canning,something Sanitas BrewingCo. in Boulder is helpingthem with. This springthey’ll come out with at leasttwo of their beers in cans,Steve said.“My fear was what if I

brew and nobody comes,and Leslie’s was what if youcan’t brew enough?” Stevesaid.And, in the interest of fur-

ther putting Niwot on themap and helping promotetheir industry, the couple arehelping the Longmont-basedColorado Beer Trail plan theNew Brew Fest: BoulderCounty, a daylong music andcraft beer event scheduledfor May 10.New Brew Fest is open

only to breweries five yearsor younger, and alreadymore more than 25 havesigned up.All of which is keeping the

couple extremely busy, andthey are quick to say thanksto their staffers, Bob and(another) Leslie, who keepthe Kaczeuses from havingto put in 80- to 100-hourworkweeks.And, they say, they’re

thankful to the community ofNiwot and Boulder Countyat large for embracing themas they have.“We have so many people,

especially the locals, thatcome in here and thank usfor opening this place,” Stevesaid.

Fromhigh-techtohopsNiwot couple foundhappiness

andbuilt a gathering spot at the same timeSteve and LeslieKaczeusAges: 54 and 46Occupation: Owners,Bootstrap Brewing Co.Years in St. Vrain Valley: 19 and22

Story by Tony Kindelspire• Photo by Lewis Geyer • Longmont Times-Call


Jay JakoskyAge: 36Occupation: Computer consultant.

Also founder of theLongmont Lighthearts, a clubdedicated to laughter.

Years in St. Vrain Valley:3½

What brought you here?What has kept you here? Iwas in California until aboutseven years ago, when Imoved out to Colorado. Ilived in Boulder, Denver, thensettled in Longmont. A lot of thepeople we knew were here, and thehousing prices were better thanBoulder. I bought my first house here.

How did the Lighthearts getstarted? I wanted something fun todo, and I wanted it to be really

easygoing. I thought, “Why isn’t therea place where I can just go for a fewhours, have a good time and not feelpressured to participate — just go,

and be, and enjoy to thebest of my ability?” Therewas no Meetup and noFacebook group I could findand I thought, “If I’minterested, maybesomebody else would be.”

You’ve also acted in anumber of comedies inLongmont and thesurrounding area. Whatkeeps you pulling to the

funny side of things? That’s what Ineed. I need some lightheartedness. Idon’t want to only do things that areserious and dark. ... It brings me relief.Release. Joy. Joy, and creatingopportunities for joy, resonates withme.”

Roberta JohnstonAge: 69Occupation: Accounting/

administrative secretary for theColorado State University Extensionoffice in Boulder County since 1998.

Years in St. Vrain Valley: I’ve lived inBoulder County for the past 35 yearsafter graduating from the University ofNorth Carolina with a major in textilesmerchandising. I started my owndecorating business in theLafayette/Louisville area, (and) I workedat Longmont United Hospital indiagnostic imaging for nine years.

What has kept you here? Myhusband, Bob, and I have three grownchildren who were all born here.

You’re a scuba diver. How did youget started in scuba diving? We wereat a “vacation discovery” event at theLongmont Senior Center, where OceanFirst Divers from Boulder had a booth. Istopped in to say I had always wantedto scuba dive ever since beingstationed in the Marshall Islands in my

late 20s. ... That was five years ago, andat least once ayear, sometimestwice, we go toCozumel, Mexico,to meet with threeother couplesfrom other statesto enjoy ourdiving vacationtogether. It is atotally differentenvironmentunderwater, with the beautiful, colorfulcorals and sponges. The currents arestrong and we always see moray eels,nurse sharks, green turtles, eagle rays,octopus, squid, stingrays and all kindsof fish. I’ve been down 112 feet, havebeen wreck diving, night diving andeven diving in a “cenote” — anunderground limestone cave.

You also volunteer a lot for theLongmont Humane Society. Whatother ways do you like to spend yourtime?I fish, I hike, I bicycle. Well, nowmy bicycle trail is washed out.

Jeffrey Justice•Age: 61

Occupation: manager, BikeNHike

Years in St. Vrain Valley: 5

What brought you here?What has kept you? I amfrom San Diego, Calif. Whenthe economy crashed in 2008,California was hit very hard inthe job market and realestate. I had always likedBoulder County, havingvisited the area a few times.The economic situation herewas much better and the time was rightto move and start a new life. I chooseLongmont because of the closeproximity to the mountains and hikingtrails, the miles of bike trails and thesmaller town atmosphere.

If you could teach every personyou met one valuable life lesson,what would it be? Not to be too afraidof taking risks. There was muchuncertainty when I moved to

Longmont. I was leaving a lotbehind. I had no job and Ididn’t know the area very well.But now that was one of thebest decisions I have made. Ihave no regrets.

In 100 years, how do youwant to be remembered? Iwas very active in the 2013legislative efforts forColorado’s Dog Protection Act.

The new law that mandates dogencounter training for all police officers.We are now trying to have thislegislation passed in other states. Myefforts to reduce the amount of officerinvolved dog shootings is my life’swork, my greatest accomplishments.

WeLOOKforward to seeing you soon!!

Terry E. Robinson, M.D.Board Certified Opthamologist, Eye Physician & Surgeon500 Coffman St. Suite 109 • Longmont, CO(303) 776-EYES (3937) • www.longmonteyecare.com

We are presentlyaccepting newpatients and almostall forms of insurance.Dr. Robinson specializesin Comprehensive,Surgical and Medicaleye care including:Cataracts, Glaucoma,Macular Degenerationand Diabetes.

Se Habla Español


A Special Tribute to

VolunteersThe Inn Between of Longmont, Inc.

To learn more about volunteeropportunities at the Inn Between,

call 303-684-0810.

For 2013 we had 189 volunteers that contributed 4,032 hours.

We couldn’t have done it without you!

We provide:A self-sufficiency program that promotes stability for diverse

homeless families and individuals by providing time-limited housing,comprehensive case management and life skills trainings

Your business is made up of hundreds of components thatdifferentiate you from your competition – industry, products,services, staff, history, mission statement, location, specials... the list goes on and on. The way you connect with yourcustomers online needs to be equally distinctive and powerful.

Showcase what makes your business uniquewith the Times-Call’s search marketing services.

We research your business and create keywords based on yourofferings and objectives. We optimize the structure, contentand links of your website, making it more relevant to – andtherefore more findable for – your audience. And we refine ourwork constantly through testing and results analysis.

Our customized approach to search marketing means yourbest audience will be able to find you easily, take action quicklyand establish a positive relationship with your business rightout of the gate.

If they can’t find you, you’re not there. Get foundwith the Times-Call. Call 720.494.5445 to talk to oneof our search marketing professionals.

Cookie cutter solutionsrarely end well.

SEARCH MARKETING

timescall.com


Skyline High School senior Josie Lamp helps develop computer applications for local businesses. In college, she plans to study artificial intelligence.


W ith a student likeJosie Lamp, thequestion is not

“What is she involved in?”It’s more like “What is shenot involved in ?”

She’s a dancer (not just adancer — the 17-year-oldsenior is captain of the Sky-line High School danceteam). She’s a computer soft-ware developer (shedesigned a content manage-ment mobile app for use bythe city of Longmont fiberoptic system). She’s active inSkyline’s Science, Technolo-gy, Engineering and Mathe-matics (STEM) Academy.She’s done projects withWorkforce Boulder County.She’s a public speaker. Sheorganizes school activitiesand events.

She does it all, and doing itall takes a lot of time.“There’s a lot of late

nights,” said the Firestoneresident. “There’s a lot of nosleep.”And what she does she

tries to do well.“At the end of the day, at

three in the morning, it’sgoing to get done,” she said.“If it has my name on it, it’sgoing to be above andbeyond.”She’s the kind of student

who rues the fact that she’snot first in her class.“I’m third,” Lamp said,

making a “grrrr” face.Her drive and achieve-

ment attracts the attention ofadults. Her computer sci-ence teacher, Richard Guen-ther, noted how Lamp exhib-

its a talent for managingpeople that is unusual, espe-cially among tech students.“Her leadership skills are

really beyond what you seein computer science,” hesaid.Lamp has bucked comput-

er science stereotypes byintegrating her artistic inter-ests with tech pursuits,Guenther said.Asked where he sees

Lamp 10 years from now,Guenther said, “Wherevershe wants. … She is soemployable.”

Lamp once gave a Paceset-ters presentation for theNational Center for Women& Information Technology.A representative from Appleapproached afterward andtold her, “If you ever end upin California, I have a job foryou,” she said.She’s going to college,

first, though.“I love learning, so I’’m not

ready to give that up,” shesaid.She’s not yet sure where

she’ll go to college, but sheinterested in studyingBioinformatics, which,

broadly defined, refers to theuse of computer technologyto manage biological data.Lamp is interested in the dis-cipline for its application tothe study of DNA.

When a reporter visitedLamp at school last month,she was preparing to per-form a dance in the school’sFine Arts Festival. Shecomes from a ballet back-ground, but when she cho-reographs a dance it’s typi-cally in the form of jazz orlyrical dance. She’s also intohip-hop dance.“I have so many passions,

so many things that get meexcited,” she said.As Guenther pointed out,

her passions often blend.Lamp was creating a tutu forher dance costume. Thistutu was to come with LEDlights, and they were to beprogrammed to change tothe music.“I’m really into combining

science and art,” she said.

Science, art lightherupStudentwhobucks computer science stereotypes

cango ‘wherever shewants’Josie LampAge: 17How many years in the area: 12in FirestoneOccupation: High schoolstudent

Story by Quentin Young • Photo by Matthew Jonas • Longmont Times-Call


Miguel Medina poses for a portrait with his Colorado Rockies Baseball memorabilia at his Longmont home.


I t may look only like acheap, plastic binder, butto Longmont resident

Miguel Medina, the book ofbaseball cards is priceless.Clear card protectors

enclose hundreds of profes-sional and minor leaguebaseball cards, mostly auto-graphed.Many of these players are

Medina’s idols, professionalswho play the game he wor-ships. Others are more thanjust faded faces on card-stock. They are his friends.Medina, 76, spent six

years as a volunteer for theColorado Rockies, interpret-ing for the Spanish-speakingplayers.From 1993 until 1999,

Medina went to spring train-ing, home games, press con-ferences and ran personalerrands with the playerswho needed assistance.“I was like a kid in a candy

store,” Medina said. “I lovebaseball, and there I was atall the games and talking toplayers in the dugout and

everything.”Medina interpreted for for-

mer Rockies pitcher Arman-do Reynoso, third basemanand shortstop Vinny Castilla(currently a special assistantcoach) and first basemanAndrés Galarraga.He worked with Spanish-

speaking players from visit-ing teams and even chaper-oned Ms. Universe AliciaMachado, who is from Vene-zuela, around Denver whileshe was in town for a Make-A-Wish event at the stadium.Medina’s wife, Elana,

allowed him to escortMachado on one condition— that she come along aswell.The couple still laughs

about how Medina snuck hotdogs to Machado while hertrainer, who kept feeding hercarrot sticks and celery,wasn’t looking.Medina spent a lot of time

with the players at Mile HighStadium and then CoorsField.

“I got to go anywhere Iwanted in the Rockies’ stadi-um,” Medina said.But he spent just as much

time with the players off thefield.Medina moved to the Unit-

ed States from Puerto Ricowith his father when he was16. He did not speak Englishand had to learn how to com-municate and navigate hisnew home, so he understoodthe challenges that the Rock-ies players were facing.“When I came to the states

I didn’t know English or any-thing,” Medina said. “I saw aneed, and I helped them.”Medina and his wife host-

ed dinners at their home forthe players and served tradi-tional rice and bean recipes

from Puerto Rico.The couple gave advice to

the players and answeredquestions. Medina accompa-nied many of them to thehospital or the doctors officeso they would not be alone.“I wanted to give them a

place like home,” Medinasaid.Before he was assisting

Rockies players, Medina washelping Longmont’s Spanish-speaking community.Medina opened a music

shop, Casa Medina, on MainStreet in 1977 with 75 longplay records, or LPs.He said he loved music

and he loved people andthere was a space to rent, sohe couldn’t think of a reasonnot open the shop. LocalSpanish speakers beganflocking to the shop formusic and advice.“They were just like me,”

Medina said. “They didn’tknow what they were doing,and we could help them, sothey came there.”

Taking care of peoplecomes naturally to Medina,he said.Medina has served on the

city of Longmont’s Multicul-tural Action Committee andthe Senior Center’s board ofdirectors, and helped foundthe Latino Chamber of Com-merce of Boulder County.Medina retired from his

store and hasn’t worked withthe Rockies for more than 10years — though he still man-ages to attend several gamesa season — but he stillspends his time caring forothers. Now, it’s his wife.Medina plays househus-

band most days, cooking andcleaning at their Longmonthome since his wife had astroke.Making dinner and dust-

ing is equally satisfying toescorting Ms. Universearound town in a limousine,Medina said.“Every day that I can wake

up is my greatest day,” Medi-na said. “I’m just happy to behere helping.”

