2012-08 Lydia's Style Magazine

Style 2012

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Lydia’s STYLE Magazine

Style 2012

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The Voice of Northern Colorado for

28 Years.

s t y le me d ia a n d d e s i g n , i n c .

| 970.226.6400 |

w w w. s t y l e m a g a z i n e c o l o r a d o . c o m w w w. m e d i c a l a n d w e l l n e s s . c o m Publisher Lydia Dody | lydia@stylemedia.com Managing Editor Angeline Grenz angie@stylemedia.com creative director Scott Prosser Senior Designer Lisa Gould digital director Austin Lamb | austin@stylemedia.com Digital/Editorial Assistant Logan Martinez Advertising Sales EXECUTIVES Jon Ainslie (970) 219-9226 Lydia Dody (970) 227-6400 David Knight (970) 619-9846 Saundra Skrove (970) 217-9932 Office Manager/About Town Editor Ina Szwec | ina@stylemedia.com Accounting Manager Karla Vigil Circulation manager Trisha Milton Copy editor Corey Radman Intern Erika Craven Contributing Writers Connie Hein, Heidi Kerr-Schlaefer, Kristin Mastre, Marty Metzger, Corey Radman, Kay Rios, Tracee Sioux, Michelle Venus, Emily Warren PhotographerS Marcus Edwards, Don Hajicek Contributing Photographer Stephen McKinley Affiliations Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce Loveland Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center 2012 Style Magazines January-Northern Colorado Medical & Wellness Magazine and McKee Medical Center & North Colorado Medical Center Physician Directory February-Style March-Northern Colorado Medical & Wellness April-Style May-Northern Colorado Medical & Wellness June-Style July-Northern Colorado Medical & Wellness Magazine and University of Colorado Health Physician Directory August-Style September-Women’s Health & Breast Cancer October-Northern Colorado Medical & Wellness November/December-Holiday Style Style Media and Design, Inc. magazines are free monthly publications direct-mailed to homes and businesses in Northern Colorado. Elsewhere, a one year subscription is $25/year and a two year subscription is $45/year. Free magazines are available at over 236 locations throughout Northern Colorado.

For ad rates, subscription information, change of address, or correspondence, contact: Style Media and Design Inc., 211 W. Myrtle St., Suite 200, Fort Collins, Colorado 80521. Phone (970) 2266400, ext. 208. Fax (970) 226-6427. E-Mail: ina@StyleMedia.com ©2012 Style Media and Design Inc. All rights reserved. The entire contents of Style Magazine are copyrighted and may not be reproduced without the expressed written consent of the publisher.

Style Media and Design Inc. is not responsible for unsolicited material. All manuscripts, artwork, and photography must be accompanied by a SASE. The views and opinions of any contributing writers are not necessarily those of Style Media & Design Inc.

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Lydia’s STYLE Magazine

Style 2012

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Reflection from Uncle Jack Lydia Dody’s recent column in (June 2012) Style Magazine about free enterprise prompted these reflections, and I want to pay tribute to her and her family’s resilience.

They were displaced persons in Germany during World War II, and I was very happy that I and my wife, Irene, Lydia’s aunt, were able to sponsor them to emigrate to the United States.

I get very disturbed about the negative press today about immigrants, because they are the backbone of our country. My own ancestors, both German and English, came to this country in about 1754, and my children, which are half Russian, are just as much a part of American culture as I am.

Lydia and her family and my wife all saw America as the land of opportunity.

Lydia is a good example. She has started several small businesses. Her own grandmother was highborn Russian, but when coming to America, cleaned houses to earn income. Lydia’s mother completed her college education and worked as a registered

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medical technologist to support the family.

It is a tribute to all of them that they worked hard and made such contributions in the United States.

I am highly in favor of legal immigrants.

They have been the backbone of our country.

John R. Glick

Publisher’s Letter Responses Dear Lydia, We have been office neighbors for many years and I have always admired your organization and enjoyed looking at your magazine and keeping it in my reception area for others to see.

When I received the June issue today, I felt compelled to contact you to comment on the Publisher’s Letter concerning your uncle and your personal history (in the June 2012 issue of Lydia’s Style Magazine).

I believe you were given the opportunity to experience the American Dream as a result of your uncle’s sponsorship and your desire to make a difference. I am very happy for you and for your family.

I am saddened that the nation you immigrated to has changed so greatly since then

and I worry about our future. I don’t think the “free enterprise system that entrepreneurship and small business has been nurtured and allowed to flourish” is necessarily still true.

Thank you for sharing your personal story with the community so that we can be reminded of what’s possible in this great country. Best Regards, Chris Davies, Owner/Broker, Choice Plus Insurance, Fort Collins Dear Lydia, I want you to know that I think you did an excellent job on the Publisher’s Letter in the June 2012 issue of Style Magazine. I really enjoyed reading a little about your history and I think it is one of the best letters you have written. I just want you to know that as a compliment from one of your readers.

Judy Ott Advanced Spine Physical Therapy Dear Lydia, When I returned to town, Style Magazine was in my mailbox. I was so impressed with

Lydia’s STYLE Magazine

your Publisher’s Letter and your tribute to your Uncle Jack. What a nice thing you have done. It was such a wonderful letter in reference to this country and what it is all about. I just wanted you to know how much it touched me and that it will be a special part of my day today and this month as well.

My perceptions may have been framed up front, by the beautiful tributes in the Publisher’s Letter to your Uncle Jack, Aunt Irene and especially to the freedoms you have enjoyed in our wonderful country. This set the tone for my reading of the magazine.

And I certainly would characterize this issue as one of your best. Always,

Michael Spain, Loveland John Garnand Hi Lydia, I loved the story about you and your uncle in the June issue! It was so touching and inspiring. Too bad that the people that come into this country now don’t have the same values you and your family did! There would certainly be less trouble if they did.

Hugs to all!

Lydia, I just read the story of how you came to America. I knew you had immigrated but did not know the details. I enjoyed reading it so much. My parents also sponsored a displaced family with us for two years. Thanks for sharing your story.

Sue Jones, Nunn, CO

Angie Swets

Dear Lydia, I just wanted to let you know that I was deeply impressed with your June issue of Style Magazine. Your attention to detail and style of reporting seemed especially well done, and I would rank June as one of your most beautiful creations.

Lydia, Kudos to you on your editorial, “The Blessing of Free Enterprise.” It is very nice insight into your life. Very inspiring! Warmest Regards,

Bicycle Safety Comes First Lydia, Here’s a blast from your past. It’s been a while since we’ve spoken. Being an avid bicyclist I enjoyed the bicycle feature in your latest Style except for one thing (“NoCo Bike to Work Month,” June 2012). The featured bike commuter in the photo on page 26 is not wearing a helmet! Ever since a couple of serious accidents when my helmet literally saved my bacon, I have been a real activist for bike helmet use. Whenever I see a bicycle photo of riders without helmets, I speak up. I hope the next time you feature the wonderful biking in Northern Colorado, you will make sure the photos show helmeted riders.

Oh, and the family in the Home State Bank ad on page 11 could use a little bike education also.

That was a very nice article about Les Kaplan.

Hope all is well with you.

George Hass

Style 2012

Bradford Edgren, DDS, MS Orthodontic Associates of Greeley

we love to hear from readers. send your comments and suggestions to: angie@stylemedia.com P: 970.226.6400, ext.215 | F: 970.226.6427 www.stylemagazinecolorado.com

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on the cover Musician Liz Barnez uses her industry know-how to facilitate artist relations for Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest.

Cover photo by Don Hajicek. Hair

by C&S Workshop. Make-up by She She Nail & Wax Lounge.

features

Style files: what style is raving about this month . 14

northern colorado authors abound . . . . . . . . . 60

women run the show . . . . 22

Family focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

single in noco . . . . . . . . . . . 28

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business after hours: Unwinding in style . . . . . . . 38 meet the models . . . . . . . . . 41 elks organization changes over time . . . . . .

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high impact . . . . . . . . . . . .

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business profile

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corrado executive solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 results are typical . . . . . .18 mindstream yoga . . . . . . . . .19 beyond bookkeeping . . . .

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August 2012 :: STYLE

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special building section alpine gardens . . . . . . . . .

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highcraft builders . . . . .

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lindgren landscaping & irrigation . . . . . . . . . . . .

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eheart interior solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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lifestyle

your healthy, hAPPY home . . . . . . . . . .

PSD Stirs up New Cafeteria Recipes Back to School News Kid Friendly Events in Northern Colorado Feasting Fort Collins: Delicious Discoveries . . . . 66

about town

a photo tour of nonprofit events . . . . . . . . 68 Cultivate Hope Garden Party Weld Relay for Life Debbie Boose Memorial Tennis Tournament Fire Hydrant 5 NCMC Foundation Golf Tournament PS-S Garden Party

community innovators

joan king cultivating the spark within . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

departments

From our readers . . . . . . . . 8

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publisher’s letter . . . . . . .12

www.stylemagazinecolorado.com Lydia’s STYLE Magazine

Style 2012

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Publisher’s Letter

Supporting Northern Colorado This past weekend I visited my Uncle Jack, who together with his late wife, Irene, sponsored my family to the U.S. in 1950. He was so tickled, and his family was brought to tears, hearing about the many calls, emails and letters I have received in response to telling a little about the story in my Publisher’s Letter in the June issue of Style.

My uncle has very strong feelings about the importance of immigrants to this country and I share his letter with you in the From Our Readers section in this magazine. Thanks to each of you for your kind words.

This country, and more specifically, Northern Colorado welcomed my entrepreneurial spirit in 1966 when I opened my first retail store and it is just as welcoming today. Read our Business Profiles to learn about entrepreneurs of today; these are creative people who embraced an idea and made it materialize through hard work and perseverance.

Fall has always been my favorite fashion season and this year fashions are looking great! We selected three busy working women to model fashion looks for fall and photographed them at the new trendy meet up place in Loveland, Generations Wine & Martini Bar. The ladies were great fun and Erin, owner of Generations, was most hospitable! Stop by her place and mention you saw her in Style.

We have seen much tragedy this summer in the devastation from High Park Fire. Through all the tragedy, the innate goodness of mankind surfaced again and again in the fight to put out the flames, and in the massive support that mobilized to help those who lost everything. Read “High Impact” for an overview of the impact to business and an intimate look at several very personal stories.

A huge summer tradition in Northern Colorado is the celebration of Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest. It is because of the support of Pat Stryker and her Bohemian organization that this region has this wonderful familyfriendly, free event. Read “Women Run the Show” to learn about who is behind this festive event and a peek at this year’s performers.

We decided this was the perfect time to launch our new, refreshed look for the Style Magazine you have been reading for 28 years. We hope you enjoy our fresh content, updated design and, of course, our continued commitment to Northern Colorado. Also visit our vibrant and timely websites, www.stylemagazinecolorado.com and www. medicalandwellness.com, for additional features, blogs and a flipbook version of our magazines.

Enjoy your last days of summer – may they be cooler! lydia@stylemedia.com

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Lydia’s STYLE Magazine

Style 2012

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Files Artisanal Coffee Hits Fort Collins Jonathan Jarrow likes his coffee. So much, in fact, that he will serve you a perfect cup: perfectly measured freshly ground beans, perfectly heated and weighed water, the brew lovingly steeped then cooled to just the perfect point where the flavor nuances begin to burst forth. A perfect cup of coffee that needs no embellishments.

Harbinger Coffee is the name of Jarrow’s coffee kiosk, located on the bottom floor of 151 S. College in Downtown Fort Collins. The concept is simple – one great cup of black coffee. Not that harsh, jarring, bitter brew you might be used to; rather a rich, creamy drink that contains herbal or fruit notes depending on which artisanal beans he is featuring that month.

Jarrow, a 2011 North Central Regional Brewers Cup Champion, believes Northern Colorado

experience

is long overdue for artisanal, handcrafted coffee.

His full vision is a coffee shop with all the bells and whistles (though you will still have to request sugar, he says), but for now he will educate coffee drinkers one cup at a time.

Harbinger, 151 S. College, Fort Collins. Open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekends. Closed Tuesdays. www.harbingercoffee.com

hot trend

Anna Poliakon, 24, was spotted at Cira in Old Town Square, July 1. She is wearing a top from Anthropologie, her favorite shorts from Urban Outfitters and Frye boots that she scored from Soul Mates. The simple combination of a three-quartersleeve blouse tucked into high-waisted shorts makes this outfit balanced and versatile. And the boots?

Now, those just make this outfit fabulous!

Interested in more? Visit the NoCo Street Style link on our website at www.stylemagazinecolorado. com and find out who else made the cut.

My name is Emily Warren. I grew up in Northern Colorado and work for a local real estate development company. Seeking a creative refuge from the drab business world, I decided to start NoCo Street Style because I’ve always had an intrinsic passion for fashion. I know as well as anybody that we don’t exactly live in a fashion capital (high-style fashion and Northern Colorado go together about as well as 5-inch heels on a gravel road). Looking for those ‘diamonds in the rough,’ this column will offer a way to recognize superior fashion sense along the Front Range and act as a mode to celebrate it. Women and men of Northern Colorado, put on your best (dressed) behavior. You may be the next feature on NoCo Street Style.

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Dinner on The Farm Grant Family Farm’s Dinner on the Farm series is the ultimate farm-to-table experience. Celebrate the soil while dining al fresco at a communal table with other foodies right on the farm. Each event includes a three-course dinner featuring seasonal local vegetables and local meats, fresh libations, music and fun. Well known local chefs direct the meal and help you explore food at its peak. It doesn’t get any fresher than this, folks.

Dinners are $75 to $85 per ticket; visit www. grantfarms.com to purchase.

August 25, 2012, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

This dinner features Amelia Mouton from Restaurant 415 in Fort Collins and musicians Cary Morin and The Waido Experience.

