larry kendall easy choice for tenth - bizwest...said. “the secret of how this thing works comes...

Larry Kendall easy choice for tenthBravo! Lifetime Achievement award

2B The Northern Colorado Business Report Nov. 9-22, 2007

1998-2007

Larry Kendall’s still-youthful facebelies the decades he spent — along withseveral hundred “shareholders” — build-ing The Group Inc. Real Estate into aregional powerhouse.

But his accomplishments made him aneasy choice as winner of the Bravo! Entre-preneur Lifetime Achievement Award for2007

Kendall was selected through a rigor-ous screening process that included pastwinners, the Bravo! Entrepreneur AwardsCommittee and the Bravo! EntrepreneurSteering Committee. His vision in craft-ing a new type of real estate brokerage,initially to the ridicule, dismay and out-right opposition of others in the industry,demonstrate his entrepreneurial qualities.

You’ll read about Kendall’s persistence,determination, vision and compassion inthis special section, along with profiles ofour other Bravo! Entrepreneur winners.

Bravo! Entrepreneur is a Northern Col-orado Business Report program conductedin partnership with the Fort Collins AreaChamber of Commerce, the GreeleyChamber of Commerce, the LovelandChamber of Commerce, the NorthernColorado Economic Development Corp.and Upstate Colorado Economic Devel-opment.

Presidents of these organizationsappointed business leaders to the AwardsCommittee, whose work was assisted bydozens of past Bravo! Entrepreneur win-ners. This year’s Awards Committeeincluded Tim Dow, Dow Law Firm, FortCollins; Lucille Mantelli, CarestreamHealth, Windsor; Ron Schneider, retiredbanker, Loveland; Marilyn Foster, vicepresident of business development, HomeState Bank, Fort Collins; Kelly Peters, cityof Greeley; Don Churchwell, retired CEO,Home State Bank, Loveland; and BruceWhite, president, Conquest Oil Co., Gree-ley.

They were assisted by past Bravo!Entrepreneur winners, and by students atthe University of Northern ColoradoMonfort College of Business, who judgethe Emerging Entrepreneur award.

Winners of Bravo! Entrepreneurawards are chosen from Fort Collins,Greeley, Loveland and Outlying Commu-nities. Additionally, an Emerging Entre-preneur Award, a Lifetime AchievementAward and a Regional Spirit Award arealso presented.

Here’s a rundown of all Bravo! Entre-preneur winners for 2007:

n Bravo! Entrepreneur LifetimeAchievement Award: Larry Kendall, TheGroup Inc.

n Bravo! Entrepreneur — Fort Collins:Rulon Stacy, Poudre Valley Health System

n Bravo! Entrepreneur — Greeley:Larry Seastrom, New Frontier Bank

n Bravo! Entrepreneur — Loveland:Linda Ligon, Interweave Press

n Bravo! Entrepreneur — OutlyingCommunities: Martin Lind, Water Valley

n Emerging Entrepreneur Award: SteveByers, EnergyLogic Inc.

n Regional Spirit Award: Aims Com-munity College

Thank you to our many event partnersand sponsors, including those chambersof commerce and economic-development

agencies noted above. Thanks to CalderaCreative Services, Mountain Media, Sim-ply Chocolate and to our own Jim Rath,who does such a marvelous job organizingour events.

Lastly, thanks to our many sponsors,including platinum sponsors Bank ofChoice; Ehrhardt, Keefe, Steiner andHottman, and Water Valley. Our receptionsponsor was United Western Bank; ourawards sponsor was CSU Office of Eco-nomic Development; and our dinnersponsor, McWhinney. Gold sponsorsincluded Hewlett-Packard Co., PalmerFlowers and MediaTech Productions.

We also are grateful to our many tablesponsors.

Finally, we hope you enjoy this specialsection on Bravo! Entrepreneur 2007.We’ll see you next year in Greeley!

Reception Sponsor

Dinner Sponsor Awards Sponsor

Gold Sponsors

Corporate Table Sponsors

Agilent Technologies; Aims Community College; Cache Bank & Trust; Centennial Bank; Countrywide HomeLoans; Drahota; Envirotech Services; First Community Bank; First National Bank; Flood & Peterson; FRII; FrontRange Community College; Greeley Stampede; Holland & Hart; Kennedy and Coe; Linden; McKee Medical Cen-ter; New Frontier Bank; North Colorado Medical Center; OpenStage Theatre & Co.; Phelps-Tointon; Poudre Val-

ley Health System; The Group Real Estate Inc.; Two Talents Venture Management; Wells Fargo—Fort Collins

Audio/Visual Coordinator: MediaTech ProductionsFlowers: Palmer Flowers

Event Coordinator: James RathEvent Decor: Caldera Creative Services

Media Sponsors: KUNCEntertainment: Starkey Productions

Platinum Sponsors

Printing Sponsor

NCBR tuxedos provided by

Bravo! Steering CommitteeMaury Dobbie, NCEDC; David May, Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce; Gaye Stockman, Loveland Chamber of Commerce;

Larry Burkhardt, Upstate Colorado Economic Development; Sarah MacQuiddy, Greeley Chamber of Commerce; Chris Wood, NorthernColorado Business Report; Jeff Nuttall, Northern Colorado Business Report; and Jim Rath, Northern Colorado Business Report.

Bravo! Awards CommitteeTim Dow, Dow Law Firm, Fort Collins; Lucille Mantelli, Carestream Health, Windsor; Ron Schneider, retired banker, Loveland;

Marilyn Foster, vice president of business development, Home State Bank, Fort Collins; Kelly Peters, city of Greeley; Don Churchwell, retiredCEO, Home State Bank, Loveland; and Bruce White, president, Conquest Oil Co., Greeley.

Christopher WoodCo-publisher

The Northern Colorado Business ReportThe Wyoming Business Report

Jeff NuttallCo-publisher

The Northern Colorado Business ReportThe Wyoming Business Report

FORT COLLINS — Before Harvey Nes-bitt died in 2000, he recounted in a BusinessReport interview how Larry Kendall hadchanged the course of his career, and hislife.

Nesbitt was not quite a cofounder of TheGroup Inc. Real Estate, the company thatunder Kendall’s leadership became thedominant residential brokerage force in theregion. He had joined the Fort Collins com-pany as a broker in its second year — 1977— when the unorthodox business was justfinding its way in the market.

“It wasn’t always easy, and sometimes itwas pretty rocky,” Nesbitt said. “Everybodywanted to manage. Everybody wanted topick out the color of the stationery, andnobody wanted to sell real estate.”

Nesbitt credited Kendall for keeping thecrew of The Group’s loosely run shiptogether long enough for it to catch thewind.

“A lot of other brokers would not havehad the persistence and determination tomake a noble project like this work,” hesaid. “The secret of how this thing workscomes down to our fearless leader.”

Persistence, determination, vision andcompassion — qualities that Kendall’slongtime associates cite as his most valuablecharacteristics — are also those that ledjudges to select him as the 2007 recipient ofthe Bravo! Entrepreneur Lifetime Achieve-ment Award.