Rockies’pinch interpreterImmigrant andbaseball loverwas

calledupon tohelp Spanish-speakingplayersMiguel MedinaAge: 76Years in the St. Vrain Valley: 40Occupation: Retired musicshop owner and formervolunteer interpreter for theColorado Rockies

Story by Whitney Bryen • Photo by Matthew Jonas • Longmont Times-Call


the pioneer. If that’s what He wants you to do,do the best you can.” I’ve never ben worriedabout being “the first one” or “the only one.”Challenges present opportunities. Andopportunities present you the chance to grow.... We are being more tolerant about our

emerging minority populations. Youlook at our Chinese New Year, the Dr.King program, the work done by ElComite. We’re embracing emergingcultures much more than we did in thepast, at a lot of levels.

You have a reputation as one ofthe bestdressed city employees, ifnot the best dressed. How did thatstart? (Laughs) There was a story weread in 10th grade, I think it was called“Clothes Don’t Make The Man,” and I

said “Mrs. Crosetto, it helps really well!” It’s justimportant that you’re sending the right image.You may inspire someone and they’ll stop to getyour story and learn what’s behind the clothesyou wear.

Bobby KingAge: 59Occupation: Chief human resource officer,

city of LongmontYears in St. Vrain Valley: Worked in

Longmont 15 years, lived here for 5What brought you here? What

kept you here? Seagate, as humanresources director for the operation.We had 600 employees, and when Ileft, we had 1,600 employees. ... Whatkept me here is my wife. We’ve beenmarried 23 years and she said, “No,you are not moving me out of thiscommunity!” It’s a great place to raisea family.

How much have things changed?You became Longmont’s first AfricanAmerican HR director in a city where theKlan used to march. It has little to do with me,and more with where God wants to send me.My mother always said, “Don’t be afraid to be

rewarding at the same time. The hardest thing isgetting a relationship built. Helping a hurtingchild feel loved and safe establishes a trust that isso important. You have to put up with a lot ofanger and misplaced resentment. It hurtssometimes and you just have to keep lovingthem. The rewards, though, far outweigh thebad. Watching a foster child blossom, seeing

them adjust and come into their own isso inspiring. It simply melts your heart.

What is the first memory you haveof your childhood? Growing up withseven siblings, my childhood was filledwith fun and craziness. My dad raceddragsters when my two older sistersand I were very young. I think my firstvivid memory would be gettingdressed in team shirts and going to thetrack to watch him race. His partnerhad a family similar to ours, with kids

the same age. We had a great time climbing inand around the dragster and listening to theloud cars. He gave it up later as the family grew,because the money was needed at home, butwe had a great time while it lasted.

Konni Keuter•Age: 50Occupation: Teacher at Crossroads SchoolYears in St. Vrain Valley: 37What brought you here? What has kept you

here? My parents moved my family to Longmontwhen I was 13. The crime rate in ourneighborhood in Denver was rising,and they felt that Longmont wouldoffer a safe place to raise their largefamily. I can remember being so angrywith them. I was 13, moving away frommy friends to a small, boring oldpeopletown. I was so wrong. Longmont waswelcoming, friendly and so much fun togrow up in. I have had manyopportunities to move away but havestayed to raise my family here.Longmont is a wonderful communityand has become my home.

As a parent and foster mom, what is themost rewarding and most difficult part ofraising teenagers? Raising any teenager is hard.I have raised seven of my own and fosteredseveral. Fostering is amazingly hard and

Deb KittAge: 56Occupation: Traditional naturopath, digestive

specialistYears in St. Vrain Valley: 18What brought you here? What

has kept you here? It was a return toColorado. My husband, Tim, and I metduring our graduate studies atColorado State University. We marriedand started our life together there.We moved several times ... as Tim’smilitary assignments changed. … Wepurchased a Minuteman Pressfranchise here in Longmont in 1995and have lived here since.

What led you to a career innatural health? I worked in agriculture researchfor over 10 years and was exposed to a numberof chemicals. ... Eventually, I became chemicalsensitive and was diagnosed with exerciseinduced asthma. I struggled with severaldebilitating sinus infections … Eventually Iexperienced anxiety, panic attacks andsleeplessness. I visited doctors and had a ton oftests … Their answer was to offer me antianxiety drugs to help me sleep. … Eventually a

friend offered me some herbs to help with mysinus infections, and they actually helped. Ibegan to feel better and did more research innatural remedies. I … wanted to learn more, so Idecided to start my studies to become a

naturopath. Naturopaths are like thegeneral practitioners of natural health.

What advice do you have forpeople interested in naturopathtreatment? Your health is a verypersonal thing. It includes every part ofyou, including your physicalbiochemistry, emotional ups anddowns, spiritual connections and yourbelief system. … When one part of youis out of balance, everything isaffected. Treating symptoms alonewith natural remedies is safer than

using drugs with nasty sideeffects, but what ismore important is getting to the root cause ofthe issue. … It is important to find a practitioneryou feel comfortable with and who will workwith you. … Interview anyone you areconsidering seeing for your health and makesure that you like their approach … Tune intoyour intuition and “Go with your gut.” After all, itis considered your second brain.

Gay KuhlmannAge: 72

Occupation: Retired


What brought you here? What haskept you here? I am a native of Boulderand was somewhat discouraged with myhometown. In the meantime I had beenworking in Longmont for the past coupleof years for a housing development andfelt very much at home here. Longmont feels the way Boulderused to. The two cities are almost the same size, but I found afriendliness and warmth here that made me want to become aresident.

Why did you get involved in the Longmont NewcomersClub and why do you think it’s important for new membersof the community? Having been a lifelong resident of BoulderCounty, I have a lot of friends and acquaintances, but I felt theneed to meet new people. The Longmont Newcomers Club hasmembers from all over (including some foreign countries) withmany experiences to share. I have made new friends and havelearned from them all. In addition to meeting new people theclub is a great way to learn about our community.

You had mentioned you are on another committee. Tellus a little about what that is and what you feel are thebenefits of giving back to your community. I feel honored tohave applied for and been accepted as a Longmont Housingand Human Services Advisory Board member. Having raised myfamily and retired from the workplace, I felt it was time to givesomething back to my community. There are so many worthynonprofit organizations in Longmont, and I am very respectfulof their need for funding to continue their missions. I hope Ihave been able to fairly help distribute what monies areavailable to further their causes.

Christopher KukichAge: 40

Occupation: Owner of The KUKICHCreative Marketing Firm


What brought you here? What haskept you here? Frank Kaven brought meto Longmont, and I am forever grateful tohim for introducing me to this incrediblecity. Together, we rebranded Martini’sBistro. Within a few years we built therestaurant to a milliondollar company. We fell in love with eachother and Longmont. We felt so blessed and wanted to giveback and make a difference. We became more communityinvolved and created mega events to support our localnonprofits. We had our commitment ceremony, which was thehappiest day of my life, and we were together up until hisdeath in August 2013.

What is the proudest moment of your life? The proudestmoment in my life: Well there are a couple of those, but thenumber one would be finding the person that completed mylife, my soul mate Frank Kaven and having the most wonderfulfairy tale ceremony. Second would be the amount of moneyand awareness we have raised for our local nonprofits. I’m veryproud and blessed to call Longmont home.

How to you see yourself in 20 years? In 20 years, well, withso much going on in my life right now with starting a newmarketing firm on Main Street and future plans to open a newrestaurant, I pretty much see myself on the same journey Frankand I started — providing a wonderful place with food andcocktails for people to come be social without any judgment,and continuing my love and support for the community.


Jason and Stacy KokenzieAges: 32 (Jason) and 34 (Stacy)Occupations: “Planters” of Firestone

Baptist Church

Years in Carbon/St. Vrain Valley:Jason grew up in Longmont area; Stacycame here in 1998. The Kokenziesmoved out of state in 2006, returning toFirestone in 2010.

What brought you here? What keptyou here?Jason: We always had a heart for this

area. When we moved to New Mexico,we knew our long term goal was tocome back and live here. I grew up inthe area, I was familiar with it. And thepopulation growth of the area wasbegging to have more church growth

as well.

Stacy: I was excited to come back. Welove Colorado and we’re excited tocome back to friends and family, and tominister to a growing area.

What does it take to start a churchfrom the ground up?

Jason: When I told people I wasgoing to do a church planting, somepeople said, “You’re awesome” andothers made a face and said “You’recrazy.”

Stacy: And some just said “What’sthat?”

Jason: You have to be flexible andunderstand there’s going to be a lot ofdiscouraging things along the way anda lot of encouraging ones. I’ve made upa verse that says “Blessed are the

flexible for they shall not be bent.”

Stacy: A lot of times, families will visit,but they have to be willing to build achurch as well. They come looking forprograms that are established, not

realizing that someone who’s interestedhas to start it.

Where do things stand right now?

Stacy: Right now, we’re around themid30s. But there’s times when you’llhave 20 or 25 and then you have afamily get a job transfer out. Lifehappens, and you feel that in a biggerway, in a smaller church.

Jason: We feel things are ready toexplode. Our goal is not just to startthis church, but to start other churchesout of this church, train up leaders, trainup pastors. If we have a large numberof people that live in Fort Lupton, whynot start a church in Fort Lupton? If wehave a large number of people who livein Dacono, why not start a church inDacono? ... But for now, we’ll make thischurch the best we possibly can.

Chad A. KupperAge: 34Occupation: AttorneyYears in St. Vrain Valley: 5 years, 6

monthsWhat brought you here?

What has kept you here? Iwas initially brought here forthe job opportunity at LyonsGaddis Kahn Hall JeffersDworak & Grant, but I’ve reallygrown to love this city. I likethat Longmont is close to themountains, since I enjoy theoutdoors, hiking andsnowboarding, I like thatLongmont has its own uniquesense of community, different fromBoulder and Denver, and I think thepeople in Longmont are downtoearthand make this a great place to live.

You’re actively involved incommunity and civic groups. Whydid you volunteer or join thoseorganizations? I’m currently a boardmember of the Friends of theLongmont Museum, I’m a Rotarian withTwin Peaks Rotary, and I’m on thecommittee for the NEXT Young

Professionals with the Chamber ofCommerce. I was introduced to Rotarythrough another lawyer in our office,and that really sparked my interest involunteer work. As far as the NEXTcommittee, I was just part of a group of

people who got together anddecided that Longmontneeded an outlet for youngprofessionals to network inthe business community. ... Asfor the museum, I’ve alwaysenjoyed learning abouthistory and science, and whenI was approached to be on themuseum board, I jumped atthe chance. It has been a veryrewarding experience,

especially as the museum prepares forconstruction of its new auditorium.

What’s the experience been like?Should others consider similarcommunity involvement? I’ve enjoyedthe service aspect and giving back, I’vefound volunteer work to be interestingand educational, and I’ve enjoyedgetting to know people in town. Ibelieve that people who have nevervolunteered before would be surprisedat how rewarding the experience canbe.

Linda LiangAge: 49Occupation: Coowner of

The Royal Wok with husband,Qian, since 1993.

Years in St. Vrain Valley:29

What brought you here? Ihad family in Denver — mywhole family was in Denver. Ilived in Denver for nine yearsand then I moved to here.

Where were you born,and how did you end upin the restaurantbusiness? I was born inChina. My husband had afriend who walked in here.Then he told my husband(who was a chef in China)that they wanted to sell therestaurant.

Where do you like to eatwhen you and your

husband are eating out? Oooh, welike the Texas Roadhouse. We love it.

Kay W. LloydAge: 54Occupation: Executive

director, Longmont SymphonyOrchestra; and music director,Longs Peak United MethodistChurch

Years in St. Vrain Valley:25

What brought you here?What has kept you here? Myhusband’s teaching position inthe St. Vrain Valley SchoolDistrict.

You’re the principal flutist for theLongmont Symphony Orchestra.Describe what it feels like to be part

of a symphonic orchestra? Performinghas always been a passion of mine, andcollaborating with other musicians is

very rewarding. I enjoy theprocess of learning a piecefrom the first rehearsalthrough the finalperformance. The LongmontSymphony feeds my soul andgives me a conduit in whichto express myself artistically.

You’re also the musicdirector at Longs PeakUnited Methodist Church,and you teach music to

students in the area. What nonmusicinterests do you have (if there areany)? I enjoy reading mysteries,traveling, and quiet evenings at home.

Home of the “Original” Longs Peak Pendant

Longmont’sTrusted DowntownJeweler for 49 Years.

Ron R. Hogsett, Owner452 Main St., Longmont • 303-651-1125

Hours: Monday - Friday 9:30 - 5:30, Saturday 9:30 - 1:00


Maciel LeonAge: 37

Years in St Vrain Valley: 11

What brought you here?What has kept you here? Myparents moved to Coloradoshortly after I left home forcollege. Once I graduated Itook them up on their offer tomove to Longmont and see ifit would be a place that Iwould consider calling home.What I thought would betemporary became mypermanent home.