September 22, 2012, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

This dinner features Chef Greg Soukup from Blue Sage Catering out of Colorado Springs and musicians Matt Skinner and Danielle Ate the Sandwich.

Lydia’s STYLE Magazine

signature event

Bohemian Nights At NewWestFest Lineup

Michael Franti

Alison Krauss & Union Station

Gipsy Kings

Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest starts on Friday, August 10 at 5 p.m. and ends Sunday evening. In addition to local talent, this year’s headliners are some of the most well-known and well-loved names in music.

The Friday night lineup is bigger than ever with nine bands taking the stage throughout the early evening. The headliner is Michael Franti & Spearhead on Mountain Avenue at 8:30 p.m. With their unique blend of reggae, rock and soul, the band is expected to pack Downtown. In anticipation of large crowds, the show will be simulcast on Linden Street and in Library Park.

On Saturday evening at 8:30 p.m., Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas will take the stage. Krauss is the winner of an unprecedented 26 Grammy Awards, and the country, folk and bluegrass-inspired band is visiting Fort Collins as part of its 2012 “Paper Airplanes” tour.

The Gipsy Kings will close out this phenomenal weekend of music on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. Their smooth, pop-oriented flamenco music is loved around the world.

All headliner acts will play the Mountain Avenue stage with Friday and Saturday evening performances simulcast on multiple screens.

For a complete lineup of the 90 plus bands playing Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest go to www.BohemianNights. org. Or read more about the festival and its organizers on page 22 of this magazine.

must have

Alex & Ani Bangles

Whether you prefer beaded, charmed or themed, Alex and Ani bangles come

on the

web now Be sure to visit our website to read these exciting additional features. Check out the full story via our webpage, www.stylemagazinecolorado.com.

Vines Vintage Market and The Shops at Plum Creek

by Logan Martinez This store is part treasure hunt and part Zen experience. Walk through the more than 64 shops-within-a-shop and soak up the vintage, antique and eclectic design ideas to incorporate in your own home. And grab a cup of coffee while you are at it.

Honeybees and their Colorado Bounty

by Heidi Kerr-Schlaefer The future of bees in Colorado is unknown.

It’s a perilous time for those who keep and raise these honey-providing insects. Learn the status of the honeybee in Colorado, and get a sneak peek behind the scenes at a local meadery where the owners use honey from their own bees.

in every style imaginable. These bangles are the accessory of the moment: made of Russian gold and silver, adjustable and eco-friendly. Stop by Maximum Boutique to check out the fabulous styles with a meaningful message. Prices vary from $21 to $98.

Style 2012

Bartering in Northern Colorado

by Angeline Grenz Bartering is the age-old practice of exchanging a good or service without using the medium of money. It is a tradition still alive in Northern Colorado and its simplicity and direct concept is garnering fans among local businesses. Is bartering an option for you?

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Business Profile

Corrado Executive Solutions Helping CEOs to Excel

By Tracee Sioux

A successful CEO holds the company vision, creates the culture, motivates and inspires the team and delegates responsibility to the experts they hire. If one of these elements is missing, the company cannot reach its highest potential.

Cheri Corrado, a CEO herself, knows how to help corporate leaders reach that potential.

Corrado is CEO of Corrado Executive Solutions, and she helps leaders increase profits and build success with her 360-degree in-depth analysis of the entire company. Corrado identifies missing elements and coaches CEOs to better step into their leadership roles to create a company equipped to play at the highest levels.

Corrado’s exclusive coaching service includes a full assessment of every aspect of a company.

Corrado limits her client list to only 10 companies at a time, allowing her to fully focus on each company, providing them a thorough assessment and a comprehensive improvement plan.

Corrado works with a company for two years. The first few months are spent examining where a company can improve. Following this process, a step-by-step plan is developed and best strategies are determined. Knowing that initial change is hard but consistently sustaining change is even harder, Corrado stays with the company and CEO, adjusting the plan as needed and helping everyone in the organization stay on track. Real change, a significant level of increased performance and company

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success can be demonstrated within two years of Corrado’s tutelage.

Transformative Tools

Leadership comes from the top, Corrado knows, and too often CEOs are lacking the tools, knowledge and resources to really soar. CEOs don’t go to “CEO School,” they work their way up through one ladder of the company or industry: finance, sales or business development. Often CEOs don’t have experience in the other areas where they are expected to lead. Corrado helps them remedy this and other problems, pointing out where problems are coming from and how to fix them.

One of the most common mistakes CEOs make, according to Corrado, is to neglect creating a vision for the company. Or they may carry a vision, but don’t adequately communicate it to their management and staff. This leaves everyone adrift, not knowing what the goal is, grasping for an understanding about where the company is going. A company vision, Corrado notes, is different than a mission. A company mission is external, an explanation of the company’s values and intentions for their clients and customers. A vision is an internal motivator, meant to inspire the

entire team to move in the same direction and achieve the CEO’s high expectations.

Corrado assists CEOs in exploring their values, goals, intention, mission and corporate culture to define an inspiring and motivational vision. She then helps them to convey the vision to management and employees and encourage them to buy into it and feel they have a stake in the success of the company.

The transformative coaching process includes interviewing employees, discovering issues on the ground floor that CEOs are often not aware of.

Corrado, as an objective party, can see how even one unmotivated employee can undermine morale for the whole team, making other employees resentful of being held to different expectations.

Many times when the CEO corrects the problem, guided by Corrado in effective strategies, the same unhappy people become the CEOs biggest supporters.

“The process starts to pull people together,” says Corrado. “The same people who didn’t believe in the leader and were very negative about the CEO, now support the CEO. It cleans the slate.”

One issue that can cripple a company is hiring the wrong people for a job. One of Corrado’s Lydia’s STYLE Magazine

extensive organizational development tools is a behavioral assessment.

But, “behavioral assessments are often misused,” Corrado warns. “This tool should always leave people feeling more aware of their inherent gifts and unique talents. It should never make them feel like they are lacking value.”

During one behavioral assessment on a business owner who had described himself as a “lazy underachiever,” Corrado realized he wasn’t lazy at all. He was simply forcing himself to be an outgoing salesperson when his natural gifts were in organization and details. He was actually brilliant – able to organize at a very high level, at a very fast speed and quite detail oriented. He wasn’t naturally social, as he believed he should be in his sales position. Though he was practiced at compensating for it, socializing left him depleted rather than energized. He was what Corrado refers to as socially selective, meaning he needed downtime and solitude to maximize his productivity.

“You’re not lazy or underachieving,” Corrado informed him. “You’re exhausted from trying to be someone else.”

Corrado doesn’t believe the answer is to eliminate employees. She does, however, understand that redefining job descriptions and occasionally shifting responsibilities can often maximize a company’s performance. When companies shift people’s job descriptions to fit their unique qualities, skills and talents the company becomes more successful and cohesive.

Though Corrado works most closely with the CEO, she also works with the management team, developing a comprehensive strategy to determine what happens next and which steps will be most effective in achieving goals.

Hired Herself Out of a Job

An equally important factor in why she keeps her client list exclusive is so that she can walk her talk and create balance in her own life.

Many CEOs live a life similar to Corrado’s former life: working 90 hours a week, doing five full-time jobs because she couldn’t find the right people to fill those positions, leaving little time for family and relaxation. Corrado now focuses on coaching CEOs and company managers in how to find the right employees for the right jobs, people who can do those jobs much better than they can, so everyone can achieve a healthy balance in their lives.

Corrado, part-owner of the Virginia Keller Williams Realty franchise, got so good at hiring fantastic people to work for her that she hired herself right out of a job, allowing her to relocate to Colorado and begin Corrado Executive Solutions.

But the road wasn’t easy. Corrado and her partners started their company with one office in 1995 and slowly grew to 6 offices. But growth was often a painful process.

“I couldn’t find the right people, so when someone left I would just step in and do their job,” says Corrado. “I was doing five full-time jobs and one part-time job.”

The company hired Corporate Consulting in 2004 to help strategize faster growth. Using the tools and processes she is now trained in, the company grew to over 20 offices and Corrado was finally able to take back her life.

Her experience was a quality-of-life mistake Style 2012

made by many CEOs (spouses and children will agree) when they step out of a leadership role and into a sales role, or a finance role, when what the company really needs is someone to lead it.

Corrado found the tools and resources of corporate coaching so beneficial that she wanted to pay it forward for other CEOs. She trained under the same corporate coach who helped her turn her life around and now uses these highly effective tools to help other companies achieve maximum profit and use their human resources to its best benefit.

“My life was transformed; I now have a happy and relaxing life. I started coaching so I could do for others what my coach did for me,” Corrado says. “What I had was a stressful, overworked life.”

When Corrado found that her life was no longer so stressful, she came to Colorado visiting friends. Returning back home to the chaotic, densely populated D.C. beltway, she realized her life was no longer congruent with her environment. She couldn’t shake the thought of moving to Colorado for a more peaceful lifestyle. A year ago she did just that. She is still a partner in the real estate company in Virginia and carries the title, chief financial officer, but the accountant she hired does her job so well that Corrado’s actual responsibilities are minimal.

Corrado’s Five Tips for Organizational Development 1. It all comes down to people. Whether it’s the wrong people in the job or the leadership, if something is out of alignment, it’s about the people.

2. Vision is key. Many CEOs lack a vision for their company or they fail to convey their vision inspirationally to their employees. A vision motivates and inspires from the top.

3. CEOs lead. CEOs should hire the best salespeople, accountants and managers. They should not step into these roles and out of their leadership roles.

4. Hire the right people. When people force themselves into any position, without consideration for their natural gifts, it’s not beneficial for them or the company. Put people in roles that play their gifts to their best advantage.

5. Train people. CEOs and managers often don’t provide enough training, assuming, for instance, that if they were in sales at another company they’ll be able to sell the new product too. Acclimate people to the brand and company culture while training them adequately.

For more information about Corrado Executive Solutions visit: www.corradoexecutivesolutions.com or call (970) 364-6064.

Tracee Sioux is a Northern Colorado writer and author of Love Distortion: Belle, Battered Codependent and Other Love Stories. She can be found at www.twitter.com/traceesioux and www.thegirlrevolution.com.

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Business Profile

Maria Boldry’s family has benefited from Results Are Typical’s weight reduction programs. Today, the family works together at their Greeley wellness center: Steven Boldry, Maria, Kayla Boldry and Aaron Crouse.

Supporting weight loss

By Connie Hein

If your dog came to you with a leash in his mouth, wouldn’t you naturally assume he wanted a walk? If he brought his empty water dish and dropped it in your lap, wouldn’t you assume he was thirsty? Why don’t we pay as much attention to our body’s needs as we do our pets’?

Maria Boldry, owner of Results Are Typical Wellness Center in Greeley, says our bodies are talking to us all the time and we owe it to ourselves to listen. This philosophy is a key part of the success of her new Balancing Blend weight reduction program.

Boldry built her successful business around helping people lose weight using Dr. A.T.W. Simeons’ 500-calorie diet protocol and homeopathic Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG).

In early December 2011 the FDA sent letters

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stating non-compliance to seven hCG companies regarding the sale of products containing hCG, as well as their promotion of extremely low calorie diets.

According to Boldry, the intent of the ruling by the FDA was to convey that homeopathic hCG is not listed in the Pharmacopeia, which lists homeopathic drugs. Therefore, in the eyes of the FDA, homeopathic hCG is not a legal substance. They also ruled that non-medical facilities cannot recommend the extremely low

calorie diet which accompanies the hCG protocol. In addition, the FDA does not acknowledge hCG as a weight loss supplement; therefore, any person selling or recommending any form of hCG in conjunction with a specific eating program to lose weight is not in compliance with the FDA. “I’m glad the FDA made this three-part ruling,” Boldry says, “because it forced us to re-evaluate our company’s direction and to look deeper into the function of the endocrine Lydia’s STYLE Magazine

Business Profile system, and its role in weight control, where we should have been looking all along.”

So, what is the difference in hCG and Balancing Blend? Boldry says Dr. Simeons’ research in the 1950s produced a plan that resulted in quick loss of abnormal fat when accompanied with an extremely low calorie diet by using hCG to encourage the system to use stored fat for fuel. “hCG is basically tricking the body,” Boldry says. “When the body is tricked into a famine state it is easy to coach someone on the dietary weight loss protocol because everybody’s system is ‘tricked’ in the same fashion.”

The challenge, she says, of the hCG protocol was helping people to find their unique ‘balance’ in the aftermath of the strict eating plan. Many were able to maintain their new weight with ease, while others were not.

Boldry says Balancing Blend supports the endocrine system to develop lasting hormonal changes and find a unique long-term weight loss program for each client.

“With the Balancing Blend program there are ways to stimulate the body to mitigate faster than average weight reduction without tricking the system,” she says. “Our new protocol is based on discovering and working with each person’s naturally occurring body signals to lose weight permanently.”

She says with any weight loss program, individual body variables are always in play.

“We are all so different,” she says. “Balancing Blend supports the entire system to help it function differently than it’s used to functioning and helps individuals listen to their bodies to determine their own long-term dietary plan.”

One of the biggest differences between hCG and the new Balancing Blend formula, she adds, is her formula’s ability to stimulate the pituitary to speak to the adrenal glands.

“When this happens,” she says, “cortisol production occurs in the morning when it’s supposed to be produced.” This provides an ability to better tolerate stress throughout the day and find the natural circadian rhythm to allow for the production of melatonin and more restful sleep at night – the way God intended, she says.

Anyone who struggles with excess weight must discover and listen to their body’s cues for hunger, thirst, exercise and rest, and then be as diligent in caring for their body’s needs as they would in caring for a beloved pet.

“Homeopathic Balancing Blend helps to the body feel satisfied so you can spend your time and energy focusing on living your healthier, happier life!”