That “noble project” is the pattern ofownership that for decades made TheGroup different from any other residential

real estate brokerage in America. Brokerswho joined the company in that era wereimmediately shareholders — equal owners— under a system of Kendall’s design thatwas unlike any other in the country.

“We were accused of being socialists, oreven communists,” Kendall said. “Somepeople still don’t understand the concept.”

The Group’s distinctions, the character-istics that make it different from any otherreal estate brokerage in the region, make upa long list. For instance, the company wasthe first to put prices on signs in front ofsale properties.

“We were the only industry I can thinkof that offered products for sale to the pub-lic without telling them the prices,” Kendall

said. “If we are, as we want to be, the No. 1source for real estate information in ourmarket, we’ve got to get the informationout. Now, we’re putting prices on all of oursigns.”

Kendall two years ago stepped downfrom his role as chairman of The Group,and while he still closely tracks the day-to-day progress of the company, he spends asmuch time traveling abroad, and on roadtrips to conduct sales and leadership train-ing seminars under the “Ninja Selling”brand.

In fact, over the years brokers by thethousands from throughout the world havemade the pilgrimage to Fort Collins to learnthe Ninja Selling secrets from the master.

“It’s about how to do business but alsoabout how to run your life,” current Groupchairman and longtime Kendall friendChuck McNeal said. “It’s interesting thatlocal people just don’t understand theabsolute cult brand that the Group enjoysnationally. I give most of the credit for thatvision to Larry.”

Susie Ewing, who at the age of 22 beganwork at The Group as the company’s firstreceptionist in 1976, said her long associa-tion with Kendall had paid all manner ofunexpected dividends.

“I basically grew up at The Group,”Ewing said. “There are a lot of people I’veworked with for 25 or more years. But thething I take away from working with Larryfor 31 years is that he is an encourager. Healways encourages you to do more, to bemore. He truly brings out the best in peo-ple.”

Nov. 9-22, 2007 The Northern Colorado Business Report 3B

Kendall steered Group’s ship, rallied its crew

Bravo! recognizes31-year record ofbrokerage founder

Past winners —Lifetime Achievement2006 – B.D. “Pete” Peterson and J. Barney Flood2005 – George Hall, Greeley2004 – Bill Neal and Leo Schuster, Fort Collins and

Loveland2003 - Kathryn Hach-Darrow, Loveland2002 – Bob Tointon, Greeley2001 – Tom Gleason, Fort Collins2000 – Ken Monfort, Greeley1999 – Bob Everitt, Fort Collins1998 – W.D. Farr, Greeley

2007 Bravo! Entrepreneur — Lifetime Achievement

Larry Kendall —The Group Inc.

Courtesy The Group Inc. Real Estate

GROUP THERAPY — In the middle 1970s, The Group Inc.’s ad campaigns played on the brokerage’s often-misunderstood name. This posed photo with founder Kendall promi-nent in the upper right ran under the headline “Group therapy.”

“The secret of howthis thing workscomes down to ourfearless leader.”The late Harvey Nesbitt,longtime brokerThe Group Inc.

Business Report file photo, November 1999


By Kristen [email protected]

After Linda Ligon gave birth to her thirdchild and decided to take some time awayfrom teaching high school students at FortCollins High School, she found she neededsomething to keep her busy.

“I decided I needed a home-based busi-

ness,” she said.With that in mind, she coupled her

knack for crafts with her interest in specialinterest publishing to create a regionalnewsletter focused on weaving. Little didLigon know that the regional craftingnewsletter that she started in 1975 wouldgrow to become a $14 million company tar-geted for venture capital-backed buyout.

Interweave Press operated out of Ligon’sLoveland house for about three years. Itbecame apparent, however, that as thenumber of employees grew so did the needto a business space away from home.

“The more room you have the morethings you decide to do,” she explained.

Interweave soon expanded into new sub-jects — spinning, hand weaving, herbs,needlework. Basically, anything related tocrafts, cooking and gardening was fair gamefor Interweave. As the company expandedits focus in terms of subject, it also expand-ed in terms of medium. Interweave beganpublishing books.

In 2005, Montana publishing entrepre-neur Clay Hall, with backing from Chicagoand New York venture capitalists, purchasedInterweave Press — wrapping into AspireMedia. The terms of the deal were notreleased. The previous year, Interweave hadraked about $14 million in revenue.

Ligon said that the success and size ofthe company is very surprising to her. Shewas equally surprised to learn that she was afinalist for the 2007 Bravo! EntrepreneurAwards in the Loveland category. The busi-ness grew very organically.

2007 Bravo! Entrepreneur — Loveland

Linda Ligon —Interweave Press

FinalistsFinalists for the Loveland Bravo! EntrepreneurAward included:

n Linda Ligon — Interweave Pressn Marcia Sampson — Eldon James Corp. n Craig Harrison — Harrison Resources and

LandNet

Ligon wove success during craft venture’s genesis

See LOVELAND, 15B

“It’s her leadershipthat’s done it. She is aone-of-a-kind person.”Clay Hall, president and CEOAspire Media Inc.

Kristen Tatti, Northern Colorado Business Report

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By Kristen [email protected]

EnergyLogic Inc. principal Steve Byerssaw earlier than most the growing need forsustainable practices.

In 1992, upon completing his service tothe U.S. Air Force, Byers became an internat Georgia-based Southface Energy Insti-tute. The non-profit focuses on providingenvironmental education and outreach.Byers’ time at Southface gave him the expe-rience and tools he needed to start his ownventure.

Byers’ wife, Wynne Maggi, is a Berthoudnative, so the couple decided to settle backinto the small Northern Colorado town tostart EnergySmiths, an energy rating firmwith a focus on consulting with home-builders in the region, in 2001.

The business grew quickly, riding a tidalwave of new residential construction alongthe Front Range. EnergyLogic providesconsultation on methods and tools forreducing energy consumption and overallenvironmental impact. The company’s rev-enues more than doubled in three years,with almost $890,000 in 2006.

Byers found that there was a familiar faceappearing at many of the bids he was tryingto land for EnergySmith. Robby Schwartzowned Denver-based energy ratings firmBuiltWright Inc. The two decided that itwas in the best interest for the companies tojoin forces and in January 2006 the twomerged to become EnergyLogic.

Today, the company operates three

offices and employs 20 people. However,growth going forward is likely to be moremeasured and deliberate. The housing mar-ket has definitely cooled, slowing thegrowth of EnergyLogic’s core business.

“It’s definitely dropped off, but we arecontinuing to grow,” Byers said.

EnergyLogic, the 2007 Bravo! EmergingEntrepreneur, is truly a rising star. The com-pany is preparing to launch several new busi-ness ventures that put it beyond the scope ofconsultant to residential home builders.

The company vision of “a future inwhich all homes have the least possibleimpact on the Earth” may need someadjustment as it offers its expertise to a newclientele.