Who inspired you most in yourlife and why? My fifthgrade teacher,Mrs. Diana McDermott. On the secondday of my fifthgrade year, my lifechanged forever. She called me to herdesk while holding a copy of mystraight “F” report card from the yearbefore. I stopped breathing and keptwishing that on my way to her desk ahole would appear and swallow me.Sternly, she looked into my eyes andsaid, “Did you know that people will

instill shame in those that do not fittheir perception of what is ‘ideal andacceptable’ in order to compensate fortheir own insecurities? I know that thisreport card is not an accurate

representation of who youare. You have a choice; youcan continue to fail and liveup to the stereotypes or liveup to your potential andsucceed.” She handed methe report card, smiled, andsaid, “We are going to workon this together.” I think ofher and wish I could tell her,“Thanks for believing in mewhen no one else would.”

What is one lesson you wish youcould teach your 16yearold self?The one lesson that I would teach my16yearold self comes from MayaAngelou, “When people show youwho they are, believe them.” You willsave yourself a lot of pain, anger anddisappointment by trusting yourinstincts when it comes to choosingwho and what you allow in yourworld. Surround yourself withgreatness, people that will build youup, and that know how to laugh

Gary MarkowitzAge: 62Occupation: Artist, publisherYears in St. Vrain Valley: Less than a

year. Relocated from Paris, FranceWhat brought you here? What has

kept you here? My family is fromBoulder, and I returned to BoulderCounty after living in Hawaii for 13years and the Europe for 13years. I returned to be closerto family and particularly myfather and son. I chooseLongmont because of theartist community and theplans the city has to developthe arts and entertainmentdistrict.As the owner of aHa

Gallery, downtownLongmont’s newest artvenue, what niche are you hoping tofill in the local art scene? Contributingand helping to build a vibrant artistcommunity in Longmont. Providing aspace for artists to gather, exhibit theirwork and teach. At the studio we offermarketing for fine artists including:business consultation and designservices, web design and maintenance,photography of art, giclèe printing and

publishing.You’ve lived and worked in various

locations in the United States andEurope. What was your favorite andwhy? This is a hard one having lived inHawaii, Cadaquès and Barcelona, Spain,and LanquedocRoussilion and Paris,France. Choosing one it would beCadequès, Spain, on the Costa Bravabordering France. Cadaquès was the

home of Salvador Dali, whowas friends with a number ofour new friends. I wasfortunate to live somewhat ofa storybook life in a villa on aprivate island in the bay alonewith my wife. We had theisland to ourselves. The lights,sea, nature were inspiring.The village was beautiful,white Mediterranean casasand cobblestone streets. The

light was fabulous for painting and thevillage was renowned as a home ofartists. Both the Catalans and Frenchappreciation of art and artists waswonderful. The French and Catalanswere warm, open and welcomed usinto the community from the first dayswe arrived. I showed in a gallery thereand in Barcelona for seven years

Mary MacomberAge: 74

Occupation: Retired from nursing; kiosk manager andsupervisor of a percolation test crew for an engineeringcompany. Currently volunteers at Longmont United Hospital


What brought you here, or if you grew up here, whathas kept you here? My husband was transferred by IBM andwe thought Colorado was a great place to move to.

What is a percolation test crew supervisor? Manyresidents of New Jersey do not have their homes hooked tothe sewer system. In order to build homes they would need aseptic tank, but not all soil in that area of the country absorbsthe septic water at the same rate. I was a supervisor of one ofthese crews that made sure the absorption of septic water

was in the standards of the health code. I just enjoyed being outside. They woulddig a pit, test the absorption rate of water, then dig the minimum of 10 feet downto make sure they did not hit rock. Many a night I would take a Richard (husband)and a flashlight out to the woods because we had a test running. If the tests failedthey would have to put in elaborate septic systems or bring in different soil. I metsome fantastic people. You can’t imagine how many backhoe operators havecollege degrees, they just like to be outside.

What is something you miss from back East that’s just not the same here oryou can’t get here? My three daughters and four grandchildren — threegranddaughters and one grandson

Richard MacomberAge: 74Occupation: Retired but active volunteer and mayor

of MeadYears in St. Vrain Valley: 18What brought you here? What has kept you here?

My employer (IBM) was closing the New Jersey facilityand offered me a job in Colorado. After a shortexploratory trip we found it a great place and decidedwe would move here.What drew you to want to become mayor of

Mead?We found Mead to be a great place and whenwe moved here I decided I wanted to be a part ofassisting the town to grow and be a great place, that itis, to live, work, play and raise a family. I thought thebest way to do that would be to offer my services andthoughts for our community and to the constituents of Mead. I wanted to listen tothe town residents and assist them as much as feasible.What is the greatest challenge of being the mayor of growing small town?

A relatively small town has many challenges. Infrastructure of the town (therewere many dirt roads) was a key factor but that had to be addressed withinbudget constraints. Infrastructure(roads, water, waste water, storm drainage,parks) attracts families to Mead as well as businesses (we have over 200businesses licensed in Mead) and makes this a desirable place to be. The key wasto plan for the infrastructure without taking the town into major debt which wewere very successful in doing. We have been extremely successful in this regard aswitnessed by our steady growth over the years, the vast improvements in ourinfrastructure, steady tax rate (actually reduced taxes in 2014), and lowest salestaxes in Northern Colorado.


Pat McCarthyAge: 61Occupation: President and founder,

Colorado Demolition andDeconstructionYears in St. Vrain Valley:

20What brought you here?

What has kept you here? Igrew up in New Jersey. I justwanted to get a new start inlife, so I got here when I was18. When I got here, I literallylived on the streets for sixweeks. The first day I camehere, I worked at a temp place andmade $10 a day. (As for why now) It’sColorado — are you kidding me? Myfamily’s here, my children, mygrandchildren. My wife and I like to gohiking — during the warm months,anyway, not in the snow season.

How thorough is “deconstruction”compared to demolition? We takeeverything from the whole house downand recycle it, we donate a lot of stuff

to Habitat for Humanity. ... Wecan recycle cabinets, bathfixtures, all the lumber, trusses,walls, the flooring, thesubflooring. ... Sheet rock isnot recyclable. The shinglesused to be but not anymore,that I know of, anyway. Youcan raze a house in a day ortwo. But depending on thesize of the house,deconstruction can take one

or two weeks. We’ve got it down to ascience now.What keeps you at it? I love it. I

really do. They say if you find a job youreally like, you never work a day in yourlife. I get to take things apart. It bringsout the kid in me.

Eliberto MendozaAge: 37Occupation: Circles Campaign

Coordinator for Boulder CountyYears in St. Vrain Valley: 7What brought you here?My

wife grew up here. She went toFaith Baptist; this is herhometown, basically. So wecame back.You’re the former president

of the Latino Chamber ofCommerce of Boulder County,you’ve worked withIntercambio De Comunidadesand your current job in theCircles Campaign again has you againworking with people who need a handup. What inspires you to give of yourtime in such a way? I grew up a migrantkid — the fields of Illinois and Texas.People gave me opportunities that Iprobably didn’t deserve. I just want to bea part of any organization that providesopportunities for Latino and lowincome

families to get ahead in life.Almost everybody has a story from

the Flood of 2013. What’s yours?Wehad planned a vacation the week of theflood. My father was flying in from Texas,my fatherinlaw had rented a condo in

western Colorado, near GrandJunction. That Thursdaymorning we found out thatLongmont was cut off. Myfatherinlaw lives in Firestone,so we called him to go pick upmy father. He stayed the nightat my fatherinlaw’s place.(Meanwhile) my sisters wereevacuated at 4 in the morning— they live two blocks north ofthe Sunset (Street) Bridge. ...

What ended up happening is we stillwent on vacation. (I told them), “Whydon’t you fill up my garage with yourstuff and stay until you figure out whatyou’re going to do?” So it was a blessingthat we were going on vacation (becausethem being gone freed up space for hissisters to stay at his his and his fatherinlaw’s house). And that’s my flood story.

Joanie MooreAge: 71Occupation: Retired from being

Longmont’s first female barber.Years in St. Vrain Valley: I was born

on a farm two miles north of Erie. Mygrandma and grandpa camehere in (1907).What has kept you here? I

guess it’s just a root. It’s ahome. None of my family haveever left. It’s just home.Did you always want to be

a barber? When I was little —as I remember 6, 7 years old —I would play barber shop, and Ihave no idea why. I wouldpretend I was cutting my brother’s hair.You describe what you went

through to become a professional in atime that female barbers were a rarity:Getting denied admission by the firstbarber school you approached, then

finally getting in the second one andpassing your state test, getting anapprenticeship and then becoming amaster barber. It sounds like astruggle. (Steve Nikkel) was kind of aprogressive barber. He was the first oneto start (taking) appointments. ... He was

the only one who would hireme. I went door to door but hewas the only one who wouldhire me, and I’m thankful forthat. ... What I remember wasthere would be shops filled withpeople waiting, and nobodywould let me cut their hair. ...Every once in a while therewould be a serviceman orsomething — someone who

had been stationed over in Germany orFrance, and they would let me cut theirhair because they were used to a ladybarber. But I had to be very careful(because people were watching me soclosely).

Chuck MorrisAge: 72Occupation: Retired; now a

caricaturist at Casa Bonitarestaurant in LakewoodYears in St. Vrain Valley:

17What brought you here?

IBM. I worked for IBM for 30years and retired from there. Iworked in Kentucky for about15 of those years and here forabout 15 of those.How do you go from

working in hightech tobecoming a caricaturist?I haveabsolutely no experience in art exceptin high school. I was a digital designengineer for IBM and other companies— GE, Lockheed. I was stationed atCape Canaveral (now the KennedySpace Center) for three years workingon the Apollo program. (He enlisted

during the Vietnam War and joinedIBM immediately after leaving theservice.). ... I retired, and got tired ofwatching TV. I sat out and wrote a list

of pros and cons (of what Iwanted to do), decided onthis, and studied on theWeb. I sat down for onewhole winter, practicedeight hours a day, and wentand got myself a job atElitch Gardens. (After justunder two years there, hesays left and approachedCasa Bonita and got a jobthere.) It’s the best job I

could have: I set my own hours, I setmy own prices, I’m my own boss.How would you describe Casa

Bonita for someone who has neverbeen there? It’s for kids — it’s anindoor amusement park. ... Have youever walked through the whole thing?It’s wild.

Betty Ann NewbyAge: 84Occupation: Meadarea farmer;

local historian, author, formernewspaper columnistYears in St. Vrain Valley:

Going on nearly 40 yearsWhat brought you here?

What kept you here? Myhusband, Raimon, who wentto Mead schools, brought meback here to the Newby familyfarm. I stayed after he died. ...It’s a desirable area. You cansee the mountains, even on acloudy day. Living in thecountry, to see all that, it’s gorgeous.It’s far enough away from Denver, andit’s close enough.How did you become interested in

writing newspaper columns and abook about the St. Vrain Valley’shistory? I just sort of got into that. I’ma farmer. I’m a hay farmer. But I’m aformer school teacher, and I’ve alwaysbeen interested in those kinds ofthings. It was something I could think

about and do. I worked as a volunteerat the Longmont Museum. I workedhard at the research for my book, “TheLongmont Album: History and Folkloreof the St. Vrain Valley.” That forced meto get around, meet people to try to

get the history right. I justloved to go and talk andvisit and find outinformation from people. Iwas fortunate in doing thatto get acquainted withpeople who didn’t havemuch time left. It’s sort of acommunity kind of thing.What are some of the

more important thingscurrent residents of the area shouldknow about the people whopreceded them? Basically, thefarmers. I grew up on a farm in theSeverance and Eaton area. It wasn’tthat easy for many, especially in toughtimes when nobody had anything.When you think of how many stuck itout, through thick and thin — peopleworked together with each other. Theyhelped each other out.

303-776-3666 • 1533 N Main St.Longmont, CO

www.demersautomotive.com

$25OFFAnything over $30000

with this ad. Expires 5-31-14

$25$25

DeMersAutoMotive

“Where wetake bettercare ofyour car.”

• Auto Repair• Brakes• Alignments

• Tires• Oil Change• Air Conditioning

D


Stan OwensAge: 69Occupation: Retired since 2007. Former warehouse worker at True Value

Hardware, now planning commission chairman and a volunteer for numerousboards, commissions and causes in Dacono area, including the Carbon ValleyMusic Festival, the Weld County Mobile Food Bank and the local Easter egghunt.

Years in Carbon Valley: 42What brought you here? What kept you?: Originally, I was from Chicago.

My first wife was from Rock Springs, Wyoming, and had family out here at thetime, and she didn’t like the big city. I love this area. I love Dacono. It still hasthat smalltown feeling and everyone seems to be friendly. ... You can stillwalk down the street and people say ‘Hi.’

You seem to be one of the busier volunteers in the area. What started you off?: My dad wason the town board, and one day he said he needed people for the Board of Adjustment, they hadan opening. I said, “I have no idea what that does, but I’ll help until you find someone.” (Laughs)Nancy Elliott, the town clerk at the time, said the only way off of one of her boards was to die. AndI haven’t done that yet!

What keeps you doing it?: I’d like to think I’m doing some good for the community. I feel goodhelping people. I don’t have to have any name recognition, I’d rather be in the background. But mydaughter likes that kind of stuff. If I get a writeup, I’ll send it to her.