Results Are Typical Maria Boldry, owner 3080 W. 29th Street in Greeley (855) 424-2727 www.resultsaretypical.com Connie Hein is a freelance writer living in Windsor, and the author of the Toliver in Time series of children’s books Style 2012

Darla Roselle and Lindsay Roselle, owners of Mindstream Yoga

Where Body and Mind Balance

A modern, sunlit room welcomes guests as they enter Mindstream Yoga, located in Front Range Village in southeast Fort Collins. The business opened in February after founder, Lindsay Roselle, who co-owns the studio with her stepmother, Darla, realized the need for a yoga studio in that part of town.

A Fort Collins native, Roselle left the area to study at UC Berkeley before living for a time in New York.

She returned to Colorado with a new appreciation for her hometown, and after obtaining her MBA from Colorado State University, she developed a desire to open a local business that would serve the community she loves.

“I wanted to be a Fort Collins small business owner, but I was also motivated to build a business that could be anywhere in the country, so we’re always balancing those two things,” says Roselle.

Mindstream Yoga is located in a 2,500-squarefoot LEED certified building, and Roselle used local contractors and designers to construct the space.

The foyer is decorated with art from a local artist, and each season he brings in new photographs to match the change in the weather.

With 60 classes a week, there are yoga sessions at Mindstream to fit every schedule and every level of practitioner. The well-appointed locker rooms have shower facilities and the studio provides all the props necessary for the various classes offered.

“When we designed our schedule and our philosophy, in addition to heated power vinyasa, which is popular right now, we came up with a couple niche specialties,” says Roselle.

SageStream is one of Mindstream’s most popular classes. It is an exploration of vinyasa yoga in a meditative way using gentle flow and a focus on breathing. Many of the older practitioners enjoy this less strenuous style of flow yoga, as well as people who are coming back to yoga after being away for a while.

By Heidi Kerr-Schlaefer

They also offer CrossStream, a much more aerobic class, mixing resistance and sculpting exercises with yoga poses and cardio bursts that include free weights. These sessions can be modified to match a person’s level of fitness or desired intensity. “We love to see people who think yoga isn’t a workout come out of a CrossStream class dripping sweat; it really is challenging and gets your heart rate up for a solid hour,” says Roselle.

Roselle feels the vast array of class styles sets Mindstream apart. They offer easy to advanced flow yoga, traditional style hot yoga, fitness-oriented yoga cross-training, and restorative, yin yoga, as well as numerous specialty workshops year-round.

“We have people at all levels here, and most try out many different types of classes,” says Roselle.

“Everyone who comes to yoga for the first time feels nervous, but I want people to feel like they belong here. We really do have something for everyone.”

Yoga has been a part of Roselle’s life since she was 16-years-old, and while the practice of yoga has many benefits, she loves it because it is one of the only ways she can truly clear her head.

“There are only two things I do in life where I don’t think about other things – when I’m on my horse and when I’m on my yoga mat,” she says.

Mindstream Yoga accepts drop-in visitors, and has punch passes and monthly membership options.

Discounted rates apply to groups, including teachers, students, military and others.

Mindstream Yoga Lindsay Roselle, owner 2733 Council Tree Avenue Front Range Village, Fort Collins (970) 266-YOGA (9642) www.MindstreamYoga.com Heidi Kerr-Schlaefer is a journalist and freelance writer from Northern Colorado.

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Business Profile estate sales, restaurants and more.

Beyond Bookkeeping’s wide range of services include:

Helping Businesses

• Full service bookkeeping – including bill paying, bank reconciliation, payroll, bank deposits • Overseeing of monthly accounting maintenance

Stay Successful

• Training client companies’ staffs • Sales taxes • Forensics and special projects • Software training

By Marty Metzger

Some consider working with figures tedious or monotonous. But Mary Smith of Beyond Bookkeeping, Inc., finds it an invigorating way in which to help people.

In a very animated tone of voice, she says, “Every client I have excites me about what they are doing in their business. I passionately believe in what everybody does.”

So, in a way, Smith gets to intimately participate in the goals and successes of many other companies, as well as in her own thriving corporation. She’s been doing so in Larimer County since August 2010, when she “escaped” from California and relocated to Colorado.

Smith was raised in the Southern California mountains, which she loved. Then, in junior high, she became inspired by John Denver and wanted her own Rocky Mountain high. After marrying, she and her husband ultimately purchased a time-share that they used in Estes Park. As a side trip, they drove to Fort Collins and realized they were home. Everything she ever wanted was here, Smith says.

“When an opportunity to relocate presented itself, I took it,” recalls Smith. “I’m just thrilled to be in Fort Collins!”

That happy opportunity was preceded by a 2008 recession-driven company downsizing that led Smith to hang out her own shingle in California, where she’d been in the accounting profession since 1983. She’d served as a staff accountant with many CPA firms. In private industry, Smith was Chief Financial Officer for Travelcade/Saddlemen (a motorcycle seat

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manufacturer), regional controller for publicly traded company Henry Bros Electronics and worked with several other companies.

After the 2010 relocation to Fort Collins, Smith set up a Colorado corporation, Beyond Bookkeeping, Inc. The business began growing, while virtual accounting allowed her to retain California and other out-of-state companies as clientele. In just two years, Beyond Bookkeeping’s initial numbers have more than doubled.

The exponential increase has allowed for the addition of two employees to the company.

Smith says that growth excites her because every new job helps the broader community recover from the tough economy and develop in diverse directions. And, she takes it as a great compliment that she receives many new clients through CPA referrals.

In fact, referrals come her way from a variety of sources, especially satisfied customers. Smith explains that satisfaction is based in the personalized service she provides every client. Beyond Bookkeeping seeks to meet each client’s varied needs rather than by adhering to a rigid set of one-size-fits-all rules.

“Everything I do is customized,” Smith emphasizes. She works with many different industries, including automotive, banking, business services, construction, healthcare, law firms, manufacturing, nonprofits, real

Although Smith enjoys all facets of her work, she does admit to some particular favorites.

“I really like forensics. It’s like putting together a big jigsaw puzzle. Also, accounting reviews are one of my favorites. Most of all, I absolutely love my clients and working directly with them. I find it wonderful that corporate America hasn’t taken over this community.”

Smith is involved in her community in a variety of ways. She is an active member of the Fort Collins Chamber of Commerce; serves as a proud member with the Colorado Women of Influence; and participates in several fundraising activities.

She recently joined Sigma Rho, a chapter of Epsilon Sigma Alpha, which raises funds for St. Jude Children’s Hospital, Alternatives for Violence and other local charities.

The 47-year-old lives a full family life as well.

She has five children, including 12-year-old Jenny and Bryan, 14. Megan is a 23-year-old student at Colorado State University. Russell, age 21, in his last year at Cal Poly Pomona, and Wesley, 26, is a UCLA grad. Smith has been married for 16 years to Dan Smith. Since he works in automotive supply sales for Wurth USA, he was easily able to transfer to Fort Collins when Smith made her 2010 “escape” from California.

Should Smith save a few moments for pure relaxation, she relishes spending them on the shooting range, country dancing and wine tasting.

Many people have suffered financially and/or personally from the recession. But Smith changed the ink color in her columns from red to black by making difficult circumstances work for her.

As a result, Beyond Bookkeeping now provides essential, personalized accounting services to an ever-growing number of local and out-of-state clients, helping increase their profit margins while benefitting the greater community. There’s nothing tedious or monotonous about that!

Beyond Bookkeeping Mary Smith, owner (970) 672-0309 www.beyondthebooks-usa.com

Fort Collins resident Marty Metzger has been a freelance writer since 1987.

Lydia’s STYLE Magazine

Style 2012

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The women behind the Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest event: Peggy Lyle, Greta Cornett, Liz Barnez and Merry Hummell.

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Lydia’s STYLE Magazine

Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest

By Heidi Kerr-Schlaefer

Fort Collins is special for many reasons, including the abundant sunshine, boundless breweries, bike paths and walking trails, our access to the mountains and a vibrant downtown. During the summer, there are endless festivals and events that occur throughout Northern Colorado, but the largest of all is Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest.

Style 2012

The festival draws crowds of approximately 100,000 over the three-day weekend and includes eight stages of free entertainment, 250 vendor booths and more than 90 bands on the schedule. In fact, the festival is now the largest showcase of Colorado bands that takes place anywhere in the state.

Twenty-four years old this summer, NewWestFest was created as a birthday celebration for Fort Collins when local celebrity artist Maggie Kunze and a few others launched the event. The event continued to evolve over time, and eight years ago Bohemian Nights asked the Downtown Business Association if they could join NewWestFest as a co-producer, bringing in the Bohemian Nights music program to round out the popular music offering.

Bohemian Nights encompasses all things music about the festival. Producing six spectacular stages to showcase the best Colorado artists performing their original music, Bohemian Nights brings performances to the community free of charge to help expose audiences to new, emerging and established Colorado artists and share the gift of local music. NewWestFest is produced by the Fort Collins Downtown

Business Association, which delivers two additional entertainment stages, vendor booths and works to promote the Downtown Fort Collins area and businesses to locals and visitors alike.

If you go behind the scenes, you will find talented women running the show. Merry Hummell, the director of music events at Bohemian Nights, and Peggy Lyle, event and programming director for the DBA, are the driving forces behind the scenes at Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest. Together they run the show and manage the overall logistics for putting on this high-quality, multi-day festival held each August in downtown Fort Collins.

Both on stage and from behind the scenes, you will also see many female artists adding their unique vibe to Bohemian Nights. The melodies of Greta Cornett, Liz Barnez and Alysia Kraft echo to the corners of the festival. From coordinating artist relations to blogging to helping to select the lineup to shining on center stage, these women are building a national reputation for Fort Collins’ music scene by focusing the spotlight on Colorado and the great music originating here.

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The Women of Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest

Originally from Santa Fe, New Mexico, Lyle moved to Fort Collins looking for an adventure. She and her husband opened the Rhythm Company, a local swing and salsa dance studio, and 12 years ago she joined the staff at the Fort Collins Downtown Business Association. She is currently event and marketing director, and spokesperson for the DBA. “Originally NewWestFest started very small.

Eventually we were closing streets for the event and the festival has taken on its own personality, especially in the last five years,” says Lyle.

When Hummell began to work at the

Bohemian Foundation, she and Lyle became fast friends.

“She’s my work wife,” jokes Hummell.

Born and raised in Fort Collins, Hummell left Colorado immediately after high school to explore the world. She eventually ended up in Boston, Mass., where she managed various nonprofit organizations. Eight years ago, when Hummell learned about a job opening at Bohemian Foundation, she jumped at the chance to come back to her hometown.

“It’s such a unique and wonderful community. The collaborative energy here is unheard of in other parts of the country, at least from what I’ve experienced,” says Hummell.

Her position keeps her busy year-round producing Bohemian Nights and the Old

Town Square summer concert series called Bohemian Nights Presents: Thursday Night Live. While reconnecting with her Colorado roots, Hummell was reacquainted with a man she’d known since kindergarten, and they were married last September.

Hummell and Lyle give a lot of credit to their husbands, who are patient and supportive of their busy schedules, especially during the intense weeks leading up to Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest.

“We couldn’t do any of this without them,” says Lyle.

Through a shared vision and mutual goals, Lyle and Hummell work in concert to create a safe and successful downtown festival. Their efforts have resulted in an event that keeps

By Heidi Kerr-Schlaefer

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Alysia Kraft has come a long way from her small town in Wyoming. Two years ago, she and her band, The Patti Fiasco, played the stage at Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest for the first time. Today they are staples.

Music has always played a significant role in Kraft’s life. As a youngster, she was influenced by the music in her mom’s tape deck, artists like Tina Turner, the Pointer Sisters and Bonnie Rait.

She also loved Michael Jackson.

When she was 14, her mother bought Patty Griffin’s “Living with Ghosts,” and even though it would be years before Kraft picked up a guitar, she clearly remembers being moved by the lyrics on that album.

“That album got me hooked on singer-songwriters, and today I listen to great writers like Josh Ritter, Gregory Allen Isakoff, Pieta Brown, Joni Mitchell, John Hiatt, John Prine and Gillian Welch, just to name a few,” says Kraft.

As a successful high school athlete, Kraft went to college at University of Wyoming on a basketball scholarship, but decided the sport was seriously hindering her ability to have a social life. Kraft put down the basketball and picked up the guitar.

“Once I quit basketball I suddenly had a lot of time on my hands,” she recalls. “I started playing intensely, and writing songs. I’d always loved music, but never considered it something I would do full-time.”

Three years ago, while playing an open mike night in Laramie, Kraft met Dee Tyler, and the two formed The Patti Fiasco, an alternative country band with members who have a pension for oldschool country music. Kraft fronts the group that includes Dee Tyler (guitar), Shaun Kelly (bass), Scott Clabby (drums) and Ansel Foxley (electric dobro).

The Patti Fiasco didn’t set out to be a country band, but the more Kraft listened to Merle Haggard and Patsy Cline, the more she became engrossed in that style of straightforward, relatable writing.

“Much of my music is inspired by Wyoming, the isolation, desolation and stark beauty of the place, and the characters it attracts,” says Kraft. “I’m attracted to the rugged individualism of Western characters. I’m obsessed with Wild West themes in a modern setting. And I do love a good love song.”

Shortly after the group got together, they played several shows at Road 34, and suddenly they were on the Fort Collins’ music-scene radar. They straddled the border of Wyoming and Colorado for a bit, but after playing Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest, the band made the decision to relocate to Fort Collins.

“Playing Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest was the kicker. It made me realize I absolutely needed to be a part of the musical community here,” says Kraft.

The band is on tour this summer, and Kraft loves traveling with her “boys.” Traveling with some of my very best friends is a tremendous gift, she says. Kraft also enjoys watching people unfamiliar with the band’s music respond to the energy of a live show.