“We are trying to form a commercial

EnergyLogic rides wave of green building awareness

2007 Bravo! Entrepreneur — Emerging

Steve Byers —EnergyLogic

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See EMERGING, 15BMichael D. Wailes, Northern Colorado Business Report

Bravo! looks backA RETROSPECTIVE LOOK AT PREVIOUS BRAVO! ENTRPRENEURS

By Jessica [email protected]

What Thom Schultz start-ed in 1974 as a single maga-zine for youth ministries hadby 1998 grown into a multi-million dollar business pub-lishing Christian educationalmaterials. That was the yearthat Group Publishingreceived the first Bravo!Entrepreneur Award forLoveland.

Since then, Schultz hascontinued to grow GroupPublishing by finding andfilling the needs of churches.

“We’re in kind of a funnybusiness, because if you viewchurches as a market, thatmarket really is not grow-ing,” he said. “For us, as abusiness that helps churches,we need to keep finding newways to help a stable cus-tomer base.”

Schultz’ answer has beento expand into new areas.Over the past 10 years, Group— in addition to increasingits staff from 200 to 330 anddoubling its office space —has launched a network ofwomen’s clubs operatedwithin churches and acquireda California company calledSimply Youth Ministry.

But by far its largestexpansion has been intochurch management. Groupcreated Church VolunteerCentral, now the largest asso-ciation of volunteer man-agers in the world, andlaunched a Web-based church managementsoftware program. It even provides low-costbackground checks for church volunteers.

“When you stop to think about it, thechurch is the largest user of volunteers in thecountry and in the world,” Schultz said.“There are more people who volunteerthrough their church than any other (group).That’s an art and a science all in its own.”

Group products help teach that sciencewith resources on training, managing andestablishing sound procedures.

When Schultz entered the field, therewas just one non-church association doingsomething similar for volunteer managers,and it has since folded.

“So this is now, for churches, the one andonly place for them to go get professionalhelp with managing volunteers,” he said.

That’s one more church need met.

Schultz still at head of class with Group

Bravo! Entrepreneur, Loveland: ThomSchultz, Group Publishing Inc.Greeley: Darrell McAllister, 1st Choice

BankFort Collins: Kent and Gloria Sampson,

Value Plastics Inc.Outlying Communities: Bill Coleman, Col-

orado Greenhouse Holdings Inc., FortLupton

Lifetime Achievement Award: W.D. Farr,water, cattle and banking pioneer,Greeley

Regional Spirit Award: Hewlett-PackardCo., Fort Collins

1998 WINNERS

Michael D. Wailes, Northern Colorado Business Report

DOING GOOD WORKS — Thom Schultz’s Group Publishing is regularlyvoted one of the best places to work in the region.

By Kate [email protected]

Entrepreneurs know about setbacks.Louis Lucio, who founded The Armadillorestaurant chain, knows all about being anentrepreneur.

He took over his parents’ pool hall, TheArmadillo Club in LaSalle, in 1972, used hisgrandmother’s Mexican recipes to focus onthe dining side of the business, then openedthe Fort Collins location in 1979. Lucio sawhis chain take off, growing to a $20 millionbusiness with 17 units along the FrontRange by the time he was named a Bravo!Entrepreneur in 1999.

Then the growth and the national econ-omy caught up with the company, and itfiled Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November2001.

By 2005, all $8 million owed to creditors,vendors and the Internal Revenue Service hadbeen paid back “100 percent, no discounts,”Lucio said recently. The number of locationshas been trimmed to 10, including restaurantsin Greeley, Fort Collins and Longmont.

Lucio is still president of the company,now known as Armadillo Border Grill &Cantina and headquartered in Northglenn.He said he is focusing his efforts now on“remodeling, reshaping and redistributing”the Armadillo concept to better compete inthe company’s extremely competitive nicheof the restaurant market.

The rising price of gasoline, which trans-

lates into higher prices for food as well asdiscouraging customers from dining out,isn’t helping.

“We have lots of options on the tableright now,” Lucio said. “I’m concentratingon finding the right combination of fast-food concept, franchising, and selling offsome of the parts to a new company.”

That’s another thing entrepreneursunderstand.

“That’s what business is all about –nothing can stay the same,” he said.

Lucio said his main focus is on recruit-ing the right people to take over so he canretire and travel the world. “I don’t want towait until I’m 80.”

Lucio bounces back inentrepreneurial fashion

Bravo! Entrepreneur, Outlying Commu-nities: Louis Lucio, Armadillo, LaSalleGreeley: John Todd, Toddy’sLoveland: Dave Duke, Duke Communica-

tions InternationalFort Collins: Douglas Schatz, Advanced

Energy Industries Inc.Lifetime Achievement Award: Bob Everitt,

Everitt Enterprises, Fort CollinsRegional Spirit Award: Eastman Kodak Co.,

Windsor

1999 WINNERS

Business Report file photo

EXIT STRATEGY — Louis Lucio, founder of the chain of Armadillo restaurants, shown here in 1999 when he wasnamed a Bravo! Entrepreneur, is looking forward to reorganizing the company before he retires.

By Luanne [email protected]

Israel “Izzy” Salazar always dreamed big.When he co-founded TSN Inc. in 1990

with Ted Nelson, it was a three-personoperation delivering janitorial and cleaningsupplies out of an Econoline van.

By 2002, Salazar and TSN had growninto the neighborhood of $100 million insales, and received the Bravo! EntrepreneurAward for outlying communities.

Fast forward to 2004. TSN had 234employees in facilities in both Frederickand Richmond, Ind., delivering anythingand everything that didn’t create income toconvenience and grocery store — cleaningsupplies, paper products, rugs, squeegees,even nacho trays. Salazar held a 72 percentstake in the company, which still countsWal-Mart, Sam’s Club and 45,000 conve-nience stores nationwide among its clients.

That same year, London-based Bunzl Plc,attracted by TSN’s 2003 sales of $130 mil-

lion, made an offer too good to turn down— between $50 million and $100 million.

Salazar — ranked among the 75 wealthi-est Hispanics by Hispanic Business Magazine— retired a year later, but has not been idle.

Along with his son, Jacob, he pursuesreal estate and restaurant ventures throughTSN Investment Group. Benihana atFlatirons Crossing in Broomfield was one ofthe first projects, followed by a restaurant,hotel and condo project in Missouri.

“We will have a pretty diverse portfolio,but real estate will definitely be one of itsmainstays,” Salazar told the Business Reportin 2004.

Salazar’s 19,000-square-foot CherryHills Village mansion is listed at $15.9 mil-lion by Legendary Properties Sotheby’sInternational Realty in Longmont. Knownas The Stone Towers, its long list of ameni-ties includes a chef ’s kitchen with fiveovens, a 1,250-bottle wine room, a two-story atrium/private gym, a 10-seat theaterand guest/nanny’s wing, 33-foot-by-55-foot

custom pool, 20-person hot tub, and built-in water and fire features.

Not bad for a guy with a van.