Clay PeckAge: 51Occupation: Lead/Founding Pastor of Grace Place, BerthoudYears in the area: 18What brought you here? What has kept you? I grew up in Colorado and

moved away as a teenager. I always hoped to return. Once Colorado is in yourblood, it is always there. I love the mountains, skiing and hiking, the healthfullifestyle, the rugged western, outdoors culture, and people who areadventurers.

What is the best part of your job? Building into leaders, helping peoplefind fulfillment, ministering to people in pain and confusion, inspiring peopleto collaborate and achieve a vision that is bigger and more rewarding than anything they couldaccomplish by themselves, teach enduring principles for a truly successful life.

What is the most important lesson life has taught you? In order to accomplish anythingsignificant and lasting one has to be willing to take risks and fail. “Failure is not an option” is not anoption. Fail forward. Don’t try to live life totally safe. Safe is boring. Be willing to take calculatedrisks, learn from failure, and never give up pursuing a dream that is large, compelling, and Godhonoring.

Carmen RamirezAge: 54Occupation: Program coordinator for

Longmont’s Community and NeighborhoodResources department, advisory committeeof Latino History Project

Years in St. Vrain Valley: 23What brought you here? What has kept

you here? My husband kind of dragged me,kicking and screaming, from El Paso, Texas.If you can imagine this border communitywith the U.S on one side of the line, Mexicoon the other, and the beauty that comes when the two mix witheach other. ... But this community has provided me with somegreat opportunities and challenges. It’s allowed me to findemployment and to bring people together in valuing ourdiversity.

How did you happen to get involved with the historyproject? As part of the Latino Task Force. We had a retiredprofessor, Marjorie McIntosh, who came to us and said “I’ve beenreading history books and I don’t see Latinos in them anywhere.” Isaid, “Yeah. We knew that.” She said, “So how do we plant theseeds so we can grow interest and gather this information?”We’ve been establishing that the Latino community isn’t just acommunity of immigrants. We’ve been here, and we’ll continueto be here, for generations.

Tell me your flood story. It went from job to job as fast aspossible. When it comes to community service, the staff here wasamazing. It didn’t matter if you worked in recreation or worked inthe library, you were helping out. Most of my flood work hasbeen with the Royal Mobile Home Park and helping peoplemanage that situation, assisting with FEMA, helping people seewhat other options are on there and working on longterm floodrecovery — connecting them, eventually, to resources.”

Anne PostleAge: 52Occupation: Owner of Osmosis Art and Architecture in NiwotYears in St. Vrain Valley: 13 years in Niwot, 25 years in Boulder CountyWhat brought you here? What has kept you here? I moved here for a job

in Boulder, and eventually opened the architecture firm and gallery. Niwot issuch a vibrant community. I never want to leave.

You have done a lot to promote the arts in downtown Niwot. Whicharts events or activities have you seen draw the most interest frommembers of the public? The Niwot Art Walk, on the first Friday of everymonth, is one of the strongest art draws for the town. The art walk includesSecond Avenue and Cottonwood Square and offers art openings, music,wonderful boutiques and restaurants. The “Why Not Niwot” juried art show is another great drawfor art lovers. The entries have to show the uniqueness of Niwot. Artworks that are accepted intothe show are on display in businesses throughout Niwot during May, with the winners announcedat the June Art Walk. The Left Hand Chair painting competition is one of the newest exciting artevents in Niwot. There are 28 concrete lefthand chairs scattered around the town. A mix ofdifferent artists from the public and from Niwot High will be painting the chairs in the comingmonths. The competition will be open for a “peoples” choice voting during the April Art walk.

What was your greatest accomplishment in the last year? Osmosis Art and Architecture hashad a wonderful year. The gallery continues to thrive, featuring fine art and unique gifts. InFebruary, the architecture firm won a Judge’s Special Award of Excellence at the Nationals for“Clermont Commons,” a series of three homes for homeless female veterans and their children inDenver. Clermont Commons was built by HomeAid, with Osmosis donating all of the architecture.

Ray Ramirez•Age: 68Occupation: Editor, grant writer for the

Native American Rights FundYears in St. Vrain Valley: 23What brought you here? What has

kept you here? I was born in Fort Collins;however, after graduating from ColoradoState University, I moved to Arizona andworked for the Tohono O’odham IndianNation and then for the Ysleta del SurPueblo for a total of 20 years. Afterreceiving a job offer from the Native American Rights Fund inBoulder, I decided to relocate with my family to Longmont. Ihave family in Fort Collins, Greeley and Frederick. I have nowbeen with the Native American Rights Fund for 23 years.

Why is the Native American Rights Fund headquarteredin Boulder County, and what do you do? The NativeAmerican Rights Fund (NARF) relocated to Boulder in 1970 tobe more centrally located to the majority of tribes in thecountry. NARF is known nationally and internationally for itsrole in defining the field of Indian law and providing legalrepresentation to tribes and Native peoples. Longmont is alsohome to First Nations Development Institute, which believesthat when armed with the appropriate resources, NativePeoples hold the capacity and ingenuity to ensure thesustainable, economic, spiritual and cultural wellbeing of theircommunities. The Denver area has a thriving and active Nativecommunity.

What legacy do you hope to leave behind? Besides mywife, Carmen; my sons, Kiohod and Rio; my daughter, Vanessa;and my grandchildren, all of whom I’m so proud, I hope that Ihave contributed in some little way in helping people tounderstand the true histories of our community, state andcountry. Unfortunately our school curriculums do not allow forthe accurate teaching of our histories (Native Americans,Mexican and African American) and our present lives. Becauseof this, too many people do not know these valuable histories,and if they did, much of the misunderstanding and racismtoward my peoples would not exist.


2330 Main St. #E, Longmont • (303) 827-3523View Current Calendar at www.dabblepaintandsip.com

Buy 3SessionsGet 4thFREE!

Classes from June 5-Aug. 7Tuesday and Thursdays2:00 pm - 3:30 pm

• Ages 6–10: June 3–7and/or June 10–14,9:00 am – 2:00 pm

• Ages 11–14:June 24–28,9:00 am – 3:00 pm

• Indoor and outdoorarenas on 50 acres

• Individual instructionand small groupactivities

• Hard hats provided;required when mounted

• Riding lessonsalso available

Gargot Farms 2012 Pony Camp

At Gargot Farms, kids learnriding and pony care, whilebuilding confidence and trustbetween animals and themselves.

Dr. Margot Nacey Owner/DirectorLicensed Psychologist #17163833 W. County Road 8Berthoud, Colorado 80513www.gargotfarms.com

970-443-5467

4

23-27,

2-6

Businesses Offering FunActivities ForYour KidsThis Summer!


Simon Quince, 12, of Longmont is known for his juggling at the Boulder County Farmers Market.


T his is the sound ofSimon Quince.Tick-tick, tick-tick,

tick-tick, tick ...The whisper, soft and

steady, could be a metro-nome. A watch. A quiet turnsignal left on a mile too long.

It is none of those things.It is Simon Quince

And Simon has started tojuggle.

Simon, now 13, hasbecome a fixture at theLongmont Farmers Market.For two summers now, asthe customers pass by withtheir fruits and vegetables,his clubs have dancedthrough the air, drawingattention to the young boywith the steady hands.

He likes the dance. But itcould stand to grow, hethinks.

“Three so far,” Simon saidback at his home in the win-ter “off-season,” his trio ofclubs nearby. “I’m workingon four. From there, hopeful-ly more. Maybe even swordssomeday.”

“It’s fine with me,” hismom, Heidi Quince,responded. “I have seensome of the most amazing

jugglers, and I think ‘morepower to you.’”

After all, this is somethinghe can do with one handbehind his back.

Originally from Longmont,Simon and his family movedto Minneapolis in 2006. Theycame back in 2010 — butthat four-year time span wasjust enough time for a friendto invite him to a book festi-val, full of booths andcrowds and entertainers.

That’s where he saw thejuggler.

“There was a guy therewho had only one arm —and he juggled,” Simonremembered. “He was jug-gling over eight balls in onehand. It was amazing.”

He got in line to talk to thejuggler, with one question atthe front of his mind: Can Ilearn this? The one-armedman started Simon on twoballs. He kept droppingthem.

At home, he got somebeanbags from his mom andpracticed. And practiced.Always with one hand, justtrying to find the rhythm.

“It was probably close to amonth before I could do it

naturally,” he said.That single-handed rou-

tine served him well whenthe Quinces returned toLongmont, livening up a cou-ple of talent shows. Then inthe sixth grade, he wastabbed for a play called “TheUnlucky Duck,” a lighterversion of the story aboutthe monkey’s paw that grant-ed cursed wishes. An Arabi-an scene called for entertain-ers, such as snake charmers... and jugglers.

That, he decided, calledfor the classic three balls.

“I was surprised at howfast I caught on,” he said. “Ittook me about a week.”

Not long after that show,two things happened. First,Simon found the BoulderCircus Club and began tolearn club juggling, thewhite bowling pin-likeobjects that catch the eye —and sometimes other parts if

a juggler isn’t careful.“I hit my nose, my finger,

my toe,” he said. “They’renot very heavy, but they stillhurt.”

Second, as Simon workedon finding the pattern thatwould bring the clubs to hishands with their soft ticksand clicks, he also began tosearch for a stage.

“I knew they had bands atthe Farmers Market, so Icalled the manager andasked how much it wouldcost for a spot,” he said. “Hethought about it and said,‘Since you’re not selling any-thing, it’s free. Just find aspot with no trees, whereyou’re not going to hit any-one.’”

Within the first week, peo-ple were stopping to watch.By the end of the 2012 sea-son, he’d won a “people’schoice” award.

Now he was the one whohad kids coming up and ask-ing for lessons. It didn’t takelong to like it.

“Once you get a pattern injuggling, it helps you thinkabout it a lot,” Simonexplained. “I’d teach them a

pattern of where the balls go— and for me, that helps meto visualize it.”

There’s more to Simonthan juggling, of course,There’s the classes at SunsetMiddle School, the drumpractice, the time spent on abike (and with Bicycle Long-mont, where his dad, DevinQuince, serves on theboard). He’s even beenworking on a board gameabout a zombie apocalypse,though it’s still got somekinks to work out.

“Right now, it’s fun, but it’snot Uno,” Simon said.

Like many a middleschooler, he hasn’t quiteworked out yet what hewants to be. Maybe an actor.Maybe an artist. Maybe anart teacher, or a chef.

Whatever he does, it’sgood odds that his passionfor juggling will find a wayin. Even as a chef.

“If Mom’s making guaca-mole and she’s not looking,I’ll juggle the avocados,” headmitted.

Keep listening. Thesound’s not done yet.Tick-tick, tick-tick, tick-tick,

tick ...

Going for the jugglerMiddle-schooler still turningheads

withdancingpinsSimon QuinceAge: 13Occupation: Student, SunsetMiddle SchoolYears in St. Vrain Valley: 9;came back in 2010

Story by Scott Rochat • Photo by Lewis Geyer • Longmont Times-Call


Brian RezacAge: 53Occupation: Musician, bartenderYears in St. Vrain Valley: 23What brought you here? What has

kept you here? My wife wasoffered a job here; she was inmall marketing andmanagement. Now we’veraised three kids here, they allwent to Colorado colleges. It’shome.So when did you and the

guitar first meet? “When Iwas 19, I bought my firstguitar — and I broke it rightbefore I moved out here! Ididn’t get back into it until I hit my 40thbirthday. My brothers back in Delawarepitched in and gave me the Martin thatI play now. I thought I had a guitar I

wasn’t worthy of, so I started practicinga lot more. It became a second windthing.These days, you’re almost as well

known for organizing musical eventsas you are for playing them. How did

that start? The one that I’vedone for the longest time isthe Dickens open mic.Through that, I’ve met somany musicians and themusicians think I know allthese people and want me todo something for them. ... Itwas about three owners agoat the Dickens that I went upand asked “Let me do an openmic.” At first, they were against

it, and I said “Give me your slowestnight.” And it worked really well. Andnow, when anyone thinks of an “openmic,” I get called.”

Michael RobertsAge: 51Occupation: President, First NationsDevelopment Institute, a nationalNative American nonprofit organizationYears in St. Vrain Valley: 9What brought you here?

What has kept you here? Iattended the University ofColorado, graduating in 1985with a bachelor’s degree inenvironmental design inarchitecture. I spent five yearsin a venture capital businessbefore joining First Nations. Itformerly had its headquartersin Fredericksburg, Virginia. Mywife and I spent 13 years trying to getback here. We moved here nine yearsago; First Nations moved here eightyears ago. The affordability ofLongmont is great for an organizationlike us. I thought the organizationbelonged in the West.What is First Nations’ mission? Our

core mission is economic developmentfor American Indian people and theircommunities.What’s the impact of your

organization’s presence inLongmont? The economic impact is a

big one, and we have a prettylow environmental impact.we’re a fairly large notforprofit organization serving afairly large Indian population.We’re a 35yearoldorganization with an annualbudget of about $5 million,including about $2 million to$2.5 million in salaries. Wehave 19 on our staff, including17 in Colorado. Of the

national Indian notforprofits, we’reprobably in the top five or 10. Webought our building, at 2432 Main St.,which was twice the size we neededbut had the potential for our expansion.There’s a goodsize Indian populationalong the Front Range, a lot of folkswho look like us.