Writing and playing music is a balancing act between extreme extroversion and introversion.

Playing a show results in a huge high for Kraft and she relishes the connections she makes with an audience.

“Performing for fun, rowdy crowds is probably my favorite part of playing music,” she says.

However, she also likes the quiet times she spends alone writing music. When she’s not touring, she also loves to cook and spend time with her family on their Wyoming cattle ranch, although her guitar is never out of reach.

This will be the band’s third appearance at Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest, a festival Kraft respects inside and out. The Patti Fiasco will be on the Library Stage at Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest on Friday, August 10 at 5 p.m. Visit them online at PattiFiasco.net.

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getting better every year.

Barnez is a musician who has been playing Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest almost from the very beginning. As the youngest of six children and growing up in the South, Barnez says music was “just part of life in Louisiana,” and she jokes it is “in the water from the Mississippi.” By 17, she was part of a swing band as a “chick singer.”

At the age of 23, she moved to Fort Collins on the advice of fellow New Orleans’ musicians, the Subdudes.

“They told me there was a great audience out here for music. And they were right,” says Barnez. “Even then, in 1987, it was a warm and welcoming environment for music.

Musicians still come here because of the supportive atmosphere.”

Today, Barnez works as the artist relations and hospitality coordinator for Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest, and her experience as a musician has proved an invaluable resource to the organizers of the festival.

“One of the gifts Liz brings to this entire process is her understanding of what it’s actually like to be a musician,” says Hummell.

Fostering Local Talent

Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest is a showcase of both established and emerging Colorado artists. With more than 90 Colorado bands playing this year, many are still new to the business aspects of the music industry, and Barnez is there to help them through the process of professional development.

Two years ago, The Patti Fiasco was one of those newer bands invited to play the festival. Front woman Alysia Kraft was blown away by the respect she received as a young musician at the event.

“It’s a moment that, as a musician, makes you feel very special. It’s so well organized, extremely well promoted and so well liked by the community. It’s the ultimate stage to get to play on in your own community, and it’s the absolute highlight of our summer every year,” says Kraft.

Cornett, member of the former band 12 Cents for Marvin, now plays with Mama Lenny and the Remedy and The 3 Twins. She is the founder of both the Fort Collins Musician Association, which produces the Fort Collins Music Experiment each April, and has been working on staff at Bohemian Nights as the music blogger for four years.

Cornett, a trumpet player, has performed at the event for years, and will be playing with both her current bands at the festival this summer.

“They really treat you like royalty at this festival,” she says. “Also, it’s a great chance to see bands you never get a chance to see because you are too busy touring with your own band.”

The mix of musicians who play Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest is a cross section of established and new Colorado artists. The goal of the festival isn’t only to help emerging artists develop professionally, but also to expose audiences to new music.

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This is one reason the six music stages aren’t categorized by genre. The talent committee works tirelessly, and despite many heated debates, according to Hummell, they turn out a stronger lineup every year.

Festival attendees may come to the event because it’s free or they want to see the headliners, but many will discover bands they’ve never heard before and will become true fans, buying CDs and seeking out the bands at other venues around the state.

“That’s beneficial for everyone. Both for musicians and music fans,” says Barnez.

It Takes a Village

This festival takes place in Downtown Fort Collins, requiring not only collaboration between the DBA and Bohemian Nights but also multiple departments at the City of Fort Collins. The water tables throughout this year’s festival, providing free water to the crowds of revelers, are just one example of the citywide cooperation that takes place during Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest.

“It takes a lot of extra work by everyone involved to create a safe event in an urban setting, but every year the city, and everyone else involved, comes through,” says Hummell.

“People care about doing it better every time. It’s not about the extra work, but it’s always about what good things it will leverage for this community. That’s just phenomenal to me,” she adds.

The women involved in organizing this event all bring their unique experiences to the planning table, and each has a different opinion about what makes Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest so special.

“I’ve been on all sides of this event, as a musician, as an attendee and behind the scenes,” says Barnez. “It’s an incredible free party. It’s incredible for everyone, attendees and musicians.”

An aspect that truly sets this event apart is the original, Colorado music. Only a few bands perform cover songs at the festival, and the original music fosters the creative spirit and energy unique to the people who live in Fort Collins.

And it just keeps getting better. Although the festival has grown larger every year, the main goal for the women of Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest is to innovate and improve the quality of the festival each year. Perhaps Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest is a reflection of the community in which it takes place – a community that embraces collaboration, strives to be innovative and is always working to create a better place in which to live.

Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest is held August 10-12 in Historic Downtown Fort Collins.

More information can be found at BohemianNights.org and DowntownFortCollins.com.

Heidi Kerr-Schlaefer is a freelance writer and journalist.

Lydia’s STYLE Magazine

Style 2012

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Single

in NOCO

By Tracee Sioux Wendy Foster, single mom and local business owner, relaxes at Jay’s Bistro while discussing dating in Northern Colorado.

Marriage is rocky in the Rocky Mountains, with over half of couples getting tossed out of the raft when it hits the rapids of divorce. This same pessimistic statistic, however, translates to a thriving, active and fun singles scene in Northern Colorado.

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While new technology narrows the playing field for some, many still use good, old-fashioned person-to-person serendipitous attraction to meet potential significant others and relationship optimism abounds.

Single… Again

Colorado’s divorce rate is consistently dropping, with only 4.2 divorces per 1,000 couples, the lowest in 34 years. Still, Colorado has one of the highest divorce rates in the country. While an average 96 marriages are performed every day in Colorado, 56 divorces are also granted.

Rocky Mountain Family Council attributes the high number of divorces to several factors unique to Colorado. Transplant couples find themselves alone, without the family and community support they might have received; the high rate of premarriage cohabitation, which has been correlated to a higher likelihood of divorce; a lower number

of couples participating in marriage-supporting faith communities; and a younger, more active population reflecting a lesser investment in lifelong relationships.

Singles, however, in their 30s, 40s and older are optimistic about success in future relationships, having learned from their previous experiences.

“It gets easier as I get older because I am wiser,” says Wendy Foster, a 40-something art consultant with an adult daughter. Foster has been single for 20 years.

For many, being single and dating is about taking it slow and getting to know other people.

Where once they might have flipped head-overheels, they are now more likely to go slowly and pay attention to long-term goals and interests and heed red flags that might indicate future problems.

“I date when it’s right,” Foster says. “Usually, I already have an established friendship with Lydia’s STYLE Magazine

someone. My history for the last decade is to date somebody I’ve known for quite some time. I’m a little slower paced. It’s about remembering to take your time and getting to know the person and their true character.”

Uncharted Waters

Once radical and risky, online dating is one of the most popular ways to meet someone new.

“When I met my husband I was 28 and going to bars. I don’t really do that any more,” reports Christina Verg, 36, a divorced massage therapist and mother of two. Verg has met several people through Match.com.

If, like Verg, you’re not interested in the bar scene then consider online dating. There are many services to choose from including popular national services like Match.com and eHarmony.

The best part of using online services is that you can instantly eliminate incompatible deal-breakers like conflicting religious beliefs, political affiliation, smoking preference, drug and alcohol use or children. The sites recommend people who meet your criteria and allow you to contact them through instant messaging or email prior to meeting.

Mike O’Connell, 53, sales and marketing professional and father of a 12-year-old and two young adults, began dating a year ago, after the end of his 22-year marriage. He has used Match.com.

“Even on first dates people are interesting, it’s amazing how much it broadens your world to meet new connections and you get to find out what your likes and dislikes are in the process,” O’Connell says.

Today, there are also localized matchmaking services, such as LoveBug. LoveBug has around 1,900 members spanning across Northern Colorado. The service, rather than using a computer-based formula to match couples, includes in-depth interviews with members and hand-selected matches by the LoveBug staff.

Meetups, Clubs & Mingles

Meetup.com groups focusing on dating and the singles scene can be a low-pressure alternative. Some focus on dating between various subgroups, from age to religion: The Breakfast Club for Singles 50+, Northern Colorado Christian Singles Meetup and the Unitarian Social Club — to name three. Several churches in town also offer singles groups with planned activities.

But, as many singles will recommend, don’t limit yourself to singles groups.

Julie Sutter a 40-year-old, child-free, single marketing writer started Articulate City, an arts and culture membership-based social club, six years ago to meet people who share similar interests. About half the members are single.

“The best way to meet people is to focus on doing something you enjoy,” says Sutter. “It’s an organic way to meet people with similar interests, without the pressure of being there for a date.”

There’s a Meetup for all sorts of hobbies where a single person might meet a friend… or a soulmate. Lesbians can hang with their tribe at S.I.L.K. (Sharing in Lesbian Kinship) events; the metaphysical can get visionary with the Law of Attraction group; gardeners dig in with The Style 2012

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The Over 40 Social Club Meetup group, one of the top 200 active Meetup groups in the world, holds regular social events for NoCo singles.

Growing Project; meditators can get zen with Fort Collins Heart of the Dharma Sangha; lunch with Foodies of Fort Collins; play monopoly with Fort Collins Boardgames Meetup; or dance the night away at the Fort Collins Ballroom and Social Dance Meetup. In other words, get a hobby and meet people who share it.

Friends at Sea

Like attracts like. If you’ve been married for a lifetime, you likely know a lot of people who have been married for a long time. If you’re a married empty nester, your friends are probably married empty nesters. If you’re married in your 30s and have toddlers running around, you’re probably surrounded by friends in similar boats.

Suddenly you find yourself divorced or widowed and may feel adrift, alone at sea.

Susan McDonald, the first member of the Fort Collins Over 40 Social Club Meetup, one of the top 200 active Meetup groups in the world, says it’s not just about meeting your next soulmate, it’s about a renewed vigor for life. Though including some individuals in their 30s, many people in her group are baby boomers, empty nesters and even older retirees who find themselves divorced or widowed.

“The joy that it brings is the most fun thing to watch,” relates McDonald. “You see people smiling and having a place to go, making new friends and not sitting home anymore. I’ve seen people really blossom.”

Watering Holes

While dating may seem like a strange new world for the newly single, some things stay the same. Men still pay, at least on a first date, and people still meet the old-fashioned way. Watering holes and happy hours are still a favorite way to meet serendipitously. Other common places are the gym, the workplace and through friends.

People even find that old acquaintances and friends make great dates. Thank you, Facebook.

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Popular bars and happy hours include Austin’s, Jax, the Rio and Cranknstein. Northern Colorado’s festivals and breweries are also great for obtaining a coveted phone number.

Keep in mind, people’s motives at happy hours and night clubs might not mesh with yours. While people do meet in bars and live happily ever after, they may be there strictly for some casual fun.

“Not a whole lot of guys are looking for their future wife in a bar, they’re looking more for someone to have fun with,” says Johnny Mays, a 30-year-old single oil and gas industry salesman with no kids.

Different people are looking for different things in a relationship. There are deal-breakers that some daters don’t want to touch. These might be the same things another dater would welcome depending on their life stage.

Austin Pottorff, 34, a real estate manager, almost-divorcee, with no children, and the four “wingmen” who refer to themselves as “The Avengers,” have five hard and fast dating rules: no cats, no kids, no Wyoming, no Greeley and no married people. The Avengers are obviously not looking for wives, so their rules reflect their current dating objective: a good time.

Tadpoles: Deal-breaker or Blended Family

Children tend to complicate dating and relationships. Not everyone looks forward to dealing with other people’s children; for some it’s a deal-breaker. However, a blended family might be ideal for some divorced parents.

“For my life, I want to do that [create a family] for the first time with someone who hasn’t done it,” says Mays.

Children can make dating more difficult due to schedules between co-parents and various child-related activities that keep people busy. If both people in a relationship have ex-spouses and parenting schedules, the logistics of dating can become complicated, overshadowing chemistry.

“It was hard to be a single mom and date,” says Foster, whose daughter is now grown. “The time constraints are hard and my focus was really on parenting, not on going out.”

Kids also mean more personalities have to mesh and more people’s feelings are involved.

Lifestyles and personal priorities are also an issue.

“A lot of guys have very strong opinions about my being divorced and being a single mom,” notes Verg. “I think a lot of men think single moms are looking for a father figure for our kids. Not every woman is looking for a husband and not all of us single moms are looking for a replacement dad.”

As people age and priorities (and hormones) shift, their expectations adjust. They likely expect children and ex-spouses will be involved as they get older. In fact, no kids and no previous marriage might feel like a red flag pointing to baggage even less tolerable. And hey, for the right person a drive to Greeley or Wyoming isn’t a trip to the moon. Unless there are serious allergies involved, surely cat ownership is forgivable.

NoCo Mingles

One thing is certain, most Northern Colorado singles have no problem finding a social scene that works for them — if they look for it. Whether it’s online dating, a Meetup group, a connection through friends or a glance from a co-worker, sparks do fly in NoCo. Fifty percent of us might get divorced, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of people willing to recast a rod hoping something magical turns up.

Tracee Sioux is a Northern Colorado writer and author of Love Distortion: Belle, Battered Codependent and Other Love Stories. She can be found at www.twitter.com/traceesioux and www. thegirlrevolution.com.

Lydia’s STYLE Magazine

Matchmaker Vera Gregg, owner of LoveBug, meets with a potential client.

Solving the First Date

Dilemma

1.

2.

“Look your best,” they say, adding that this will contribute to a positive mindset.

“Present the best self you can be.”

3.

“Let go of expectations.” This will enable you to go to that first meeting without the pressure of preconceived notions of what the date will be like. “The less expectations, the more fun you will have.”

4.

Don’t turn the first date into an interview.

Rather, “relax, share what you enjoy,” they suggest. “Take interest in the other person – and have fun.”

5.