8B The Northern Colorado Business Report Nov. 9-22, 2007 The Northern Colorado Business Report 9B

By Jane [email protected]

“We are interested in slow, steadygrowth,” said Dean Walker of Walker Man-ufacturing Co. “That’s how we maintaincontrol of the company.”

Slow? Since members of the Walker fami-ly were recognized as Bravo! Entrepreneurs in2000, the Timnath-based company has added100,000 square feet of manufacturing space,more than 40 employees and two additionalmodels of riding mowers to its line.

“Our Model-B was three years in pro-duction,” Walker explained. “It is a non-catching mower designed for the homeowner.”

This fall, the Walkers introduced theSuper-B, a bigger, faster commercial mowerdesigned to compete in a turf-industrymarket dominated by mid-mountmachines.

“Our deck is still in front,” Walker said.“We built 100 of the Super-Bs and havebeen field-testing them this spring andsummer. We are conservative, and until youactually take that step to test your product,you can’t know where the bugs are.”

The Walkers have also seen growth inoverseas markets.

“Having a worldwide presence, in Europeas well as in Australia and New Zealand,gives us some economic stability,” Walkersaid. “If the economy is weak here, it is like-ly to be strong in other parts of the world.”

There is also the matter of spreading outthe risk of drought — no rain, no grass, noneed to mow.

Walker Manufacturing produced its firstprototype riding mower in 1977 with MaxWalker and his wife Margaret at the helm.These days, son Dean is in charge of productdevelopment and manufacturing operationswhile his brother Bob oversees business andmarketing. And year by year, a new genera-tion of Walkers joins the company’s ranks.

“Our parents are now 84 years old,”Dean Walker said. “They still live above theoffice and have a wonderful opportunity tobe still involved in the business.”

Walker Manufacturing still100 percent family-owned

Bravo! Entrepreneur, Outlying Communities: Bob, Max & Dean Walker, Walker Manufacturing Co.,Fort CollinsGreeley: Bill Farr, Centennial Bank of the

WestLoveland: Bill Beierwaltes, Colorado

Memory Systems, Colorado Time Sys-tems, OnStream Inc.

Fort Collins: Kim Jordan & Jeff Lebesch,New Belgium Brewing Co.

Lifetime Achievement Award: Ken Monfort, Greeley

Regional Spirit Award: Greeley Independence Stampede, Greeley

Emerging Entrepreneur Award: Tim Gan,OpenLCR.com, Fort Collins


Spiro Palmer, named Bravo Entrepre-neur for Fort Collins in 2001, is not one tosit back and rest on his laurels — though hecertainly has enough to make for a cushyseat.

In 2005 he was the recipient of the pres-tigious Retail Florist of the Year Awardgiven by the national Wholesale Florist &Supplier Association. Palmer Flowers hasalso been named Best Place to Work andBest Corporate Citizen as well as runner-upfor Small Business of the Year in 2004 by theFort Collins Coloradoan.

So what could he do for an encore? Howabout turning Palmer Properties into a suc-cessful family operation with his sons? AkiPalmer, an agent with Realtec Inc., handlesthe leasing while Jimmy Palmer, a recentgraduate of the construction managementprogram at the University of Denver, over-sees construction projects. Both work thefinancing side as well.

In the last six years Palmer Propertieshas acquired and sold more than 200,000square feet of commercial space, includingthe First Community Bank Plaza on JFKParkway, just east of Palmer Flowers andDesign Center.

Palmer Properties also recently closed onthe historic Avery Block in Old Town FortCollins.

“We’re pretty excited to take the compa-ny to the next level,” Spiro Palmer said. “Wewill do more buildings, more develop-ments, more partnerships. We have a cou-

ple, three things in the pipeline.”Business has been changing in the floral

department as well. Palmer’s Floral School,operated by Spiro’s wife Angela, opened in2001 and offers four 30-hour classes towarda certificate in floral design. The school hasa 90 percent placement rate with studentsworking up and down the Front Range,Spiro Palmer said.

And the floral shop still offers the gor-geous arrangements Palmer Flowers isknown for, but now customers can alsopurchase flowers at wholesale prices.

Palmer’s business growsto include development

Salazar: Man with van becomes man with planBravo! Entrepreneur, Outlying Communities: Israel “Izzy” Salazar,TSN Inc., FrederickGreeley: Ruben & Scott Ehrlich, Ehrlich

MotorsLoveland: Jack Devereaux, Home State

BankFort Collins: David & Jim Neenan, The

Neenan Cos.Lifetime Achievement Award: Bob Tointon,

Phelps-Tointon Inc., GreeleyRegional Spirit Award: Long’s Peak Council

of the Boy ScoutsEmerging Entrepreneur Award: Maury

Dobbie, MediaTech Productions, FortCollins

By Erin [email protected]

Erv Weinmeister was out of the office fora month when the Business Report called foran update. The former president of SuperVacuum Manufacturing Co. and winner ofthe 2003 Bravo! Entrepreneur Lovelandaward is now semi-retired, and was spend-ing the month haying on his ranch in theLaramie River Valley.

“He’ll be back down for the winter,” saidhis son and current company president,Roger Weinmeister.

Not long after receiving the award, Ervpassed the company torch to the fourth gen-eration. Roger, his brother Ron Weinmeis-ter, sister Tammy Sorensen, and brother-in-law Bob Sorensen bought the companyfrom Erv, his ex-wife Kathy Weinmeister,and her mother Alma Zeiler. Zeiler’s fatherhad founded the company in the mid-1930s.

Super Vac started out making high-pow-ered ventilators that remove smoke from afire and increase visibility for firefighters.

Later, the company added the manufactureof custom rescue vehicles and robotic com-mand lights to its operations.

The 68-year-old Erv still stays involved,Roger said. He does a lot of research anddevelopment, recently designing a newdepth gauge for chainsaws that firefightersuse to cut open roofs. He also helps make themanufacturing process more efficientthrough changes in product flow, Roger said.

Right now, Super Vac operates out offour buildings on seven acres on East 11thAvenue in Loveland, where it has been amainstay since its founding, plus two rent-ed buildings across the street. But earlierthis year, the company purchased 80 acresin Wellington for expansion some time inthe next five years.

In 2003, Super Vac employed about 100people. Since then, the business has added twodivisions and is up to about 150 employees.

Three years ago, the company added agraphics division that creates custom reflec-tive stripes for police, fire and emergencyrescue vehicles, according to Roger.

Just a year ago, the company startedmaking specialty rescue boats. The water-craft fight fires by activating a diverter valvethat pumps and sprays water from a jet. The

boats can also be made with a landing flap,which allows loading and unloading of afour-wheeler for search and rescue in diffi-cult-to-reach areas, Roger explained.

Even with the growth, Super Vac haskept along the same path.