Glenda S. RobinsonAge: 65Occupation: Self employedYears in St. Vrain Valley: 34What brought you here? What has

kept you here? In 1980, myhusband was an executivewith IBM. As a result, hisposition required our family tobe relocated to the IBMheadquarters in Boulder.You participated in civil

rights marches in the ’60sand ’70s, including somewith Martin Luther King.Which march was the mostmemorable? The Memphismarch on March 28, 1968, was my mostmemorable. It supported basic humanrights of the sanitation workers,awakening the community to thetragic, inhumane conditions and

treatment they endured. As animpressionable college student from anupbringing that was sheltered,protected and loving, I found myself inthe midst of utter chaos and confusion.

It was traumatic, frighteningand life threatening. For me,the tables turned. In the safetyof a church, I found myselfbeing victimized, rather thanprotected by the veryagencies that were entrustedto protect and serve.

If you could pass alongone piece of advice to yourchildren or grandchildrenwhat would it be? The one

thing that I would pass along to mychildren and future generations is thatthey live Godfearing lives, alwaystreating others the way they want to betreated.

Benny RomeroAge: 74

Occupation: Retired fromRocky Flats

Years in St. Vrain Valley:Entire life, except for time inthe U.S. Navy — four years,two reserve

What brought you here?What has kept you? I justwanted to come back hometo the mountains, that and my family.

What is your proudest

accomplishment? There are a lot ofthem. One of my highlightsin 1955 I ran cross countryon the state championshipteam for Longmont HighSchool. Other than that, I wascommander for the AmericanLegion Post 32 in Longmontsix times.

What is the No. 1 item onyour bucket list? I am prettylucky, I have lived this long. Idon’t have any, to be honest

with you. I am just proud to be fromColorado. I am very happy. I ammarried. I have four kids.

Phoenix SagenAge: 34Occupation: Vice president and coowner of Kukich Creative MarketingFirmYears in St. Vrain Valley:6 (10 in Colorado)What brought you here?

What has kept you here? Itwas July 17, 2004. I wasvisiting a friend in Arkansas,and on the way back, mytruck broke down and Istayed. I’m a military brat.I’ve moved 29 times in mylife. Colorado’s the firstplace that ever felt likehome.Tell me your flood story. Myhusband and I were going to moveoutside of Longmont to a biggerhome. We decided instead to turn ourcurrent home into the one we wanted.

... We were halfway through thisproject when the flood hit. I even havevideo footage that I was shooting outthe window saying “Yeah, it’s stillraining.” I had no idea it was going tobe a 500year storm! ... So we did the

last week, week and a half ofthe project in the flood, undera tarp. ... But it’s finished. It’sbeautiful. I love my first floor, Ilove my new house.

You’ve also describedyourself as “addicted totravel.” (My husband and I)travel two, three times a year.We’re not waiting to get olderto check things off our bucket

list. We’re doing it along the way. ... Formy birthday, I’ve jumped out ofplanes, off bridges, scuba dived theGreat Barrier Reef. But last year waskind of mellow. (Grin) This year, we’llbe in Cambodia, though.

Anna SauerAge: 65 plus 368 daysOccupation: Basically retired;president of Champion GreensHomeowners AssociationYears in St. Vrain Valley:We moved to Longmont in1998, so that’s (almost) 15,and 25 years in Littletonbefore that.What brought you here?

What has kept you here?My husband’s job. ... He hadbeen commuting toLongmont from Littletonevery day for two years. ... Wedecided to start looking in Longmontand fell in love with it.In Champion Greens, 86 of the 88

homes were flooded to somedegree. Where were you onThursday, Sept. 12, 2013? Myhusband had left that morning to gobuy a sump pump, which was a jokebecause it wouldn’t have made a bit ofdifference. Then the power went out,late morning, and all the neighborsstarted gathering in the street. ... We

figured if we’d get flooding, it wouldcome from the south. ... I heard itbefore I saw it, just this whoosh ofwater coming in under our fence. Andinstantly it was 8 to 10 inches deep,and it started pouring in our window

wells. ... We thought it wouldstop. ... (Sauers’ and herhusband ended up beingevacuated out of theirneighborhood, along withsome neighbors, on aLongmont Fire Departmentengine.)What, if anything, did the

flood teach you? The powerof water. I had no idea until I

saw moving water what it was capableof. When the fire engine was taking usup Ninth ... they slowed down enoughand said, “Look down that street.” Andat the end of that street was just thispile of cars. ... The city of Longmontwas amazing with their response toeverything. ... And the volunteers thatjust came out of the woodwork. ... Iguess more than even the power ofthe water, it was how kind people canbe to each other when someoneneeds help.


Support the local businesses that make a difference in our communitymah kat die a f communito yui rf nerenceReviewCommunity

1879

100 Martin StreetLongmont, CO

www.westernfoundries.com

303-485-7866

194767 Years of

Quality ServiceCommercial • Residential

Roof InspectionsNew & Reroofing

303-443-58433768 Eureka Way • Fredrick

www.bmroofing.com

Sheet Metal • Repairs & Maintenance

19221922Carroll-Lewellen Funeral& Cremation Services

Proudly Serving Families Since 1922Longmont’s Lowest Cost Funeral Provider

503 Terry StreetLongmont, CO 80501(303) 776-4477

1957

Entertaining Longmontfor over 57 years!303.772-5200

www.longmonttheatre.org

1953THE BARNARDAGENCY, INC

Residential, Commercial andFarm & Ranch Real Estate

Since 1953

Scott Sloan 303-349-5999Sue Bridgeman 303-776-9438

303-776-3882 • 800-525-3290

1904

www.goldenvanlines.com

Fitting Longmontat the same location for 68 years!

1946

Mon. - Fri. 9:30-6 • Thurs. till 7 • Sat. 10-5373 Main St., Longmont • 303.776.2920

1961

1637 N. Main St. • Longmont, CO 80501303-776-5711

www.bassettcarpets.com

Bassett CarpetsCarpeting • Window CoveringsCountertops • Ceramic Tile

Vinyl • Hardwood

1958

326 Terry Street • 303-776-2313www.ahlbergfuneralchapel.com

Celebrating 56 years1958-2014

AhlbergFuneral Chapel & Crematory

Full-sevice mortuary • On site crematory

Funerals • Cremations • Pre-Planning • Celebrations of Life

1898

www.howemortuary.com

LongmontChoraleCelebrating our78th Season!

303-651-7664www.longmontchorale.org

1936

1871

303-776-2244350 Terry Street • Longmont, CO


Alma Rico’s sister pressured her to try Zumba in May 2012. The 31yearold now coowns and teaches at Tumbao Fitness in Longmont.


T ears well up in AlmaRico’s eyes when shetalks about stepping

into a Zumba class for thefirst time and feeling stressand a persistent depressionfall off of her body.

“I didn’t want to be there,”she admitted.

In 2012, the 31-year-oldLongmont woman and moth-er of two boys had comethrough a divorce and wasstruggling to recover fromthe emotional upheaval.

“After I got divorced, I wasvery depressed and my sis-ter was always trying to getme out of the house,” shesaid.

Her sister kept on aboutZumba, and Rico finally con-sented in May 2012 to attendone class at Latin Rhythm innorth Longmont. Her sisterknew well that dance andchoreography — the corner-stones of Zumba fitnessclasses — would hook Rico.For her part, Rico was skep-tical that anything wouldhelp the hurt she was suffer-

ing. Then the music startedand she began to dance.

“It relieved all of mystress, and all of my worriesleft at once,” she recalled. “Ifelt so happy, and all of mystress went away, and I fell inlove with it.”

Now Rico owns TumbaoFitness at 1108 Main St. withtwo partners. The name ofthe business refers to aCuban slang word that shedefines as “sexy swagger.”

Soon after she startedZumba, she worked withJose Jimenez at LatinRhythm to learn the basicsof the choreography andearned her teaching certifi-cation in November 2012after completing an all-dayclass. She started teaching atFusion Fitness and thenstruck out with partners tolaunch Tumbao Fitness,which is open to having par-ents bring their children tothe studio for workouts or tohang around while mom anddad shake off some caloriesand stress. While Rico saysshe is “shy, shy, shy,” that

quality is impossible to seewhen she dons the neon-col-ored workout and dancegear common to Zumba. Herenthusiasm bursts out withher own choreography, anda big personality leadspacked classes from noviceto expert.

“It was very natural tome,” she said of teaching. “Iwas meant to do that.”

Rico was born in Califor-nia and raised in Comptonwith five siblings.

Her parents would takeher and her siblings to Dis-neyland at least once a year,and there she fell in lovewith dancing.

“I would see the paradesand the princesses dancing,and I would be so happy Iwould cry,” she said, addingshe would go on to come upwith dance routines in her

bedroom. Her mother wouldsecretly record her.

Annual visits to grandpar-ents in Durango, Mexico,provided long summerbreaks from the city life andfrom school. She took herown sons to Mexico lastsummer. She said theythrived in the small townwith no phone or Internetservice in a home withouttelevision.

She got married at age 18and had her first son whenshe was 21. Eight years ago,when she got pregnant withher second son, the atmo-sphere in Compton felt toodangerous. Drive-by shoot-ings and other crimes weretoo common. She and herhusband set out for Long-mont, where her parents hadsettled two years earlier afterdeciding to leave Compton,as well. She said they justpacked up and left Californiaand moved without even vis-iting beforehand.

In Longmont, she said, shefound a home. She had expe-

rience working in Section 8housing programs andworks for Thistle Communi-ty Housing as an occupancyspecialist. She handles com-pliance issues and leasing.

“I feel like it is a reallytight community and I likethat,” she said. “Everybodyknows everybody and every-body helps everybody.”

Tumbao is still getting offthe ground. Classes alreadyinclude yoga, Zumba, and“Warrior,” a class that com-bines CrossFit and Tabatatraining techniques. She saidthe partners are now addingnutrition components for cli-ents who struggle with foodissues.

She said she has heardbefore that some of her rou-tines are a little too “sexy”for Zumba, but she notesthat the critic keep comingback.

Sexy, she said, is not phys-ical.

“It is thing where you feelconfident and good aboutyourself,” she said.

And that is how Rico feels.

Tapping into ‘sexyswagger’Hesitant at first, newcomerfell in lovewithZumba

Alma RicoAge: 32Years in St. Vrain Valley: 8Occupation: Coowner,teacher at Tumbao Fitness

Story by Pierrette J. Shields • Photo by Lewis Geyer • Longmont Times-Call


Pete SchonesAge: 49Occupation: Head honcho, el presidente — owner — of Acme Bicycles,

1817 Main St., Suite 202 in Longmont.Years in St. Vrain Valley: 13What brought you here? I purchased the business from Tim Gust in 2001. I

knew Tim because I used to work on the wholesale side of the industry andhe was one of my customers. I got tired of traveling for what I did, and that’show it happened.With 30 years in the cycling business, is this an industry you always

knew you would want to be a part of? My family has been in this for a longtime. My grandfather was a professional cyclist in Hungary — the pictures allover the shop are of him. I started working at my parents’ shop — Adventure Cycling in Aurora —in 1983. It still exists; it is now owned by my uncle.How has cycling evolved over the time of your career?When I started in this industry we had

no suspension forks, we had no fullsuspension bicycles. We now have electronic shifting bikes.The bike industry is like many other industries — it is definitely moving forward. Bikes shift better,they brake better. You’re getting a lot more bang for your buck.

Melissa SeipeltAge: 63Occupation: Cosmetologist and Halcyon Hospice volunteerYears in St. Vrain Valley: 30What brought you here? What has kept you here? I came to visit a

relative who had moved to Boulder and fell in love with the climate andbeauty of this area and decided to move here also.What got you interested in the spa business (owner of Talk of the

Town) and why did you think it would work in town like Mead? I believein an integrative approach to health. Research shows more people are seekingalternative therapies for a more holistic (body, mind, spirit) and preventativecare to their health. Although Mead is a small community, the people livinghere do see the value in supporting local business and also the importance of good selfcare. Thisis my 19th year in business in Mead. When I first moved here Fourth Street, now Main Street, wasdirt. The town has seen a lot of changes and growth since then, but has not lost its small townappeal.What/where are studying for your master’s degree, and why is that field of interest to you?

I am working toward a certification in Thanatology at Mount Ida College in Newton, Mass.Thanatology is the study of death and dying, especially in end of life care. After my undergraduatedegree, I began volunteering for Halcyon Hospice in Mead. I have been volunteering at Halcyon forover a year and love working with the elderly and those facing the end of their lives. I decide toseek a certification in the field, which requires 60 credits and a thesis paper and then passing anational certification test.