The Greggs also suggest keeping the first date simple: meet in a public place, somewhere affordable – like a coffee date. Date #2 can be a longer duration, like dinner at a nice restaurant.

6.

If you don’t feel a spark on the first date, keep an open mind: “Give people the benefit of the doubt.” A one-time meeting may not be indicative of what the person is like. Nerves can make both parties behave in a way that is not natural.

7.

As far as intimacy goes, the Greggs suggest that both parties “wait until some sort of relationship develops. It is less messy and healthier that way.”

By Angeline Grenz

There can be quite a bit of pressure in preparing for the first date, especially if it has been a while since your last endeavor. But take heart, the love experts at LoveBug have some sage advice to remove some of the stress from that intimidating first date.

LoveBug is a Northern Colorado matchmaking service, started by husband and wife team, Vera and Robert Gregg, in 2007. They currently have over 1,900 members from Northern Colorado and southeastern Wyoming and they have helped over 400 members find each other, with nearly 100 members who have tied the knot to-date.

LoveBug approaches matchmaking the old fashioned way, they carefully get to know each of their members and then hand select matches for them. Part of their process includes personality testing, but they also incorporate conversations about dating patterns and what worked – and didn’t work – in the past. It is a formula that has successfully worked for people across a myriad of ages and personal histories.

Robert and Vera have been facilitating successful matches for over 25 years. They offer up some of their best advice to help make that first meeting fun and alleviate the pressure.

Style 2012

The Gregg’s first piece of advice: “Keep conversation positive and uplifting.”

And stay away from talking about past relationships on the first date.

LoveBug’s clients range from new daters in their 20’s to widowers in their 80’s, and everyone in between. The staff is excited to help all singles find a healthy, committed relationship with a compatible individual. Visit their website, www. lovebugcolorado.com, for more information.

ove Leads LMarriage Vows to

By Angeline Grenz Thursday, June 21, 2012, is a special day for Debbie and Ron. This was the day they said “I do” to each other in front of the staff at LoveBug. The two, both divorcees with grown children, had decided to take advantage of LoveBug’s matchmaking expertise.

Debbie, who had dated several years ago but had no luck, decided to give LoveBug a try and joined for a year. Two weeks after her enrollment, she met Ron. “I was attracted to him the first time we met.

He was humble, sweet and kindhearted.

I could see it in his eyes.”

Ron, who had attempted a Match.com membership with no luck, began dating through LoveBug a year before he went on his first date with Debbie. “I am a busy professional. It was hard for me to find the opportunity to meet people.” In his first year with LoveBug he says, “I met many interesting and lovely women, but there was no spark.” That changed when he met Debbie for the first time.

“We had a great conversation, and when I went to give her a kiss goodbye, I looked into her eyes and the spark was there.” After a couple months of dating, Ron and Debbie decided to inform LoveBug that they wanted to date exclusively. A little over a year later, they said their vows at the place that brought them together.

The marriage took place at LoveBug with an excited staff in attendance.

“We would not have met each other without LoveBug,” says Ron. “They have been a real blessing.”

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Professional women making a difference in our community.

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American Cancer Society – 2012 Cattle Barons Ball

Rose, Brandi and Caitilin Stoller Team Stoller, Event Co-chairs

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It is our privilege to invite you to “Rhinestone, Ropers and Rubies,” the 2012 Cattle Barons Ball, celebrating 20 years! This elite charitable event is being organized by dedicated committee members, volunteers, Nancy Clark and the staff of the American Cancer Society. This fabulous evening of giving will be filled with fantastic food, fun, dancing and music by country superstar LeAnn Rimes. We are grateful for generous underwriters and contributors, whose generosity make this celebration possible.

The Rhinestones have created all the bling for this memorable evening. It is a party with a passion and a purpose! The Ropers and Rubies are represented by 19 years of past event chairs. They each had a vision and we are proud to honor their legacy.

Tell us about yourself. .

Rose: I grew up in Nebraska. I graduated with honors from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. I am married to my high school sweetheart, Jack Stoller. This year we celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary.

In 1999, after working for my father for 20 years, Jack and I bought the oil and gas business and changed the name to Cementer’s Well Service, Inc. It is now one of the largest privately owned companies of its kind. The result of a great mission partnered with great employees has been overwhelming success for the company.

Caitilin: I attended CSU, and then moved to Los Angeles to pursue my passion for fashion, beauty and business. I finally decided “home truly is where the heart is.” I came on board the family business five years ago, which makes me the third generation to work at Cementer’s. I’ve never been more proud to be a part of something.

Brandi: I am a registered nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care at Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. I received my bachelor’s from Colorado State University and a nursing degree from Denver School of Nursing. Growing up, I always loved medicine and developed my compassion while watching my Grandma Betty fight her battle with cancer and later my Grandpa Everett.

In high school and through college, I helped my parents in the family business. Today I do not play an active roll in the business but continue to support, encourage and pray for the daily success of our business.

How did you come to be involved with Cattle Barons Ball and the American Cancer Society?

Rose: We have supported Cattle Barons Ball since 1994. My grandmother died of cancer followed by Jack’s mother and ultimately my father. He was my greatest role model in life and business. Supporting the American Cancer Society and Cattle Barons Ball is a great opportunity to share our passion for business with a passion for life!

Caitilin: I’ve been attending Cattle Barons Ball for years but this is my first year as an active member.

Not only am I an event chair but I’m on the corporate committee as well. My involvement this year has helped me understand the purpose of the American Cancer Society and why it’s vitally important.

Brandi: My family has always been supportive of philanthropic organizations. For the several years I have been attending Cattle Barons Ball and love the event. Like many others, cancer has affected my family, and we proudly support the American Cancer Society.

What is the best part of being event chairs?

Rose: Being co-chair of this event with my daughters has been an amazing family opportunity. We are blessed to have the opportunity to work together with so many passionate individuals willing to donate their time, talents and resources. It is a life changing experience.

Caitilin: The best part has been seeing the outpouring of support from friends, family and our community.

Brandi: Knowing American Cancer Society is the official sponsor of birthdays. There will be one more candle lit to celebrate another year of life for someone!

Why is it so important to support events like the Cattle Barons in your community?

Rose: I believe that to whom much is given, much is required. Our business is in Weld County but we work in numerous counties and states. We live here, our employees live here but cancer has no boundaries. Our efforts to raise funds to find a cure for cancer will benefit everyone. We thank God for the opportunity to help others.

Caitilin: Community service is about giving back to a community that has welcomed you. It is an honor rather than a responsibility. It’s a way of showing my appreciation.

www.cbbcolorado.com

Style 2012

Brandi: The entire community knows someone who has or had cancer. We need to support events that help the community. I love knowing that our efforts are helping every person!

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Let us create a luxurious space that is a unique reflection of you!

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Toni Klein, Allied ASID Sue Osborn, Designer

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Nelsen’s Auto Tech CenteR

Amy Reader Co-owner

Tell us about your business. Our business is an automotive repair shop in Old Town Fort Collins. This is our 65th anniversary year; the shop opened in 1947. I am co-owner in the business, which we purchased in 2006. Our shop repairs all vehicle makes and models, import and domestic. We have the only all-wheel-drive diesel testing station in Northern Colorado. We work on everything from hot rods, to daily drivers, both diesel and gas. A few of our specialties include vehicle diagnostics, electrical issues and wiring, diesel repairs and performance tuning.

To what do you attribute your success? Assertiveness, integrity, observing others, being a hard worker, good business ethics, honesty, continuing to learn and gather knowledge, and leading by example.

What is the best part of your job? Working with people! I truly enjoy being a handson owner, working with the staff, customers and parts suppliers. I know this goes back to why I got into the medical field originally, caring for others is important to me.

In what ways do you give back to the community? Donations mainly. Also Nelsen’s is part of the Fort Collins Downtown Business Association and the main sponsor for the yearly Car Show, the “Nelsens’s Old Town Car Show,” which is September 8 this year.

What qualities do you appreciate in people or strive for in your own life? I have always believed in the ‘treat people the way you want to be treated’ philosophy. I feel if you treat others with respect, dignity, honesty and caring you can only hope others will treat you the same way.

What is your hope of your goal for our community? Fort Collins is a wonderful community. I hope that there will always be a balance between family-owned and operated, small mom and pop shops and big box stores. Too often communities forget how important it is to keep some of their hard earned money at home, which small local businesses offer. One of my favorite sayings is “Good, fast, cheap… pick two.” I often wonder which two most people pick nowadays.

Style 2012

970.484.0834

361 1/2 East Mountain Ave. Fort Collins, CO 80524 www.nelsensauto.com

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Business After Hours

Unwinding in Style at Generations Wine & Martini Bar

Alicia feels polished in her Lola & Sophie paprika draped top, $126, and Selo Moda side zip slim pencil pant, $62. Meridian multicolored mini drops earrings, $42, Midnight Ice Lucite studded pendant, $62, Starry Night multicolored bangle, $38, and her black Brighton clutch, $160, complete the look.

Courtesy of Designs Boutique, Fort Collins.

Kayleen expresses her wild side with a Gender Bias leopard print tunic, $231, and Alisha. D black leggings, $55. A Brighton Lanai tan and silver chunky necklace, $78, matching earrings, $30, and matching bracelets, $42 ea., finish the outfit with an element of charm. Courtesy of Designs Boutique, Fort Collins.

Photography by Marcus Edwards Art direction by Lydia Dody Make-up by Kristi Fox and Jessica Kelley at She She Nail & Wax Lounge, Fort Collins Hair design by Shauna Troxell, C&S Workshop, Fort Collins Photographed on location at Generations Wine & Martini Bar in Loveland.

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Lydia’s STYLE Magazine

Alicia is stunning in her champagne chiffon dress with taupe lace overlay and champagne cream rosette accents from the O2 collection, $69. Gold and pearl drop earrings, $22, and a cream and gold bangle set, $29, by Boutique Chic complete the look with a classic touch.

Courtesy of Lady Gaia, Fort Collins.

Ingrid stands out in her Marc New York black leather “Karma” jacket, $388, and striking silk Daniel Rainn lemon tank, $59. The look is completed with the “Skinny Double” 7 for All Mankind double knit jeggings, $169, a Society for Scarves graphic scarf, $38, and a Drusy geode stone horizontal ring by Lena Bernard, $129. Courtesy of MkLaren, Fort Collins.

Kayleen is fierce in her Kial zebra print soft cotton jacket, $98, feminine EAG taupe lace camisole, $35, Park Hurst black stretch camisole, $28, and flattering straight leg, wide waistband Renaur-Paris pants, $78. Add a Blue Elegance platinum and crystal fashion bag, $135, for an edgy vibe. Boutique Chic black drop earrings, $29, ribbon and crystal dangling necklace, $69, and Roast wide bead bracelet, $25, finish the outfit. Courtesy of Lady Gaia, Fort Collins.

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Kayleen is elegant in her flowing Lilla P. teal and navy maxi dress, $188. The Brighton 7th Heaven silver necklace, $110, Eden’s Garden circle pendant, $68, 7th Heaven silver bracelet, $84, and matching Eden’s Garden earrings, $38, complement the dress, taking the look from day to night. Courtesy of Designs Boutique, Fort Collins.

Ingrid looks sophisticated in her Tribal purple print top, $65, and a NYDJ classic black straight leg pant, $104.

Crystal earrings, $20, and necklace, $30, add a subtle sparkle. Courtesy of Clõz to Home, Loveland.

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Lydia’s STYLE Magazine

Meet the Models Alicia Lewis Alicia is a Retirement Planning Specialist and co-owner of GrowSecure, Inc. She is married to Joshua and has a 1-year-old son, Judah. She enjoys outdoor adventures, traveling and her family.

“I had a blast! I loved that Lydia was so involved. I had a great time getting to know her and all the owners of the boutiques. Susan from Lady Gaia was so welcoming and found the outfit that was me! Julia at MkLaren helped me find a fun, hip outfit that looked great and Michelle at Designs helped me step out of the box! And the martini bar, Generations, is the new hip place in downtown Loveland to have an after hour drink.”

Kayleen Fraley Kalyeen is the owner and chief financial officer at the Tharp Cabinet Corporation. She is married to Don and has three children, Jake, 18, Denna, 15, and Ben, 13. She enjoys traveling, snow skiing, hiking, her new puppy, girls’ trips and volunteering at school and church.

“Everything was wonderful! My thoughts were taken into account and I was able to participate in selections at both Lady Gaia and Designs. Shauna [at C&S Workshop] was so energetic and did an excellent job and the makeup at She She was relaxing with a great outcome! Overall, I enjoyed the experience. It was nice to meet other working women and exchange stories and I really enjoyed the setting at Generations Wine & Martini Bar.”

Ingrid Bush Alicia is feeling sassy in her Bailey 44 soft stretch one-piece tunic dress, $168. Lisa Frude silver hoop earrings, $38, and Ettika black leather and crystal drop necklace, $79, gives the outfit an original flair. Courtesy of MkLaren, Fort Collins.

Style 2012

Ingrid is striking in her TCEC nautical inspired navy and cream striped blazer, $42, comfortable white Lysse tank top, $36, and flattering Kut from the Kloth Michelle back flap boot cut jeans, $78. A multicolored tribal print D&Y scarf, $14, adds interest to the outfit, and Silver Disc earrings, $21 (with matching necklace), complete the look. Courtesy of Lillians, Fort Collins.

Ingrid is the director of marketing/office manager at Mueller & Associates CPA. She is married to Lou Bush. She enjoys traveling, event production, craft beer and community festivals.

“I enjoyed trying on looks that I would not have chosen myself and I enjoyed learning about stores I had not heard of. MkLaren was my favorite. [The experience was] a bit overwhelming, but exciting. I am used to being in the background, so this was a new experience for me to be on the other side of the camera.”