Erv Weinmeister passes torch to next generationBravo! Entrepreneur, Loveland: ErvinWeinmeister, Super Vacuum Manufacturing Co.Greeley: Tom Roche, Roche Constructors

Inc.Fort Collins: William Ward, Front Range

InternetOutlying Communities: Tom Gray, Gray Oil

Co. Inc., Fort LuptonLifetime Achievement Award: Kathryn

Hach-Darrow, Hach Co., LovelandRegional Spirit Award: The Bohemian

Foundation, Fort CollinsEmerging Entrepreneur Award: Tom and

Kristi Johnson, Bingham Hill CheeseCo., Fort Collins


A growing business population up anddown the Front Range continues to meangood business for Northern ColoradoPaper. In addition to showroom/distribu-tion centers in Greeley — its headquarters— and Pueblo, there are plans for anotherin Denver.

Founded in 1978 by Tim and SallyWarde, recipients of the 2004 Bravo! Entre-preneur Award for Greeley, Northern Col-orado Paper supplies businesses through-out the region — and the nation — witheverything from toilet tissue and trashcanliners to food service packaging and clean-ing supplies. They handle more than 10,000items, to be exact.

The Wardes are still hard at work grow-ing their business. “We’ve been shooting forand achieving 10 percent growth per year,”said Tim Warde. Those mathematicallyinclined will quickly discern that means

NCP doubles its sales volume every 10 years.Increasing fuel costs, however, have

thrown a monkey wrench into operations,albeit one with a solution. Frequent deliver-ies in and around Denver — and associatedfillups at the fuel pump — has Wardeactively looking for warehouse space in themetro area.

“We’ve got a plan to have this happen inthe next year,” he said.

High fuel prices aside, it makes sense tohave a Denver distribution center to servethe growing metro clientele.

“This whole area is growing and Center-ra/Loveland has just exploded. That’s goodfor business,” Warde said.

So good, in fact, that he has added threesales reps in the last couple years.

Warde also has taken a lead role in pro-viding green products to his customers.

“It’s getting bigger and bigger. It’s the futureand we want to stay on top of it,” he said.

The Wardes continue to be active com-munity participants and donors to organi-

zations including United Way, the Universi-ty of Northern Colorado, Colorado StateUniversity and Boy Scouts.

Wardes ride wave of futureBravo! Entrepreneur, Greeley: Tim andSally Warde, Northern Colorado PaperInc.Loveland: Mark Burke, Burke Cleaners and

Mister Neat’s FormalwearFort Collins: David Bethune, Atrix Laborato-

ries Inc.Outlying Communities: Mark Hopkins, Peak

Industries Inc., Frederick Lifetime Achievement Award:Bill Neal, Wheeler Commercial Property

Services, Inc., Fort CollinsLeo Schuster, Progressive Living Struc-

tures, LovelandRegional Spirit Award: Monfort Family

FoundationEmerging Entrepreneur Award: Bruce Gold-

en, Bernard E. Rollin & Ralph V. SwitzerJr., Optibrand Ltd. LLC, Fort Collins

Bravo! Entrepreneur, Fort Collins:Spiro Palmer, Palmer GardensGreeley: Jerry Morgensen, Hensel Phelps

Construction Co.Loveland: Chad & Troy McWhinney,

McWhinney EnterprisesOutlying Communities: Joe & Bob Raith,

Morning Fresh Farms, PlattevilleLifetime Achievement Award: Tom

Gleason, First National Bank, FortCollins & Loveland

Regional Spirit Award: State Farm Insurance Co., Greeley

Emerging Entrepreneur Award: JeffWhitham, Encorp Inc., Windsor

2000 WINNERS 2001 WINNERS

2002 WINNERS

2003 WINNERS

2004 WINNERS


LAWN ORDER GUYS — The Walker family, from left to right, Bob, Max and Dean, shown here in 2000, still ownand run the business founded by Max and his wife Martha in 1977. In 2006 Walker employees celebrated produc-tion of their 100,000th mower deck.


FLOWER POWER — Spiro Palmer has grown his business from a modest flower shop to a Northern Coloradodevelopment powerhouse in the few years since he was named Bravo! Entrepreneur Fort Collins in 2001.


SUPER MAN — Erv Weinmeister, shown here in 2003 atthe Super Vacuum Manufacturing Co. facility in Love-land, is now semi-retired.

Courtesy Tim and Sally Warde

FAMILY BUSINESS — Tim and Sally Warde, as theyappeared for the 2004 Bravo! Entrepreneur Awards,are still hard at work growing their business, NorthernColorado Paper, which provides a variety of productsto customers nationwide.

Bravo! looks backA RETROSPECTIVE LOOK AT PREVIOUS BRAVO! ENTREPRENEURS

Business Report file photoREAL ESTATE MOGUL — Izzy Slazar has become anactive real estate investor since retiring from his firm,TSN Inc., in 2004.

Nov. 9-22, 2007


By Jessica [email protected]

In 2005, Northern Colorado’s two maineconomic development organizationsdecided to take a break from competingover business prospects and try workingtogether instead.

Last October, Larimer County’s North-ern Colorado Economic DevelopmentCorp. and Weld County’s Upstate ColoradoEconomic Development jointly debuted anew brand called Premier Colorado at abusiness-recruiting trip to Atlanta. Thatsuccessful premier — and the vision thatinspired it — resulted in Premier Coloradoreceiving the Bravo! Entrepreneur RegionalSpirit Award in 2006.

One year later, Premier Colorado andthe philosophy behind it are still goingstrong. Larry Burkhardt, president ofUpstate Colorado, says the two organiza-tions are now collaborating with the state,as well as the cities of Greeley, Loveland andFort Collins, the work-force developmentorganizations of Weld and Larimer coun-ties, and Colorado State University and theUniversity of Northern Colorado to pro-duce an underemployment study for theregion.

“This will give us a better understandingof the underemployment situationthroughout our labor shed,” he said. “Ascompanies look to an area for a potentialsite for relocation and expansion, they don’tlook at labor from a jurisdictional point ofview. So, if we stopped at the Weld Countyline, that’s an artificial picture of what thelabor potential is for area employers.”

The economic development entities arealso cooperating as part of the clean-energy

cluster that markets to and provides com-mercialization support for the emergingclean-energy industry.

“Again, we are part of a larger group ofpublic and private sector partners there toadvance the Premier Colorado area,”Burkhardt said.

Meanwhile, he and Maury Dobbie,chairwoman of the NCEDC, have starteddiscussing how they can work together onwork-force development issues.

“There’s every reason to be regional inour scope,” Burkhardt said. “It’s to both ofour advantages.”

Premier Colorado continuesworking together for NoCo

Regional Spirit Award: LarryBurkhardt and Maury Dobbie, PremierColorado (NCEDC and Upstate Colorado Economic Development partnership)

Greeley: Roger Knoph, Envirotech ServicesInc.

Loveland: Susan Jessup, Sylvan DaleGuest Ranch

Fort Collins: Terry Drahota, Drahota Com-mercial LLC

Outlying Communities: Andy and BobBrown, Harsh International Inc.

