Yearly Archives: 2016

Congratulations, Dwayne Romero (RFL Class of 2000), joins the Aspen Board of Education! Dwayne Romero will join the Aspen Board of Education as the fifth member in the wake of former board treasurer Bob Glah’s midterm resignation. The board came to its decision during a special board meeting Friday morning. On Thursday, the board conducted its final interview with the three prospective candidates during a Q&A panel. During the interview, Romero identified his passion for service and education as his primary motivation for wanting to serve on the school board. A graduate of both the U.S. Military Academy at West Point [...]

Construction firm announces promotion Article date: Mar 29 2016 Sam Meyer has been promoted to vice president of the Grand Junction office for Shaw Construction and will be responsible for the overall leadership and direction of projects in Western Colorado. Meyer previously worked as a project manager and project executive and also managed the Wyoming branch for several years. He brings to his duties experience in commercial and civic projects as well as luxury home and affordable housing construction. He holds a master’s degree in construction management from Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree from Lehigh University. Founded in 1962, Shaw Construction [...]

City Manager Steve Barwick didn’t have to look far to find the next director of the Community Development Department. Barwick announced Tuesday the promotion of long range planner Jessica Garrow, 33, to run the department, which includes the city’s building, historic preservation, and planning and zoning offices. The position attracted 40 applicants, leading to the selection of four finalists. Two of them, however, dropped out, leaving Garrow and Sheryl Bower, director of Community Development Services for the city of Longwood, Florida, as the remaining two candidates. “We were fortunate to have finalists with excellent skills, experience and understanding of resort communities,” [...]

Congratulations, Samuel Baucum (RFL Class of 2015) is now a Principal at Bluegreen. Since joining the studio in 2012, Sam’s detailed expertise and innovative design vision have contributed to the successful realization of numerous projects ranging from a high-end residential garden in Telluride to the successful remodel of Aspen’s Rubey Park Transit Center. From elegant details to technical ingenuity, Sam’s design work has, and continues to blur the boundaries of form, function, and art.

A former Carbondale teacher is embarking on a new adventure in Italy — teaching at a forest preschool. Mary Russell, who taught science at Carbondale Middle School from 2007 to 2011, is now living in Rapallo, Italy, and spends all day outdoors teaching eight children from ages 3-5. “A forest preschool is a school that’s focused in the outdoors,” Russell said. “It’s about connecting children to nature and spending as much time of their school day outdoors as possible. To me, the biggest advantage is helping children develop social skills and confidence.” Forest preschools have been growing in popularity since their [...]

Athena Young Professional Award was handed to active community volunteer and Glenwood native Amber Daniels Wissing. (RFL Class of 2016 Participant) “I don’t know that what I do is all that special, I’m just following in my father’s footsteps and owe a lot of what I learned to him,” Vanderhoof said of his dad, Glenwood Industrial/Independent Bank founder and former mayor Don Vanderhoof. Amber Daniels Wissing recently spearheaded a new nonprofit called Project PACK (Providing a Crisis Kit), which provides backpacks full of basic essentials for children in the community who cannot go home because of violence or other circumstances. “It [...]