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The Women of Fort Collins Elks Lodge 804: (left to right) Deanna Kerscher, Kay Rios, Shelly Castillon, Fritz Elliott, Laura Salas, Joyce Bonanno, Alice Anton, Bonnie Walker, Sarah Lion, Carmen Mendoza

Elks Organization C h a n g e s O v e r Ti m e

It’s not your grandfather’s Elks Lodge, current members say. The Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks (BPOE) has changed over time in a pretty significant way. Women are full members on par with any male and a number of them have moved into officer positions in the organization.

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In fact, the Fort Collins Colorado Lodge 804 of The Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks just saw the retirement of its first female Exalted Ruler. Joyce Bonanno served two terms before stepping down this past March. And incoming Exalted Ruler Joe McCarthy placed women in two of the three officer positions he appoints.

Women are a mainstay in the organization, McCarthy says. “They bring energy and commitment and they’re here to do something.

We’ve had a lot of women join lately and I think it’s great.”

Bonanno adds that the women of Lodge 804 are full members just as much as any male Elk. “We don’t have a lady Elk auxiliary. Some lodges do but not this one. If you want to be a member, you join.”

The Elks had modest beginnings in 1868 as a social club called the Jolly Corks. It was created as a private club in order to elude New

By Kay Rios

York City laws governing the opening hours of public taverns.

“They were a group of actors who became concerned with helping the family of a member who died,” Bonanno says. “After that, they made the leap into charitable work.”

The club took up additional service roles, added rituals and looked for a new name. Wanting to adopt a readily identifiable creature of stature, indigenous to America, 15 members voted 8-7 in favor of the elk above the buffalo.

The organization became the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and, over the years, evolved into a major fraternal, charitable and service order, now counting more than a million members, both men and women, throughout the U.S. and the former territories of the Philippines and the Panama Canal.

Women, however, have only been able to join since 1995 when the Oregon Public Lydia’s STYLE Magazine

Women have been allowed to join nationwide Elks Lodges since 1995. The organization’s cornerstone is community.

Accommodations Act mandated their membership. Members from the fraternal group’s 2,230 lodges across the U.S. voted to support the mandate by changing their constitution and removing the word “male” from the list of membership qualifications. The first woman to join Fort Collins Lodge 804 was Cheryl Shepherd, initiated on October 12, 1999. (The author of this article was the second woman to join, initiated in 2002.)

Bonanno joined in 2008 although she had been active for some years before that. “My husband, Tony, had been a member for 36 years and so I was always involved in the events. I retired from Hewlett Packard after 35 years and I wanted to do something in terms of service.

I already knew how much the Elks did and I knew it would be a good way for me to be more involved.”

She took it a step further. “After I was a Style 2012

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Joyce Bonanno, first female Exalted Ruler of Fort Collins Elks Lodge 804

member for about six months, I wasn’t enamored with the way some things were being run. With my background at HP, I thought I could help turn things around.”

Bonanno found support among the members and worked her way into the Exalted Ruler position. One of her efforts was to grow the membership and that has happened. The number of women has quadrupled in the past three years and younger people are joining. There are currently 436 members, 35 of which are women.

Laura Salas joined in 2011. “I played pool with some of the members and they were talking about the Lodge and the next thing you know, I’m in the order. Actually, after I lost my husband, Tony, three years ago, I wanted something to fill my time.”

She found there were a lot of possibilities at the lodge. “I help in the kitchen, I do different fundraisers. I really enjoy the activity and I like the people.” (For her involvement, Salas was named Elk of the Month this past May.) Gender is no longer an issue nor is age although members must be at least 21. The oldest male member is 95; the oldest female is 84. The youngest male and female members are both 23-years-old.

There are some things about the Elks that haven’t changed. The cornerstone, Bonanno says, is still charity. Lodge 804 has a long record of charity and community involvement beginning on July 18, 1902, when the 804th charter was issued to Fort Collins. In 1952, the Elks contributed $34,000 out of $47,460 for the City Park Pool. More recently, with the Elks physical and financial support, showers and dressing rooms were improved and structures were added as part of the pool renovations. In June of 2002, the Elks contributed $125,000 and hundreds of hours to complete the Sheldon Lake boardwalk.

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Joe McCarthy, current Exalted Ruler of Fort Collins Elks Lodge 804

Scholarships are a mainstay for the Elks. A $700 scholarship is awarded annually to a graduating student from each of the Fort Collins high schools through the Elks Charitable Trust Fund.

Each scholarship is renewable for a second year if the student continues his or her education and shows satisfactory achievement. In addition, two $500 vocational study scholarships are awarded each year.

“The Trust has given over $500,000 in scholarships to local high school students since 1979,” Bonanno says.

The Trust also provides grants to local community programs such as Hospice, Home Helps, Larimer County Rescue Service, United Way and Larimer County Social Services. In addition, it helps provide needed medical, eye and dental care for those unable to pay for such care but who are not eligible for public assistance. Dentures and tooth repair, eyeglasses, crutches and special wheelchairs are provided.

Lodge members have also individually demonstrated their community connections. Fifteen Elk have served as the Fort Collins mayor; 12 have been Larimer County Commissioners.

“It’s an impressive group that has belonged over the 110 years of Lodge 804’s existence, Bonnano says. “The Community Builder Award has been awarded to 25 of our members and 17 educational facilities in Fort Collins have been named after Lodge members.”

“The Lodge is a great place to meet good people and find out how to get involved in good works,” Bonanno says. “And we serve good food.”

Kay Rios, Ph.D. is a freelance writer based in Fort Collins. She was the second woman initiated into Elks Lodge 804. She remains an active member.

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By Corey Radman

The High Park Fire affected all of Northern Colorado, residents and business owners alike, but for most people the concerns were incidental. Smoke or worry about friends topped the list unless you lived in or near the burn zone. For those people, the fire was all consuming. A total of 259 homes burned in the fire; one woman, Linda Steadman, was killed.

As the last of the hot spots were being snuffed, the total cost of fighting the 87,284-acre blaze was $39.2 million, according to the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office. That figure only reflects the bills totaled through June 29. There will be more. Most of those dollars went to supporting firefighting crews, equipment and fuel. The total tally of fighting the fire, clean up and the impact to tourism-dependent businesses in the canyon will never really end up on one tidy bill.

And, of course, there is no way to tally the vast emotional toll.

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Tourism

Jim Clark, president and CEO of the Fort Collins Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, notes that while the hard numbers are not yet in, he is receiving anecdotal reports that some Fort Collins businesses have slowed down a bit compared to years past. For businesses in the burn area, the story is different. “Outdoor recreation businesses like fly fishing or river rafting, or businesses located in the canyon have been hit really hard.” Clark is concerned that because so much of the western U.S. led the nightly news with fire stories for so long, there will be a ripple effect on out-of-state visits for the rest of this season and next year.

Thus, the bureau is actively promoting Fort Collins tourism, mostly in Denver and the metro area. Through social media and public relations the message went out all summer that the city of Fort Collins is still open for business.

For 2013, Clark says he’ll wait for more data, but anticipates a need to position ads targeted at the Denver area, Texas and California. How do you draw tourists to a burn scar? “Well, we need to accept facts; this is Mother Nature doing her thing. The Poudre is still Colorado’s only national, wild and scenic river. Only the lower canyon burned; it will recover... and there is some opportunity to attract visitors for the education aspect, to learn how a forest regenerates.”

Business on the Brink

Cindy and Jeff Anderson own the Tip Top Guest Ranch at the top of Rist Canyon. They provide horseback trail rides, wagon rides and guest lodging for events like weddings and youth camps, many of which were cancelled in June and July because of their evacuation on June 9. Tip Top Ranch is one of the outdoor recreation businesses that depends heavily on summer tourism to finance the entire year’s costs. Between June 9 and late July (their peak season) the business was inoperable. While the Andersons were very grateful that the ranch’s structures were not burned, in no way is the business in the clear. Miles of barbwire fencing is gone, meaning their 45 horses have to stay corralled. Plus the pasture they were planning on feeding those horses with is now little more than ash.

“A lot of the good grass was in the timber that burned,” says Jeff. Plus, “the pastures that didn’t burn are really dry. If we turned the horses out on those, they would turn to dust.”

So, the Andersons are forced to buy twice as much hay as they usually do in a market where drought prices are almost double what they were last year. They say they are very grateful for the blessing of spared structures (not to mention their home) and for the outstanding work from the volunteer firefighters. But the worry radiating off their muscled shoulders is almost visible. “We’re just trying to keep the business alive right now,” they say. Tip Top Ranch is accepting tax-deductible donations to help feed the horses via their webpage, www. tiptopranch.com.

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Paradise Lost

The fire gods weren’t so kind to Dale and Marilyn Snyder. Their custom-built, converted barn in Davis Ranch burned to the ground. Dale, a retired homebuilder, sounds momentarily bereft over the exposed beams and Gambrel roof, but he and his wife had the foresight to buy really good insurance (Shelter Insurance). “Within a day, they found us an apartment in Fort Collins and furnished it.” Their temporary housing benefit pays lodging costs for up to two years.

Asked if they will rebuild, the Snyders both say yes. Asked if Dale will put as much work into the job this time, Marilyn quickly replies, “The answer is no. Dale will oversee the whole thing, but he’s 66 years old.” Dale just chuckles.

Driving away with only the things the two of them could load into the car and their truck was sobering, adds Dale. “You do start to see the difference between want and need when something like this happens,” he says. “But,” he continues and trails off. Marilyn picks up the thought, “Once you find out your house is gone with everything in it and this is all you own...”

It’s overwhelming to consider everything that burned. The Snyders mention the family antiques, their children’s saved Captain Kangaroo toys, Dad’s antique tools. Decades of effort and saving and dreaming, up in smoke. They dwell for only a second and then snap to reality. “Whatever I got out was supposed to be gotten out,” Marilyn says matter-of-fact, “Time was up for the other things.”

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Lydia’s STYLE Magazine

Dale and Marilyn Snyder survey the remains of their Davis Ranch home destroyed in the High Park Fire.

Emotional Costs

The fiscal costs are mounting, however the emotional toll on the people involved may ultimately be the hardest to overcome. More so than even burned-out homeowners like the Snyders are the emotions of the firefighters.

“A lot of them, no one has ever heard of,” they say. “But we can’t sing their praises enough for what they’ve done.”

Perhaps no one felt the stress of the fiery behemoth more than Rist Canyon Volunteer Fire Department (RCVFD) Chief Bob Gann. He said in a July public statement, “This has been a traumatic time and while the fire is mostly out, the event is not over. By supporting and helping each other, we can come out of this stronger.

“During the fire, your RCVFD firefighters worked alongside hundreds of others to get to a place where we could all come home and we are weary, but content,” he continues. “To our friends who have lost a home, our hearts are heavy and the tears still roll. Know that we would have done anything we could have to save the place you call home. Sometimes we could not. But – we will be here as the community rebuilds, not only as firefighters and emergency responders, but neighbors. To the family of Linda Steadman, we express our sincere condolences. Words cannot adequately express how I feel – and the heaviness I felt that night as we realized Linda may be at her home and we could not get there.”

Linda Steadman died in her Old Flowers Road

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cabin when the flames engulfed her home.

RCVFD is a volunteer run department without tax-based funding. Donations are being accepted via their webpage, www.rcvfd.org.

What Next?

If there is any silver lining in a summer like 2012, it is that extremes like this don’t often repeat immediately, says the State Climatologist, Nolan Doesken, from CSU. “As I look at our history (which we have back to 1880), there are very few times when two years are really hot and dry back to back. Almost always after a dry year, it gets better. That’s no guarantee. There will be an exception or two. But as a rule of thumb, if you’ve had a really bad year, the next year will likely be better.” And vice versa; very wet years often precede very dry ones. (Remember how much snow pack there was in 2011?)

Even without any measurable snow in March, the spring and summer of 2012 was not actually the driest year on record, says Doesken, 2006 was. However, the difference this year was the evaporation rates. “We measure evaporation rates approximately, but most likely we had more evaporative stress in 2012 than in other years.”

There just weren’t any gray, moist days this year... and people were picnicking in March, he says.

All the residents interviewed for this article were incredibly grateful for and inspired by the firefighters from all the districts and regions.

Moving forward, their hope is that, while life will definitely be different, it will find some normalcy soon. And they urge their “low-country” neighbors to rally around the businesses in the canyon to ensure that they will survive beyond the High Park Fire.

Corey Radman is a National Press Women award winner, and regular contributor to Style. She can be reached at her website, www.fortcollinswriter.com.

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High Park Fire at a glance

Roughly 2,000 firefighters and first responders fought the fire at its peak.

Firefighters put in about 310,000 hours to battle the High Park Fire.

87,284 acres were burned.

259 homes were destroyed and 112 outbuildings were damaged. An additional residence was lost due to rock and mudslides.

The final estimated cost of the fire is $39.2 million.

Nearly 850 insurance claims have been filed for approximately $97.1 million in damages (according to the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association).

Approximately $24 million in emergency stabilization treatments and roughly $17 million in treatments to public roads and private lands are needed to restore the acreage burned by High Park Fire, according to a collective report by the Nature Resource Conservation Service, Larimer County, Colorado Department of Transportation and the U.S. Forest Service.

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20 Days of Turmoil

By Corey Radman

Flight driven by flame was the nightmare of every mountain resident. Especially this year, the year of no rain. The lodgepole forests were crying for moisture, having received only drips since winter ended abruptly in December. So the morning of June 9, when word went out that smoke had been spotted, most everyone started packing.

Irene and Tom Holtzer were driving home from an east coast vacation when their daughter, Abra Houchin, first called with the news of a fire in High Park. By phone, they tried to tell her what to go get. By the time she, her husband and oldest son drove to the home on Rist Canyon Road, pleading a path past the roadblocks, they had about two hours to grab a lifetime of memories.