Lenny SigwarthAge: 46Occupation: Business manager and

membership director, Ed and Ruth LehmanYMCA.Years in St.Vrain Valley: 14. First came

to Colorado in 1990, from Bolivia.What brought you here? What has

kept you here?We were looking for aplace that is really familyoriented and hada community feeling, That’s how we endedup in Longmont, we wanted to be part of aclose community. ... I love Colorado. I’ve got to tell you I’m notthat happy about winter, though. I grew up in a very tropicalarea, where I went swimming every morning. I have been here23 years and I still can’t get used to winter! When it comes, Ilook like a bear, layer upon layer. The snow on the mountains isvery pretty — through the window.Why “Lenny”? What’s it short for?: It’s a very unusual name

for Bolivia. I never met anyone named Lenny. It’s not short foranything; my father picked it out. ... The funny thing is that mymother didn’t even know until he came back from registeringme. She wanted me to be named Denise. My father was a verycolorful man, very fun in everything, everyone loved him. Sowho knows what went through his mind?You’ve had a lot of chances to see the various pieces of

the community: through the Y, nonprofit work andelsewhere. How hard is it to put those pieces together? Youhave to identify the people in every organization who are“brokers.” If we knew how to use them, we’d be so much betterat helping the community, not duplicating programs butworking together. ... For example, you see a lot of organizationsthat have minorities on staff. That person has so muchknowledge of their own community, they can have so muchinput in what programs are needed, what the community willneed. They can be a connection with the organization, not justa person on the phone who says “Hello.”

Dan SiddallAge: 59

Occupation: Realestate broker


What brought you here? What has kept you here? Lyons’ small towncharacter and excellent schools.

Where were you when the flood hit Lyons on Sept. 12, and how did youreact? I was at home, and my first thought when I heard the sirens go off wasto drive into town and help my daughter and her two kids evacuate from theconfluence area because her husband was on shift as a firefighter.

What is the biggest challenge, personally or professionally, that you have faced since theflood? Personally it has been helping my daughter and her husband through the rebuildingprocess because their house was completely destroyed. Professionally, it has been assisting otherclients who have lost homes find replacement housing as well as assist my property managementclients with repairing their homes.

Josh SipfleAge: 18Occupation: Student; worship ministry

internYears in St. Vrain Valley: 7What brought you here? What has

kept you here? I went to a private schoolhere in Longmont, then the rest of thefamily found a great church. Also, my momhad work in town and the school systemwas great, so we stayed.What misconceptions do adults have

about teenagers? I believe that a common misconception isthat kids are just knuckleheads and don’t truly grow up till theyturn 18. And to be honest. I know plenty of people who haven’tgrown up and are well into their 20s. I think that teenagers arequite capable of great responsibly, and furthermore, should beexposed to responsibility to push them toward the reality ofadulthood. I think it’s important to encourage teenagers togrow up and take responsibility for their own lives, because notonly can they handle it, but if you wait to long to progressthrough life, you might miss out on what life has to offer. Weshouldn’t grow up to not be kids anymore, we should grow upto be the smartest and best kids we can be.You are in the Skyline High School Visual and Performing

Arts Academy. What’s it like to be a part of that? Is it like“Glee”? I get this question a lot actually. I use to watch “Glee” afair amount, and one of the vast differences we see between“Glee” and VPA is the money. Glee portrays a seeminglystruggling program that has all this money at its disposal.Skyline is a thriving program, gaining state recognition in manyareas, that struggles to have enough money because funding isjust not there. Lucky for us we have an incredibly welltrainedand talented Visual and Performing Arts staff, including theamazing Stephen Ross. We have a terrific staff that hold theprogram in their hands, but we lack some tools andopportunity to grow because funding isn’t present.



1979

(303) 929-5068

Nelson Rd & SunsetLongmont, CO303-772-3454

43 Yearsin Business!

1971

1978

Proudly ServingDowntown Longmont for 36 Years!

420 Main St. • 303-772-2510

1969

614 Coffman • 303•776•2804www.longmontflorist.com

1977Briggs Carpet Care• Fine carpet and upholstery care• IICRC Certified• Family owned & operated• Commercial, residential

Celebrating our 36th year!

303-772-6548Longmont, CO • 80502

LONGMONTATHLETIC CLUB

LONGMONT’s MOsT COMpLETE HEALTH, fITNEss& wELLNEss fACILITIEs

LAC Main10 Mountain View Ave.303-772-4700

LAC West1357 Sherman Dr.303-774-8888

www.longmontathleticclub.com

1977

1968

2863 28th St. • Boulder, CO303-444-2646

A Boulder County TraditionTOP PRICES •••• 46 YEARS!

TEBO COIN BUYSRare coins/currency -

gold & silver jewelry & diamonds

452 Main St. • 303-651-1125

1965

303-776-7024328 Coffman St., Longmont

www.gktravel.net

Family owned since 1966

1966

1800 Stroh Place303-776-6081

ApplewoodLiving Center

“A Rehab and Skilled Nursing Facility”

1962


Stephen Ross, a member of the vocal rock band Face, poses for a portrait at Vance Brand Auditorium.


S tephen Ross’s office atSkyline High School isaround the corner

from Vance Brand Auditori-um, a performance venuethat surpasses the highschool standard and is thesite of much adult program-ming from communitygroups throughout the year.To get to the office you haveto walk down a hall andthrough a large musicrehearsal room where agrand piano is the mainpiece of furniture.Ross’s office, off to oneside of the rehearsal space,also contains a piano, thougha much smaller one. The pia-no came in handy recentlywhen he was describing thelimited singing range ofsome of his male studentswhose voices are changing.Five notes on the keyboardlooked exceedingly narrow.The main instrumenthoused in this office is not apiano, though. It’s Ross’svoice.Ross is director of vocalmusic, co-chair of the fine

arts department, and coordi-nator of the Visual & Per-forming Arts Academy atSkyline High School. Mem-bers of the community out-side of the school mightknow him better as a mem-ber of Face, the Boulder-areavocal band.Face has long been a pop-ular act in the Boulder area.It received national attentionin 2009 when it appeared asa contestant on the NBCshow “The Sing-Off.” InDecember, the band had adelay at the Dallas-FortWorth airport, and a video ofthe band caroling for fellowinconvenienced travelerswent viral. Last year theband put out its latest album,“How Was the Show,” arelease that showed theband’s growing interest inoriginal material.Face performs at localschools and conducts work-shops with students as partof the band’s educationaloutreach program, and thisaspect of the band highlightsthe alignment of Ross’s work

and band life. When he singsin Face, he practices all thesinging fundamentals —tone, pitch, breath support— that he teaches students.When Face performs at Sky-line — on the Vance BrandAuditorium stage, that is —he enjoys the added bonusof students getting to seehim as a local celebrity.“That rock star status lastsfor about 48 hours,” he said.“Then I’m just Mr. Ross.”Ross, who is 32, was bornin Winnipeg, Canada. Hisfamily moved to HighlandsRanch when he was 9 afterhis father’s employer trans-ferred him to the area. Rossstarted singing while tryingto learn piano. He wasn’t a

very good sight reader, sohe would learn by ear andsing the notes. His dad was abig Beatles fan, and Rossabsorbed much from theFab Four.“I think I learned a lotabout harmonizing andchords from the Beatles,” hesaid.When he was in fourthgrade, his piano teacher sug-gested he look into joiningthe Colorado Children’sChorale. That proved to be aturning point. He joined thechorale and excelled. Hebecame one of the top sing-ers and traveled to othercountries to perform.“That kind of took overyour life,” he said.By high school he foundthat the time required for hissinging career meant he hadto drop other activities, suchas sports.“I was good at it,” he saidof singing. “It was a callingfor me.”He went on to the Univer-sity of Colorado, where hestudied music education

with an emphasis in vocalperformance, and hebecame involved in student acappella groups, includingBufferZone, which he andanother student founded.Around this time he metRyan Driver, who later invit-ed him to audition for Face.In recent years, Face hasbeen offered opportunitiesthat suggest Ross could haveto make some hard deci-sions if the band achievesfurther success. When it wasinvited to perform on “TheSing-Off,” Ross had torequest extended time off atschool. Ross was thankfulthat the administration wasaccommodating. The Louis-ville resident is married andhas two daughters, and fami-ly life also makes it difficultfor him to just pick up andleave to pursue band oppor-tunities.But for now he’s able to fitit all in.“Right now I’m along forthe ride,” he said. “I’vemiraculously achieved thisbalancing act.”

ProfessionalharmonySkylineHighSchool’s director of vocalmusic

practiceswhat he teachesStephen RossAge: 32How many years in thearea: 5½ in LouisvilleOccupation: Director of vocalmusic, cochair of the finearts department, andcoordinator of the Visual &Performing Arts Academy atSkyline High School; andsinger in Face

Story by Quentin Young • Photo by Matthew Jonas • Longmont Times-Call


Amulya SrivastavaAge: 17Occupation: Senior at Silver Creek High

SchoolYears in St. Vrain Valley: 4What brought you here? What has

kept you here? What brought me herewas the fact that the U.S. (is) the “landof opportunities.” I feel like everyonedeserves an opportunity to grow,achieve targeted goals in life and toleave a positive impression for thefuture. ... And there was no better placefor me to get an opportunity that Ideserve than in the United States.You have excelled on the Silver Creek

tennis team. How do you arrive at the mentalstrength it takes to be a successful athlete?When you want to be successful at something,sometimes its not about how much talent youhave, it’s about how much hard work and focusyou are willing to put into it. For me, confidenceis the first step in the process of building thatmental strength. I know my abilities and what I

can do out there on the tennis courts. If I feel likeI can go out there and compete with the bestkids and I don’t doubt myself, then I should haveno problem playing my best tennis. I also have

to make sure that I put in the rightamount of time into my practices,because practice does make a manperfect.Who is the biggest inspiration in

your life and why? My biggestinspiration in life would the first LatinSupreme Court justice, SoniaSotomayor. I had a chance to meet herlast year and really had a chance to talkto her oneonone for 15 minutes, and

in those 15 minutes, she just told me about howshe had been looked down upon when she wasin high school and nobody believed in her andher abilities. But she never really bothered aboutwhat other people thought of her, and ... she justhad to focus on what she wanted to do in herlife. She was just very downtoearth abouteverything and extremely humble. And I thinkthat’s where I get my inspiration.

Tyler SorensenAge: 9Occupation: Thirdgrader at Centennial Elementary in FirestoneHow long have you lived here? Since JulyWhat brought you here? My dad’s job (he received a promotion and

was transferred here).You been in Cub Scouts for four years. What do you most enjoy

about scouting? Probably all the events and the awards. (Also) sellingpopcorn and eating popcorn.What do you want to be when you grow up? I think I want to be part

of an oil rig when I grow up.

Whitney SwanderAge: 38Occupation: Doctor of audiology and

owner of Hearing HealthCare Centers.Years in St. Vrain Valley: Coming up on

13What brought you here? What has

kept you here? I graduated with mymaster’s degree in audiology in 2000 andimmediately landed a job at the practice Inow own. I commuted from Greeley until Irealized this could be a permanent gig,and I purchased a house in Longmont on my 26th birthday. Ihave grown some deep roots both with my business, mychurch and the friends I have here so I do not see myselfleaving anytime soon — or ever!People visit dentists and eye doctors for regular

checkups, but not many see an audiologist regularly. Howdo you know if you are supposed to see an audiologist? It isrecommended that everyone over 50 get hearing testsannually. Hearing loss can creep up so slowly it can stayundiagnosed until it is really causing problems for the personand their family in terms of frustration, isolation, difficultyperforming job functions, etc. Hearing loss often begins as asubtle lack of clarity which leads people to feel as thoughothers are mumbling or not speaking clearly when the problemis not the other people.What’s the number one cause of hearing loss? Is it rock ’n’

roll music? At this point it is still a close call between excessivenoise and the aging process as the number one cause ofhearing loss. True agerelated hearing loss does not developuntil a person is in their 70s, which is why admitting you had ahearing loss made people feel so old in the past. As society getslouder and abuses their ears more with earbuds, loud music,noisy hobbies, etc, the age of people with significant hearingproblems is coming down significantly so it will not be an “oldage” problem for much longer.

Jason StillmanAge: 37Occupation: Art director/graphic designerYears in St. Vrain Valley: 7What brought you here? What has

kept you here? I bought a house inLyons in 2007, knowing very little aboutthe town. ... I was drawn to Lyonsbecause of its physical beauty, outdoorrecreation opportunities and proximityto work in Boulder. I really liked thesmalltown feel of Lyons. What I endedup finding there beyond these thingswas the most amazing community ofpeople I ever could’ve imagined.What’s the most insane thing

you’ve seen at the Polar Plunge? A few of myfriends and I started what would become theLyons Polar Bear Club in January of 2010. ... Aboutseven of us jumped into the icy St. Vrain River onNew Year’s Day. Since then, the LPBC has gainedaround 180 members and organized roughly

three plunges per winter. Probably the mostinsane thing I’ve seen at a plunge was at our 2013Valentine’s benefit plunge. Right after about 4050 people plunged the river on a frigid day, an

enormous bald eagle flew over theplunging hole. I think this was a signfrom the great white bear of the north,expressing his appreciation for ourplunging the icy waters.What is your most prized

possession and why?My most prizedpossession, that’s easy. My hot tub.Without the hot tub, the LPBC probablywould’ve never come to life. Manydreams have been lived in this hot tub,and today we lovingly call it the floodtub. Flood tub lives! The hot tub

survived the great flood after totally submergingin the St. Vrain river in September. After diggingout, I was sure the tub was finished. Sure enough,on New Year’s Eve, we got the tub going again,and yet another dream was lived in the hot tubon Prospect Street in Lyons, Colorado.