Lifetime Achievement Award: D.B. “Pete”Peterson and J. Barney Flood, Flood &Peterson Insurance

Emerging Entrepreneur Award: KevinBrinkman, Brinkman Partners


Jerry Donnan, 2005recipient of the Bravo!Entrepreneur Award forLoveland, said he’s busiernow in retirement thanwhen he was chairman andCEO of the mortgage creditservices firm he co-foundedin 1985 with his wife, Mar-cia.

Begun as Factual DataCorp., the firm wasrenamed Kroll FactualData in 2003 when KrollInc., a leading risk con-sulting company, acquiredit for $115 million. Don-nan stayed on board untilthe end of that year, leav-ing his sons, James andRuss, in charge as presi-dent and IT directorrespectively.

In 2004, Marsh &McLennan Cos. Inc., a glob-al advice and solutionsprovider in risk, strategyand human capital,acquired Kroll Inc. as partof a $1.9 billion all-cashtransaction.

Donnan, however, hasn’tbeen spending retirementin a rocking chair. He andhis wife formed the Don-nan Charitable Foundation,which supports the needs ofchildren, including ProjectSelf-Sufficiency and Boysand Girls Clubs.

He’s put his experience towork as an angel — investor,that is — through Donnan Ltd., whichinvests in startup and existing companies.Donnan Ltd. also is involved in commercialprojects, including an office building atCenterra, though Donnan chose not toelaborate further.

And he is having “a couple”hangars/office buildings built at the FortCollins-Loveland Airport to house his pri-vate aircraft, a Cirrus SR 22 and a new lightjet still on order. He plans to lease the officespace.

Donnan often is in the pilot’s seat whenhe and his wife opt to get away for a fewdays or a few weeks. They’ve enjoyed a two-week Alaskan cruise and often scoot over toSan Diego and Las Vegas for a change ofpace.

But there’s something about that day-to-day work grind, Donnan said wistfully. “Imiss it.”

Donnan turns into angel in life after Factual Data

Bravo! Entrepreneur, Loveland: JerryDonnan, Kroll Factual Data Inc.Greeley: Mark Kendall, Kendall Printing Co.Fort Collins: Lori Schlotter, Colorado Cus-

tomWare Inc.Outlying Communities: Tom Baur and Garry

Gorsuch, Meadowlark OpticsLifetime Achievement Award: George Hall,

Hall-Irwin Corp.Regional Spirit Award: Kim Jordan and

Jeff Lebesch, New Belgium BrewingCo.

Emerging Entrepreneur Award: Paul andNenita Pelligrino, NitaCrisp Crackers

2005 WINNERS

2006 WINNERS


ONWARD AND UPWARD — Jerry Donnan, shown here in 2003, sold thecompany he founded, Factual Data Corp., but is as busy as ever in “retire-ment.”

Tom Hacker, Northern Colorado Business Report

WORKING TOGETHER — Larry Burkhardt, president and CEO of Upstate Colorado Economic Development, andMaury Dobbie, president and CEO of Northern Colorado Economic Development Corp., shown here addressing theFront Range Economic Update at Bixpo 2007 in September, continue to market Northern Colorado as a region.

Bravo! looks backA RETROSPECTIVE LOOK AT PREVIOUS BRAVO! ENTREPRENEURS


By Tom [email protected]

WINDSOR — In the 1960s and ’70s,Karla and Ted Lind watched parts of theplan for Water Valley hatch in conversa-tions around the dinner table at their farm-house south of Windsor.

“Martin was always, always trying tocome up with some other way to use thisground other than farming it,” Karla Lindsaid of her precocious son.“He had all sortsof ideas, none of them having anything todo with farming.”

Three decades later, Water Valley isregarded both locally and outside the regionas one of the most carefully planned mixed-use developments anywhere in Colorado.

It is also part of what makes Lind the2007 Bravo! Entrepreneur Award winnerfor outlying communities.

“She’s right,” Lind said about his mother.“I wanted to do anything but go back andforth with a tractor. We thought about fishfarms. We talked about apple orchards.”

Through the 1980s, Lind watched otherland developers at work, building tractneighborhoods on Weld County farmground. He took lessons from each. Over

FinalistsFinalists for the Outlying Communities Bravo!Entrepreneur Awards included:

n Martin Lind — Water Valleyn Nick & Karen Sekich — Sekich Co. n Karrol Steeves — Comfort Keepers

2007 Bravo! Entrepreneur — Outlying communities

Martin Lind —Water Valley

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Water Valley gem part of Martin Lind’s legacyQuarry moonscapetransformed withinjust single decade

Tom Hacker, Northern Colorado Business Report

By Noah [email protected]

GREELEY – When Aims CommunityCollege was founded in 1967, it started witha promise to provide an affordable educa-tion to students in central Weld County.

Little has changed in 40 years except forAims’ growing commitment to studentsthroughout Northern Colorado as opposedto just Weld County.

Aims has kept its promise of affordableeducation and made it easier for students totake classes by opening new campuses inFort Lupton and Loveland. The college alsokeeps a close watch on what’s happeningaround the area in terms of communitygrowth and employment.

“We concentrate on a regional approachwithin a 50-mile radius,” said Marsi Liddell,president of Aims Community College.

What this means for students is moreconvenient locations and a curriculum that

reflects and supports the employmenttrends in the region.

For its commitment to providing afford-able training courses to students and a reli-able pool of educated workers for NorthernColorado businesses Aims CommunityCollege is the recipient of the Northern Col-orado Business Report’s Regional SpiritAward 2007.

In response to the growing shortage ofnurses throughout the United States, Aimsadministrators talked to local hospitals todetermine labor needs and made sure thenursing courses Aims offers match up withthe needs at area hospitals.

“We try to be proactive instead of reac-tive,” said Liddell.

That proactive approach has its benefits.Students now have a choice of over 120 pro-grams and 2,000 courses, and Aims is justone of two community colleges in the statethat grew in enrollment, including a smallbut still growing enrollment of internation-al students taking online coursework.

“I think programs that are attractive tostudents will bring students in,” said Liddell.

Having the second lowest tuition for acommunity college in the state probablyhelps, too.

Full classes and a full curriculum do notmean Aims is without struggle. With just 19cents for every education dollar going tocommunity colleges there is the challenge ofhaving enough resources to accommodatethe demand by students, Liddell said. Fund-ing shortfalls have led to a waiting list ofmultiple years for some programs.

To address this issue Aims has securedland for a new campus along the Inter-state-25 corridor in Berthoud. Expected to

open in three to five years, the new campuswill serve the Johnstown, Milliken,Berthoud, Mead and Loveland communi-ties. Aims also is looking to add classes that

would let students work with fuel-cell andhybrid vehicle technologies – classes withimpacts well beyond Northern Colorado’sboundaries.