Everything important enough to frame and hang up went into the Suburban: the handtatted lace from great-grandma, family photos, a signed Richard Schmidt print of Stove Prairie School, batiks from Botswana... “What else?” she thought, casting a look around... “Christmas!”

Abra (famous for her kitchen aversion) grabbed the recipes her mother cherished.

By then good sense and Irene’s frantic urging by phone to “Get out!” prevailed. They drove away not knowing what would happen to the place called Starry Pine... thinking of forgotten gems all the way down to town.

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“It was so neat to see what she remembered.

Things that we had given up hope would be saved,” says Irene. “It tells a great deal about what she values in us,” says Tom. Irene and Tom arrived at a friend’s house in LaPorte by midnight that night, having driven straight through. At citizen briefing meetings across the next 20 days, the Holtzers watched the fire sweep in horseshoe shaped crescents around their home three times. Irene says, “It was an emotional journey. We thought the house was gone, and then we were hopeful that it was saved. Then things would flare up again. Many times we thought it was gone.” It was excruciating waiting, not knowing whether to hope or not.

She says she really wasn’t sure she would ever be okay again, but in reassuring her youngest grandchild something shifted. “He was sitting next to me on the couch saying, ‘but I really liked your house. ‘Member when I had sleepovers?’

I told him, ‘It’s awful that it might not be there, but if it’s gone we’ll find another house to bake cookies in. Another house for overnights. It doesn’t matter. As long as you’re there. As long as we’re there together, it won’t matter where it is. I’d be devastated, but I’d get up again.’

Until that moment, I wasn’t sure that I would.”

Somehow, after 20 days of turmoil, Starry Pine emerged unscathed. It was one of 74 that didn’t burn in the neighborhood out of 124 total homes. And for this, the Holtzers give all credit and huge thanks to the firefighters, especially the Rist Canyon Volunteer Fire Department. “You have never seen bravery like this before,” says Tom. “They gave everything, some of them watching their own houses burn while they saved ours. It’s amazing what they did.”

The Holtzers are humbled by the thoughts, prayers and offers of assistance given to them.

“We’ve learned how many people really care what happened to us.” And for this they give thanks.

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Building Northern Colorado

Special Advertising Section

AFTER

BEFORE

Patio Gets New Life Alpine Gardens was asked to create a new covered patio, full of fun outdoor living features. The existing small concrete patio was expanded to create plenty of entertainment space. An upper balcony, made from low maintenance composite decking, and accessible from the master bedroom, was used to shade the intense afternoon sun. Some of the patio was left open to enjoy the nighttime sky, as well as facilitate a new outdoor cooking area.

The pinnacle of the design was a 3.5 ton cored boulder, hand selected from a local rock quarry, that was craned into the backyard and incorporated into the structure of the balcony for a magnificent, custom fire feature.

The design called for stamped and colored concrete blended with stained local sandstone to create seat walls, kitchen islands and accents within the new, colorful planting beds. Low voltage lighting was used throughout to extend the fun well into the evening.

Alpine Gardens is available to transform your patio into a masterpiece.

Call them today and let them help you expand your outdoor possibilities.

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970.226-2296 www.alpinelandscaping.com

Special Advertising Section

Building Northern Colorado

Rebuilding and Restoration Making Conscious Choices in Construction Unfortunately, in the wake of this summer’s widespread wildfires, many community members have some daunting decisions to make about repairing, restoring or entirely rebuilding their homes.

As a recent article in the Northern Colorado Business Report cautions, choosing a construction company calls for careful consideration, particularly in the case of a natural disaster, which may bring new (and not necessarily reputable) builders to the region in search of work.

Bryan Soth and Dwight Sailer

Choosing a construction

In 2009, HighCraft Builders created a consumer awareness guide to assist with carefully selecting the right contractor. Some handy hints from the guide:

Red Flags:

company calls for careful

Pressure. A reputable professional won’t demand that you sign on the spot. You should feel like your contractor is giving you plenty of time and space to make an informed decision, not that you’re being coerced by high-pressure sales tactics.

consideration, particularly in

Professionalism. Odd hours, lack of dedicated office space and boasts of “no

the case of a natural disaster, which may bring new (and not necessarily reputable) builders to the region in search of work.

Research: Use the Better Business Bureau’s database (www.bbb.org) to evaluate potential contractors and find accredited companies. What sort of web presence (if any) does a prospective contractor have?

An absence of information can speak volumes. Get referrals from people you trust, and never discount your intuition – a “gut check” is an important part of the process.

overhead” can indicate that you’re working with a single-person operation. This may be a good choice for a short-term handyman job, but larger remodeling and rebuilding projects are better served by a company that invests appropriately in operations.

Pricing and Payment. Unusual payment terms can signal a scam – a contractor that asks to be paid in cash up front, particularly for the entire job, is a serious cause for concern. Similarly, if you balk at the cost of a project and the contractor is suddenly able to offer a lower price for the exact same work (without renegotiating materials or methods), be wary. The price should be the price.

There are many other factors to consider when hiring a contractor or construction company, but it boils down to the basics: you are entering into a working relationship with someone you need to be able to trust. Communication, clarity, transparency and credibility are important. Take your time, especially when emotions run high. Ask questions, ask for references and commit to doing your homework when working on your home.

Download a complimentary copy of HighCraft’s consumer awareness guide at www.highcraft.net or call 970-472-8100.

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Building Northern Colorado

Special Advertising Section

Dramatic Wood Burning Ovens The newest trend in outdoor living is the old world tradition of brick ovens. Traditional wood firebrick ovens date back over 4,000 years. To this day, over 15 million brick ovens can be found all over Europe.

The brick oven isn’t just for cooking a delicious pizza. You could essentially use it instead of your indoor oven by baking bread and cooking a whole chicken. It could also replace your outdoor grill because you could cook a steak, potatoes and veggies all at the same time.

If you are interested in extending you’re entertaining and living space to the great outdoors or creating a unique and unforgettable dining experience, adding an outdoor kitchen with a beautiful centerpiece brick oven might be just what you are looking for. Call the experts at Lindgren today.

970.226-5677 www.lindgrenlandscape.com

Building Northern Colorado

Special Advertising Section

Your Healthy,

Happy Home

By Michelle Venus

Before you read this, take a few minutes to poke around under your kitchen and bathroom sinks and take a gander in the laundry room, too. Go ahead. We’ll wait.

What did you see under there? Chances are, it was a myriad of cleaning products that you pulled from the grocery shelves and dumped into your cart. Most of us take the time to read nutrition labels on food packaging so we know what we’re putting inside our bodies. However, the government doesn’t require manufacturers of household products to list ingredients, so you’re flying solo in that particular aisle at the grocery store.

It’s not just household cleaners and other chemicals, which include pesticides, solvents, paints and even candles, that contribute to poor indoor air quality (IAQ). It could be the house itself. Newly constructed buildings are more tightly built and Style 2012

insulated than older homes, primarily for energy conservation (a good thing). On the flip side, being that airtight keeps fumes and vapors inside (a bad thing). According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), people spend 90 percent of their time indoors and IAQ is typically 70 percent worse than outdoor air quality. This can result in headaches, itchy eyes and runny noses, higher asthma rates, and sometimes, neurological problems. But now is not the time to push the panic button. Simple and cost-effective solutions can remedy poor IAQ. First, keep your house clean. Mary Pat Aardrup, City of Fort Collins program coordinator for Healthy

Sustainable Homes, recommends damp dusting and vacuuming a minimum of 2-3 times per week.

Look for a vacuum with a HEPA (High Efficiency Particlate Arresting) filter. It will capture more dust and fine particles such as pollen, which trigger allergy and asthma symptoms.

Keep the outside out. Inexpensive walk-off mats can be purchased at Home Depot. “You’d be surprised at how much they [walk-off mats] take off your shoes,” states Aardrup. In addition to dirt, dust, bacteria and mold, shoes track in chemicals such as pesticides. Removing them as soon as you enter the house helps keep those contaminants at bay. (Note to self: stop nagging the son about leaving his shoes right inside the front door) Use cleaning products that don’t contain harsh chemicals. “Anything that says ‘Danger’, ‘Irritant’ or ‘Keep Away From Children’ should be avoided,” says Aardrup. But products that tout themselves as natural and green can be very expensive and that added cost can be a tipping point. Safe and effective cleaning products can be made from inexpensive products such as baking soda, vinegar and borax (see recipes on next page). They work just as well as commercial products and cost just pennies to whip up. The Healthy Sustainable Homes website has a few recipes as well at www.fcgov. com/healthyhomes. If making your own cleaning products isn’t something that works for you, Good Guide (www.goodguide.com) lists commonly found products and rates them according to their health, environmental and social performance.

Next tip: No smoking indoors. If you have to smoke, take it outside.

Ventilate, ventilate, ventilate. Run the bathroom fan for a good 20 minutes after taking a shower.

Use the kitchen fan when you’re cooking and especially when using the self-cleaning oven function. Use other types of fans, ceiling, window, even table-top fans to keep air moving. Open windows and get cross-ventilation going as often as possible.

With all the wildfires this summer, many people are shutting windows and doors and letting the air conditioner do the heavy lifting. If you can, try to give the AC a break and let some air in.

Without proper ventilation, moisture builds and mold (and critter) problems can crop up in your home. Mice and ants like water sources just as much as mold does.

Do you like New Car Smell? That is a result of offgassing, the evaporation or release of volatile chemicals (in a gaseous state) that are trapped within a material. Think new carpets and furniture, mattresses, treated wood, insulation and flooring.

And dry cleaned clothing. If possible, leave a new mattress or roll of carpeting outside or in the garage for a few days before installation so that those chemicals aren’t released into your home.

Always let dry cleaning spend a few days in the garage before bringing it in the house. Better yet, hand wash delicate items and let them air dry.

So kick off your shoes, run your duster under some water and open a window or two. Simple solutions will improve the indoor air quality in your home and set you on a path for healthier, fresher living.

Michelle Venus is a freelance writer who works and lives in Fort Collins with her children.

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Y H T L A E H g n i n

n a e l C

Put these items on your shopping list and you’ll have the makings of everything you need for just about every cleaning job in the house:

White Vinegar (get the really big jug) Borax Washing Soda Baking Soda Castile Soap

Homemade Recipe

Liquid Dish Soap Here’s what you need

• 1 1/2 cup of hot water • 1/2 cup liquid castile soap • 1 tablespoon white vinegar • 1 tablespoon Washing Soda (used to thicken the soap) • 1/8 teaspoon essential oil * Here’s what to do: Combine all ingredients into a large bowl and then pour in 1 1/2 cup of very hot water. Be sure to whisk/stir this mixture until all ingredients are thoroughly blended. Allow mixture to cool completely on the counter, stirring occasionally.

Store in any dish soap dispensing bottle and use as you would the commercial brands. *Essential oils of lavender, eucalyptus and tea tree add natural anti-bacterial qualities.

Grapefruit and lemon essential oils are mild disinfectants and have uplifting and refreshing aromas.

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Homemade

citrus cleaner Here’s what you need • Peels from 3-5 oranges or lemons, 6-8 mandarins or limes or 1-2 grapefruits (or just get crazy and mix them up) • A quart of distilled white vinegar • A quart-size mason jar w/lid

LawyersWest

• Empty spray bottle

Here’s what to do: Fill the mason jar with the orange peels. Pour in enough vinegar to fill the jar to the top. Put lid on tightly and let sit for 10 days. After 10 days, strain out peels.

Pour into an empty spray bottle, and use to clean your counters, bathrooms, floors or pretty much anything that’s dirty. The cleaner itself may still have a vinegar scent to it, but once it is sprayed onto the surface and wiped with a towel, the smell completely disappears.

Homemade

drain cleaner Remember your grade school volcano experiment? This is it for your sink.

Here’s what you need • 1/2 cup Baking Soda • 1/2 cup White Vinegar Here’s what to do: Pour baking soda down the drain followed by the vinegar. Stand back and watch the eruption.

Let sit for about 2 hours. Flush with very hot tap water for 1 minute.

Style 2012

Wills, Trusts, Asset Protection, Litigation Guardianships/Conservatorships, Business Law

Marrying a local presence with the experience of a regional law firm allows LawyersWest to meet the high demands of its clientele.

Licensed in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and Nevada Located in Front Range Village (Harmony & Ziegler), Fort Collins For over 20 years, LawyersWest has represented high net worth clients We’re ready to work for you, so call us for a confidential, no-charge consultation

970-797-4966 | LawyersWest.com Colorado Licensed Attorneys: Rikke Liska & Kate Smith.

Wyoming Attorney: Rikke Liska. Utah Attorney: Michele Chambers.

Nevada Licensed Attorneys: Robert C. Graham, Linda M. Graham, Delwyn Webber & Jerimy Kirschner.

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Northern Colorado A u t h o r s A b o u n d The first lesson we endeavor to teach our children is their ABCs, hopefully the first step down the pathway to a lifetime love of reading. From the time they are children, to when they become adults and later grandparents, there is a book for every stage in life and these Northern Colorado authors offer great reads for the many stops along the way.

The Gluten Glitch | Stasie John, Loveland, Colorado Stasie John never gave allergic reactions much thought until her two children developed severe food allergies. This experience inspired her to write a children’s book series on the topic.

The Gluten Glitch, the first book in the series, is about a child who has to eat gluten-free and touches on the emotional aspect of eating differently. “Gluten-free kids can relate to the main character when he gets upset about not having the regular cupcakes at the school party. But after playing a special game with his mom, Gideon overcomes his ‘gluten glitch,’” John says.

John’s book not only brings comfort to children with allergies, 25 percent of the profit is split evenly to benefit the Celiac Disease Foundation and the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network.