John TaftAge: 53Occupation: ArtistYears in St. Vrain Valley: We moved to

Longmont in 2004. So we are coming upon 10 years.What brought you here? What has

kept you here? I grew up back East,attended college in California, and drovethrough the West five times during thoseyears, and something about the West, andthe Rockies in particular, captured myimagination.As a landscape artist, do you have a favorite location to

paint in the area? Colorado is beautiful, with a variety ofsubjects for an artist who paints the landscape. My firstapproach to Longmont was driving east on Nelson from U.S. 36through open space. I thought to myself, “I could paint this.”One advantage of living in Longmont is the convenient accessto such a wide variety of terrain. I love heading to themountains to hike, explore, paint and sketch. Two of myfavorite locations are Rocky Mountain National Park and theIndian Peaks Wilderness. At other times, I can stay close by andlook east to the horizon. So, from the mountains to the prairies,it’s all good.You just opened a studio in downtown Longmont, and it

features hours when members of the public can visit. Whathas been the public reception so far to your downtownpresence? It is has been a good step for me to become moreconnected to the community through this move. It provides anexcellent space to create and exhibit work locally. I amsurprised by how many people seem to be at least as excitedto visit as I am to be here. We welcomed nearly 300 people atour grand opening in December. We’re open Friday eveningsfrom 4 to 7 p.m. and extended hours on Second Fridays.

Garian VigilAge: 44Occupation: Publicist/writer/editorYears in St. Vrain Valley: 6.5What brought you here? What has

kept you here? I had just startedworking with a number of musicians inLyons, and it seemed like the bestplace for me to live. I am a Coloradonative (from the Western Slope), and Ican’t imagine living anywhere else.As the editor of the Colorado

Bluegrass Music Society’s monthlypublication, Pow’r Pickin’, you’ve gota panoramic view of the local bluegrass

scene. What makes this area such fertileground for that kind of music? I think like

minded musicians are drawn herebecause of Planet Bluegrass or theybecome familiar with bands or artistswho live here and it just sort ofsnowballs from there.Describe the best local concert

experience you’ve had in the lastyear. All of them. I don’t mean to bevague, but I’ve really branched out inthe past year as far as live music goes,and I’ve been saying “yes toeverything.” It has proven to be agreat, fun strategy for me.



1987

520 Main Street, Suite ALongmont, CO 80501

303-772-3200

1987

224 Main St. • 303-682-9980www.JestersTheatre.com

Longmont’sHome Improvement Warehouse

for over 30 years!

303-780 Boston Ave • Longmont

1984

1981The Food Bank for Boulder & Broomfield Counties

650 S. Taylor Ave • Louisville, CO303-652-3663 • Fax 720-864-8020

A Little Giving Goesa Long Way.

In Service tothe Community for 33 Years!

www.communityfoodshare.org

1988

303-772-59191001 2nd AveLongmont, CO

26 years in Business!

1986

19th & Terry

303-651-0719

1987

2919 W. 17th AvenueLongmont, CO 80503

303-772-0300

1983

Keeping Lawns Healthy for Life.303-772-2827

of LongmontPo BoX 1511

Longmont, Co 80502

1987

Steve Moskel, Master Plumber 303-651-1898

Steve’sPlumbingRepair • Remodel

Hot Water Heaters • Service WorkMaintenance • Gas Log Installation

1984

1610 Skyway Dr. • Longmont, CO303-678-7828

Commercial • ResidentialArchitectural • Sheet Metal

1987

1230 Ken Pratt Blvd.303-772-8865

2334 N. Main St.303-485-9206

Firestone:6140 Firestone Blvd. • 303-678-1616

1983

500 Coffman #109 • Longmont(303) 776-EYES (3937)

Terry E. Robinson, M.D.Board Certified Ophthalmologist,

Eye Physician & SurgeonSpecializing in:

Cataract Surgery, Glaucoma, Muscular Degenerationand All Age Related Eye Diseases


Grammy Award winning musician Sally Van Meter poses for a portrait at her home in Lyons.


I t was in a large Victorianhouse in Chico, Calif.,where Lyons musician

Sally Van Meter found hermuse.

Van Meter was inspired bythe 13 other residents, most-ly musicians, living in the“hippie hamlet” where shespent about a year learningto play the 1934 Dobro reso-nator guitar that she pur-chased for $42 from a thriftstore.

“I think what it meant tome when I got my firstDobro was that I felt ground-ed, completely grounded,”Van Meter said.

When she was about 16years old, Van Meter learnedto play the family Martinslide guitar, lap-style.

Her style was inspired byher mother — a former lyricsoprano opera singer whoretired to be a full-time mom— and the mesmerizingsounds of her father’s Hawai-ian trio.

Music is in her genes.“Music chose me,” Van

Meter said. “I wasn’t lookingfor it.”

She learned her firstchords from her neighbor,Fey — a “mountain woman”who lived in a sawmill townwhere Van Meter livedbefore moving to a farm inChico where she spent mostof her childhood.

Fey would sit on her ampand sip on a beer while play-ing a Fender Telecaster withVan Meter.

“It was a natural fit,” VanMeter said. “It was like spiri-tual food.”

Music was a welcomingcommunity for Van Meter,who ended up in her firstband Good Ol’ Persons in1976 when she was 19.

A representative of theband came knocking on thedoor of Van Meter’s Victori-an collective after seeing herperform.

“They wanted me to comedown and play a gig withthem, and in my completenaiveté, I went ‘sure, whynot,’” she said. “I drovedown with about seven of myfriends in a Volkswagen vanand played a gig.”

Eventually, the band invit-ed her to become a member,launching Van Meter’s 40-year music career.

“It was a big change for agirl who went to a one-roomschoolhouse in a muchsmaller town that playedwith goats and sheeps andhorses and that kind of stuffto pack it up and move toSan Francisco,” she said.

But Van Meter jumpedinto her new career headfirst.

Coming out of her shell infront of an audience sevennights a week was scary for

Van Meter, who describesherself as a very private per-son.

It took years for Van Meterto break out of her shell butonce she cracked the sur-face music came pouringout.

“We (musicians) reallyplay music just becausethat’s what you do, that’swhat speaks to you,” shesaid. “For most workingmusicians, music is yourchurch.”

Her career kicked off withan array of studio work andlive performances. Theoffers were plentiful for ayoung, energetic musicianplaying a slide guitar.

Van Meter found odd jobs,like assembly line capo-mak-ing, to fill the financial gapsin her music career. Europe-an tours and a solo albumwere highlights of the nexttwo decades.

In 1994, Van Meter won aGrammy for the Best Blue-grass Album for her work on“The Great Dobro Sessions,”a collaborative album featur-

ing 10 resonator guitar play-ers.

At the time only producersgot a gramophone trophy, soa gold Grammy certificatehangs in a frame with a gold-coated copy of the album inVan Meter’s home office.

Van Meter moved to Colo-rado in 1996 during a searchfor something new.

“I was in a place where Icouldn’t connect any-more,” she said. “I was rest-less, and I wanted to figureout what else was out there.”

In 1998, Van Meter movedfrom Boulder to a house inLyons — a quaint town witha surprising, positive andwide-open music scene, shesaid.

Van Meter had rediscov-ered the connection shebriefly lost and her creativejuices were flowing again.

One day, Van Meter said,she was “pondering the uni-verse,” when she decided toapply for admission to theUniversity of Colorado.

She was still on the fenceabout attending when shegot her acceptance, whichshe took as a sign pointingto her next step in life.

Five years later, in 2012,then 56-year-old Van Metergraduated with honorsreceiving a bachelor of finearts degree in film produc-tion and studies.

Van Meter has made sev-

eral short films since receiv-ing her degree, including an8-minute film detailing thestruggle of a Lyons familywhose home was destroyedby the September flood.

Van Meter is a member ofthe Lyons Housing Recov-ery Task Force and hasspent much of her time sincethe flood volunteering forrebuilding efforts.

Eventually, she would liketo make a full-length docu-mentary about the flood inLyons, but for now VanMeter continues to lend ahand when she can.

Occasionally Van Meterfinds time to teach music les-sons, record in the studioand write, she said.

In about 1½ years, VanMeter is looking forward tojumping into another filmproject as she heads back toEurope to work on a musicfilm and travel.

Despite the occasionaldetour, Van Meter hasalways found her way backhome; back to the one thingthat sustains her.

“Playing slide guitar is myform of church or ritual thatkeeps me completely uprightin life,” Van Meter said. “Stilldoes. Always will.”

‘Musicchoseme’Saying yes to a gig led to a 40-year career—anda

Grammywin—for this small-towngirlSally Van MeterAge: 58Years in St. Vrain Valley: 15Occupation: Musician,filmmaker, member ofLyons Housing RecoveryTask Force

Story by Whitney Bryen• Photo by Matthew Jonas • Longmont Times-Call


Ana TemuAge: 22

Occupation: Student senator at Metropolitan State University of Denver;intern for Colo. Senator Jessie Ulibarri, DAdams County


What brought you here? What has kept you here? I was born in LosAngeles. I am a firstgeneration citizen in the United States. My motherescaped genocide from the Guatemalan civil war in the late 1980s and raisedme to be a strong, independent and accepting woman. HIV threatened mymother’s life when I was 4; we left California seeking a better life in Colorado.... Her sister had already been living here for a few years, and that is how shedecided to move to Longmont. Growing up, I’ve loved Longmont and all it has to offer.

Why do you find it important to share your immigration story? Before my mother receivedher residency, I saw the struggle she went through to obtain proper medical attention andmedicine. ... My stepfather who works on a farm comes home ... with a lingering stench ofchemical fertilizers. My father, a reformed convict, studying psychology, educating youth on theimportance of not being involved with drugs or violence still has to go through immigration court.... I used to think, “Why don’t they just get in line?” but the truth is, there is no line; there is noform that can be filled out. … Time after time, I’ve learned that people … can relate to my struggleand my comebacks throughout life. Once a common ground is established, I can start to introducethe issue, explain the true problems and how it can be fixed.

What are your personal and career goals in the next 10 years? As of now, I am not sureexactly what I want to be doing 10 years from now. ... I want to help people in anyway they needhelping. My life feels at its fullest when I put myself in a position to help others, whether that’steaching, organizing or being in politics — all I want to do is help.

Rachael TeufelAge: 36Occupation: Owner and sugar artist, Intricate Icings Cake Design, ErieYears in the area: I have lived in Erie, Vista Ridge, for 8 years.What brought you here? What has kept you here? My husband and Imoved to Erie from Connecticut in 2006, due to a job opportunity for him. Welove the small community atmosphere, while still being close to majorattractions and popular destinations in Colorado.

What got you involved in creating cakes as works of art? My passion forcake started as a young girl baking with my mother and grandmother. I was always involved in thearts like painting, drawing and sculpting due to my dad’s influence, too. These two passionsworked quite well together and were a great escape from day job as a physical therapist. Ieventually turned this into my current business.

How could people in other professions and occupations take a more artistic approach totheir products and creations? Should they? I think it all depends on the person and thecompany. Sometimes artistry is warranted and fits well with the product being created. Oftenproducts are more focused on function and leave less room for creativity. Businesses should moldtheir companies into what works best from them and the client they are trying to reach.

Frank TiffAge: 90Occupation: Retired heavy construction equipment operatorYears in St. Vrain Valley: 43, all of them living in Longmont’s Historic EastSide Neighborhood

What brought you here? I moved here because I had work here. I originallycame to Colorado from Kansas, to begin with. Then I lived 10 years inSteamboat.

You’re known for your homemade popcorn balls. How many do youmake? Do you sell them or give them away? I make a bunch of them in thewintertime. I sell a few of them. I have my own recipe. Some are caramelcoated, some coconut, some cinnamon, some cherry. Whenever I go to the cafe, the waitress getsone. Whenever I go to the grocery store, the sacker gets one, the clerk gets one. I’ve madeprobably over a thousand this winter, but I haven’t eaten one yet myself this year.

You’re said to be a familiar fixture in your neighborhood. Do you take walks to visit yourneighbors? I just stay here in my own yard. I do my own yard and garden work. Or I sit on myporch. They walk by and call me by my name, but I don’t always know theirs.

Maria Lily VillagranAge: 55Occupation: Own a homebased childcare center


kept you here? My parents and our familymoved here from Anthony, New Mexico.We were migrant workers. A friend of myfather’s said, “Try out Colorado.” We camehere and stayed. I had three sisters andthree brothers; one brother has passedaway. We grew up here. We just got used to the society here. Igraduated from Niwot High School. My mother Lucia, who’s 89(as of early March), still lives here. I’ve raised four girls here inColorado. I have seven grandchildren, with one more on theway.