AIMS: A community college with community in mind12B The Northern Colorado Business Report Nov. 9-22, 2007

2007 Bravo! Entrepreneur — Regional Spirit

AIMS CommunityCollege — Marsi Liddell

Past winners — Regional Spirit2006 Premier Colorado, Fort Collins2005 New Belgium Brewing, Fort Collins2004 Monfort Family Foundation, Eaton2003 The Bohemian Foundation, Fort Collins2002 Long’s Peak Council of the Boy Scouts2001 State Farm Insurance Co., Greeley/Evans2000 Greeley Independence Stampede,

Greeley1999 Eastman Kodak Co. (Kodak Colorado

Division), Windsor1998 Hewlett Packard Co., Fort Collins

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“I think programs that are attractive to students will bring students in.”Marsi Liddell, presidentAims Community College

Michael D. Wailes, Northern Colorado Business Report


By Kate [email protected]

GREELEY – As the Northern ColoradoBusiness Report staff was preparing for thevery first Bravo! Entrepreneur Awards in1998, Larry Seastrom was preparing anapplication for a brand-new bank in Greeley.

It was to be called Rocky MountainBank, but when the charter came before theColorado Division of Banking, that hadbeen changed to New Frontier Bank.Bankers at some of the 22 other Greeleyinstitutions predicted Seastrom, his 180investors and seven employees would have ahard time attracting customers, even with$6 million capitalization.

Then the market boomed along with thestate economy, national banks bought up anumber of local competitors, and NewFrontier appeared for the first time on the ’sMercury 100 list of the region’s fastestgrowing companies in 2001. Its revenuesgrew 242 percent between 1999 and 2000and its employees to 49.

Now the latest figures from the FederalDeposit Insurance Corp. show that, as ofJune 30, New Frontier’s three branches heldthe largest share of the deposit market inLarimer and Weld counties — $1.36 billion— up 75 percent over 2006.

For presiding over this phenomenalgrowth, Seastrom has been named theBravo! Entrepreneur for Greeley this year.How did he do it?

“It’s no secret,” Seastrom said. “Hiregreat people who work hard and are dedi-cated to great customer service.”

It helps to bring experience to the table.Seastrom was a 17-year veteran of the bank-ing industry when he started New Frontier.He moved to Colorado from Kansas in 1981

to work at the Bank of Colorado (then Bankof Windsor), then Union Colony Bank, fol-lowed by the Bank of Greeley and finallyEaton Bank, where he helped establish thebranch on 47th Avenue.

It also helps to have a diverse loan portfo-lio, Seastrom said. With 45 percent of itsloans in agriculture, 30 percent in real estate,20 percent in construction and only 5 percentin commercial lending, the bank has recentlybenefited from high commodity prices whileavoiding mortgage-lending turmoil.

But the philosophy that people bankwith people, not brands, is the core of NewFrontier’s success, in Seastrom’s view.

“We have a full-time receptionist in thelobby who greets and welcomes every cus-tomer,” he said. “There are 12 full-time peo-ple answering the phones, and we have noplans to add an automated system. Peoplewant to talk to real people.”

New Frontier also has no plans foradding branches beyond those in Greeley,Windsor and Longmont. Its work force of195 has been remarkably stable, andSeastrom is proud of maintaining an envi-ronment where “everyone is treated exactlythe same.”

“We take our jobs seriously, but we don’ttake ourselves seriously,” he said.

Seastrom takes New Frontier to top of banking list

2007 Bravo! Entrepreneur — Greeley

Larry Seastrom —New Frontier Bank

FinalistsFinalists for the Greeley Bravo! EntrepreneurAwards included:

n Larry Seastrom — New Frontier Bankn Lee and Warren Yoder — Weld County Garagen Mike Ketterling — Ketterling, Butherus, Norton

Engineers

Past winners — Greeley2006 Roger Knoph, Envirotech Services Inc.2005 Mark Kendall, Kendall Printing Co.2004 Tim and Sally Warde, Northern

Colorado Paper Inc.2003 Tom Roche, Roche Constructors Inc.2002 Ruben & Scott Ehrlich, Ehrlich Motors2001 Jerry Morgensen, Hensel Phelps

Construction Co.2000 Bill Farr, Centennial Bank of the West1999 John Todd, Toddy’s1998 Darrell McAllister, 1st Choice Bank

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“Hire great peoplewho work hard and arededicated to greatcustomer service.”Larry Seatrom, president and CEO,New Frontier Bank

Courtesy New Frontier Bank


By Steve [email protected]

FORT COLLINS – For Rulon Stacey – aswith all good leaders — it was a matter ofbeing the right person in the right place atthe right time.

By 1996, Poudre Valley Hospital Systemhad seen a new CEO come and go nearlyevery year for the previous four years.Poised for huge change, PVHS was hungryfor a leader who could put behind its yearsof turmoil and lead it into a brighter future.

The stage was set for the modest manfrom Provo, Utah, to take the reins and getthe horse back on the track.

“I think the board (of directors) in ’96knew the right path (and) sometimes theright path takes some political heat, butthey’ve been very supportive,” said Stacey,president and CEO of PVHS for the last 11years. “I couldn’t have done it without thembut they probably could have done it with-out me.”

Stacey, 47, has been guiding PVHS witha steady hand through enormous growth inemployees, services and facilities, includingthe opening of a brand-new hospital, Med-ical Center of the Rockies, earlier this year.Those accomplishments have earned himthe Northern Colorado Business Report’sBravo! Fort Collins Entrepreneur of theYear Award for 2007.

For Stacey, his years with PVHS havebeen a gratifying professional journey. “Ithas been an extraordinary experience to behere when that all happened,” he said. “Theboard of directors knew what had to hap-pen. (PVHS) was ready to explode and they

gave me the task of leading it.”But it wasn’t just presiding over the addition

of new facilities to the PVHS network. Alongthe way, the hospital system has won awardafter award for its care, competitive prices andservices. Stacey gives credit to a communitythat loves its hospital and vice versa.

2007 Bravo! Entrepreneur — Fort Collins

Rulon Stacey —Poudre ValleyHealth System

FinalistsFinalists for the Fort Collins Bravo! EntrepreneurAward included:

n Rulon Stacey — Poudre Valley Health Systemn David Carson — CBW Automationn Rayno Seasor — Egg & I

Stacey guides PVHS expansion with steady hand

See FORT COLLINS, 15B Courtesy Poudre Valley Health System

“I didn’t follow the conventions,” Ligonsaid. “I didn’t have the business skills or abusiness plan.”

Ligon said the secret to her success wasthat she hired people to do the things shedidn’t know how to do — sales being thefirst. Now, Ligon serves the as creative direc-tor for Interweave, which allows her to gether hands in all of her favorite parts of thepublishing industry — the parts that inspiredher to start Interweave in the first place.

Ligon is quick to usher praises awayfrom herself and onto the Interweave staffand management, but Aspire Media’s Hallfeels that the success of the company reallyoriginates with her.

“It’s her leadership that’s done it,” hesaid. “She is a one-of-a-kind person.”

Hall has been in publishing for morethan 30 years. He knows that Ligon is ashining star in the industry and feels proudto know her and work with her.

“It’s one of the highlights of my career,”he said.

Ligon said that decision to sell to Aspirewas made because the company was in aposition of strength at the time and that

Hall was the right person to sell to. Thecompany’s position has grown under thenew management. Since Aspire acquiredInterweave — it’s first acquisition — it hasclosed on four other major deals in thecrafting publications market. The companynow employs about 140 at its three offices— including about 70 in Loveland.


Past winners — Loveland2006 Susan Jessup, Sylvan Dale Guest

Ranch2005 Jerry Donnan, Kroll Factual Data Inc.2004 Mark Burke, Burke Cleaners and Mister

Neat’s Formalwear2003 Ervin Weinmeister, Super Vacuum

Manufacturing Co.2002 Jack Devereaux, Home State Bank2001 Chad & Troy McWhinney, McWhinney

Enterprises2000 Bill Beierwaltes, Colorado Memory

Systems, Colorado Time Systems,OnStream Inc.

1999 Dave Duke, Duke CommunicationsInternational

1998 Thom Schultz, Group Publishing Inc.

“I think it’s our commitment to thecommunity,” he said. “We are a locallyowned organization so it brings a focus onthe community and we don’t have to sendmoney to other places. It allows us to focuson quality and not money and when you dothat, good things happen.”

Terry McNeal, a broker associate at TheGroup Inc. Real Estate who nominatedStacey along with her fellow associate,Ralph Waldo, said she did so because ofStacey’s commitment to the community.

“He has added much needed stability toa position that was once a revolving door,”

McNeal said. “His commitment to excel-lence is never-ending and has been provenby the numerous awards mentioned in thenomination.”

Those awards include the 1999 Robert S.Hudgens Award from the American Collegeof Healthcre Executives as “Young Health-care Executive of the Year.”

For Stacey, it’s all about helping providePVHS’s 3,200 employees with a great placeto work and help people in need.

“The only reason, honestly, that we’re inbusiness is to promote world-class healthcare,” he said.

LOVELAND, from 4B

FORT COLLINS, from 14B

Past winners — Emerging entrepreneur2006 Kevin Brinkman — Brinkman Partners2005 Paul and Nenita Pelligrino — NitaCrisp

Crackers2004 Bruce Golden — Bernard E. Rollin &

Ralph V. Switzer Jr., Optibrand Ltd. LLC,Fort Collins

2003 Tom and Kristi Johnson — BinghamHill Cheese Co., Fort Collins

2002 Maury Dobbie — MediaTech Productions, Fort Collins

2001 Jeff Whitham — Encorp Inc., Windsor2000 Tim Gan — OpenLCR.com, Fort Collins1999 Eastman Kodak Co., Windsor1998 Hewlett-Packard Co., Fort Collins

division,” Byers said.The company is also looking to expand

its reach into the existing home market. AsByers put it, there are a lot more existinghomes than new ones. The growth intothese new markets means dealing with dif-ferent customers, but that is not a deter-rent. Maggi describes herself and Byers asrisk-takers, and Byers said that not all ofthe company’s ventures have panned out.

“We tried a remote office, and it wentbadly,” Byers said. The “try-and-fail”approach has been a great tool for Energy-Logic, so much so that the company isgrowing its consulting arm by teachingother energy rating firms the tricks of thetrade. Byers said that by consulting withother firms throughout the country, Ener-gyLogic is able to spread its message with-out having to grow geographically.

EMERGING, from 6B

Past winners — Fort Collins2006 Terry Drahota, Drahota Commercial LLC2005 Lori Schlotter, Colorado CustomWare

Inc.2004 David Bethune, Atrix Laboratories Inc.2003 William Ward, Front Range Internet2002 David & Jim Neenan, The Neenan Cos.2001 Spiro Palmer, Palmer Gardens2000 Kim Jordan & Jeff Lebesch,

New Belgium Brewing Co.1999 Douglas Schatz, Advanced Energy

Industries Inc.1998 Kent and Gloria Sampson,

Value Plastics Inc.

[email protected]

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“The only reason, honestly, that we’re in business is to provide world-classhealth care.”Rulon Stacey, president and CEOPoudre Valley Health System

the years a vision for Water Valley, a resi-dential development unlike any other in thevicinity, began to emerge.

It would be something vastly different than“a bunch of streets pushed into a cornfield,” asLind often says about tract development.

“The very word ‘developer’ deserves araised eyebrow,” Lind said. “So many ofthem take shortcuts, and don’t followthrough in a responsible way. The reputa-tion of this industry is marred by the pre-decessors who took the shortcuts.”

Before getting into the land develop-ment business, Lind and his former part-ner, ex-Denver Bronco Steve Watson, gotinto the sand-and-gravel business. PoudreTech Aggregates Inc. rearranged the land-scape of Windsor’s southern flank in a waythat made it the perfect canvas for theartistry that many people say resulted inWater Valley.

Five manmade lakes totaling 300 acres— “my favorite kind of open space,” as Lindsays — wrap around the careful arrange-ment of Pelican Lakes Golf Course and thenearby neighborhoods. Lind and Watsonformed Trollco Inc., the umbrella companyfor development of Water Valley and subse-quent projects.

“He’s very resourceful and very creative,and has always been an innovator,” Watsonsaid about Lind in a 2001 interview. “Forme, it was a real learning experience. It wasexciting.”

The Lind-Watson partnership dissolvedin 2001 with Watson returning to his firstlove, football, as a member of the Broncoscoaching staff. Lind bought out Watson’sinterest, and pursued other endeavors.

Water Valley South, and its Pelican Fallsnine-hole golf addition, took shape. Lind

and partners secured a Central HockeyLeague franchise for the hugely successfulColorado Eagles, a team that consistentlysells out the Budweiser Events Center.

Lind’s far-reaching plans encompassEagle Crossing Business Park, stretchingeastward from The Ranch and the Budweis-er Events Center, and new commercialdevelopment plans for Fort Collins-Love-land Airport’s southern edge.

Lind and his employees are also weath-ering a real estate downturn caused by aregional oversupply “of every product onthe market,” Lind said.

“But anybody who knows me knowsthat I’m the eternal optimist. I’m also arealist,” he said. “This oversupply is going tobe very hard on a lot of people, and it willbe no different for us than anybody else.The only difference is that we have a littlewider wheelbase.”

OUTLYING, from 11BPast winners — Outlying communities2006 Andy and Bob Brown, Harsh

International Inc.2005 Tom Baur and Garry Gorsuch,

Meadowlark Optics2004 Mark Hopkins, Peak Industries Inc.,

Frederick 2003 Tom Gray, Gray Oil Co. Inc., Fort Lupton2002 Israel “Izzy” Salazar, TSN Inc., Frederick2001 Joe & Bob Raith, Morning Fresh Farms,

Platteville2000 Bob, Max & Dean Walker, Walker

Manufacturing Co., Fort Collins1999 Louis Lucio, Armadillo, LaSalle1998 Bill Coleman, Colorado Greenhouse

Holdings Inc., Fort Lupton

larry kendall easy choice for tenth - bizwest...said. “the secret of how this thing works comes...

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