What got you into child care? I’d done volunteer work inmy children’s schools when they were young and had tutoredin English as a Second Language programs. A girlfriend who’sbeen in child care for 23 years said, “Why don’t you do it?” Ithought there was a need for it and got my state license in2008.

What’s been most rewarding about operating a childcare center? I’ll be honest with you, sometimes it can be tiring.But the children are my therapy. When a child leaves herehaving learned something, that’s therapy for me. Every day is alearning experience. They don’t learn from me. I learn fromthem. And when a child laughs, they all laugh, and I laugh withthem. If you can’t beat them, join them. And that’s therapy too.I laugh every day. I need that to keep young.

Rebecca N. VincentAge: 18Occupation: Senior at Frederick HighSchool; parttime group leader in the Spark!Discovery Preschool wraparound programand the Legacy Elementary Lion’s Denbefore and afterschool childcare programand summer camp.

Years in St. Vrain Valley: 14 years. Beganpreschool in August 2000 at Prairie RidgeElementary School.

What brought you here? What haskept you here? My family and I moved to the Carbon Valleyarea with the goal of a larger home, and a place to raise afamily. Throughout the years, this has become more than that, ithas become our home. ... I love being here. The people arefriendly, compassionate and hard working.

Why is volunteering in your community so important toyou?A community is what you make it. … It takes great people tomake a great community. When I was a young Girl Scout, I wastaught to always leave behind something that is better than itwas when I arrived. And that’s what I’m doing. I’ve been activein many community organizations, all with the goal of making apositive impact on those around me. I am currently serving asthe chairwoman for the Frederick Youth Commission. I amincredibly proud of the work the Commission has done, ... butparticularly of our Thanksgiving Dinner Box program. This year,the commission with the help of our community provided fullThanksgiving meals for 15 families in need. I think this projectmade as much of an impact on me as we did on the families.

What are your educational and career goals in the next10 years? In the fall, I will be traveling to Fort Hays StateUniversity in Hays, Kansas. I plan to double major in leadershipand marketing, with a minor in business administration. I have apassion for leadership and public speaking. I enjoy teachingpeople and helping them reach for their dreams. Initially, Iwould like to begin my career in the marketing department of alarge corporation with the eventual growth towards corporatetraining.


2001

303-931-9282www.reinholttreecare.org

REINHOLTTREE CARE Inc.

Chris ReinholtOwner

ISA CertifiedArbor

1996

385 Main Street • Longmont , CoChamberlainCoins.com • 303-774-9661

We Buy Gold & Silver!

1991

1533 N. MainLongmont

303-776-3666

Where We Take Better Care of Your Car

1993

510 2nd Ave. • Longmont303-682-9015

www.steves-alignment.com

Steve’S AutoCelebrating21 Years!

2008

1240 Ken Pratt Blvd #1BLongmont, Co 80501

720-494-1589

Come in andreceive FRee

service onyour boots

303-776-3882 • 800-525-3290www.goldenarchives.com

1999

1995

1151 Delaware & Ken Pratt Blvd

303-651-0650

1993

1255 Boston Ave • 303-458-0258lefthandbrewing.com

Left HandBrewingCompany

Wes Parker, Agent603 Kimbark StreetLongmont, CO 80501

Bus: [email protected]

1993

1994

1831 Boston Ave., Suite DLongmont • Boulder • Loveland

2003

1225 Ken Pratt Blvd. #108303-458-1565

www.fourpawsandco.com

Four Paws & Co.

2013

Certified Drug/Alcohol • Domestic ViolenceAnger Management • Individual & Group Therapy

English and Spanish Services1129 Francis Street • 303-772-3853

coloradoliferecovery.com

1996

www.usedbookemporium.net

NEW • USED • SPECIAL ORDERSPaperbacks • Hardbounds • Audio Books

Gift Items • Children’s Books

Monday-Saturday 10am-6pm, Friday 10am-8pm

Parking & rear entranceoff Kimbark, across from library

346 Main St. • Longmont • 303-776-6561



Ron VogelAge: 74

Occupation: Retired United Airlinespilot. I ended up (my career) as a 747captain.

Years in St. Vrain Valley:I was born a few feet from (theTimesCall building, onCoffman and Fourth Avenue,in 1939. And aside from a fewyears living in Europe, postcollege days, I’ve lived inLongmont my whole life.

What brought you here?What kept you here? My grandparentsfirst came here in 1920 (farming firstalong Niwot Road then later east ofLongmont off Colo. Highway 119). I flewthe world with United Airlines as well astraveled the world, but we always likedLongmont, and of course we had ourfamily and friends here. We have themountains and all that we enjoy here inLongmont. And I’m thankful for theairport — I was able to do a lot of flyingout of there, and I still fly out of there.

What year did you begin flyingprofessionally, and what’s changedsince then? I started flying in 1959 incollege, and then all through the ’60s, Iflew out of Longmont, instructing andcharter flying, and I was hired by United

in 1969. What’s changed?Everything changed for theairlines on 9/11 (Sept. 11,2001.) And prior to that wasderegulation — when theyderegulated the airlines andthey became much morecompetitive. ... But to me it’sstill a magical thing, just thewhole environment of airlines.The new technology, it’s still a

magical thing. To get on a 787 atDenver and fly nonstop to Tokyo —that was never heard of before.What are some of the perks of

being a pilot, and what’s yourfavorite destination? The perks arediscounted travel and free travel,depending on which airline you werewith. ... I’ve got bunches of favorites,but if I had to boil it down to one, westill like Hawaii. We still find that to bevery relaxing (although Arizona andEurope are also favorites).

Sarah Allene WiseAge: 90Occupation: Retired professor,taught medical laboratory science atthe universities of Vermont, Utah andNevada; local historian.Years lived here: About 50years, total, in the Erie area.What brought you back

here? What has kept youhere? I’ve lived on a farm inCanfield, two miles west of thecounty line and old Erie. I wentto high school in Erie. I grewup in the house that I now useas the Wise HomesteadMuseum office. When I was a child,Mother and I spent many hours helpingmy grandparents at the homesteadhome, which was next door. I returnedto my childhood home after I retiredfrom the University of Nevada. This iswhere my roots are, and I plan toremain.What was your family’s role Erie

area history? They had a store and a

flour mill in Canfield. My greatgrandfather, O.E. Wise, came fromWisconsin with a sick wife, Ada, andthree children — two boys in their lateteens and a girl, 11. He was ablacksmith and farmer homesteading

land in 1886 and building ahouse in 1872. One boy,William O., was an editor of theErieCanfield paper and alegislator, while the other,J.O.V., was a farmer, cattlemanand an active communityleader. They also becameowners in a coal mine.What should the area be

like for future generations?In the future, Erie will grow slowly butshould retain an element of historicalErie and the “small town” atmosphere. Ihope I can help the younger generationlearn and appreciate the life andhardships of a family that homesteadedin the late 1800s. This, I think, can bedone by maintaining the homesteadfarm home for tours. It is open byappointment. Come visit!

Richard “Wally”WolniewiczAge: 74Occupation: After retiring both froma 24year career in the AirForce followed a 24yearcareer as an aerospaceengineer with LockheedMartin, I’ve become a downtoearth farmer.Years in St. Vrain Valley: 17What brought you here?

What has kept you here?Family ties brought my wife,Gretel, and I here. Gretel’ssister, Elaine Hansen, wasdirector of Colorado’s Space GrantConsortium at CU. She is also coownerof Blue Cloud Farms riding stable.Elaine alerted us that the farm next toBlue Cloud was for sale. Additionally,our son, Richard, earned hisundergraduate, master’s and doctoraldegrees at CU. Rich and his wife,Katherine, have raised four children inGunbarrel. Being close to ourgrandchildren was a definite influencein our decision to move here.What is a memory that sticks out

from your time at the Air ForceAcademy? One of my proudestmoments came at the end of basiccadet training when our class wasaccepted into the Cadet Wing. It

marked the culmination of a coupleof years of hard work applying forand getting an appointment to theacademy. Another great memoryoccurred in March 1964 just before Igraduated. Sight unseen and outof

theblue, I phoned abeautiful young lady andasked for a date. Next thingI knew we’ve been togetherhalf a century with loads ofmemories.

Has farming beenpassed down in yourfamily? If not, what madeyou decided to startfarming in the area? More

specifically, my grandfather, who died10 years before I was born, was ablacksmith and florist in Chicago andmy father was also at times a florist.There was, however, no directpassage of farm experience to me.During my high school years, Iworked three summers on a SouthDakota farm, enjoyed it, and learnedthat farming required much hardwork. At the time the farm next toBlue Cloud became available ... I wasnearing the end of my years ofgainful employment, wasknowledgeable about what I wasgetting into, and felt up to thechallenge. It has been great fun sincethen.

Diane WoodAge: 76Occupation: ArtistYears in St. Vrain Valley: 15What brought you here?

What has kept you here?We first came to Colorado inthe1970s after reading(James) Michener’s book“Centennial.” We fell in lovewith Colorado and cameback several times onvacation. You don’t move2,000 miles unless you aredefinitely sure that you wishto do so.Your bio mentions a switch from

the business world to the art worldafter 40 years. Was there one reasonin which you decided to pursue artfull time, and what was the biggestchallenge in switching to art fieldafter being in the business world forso long? I always had a desire tocreate something artistic. My firstendeavor was the piano and beganlessons at age 10. At one point in mylife I was a single mom andsupplemented my income withcreations with found seed pods,mushrooms, dried flowers on barnwood. I sold these to individuals andalso to a specialty shop in Vermont. I

did a lot of stained glass and reallyloved it. But when I turned 50, Ideveloped arthritis in my neck and allthe pinching and scoring affected myneck to the point where I could notsleep at night. So, I began to think of a

new creative endeavor. I tooka few art classes at adulteducation, but did notearnestly concentrate onpainting until we moved toColorado in 1999 after retiringfrom work. After working 30years for the president andCEO of a high tech company,he passed away and myposition changed drastically.What a joy to paint.

Is there a big difference in the artcommunity in Longmont from thetime you moved here in 1999 andnow? I believe the Longmontcommunity has become more awareof the artistic ability in theircommunity. We have great events thatbring attention to the arts: I try toparticipate in as many of these aspossible. A wonderful favorite event isRhythm on the River. I manage the ArtZone Tent and fill it with local artists.ArtWalks are a great way to introducethe public to the arts. There are moregalleries now in the Longmont areathan when we moved here in 1999.

Kyle ZimmerAge: 20Occupation: CU student,Boulder County Sheriff’s cadetYears in St. Vrain Valley: 15What brought you here?

What has kept you? I movedto the Longmont area with myfamily when I was young. Ihave grown up and spent themajority of my life here, and Ireally like the area.How do you see yourself in 15

years? In 15 years I want to be workingin law enforcement fulltime, ideally inthe Front Range area. I want a career

that really allows me to give back to,and make a positive impact within, thecommunity that I grew up in.

Describe the best day ofyour life so far.While 20 yearsis a significant amount of timeto have been around, I don’tthink that I can narrow themost positive experiences inmy life down to a single day. Ihave had some greatexperiences and met a lot ofgreat people, but I don’t knowthat I can call out any day as

the single best day of my life. I thinkthat there are a lot of great moments inmy life yet to come, and I look forwardto finding them.


MiniMally invasive PRoceduRes.

We understand choices andwant you to choose what is bestfor you. If you are consideringsurgery, call our physician referralcenter, 303.485.3553, to set anappointment with physicianswho perform theseminimallyinvasive surgeries.

LongmontUnitedHospitaL Has tHe tecHnoLogy.it aLso Has tHeCaring ExpEriEnCE.

Robotic assisted surgery.Longmont United Hospital offers the daVinci Si™3D HD Surgical System – a new, less invasive systemresulting in:• Quicker recovery and shorter hospital stays• Less blood loss and risk of infection• Less pain, less scarring• One small incision for gallbladder surgeryHysterectomy • Pelvic Floor ReconstructionProstate Surgery • Gallbladder SurgeryColon Resection • Oophorectomy

For the Knee, Hip or spine.Stryker Navigation, O-arm and Stealth Station 7provide accurate placement of implants. This is the latestadvancements in navigation systems that is unique to theneeds of knee, hip or spine minimally invasive surgery.For all neurosurgery, orthopedic spine and orthopedicphysicians at Longmont United Hospital.

For GeRd or Barrett’s esophagus.• 30-minute outpatient Barrett’s Esophagus procedure(Halo Radio-frequency Ablation)• 30-60 minute GERD procedure (EsophyX)• No incision, quicker recovery• Shorter hospital stayDoctors Grossman, Iqbal & Jensen.

For chronic sinusitis.• 73-minute outpatient procedure (Balloon Sinuplasty™)• Less blood loss and post-operative pain• No overnight hospital stays for most patients• Quicker recovery timeDoctors Carr, Cavanaugh, Schmid

For Heavy Menstrual Bleeding.• 5 to 8-minute outpatient procedure(NovaSure®, Gynecare Thermachoice®)

• No incisionGynecologists at Milestone Medical Group.

Smaller or No Incisions.Faster Recovery.

Learn more: Visit luhcares.org.

Get to know your neighbors 100

Documents

Transcript of Get to know your neighbors 100