John first debuted her book at the Gluten & Allergen Free Expo in Chicago in April 2012. It was there she saw “how needed this book was in the gluten-free world.” ”One mother started crying and said, ‘I can’t believe that you wrote this… this story is my every day, living with my son.’ At that moment I knew how powerful this story was.”

John is currently writing a new food allergy book on peanut allergies to add to her series. It is expected to hit the shelves in fall of 2013.

The Give-Back Solution: Create a Better World with Your Time | Susan Skog, Fort Collins, Colorado People who have initiated great change in the world, particularly individuals such as Jane Goodall and Madeline Albright, have always been an inspiration to Susan Skog. In turn, she aspires to inspire her readers with a message of how giving back is the best medicine.

The Give-Back Solution, along with Skog’s six other works, is a compilation of stories about people who are easing AIDS and poverty in Africa, helping war-torn refugees in Asia and those who bring more humanity to address homelessness, mental illness and bullying here in the U.S. “Some of them [those in The Give-Back Solution] have little material wealth, but they are often the richest, happiest, most alive people I’ve met,” Skog says.

Growing up in Iowa, “I would get a stack of my Mom’s homemade gingersnaps and the world’s largest stack of books from our library 10 miles away and read away the day under massive oak trees,” Skog says.

By the time Skog attended high school she was enticed by the world of words, but her first journalism professor, “a spellbinding storyteller from Ghana,” created her interest in traveling to write.

Now, Skog tries to live a centered and grateful life and enjoys knowing her readers are doing the same. “I love meeting new people through my work.”

The Mutt & The Mustang | Judy Archibald, Estes Park, Colorado Speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves, Judy Archibald was inspired to write about wildlife when she opened one of the first rehabilitation sanctuaries in the country on 150 acres in Oregon in the late 1970s.

After 25 years of writing articles for various magazines and a paperback adventure novel, The Mutt & The Mustang is Archibald’s first illustrated children’s book. The book was inspired by the true story of her rescued poodle-mix dog, Kody, who made friends with one of her rescue mustangs. Though the mustang refuses to let any human ride it due to a bad back, it gives Kody a ride every day.

The Mutt & the Mustang won first place in the Children’s Picture Book category for 2012 from the Independent Book Publishing Professionals. “The INDIE Book Awards are a big deal because independent publishers from around the world enter it.”

In her life dedicated to the well being of animals, Archibald has cared for injured and orphaned fawns, owls, hawks, raccoons, foxes, songbirds and even a bear cub. “I thought it was important to tell the stories of these wild birds and animals, so I wrote my first book,” says Archibald.

Archibald is currently working on taking The Mutt & The Mustang national and publishing a second children’s picture book.

I Miss You, Erma: Amusing Musings of a Non-Desperate Housewife | Lynne Boortz, Fort Collins, Colorado Life is full of hilarious happenings. For Lynne Boortz, keeping a list of those funny things that her children and grandchildren did over the years was how she kept track of it all.

Though she did not expect to write a book from them, through support and encouragement from friends, Boortz decided to take that list to the next level by writing I Miss You, Erma. “The title is referring to Erma Bombeck, who was a famous humorist and loved by many. I have been told by many people that I write in a similar style.”

With witty excerpts like when her 4-year-old grandson, Adam, said his favorite part of their day spent together was, “the girls at the restaurant… the ones with the breasts!” this book has already made parents and grandparents laugh whole-heartedly as the book reminds them of their own family memories.

Boortz found that after she began writing the book, it was more fun and easier than she expected it to be. “I enjoyed looking back at my life, and appreciating all the funny things that have happened over the years.”

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Providing expertise in Dermatopathology to the

Physicians and Patients of Northern Colorado Dear Colleague, I am pleased to announce my new position with the Fort Collins Skin Clinic and the start of Mattoch Dermatopathology. By focusing exclusively on Dermatopathology and my sub-specialty interests (Ophthalmic Pathology, Oral Pathology, Orthopedic Pathology, Podiatric Pathology, and Wound Pathology), my goal at Mattoch Dermatopathology is to provide you with the highest level of accessibility and personalized physician consultation. This focus will also enhance the main mission of my work – to provide you with accurate, clear, and prompt diagnoses – with the end result being the best possible care for each of your patients.

Please visit our website to learn more about our service. I look forward to working with you and your patients in this exciting new role!

Wishing you a safe and healthy summer, Ingerlisa W. Mattoch, MD

Ingerlisa W. Mattoch, MD Laboratory Director Board Certified in Dermatopathology and Anatomic Pathology

1020 Luke Street, Suite D, Fort Collins, CO 80524 Lab: 970-484-3078 | Lab fax: 970-484-3036 www.mattochdermpath.com

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family f o cu s

PSD Stirs Up

New Cafeteria Recipes

By Logan Martinez

Lunch trays in Poudre School District will be filled with more healthful options in the coming school year, something that was a hot lunch topic in 2012 PSD Board of Education Meetings.

At a February 2012 PSD Board of Education Meeting (BOE) proposals for a comprehensive food service assessment and school meal reform were discussed – along with what it means for families’ and schools’ budgets.

Child Nutrition Services Director, Craig Schneider, says some focus areas to improve nutrition in schools are to increase amounts of scratch cooking, decreasing amounts of processed foods and providing more local produce for the up and

Poudre

School District

coming school year.

“If an item is healthy and students aren’t eating it, it’s not doing them any good,” Schneider says.

Deirdre Sullivan, a member of the School Nutrition Action Committee (SNAC), a committee dedicated to promoting better nutrition in schools, agrees that school lunch should include more scratch cooking and education on nutrition.

“I feel that empowering the existing staff, turning them into lunch teachers, not just lunch ladies, and really making them into a part of a school community – that is education,” Sullivan says. “It is important that we all work together, that we look at partnerships and opportunities, that we look at the great work we are doing

Thompson

School District

and build on it, so that we can serve our kids the best way possible.”

Fruit and vegetable options have been plentiful in the cafeteria in past years, but processed main lunch options are what Virginia Clark, dietician from the Coalition for Activity and Nutrition to Defeat Obesity (CANDO), is more concerned about.

“Colorado is ranked 29th for child obesity,” Clark says, detailing her and SNAC’s concerns about the food currently being offered in school.

“Kids receive a significant value of nutrition from their school; they’re the models for what’s okay. If pizza is being offered every day, we need to ask how often we should allow kids to eat certain foods.”

Clark proposes that a food service assessment on Poudre schools would be beneficial. She explains an assessment would involve outside sources partnering with school staffs to work on improving nutritional qualities of food. An assessment might also include a financial trend of menus, meal costs by type, meal production models, human resource issues, staff training, policy and meal standards.

A final report from the food service assessment would include recommended goals, assistance with budgeting, technical assistance with implementation of a new menu option and follow-up reports to monitor the success.

The Food Advisory Panel, consisting of five members from several child health and nutrition coalitions, has been created to discuss child nutrition in schools for the 2012-2013 school year. This panel is open for public observation.

Visit the PSD website, www.psdschools.org, for more information.

Weld County

School District 6

“Supply Our Schools” Drive

Big Thompson Elementary Playscape Project

Lunch with Jamie Vollmer

Shopping for school supplies is half the fun of going back to school for kids, so what about those students who don’t have the funds to do so?

According to the Poudre School District more than 8,400 PSD students qualify for the Free and Reduced Lunch program. In honor of those students, Poudre School District is running a school supplies drive from August 6 to 10.

The drive is a collaborative effort between PSD, Volunteers of America, Colorado State University, the OtterCares Foundation, Concerned Larimer and Realities for Children.

Community members will have the opportunity to donate at the Northside Aztlan Center at 112 Willow Street on August 10, as well as through bins at local Wal-Mart stores.

To find out more, go to www.psdschools.org.

Big Thompson Elementary School was named a School of Nature and Science in 2009 and as a part of that, they are raising $100,000 to build a playscape in which kids are able to learn while they play.

Their plans are to improve access to natural areas, while encouraging unstructured, creative, imaginative play that provides academic, fitness, health and behavioral benefits to students and community members of Big Thompson Elementary.

They plan to implement topography with small hills, boulders, sand pits and native vegetation, including a rock wall and a slide over a hill.

To date the school has raised $83,000 and still needs $17,000 to begin the project. To learn more, visit www.bigthompsonelementary.org/ playscape.

Jamie Vollmer is an award-winning champion of public education and the author of the highly acclaimed book, Schools Cannot Do It Alone and the essay, “The Blueberry Story.”

He is scheduled to present at the Island Grove Event Center in Greeley for community members, District 6 educators and local business leaders on August 15 from noon to 1:30 p.m.

Vollmer’s goals are to help people in every community to see what their community members are asking of public schools as well as inspire people working in schools and motivate them to strengthen ties within their community.

Tickets are $10 per person for the luncheon.

Register by August 10 at www.greeleychamber. com/business.

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kids • play • fun • health • activities

Style 2012

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family f o cu s

Try something new with these familyfriendly activities in Northern Colorado.

events in northern colorado august 6 – 10 – Supply Our Students School Supplies Drive, Poudre School District, Fort Collins, encourage donations of school supplies and raise awareness about this need, various locations, www.psdschools.org/event/2012/08/ school-supply-drive-aug-6-10 6 – 10 – “Dirt” Camp Summer Camp: Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - noon, $125 per session ($15 discount with Family Membership), ages 6 to 11, Spring Creek Gardens, pre-registration required. www.fcgov.com/gardens 8 – 19 – Pets ‘n’ Popsicles, Plumb Farm, Greeley, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., ages 2+, $2 on weekdays or $3 on Saturdays, $1 hay rides, www. greeleygov.com 9 – Summer Concert Series/Street Dance, Concert featuring Quemando, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m., 5th Street and Boardwalk Park, 100 North 5th Street, Windsor, free, www.windsorgov.com 10 – Movie in the Park and Teen Bonfire, playing Big Miracle (PG), Boardwalk Park, Windsor, 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., free, www. windsorgov.com

17, 18, 23, 24, 25, 30, 31, Sept. 1 and 2 – Shakespeare at Sunset Presents: “The Comedy of Errors,” University Theater, University Center for the Arts, Fort Collins, 7 p.m., www.sota. colostate.edu

Loveland, 4 p.m. - 6:30 p.m., www.thompson. k12.co.us/calendar.html

18 and 19 – Heritage Festival, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Bond Park, Estes Park, www.epheritagefestival.org

18 – Virtuoso Series Concert Special Guest Saakumu African Drum and Dance, Organ Recital Hall, University Center for the Arts, Fort Collins, 7:30 p.m., youth $1, adults $12, www.uca.colostate.edu

24 – Movie in the Park, playing Adventures of Tintin (PG), Boardwalk Park, Windsor, 8:30 p.m., www.windsorgov.com 25 – Fort Collins Peach Festival, Hughes Stadium, Fort Collins, 8:30 a.m., www.fcpeachfestival.com 25 and 26 – Harvest Fiesta: Centennial Village Museum, Greeley, 10 a.m., www.greeleygov. com/festivals

september 1 – 91st Annual Windsor Harvest Festival, 7 a.m., Windsor Main Park and Eastman Park, Windsor, www.windsorharvestfest.com

10 – 12 – NewWestFest: Mountain Avenue, Fort Collins, 5:30 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. Sat.Sun., www.downtownfortcollins.com/festivals

1 – Night Walk for Families, off CR 27, south of Masonville, Bobcat Ridge Natural Area, 7:15 p.m., www.fcgov.com/naturalareas

13 – 15 – I Walk & Ride Safely Program, Poudre School District Elementary Schools, during school time for kindergartners, early childhood students and first graders, Fort Collins, www.psdschools.org

1 - 3 – Labor Day Arts & Crafts Show & Sale, Bond Park, Estes Park, 9 a.m., free, www. estesparkartsandcrafts.com

13 – 17 – Gardeners and Chefs II Summer Camp: Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - noon, $125 per session ($15 discount with Family Membership), ages 6 to 11, Spring Creek Gardens, pre-registration required. www.fcgov.com/ gardens

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2 – Movies in the Park, playing Kung Fu Panda (PG), Boardwalk Park, Windsor, 8 p.m., free, www.windsorgov.com

15 – Oktoberfest, Boardwalk Park, Windsor, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., www.windsorgov.com

19 – Wii Rock Band 3, Lincoln Park Library, Greeley, 7 p.m., www.greeleydowntown.com 19 – 21 – Fall History Festival, Centennial Village Museum, Greeley, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., www.greeleygov.com 21 and 22 – Fortoberfest, Old Town Square, Fort Collins, 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., www. downtownfortcollins.com 22 – Winged Wonder - Birds of Prey, Fossil Creek Reservoir Regional Open Space, Carpenter Road, Fort Collins, 9 a.m., free, no registration required, www.fcgov.com 28 and 29 – Virtuoso Series Concert Special Guest Saakumu African Drum and Dance, Organ Recital Hall, University Center for the Arts, Fort Collins, 7:30 p.m., youth $1, adults $12, www.uca.colostate.edu 29 and 30 – Elk Fest, Bond Park, Estes Park, noon to 5 p.m., $5/person, www.estesparkcvb.com

8 – Pastels on 5th, 5th Street and Peters Park, Loveland, 6 p.m., free, www.ci.loveland.co.us 14 – Garfield Carnival, Garfield Elementary, Lydia’s STYLE Magazine

kids • play • fun • health • activities

FOR 40 YEARS, KINDERCARE HAS BEEN GETTING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN READY FOR SCHOOL CHILDCARE 6 WEEKS TO 12 YEAR-OLDS

Competent, Caring and Creative Learning

•

Monday - Friday

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Delicious Discoveries W IT H

F E AST ING

F ORT

C OLLINS

Workday Weary? Try a Happy Hour After a long day at the office, sometimes it takes a little extra effort to relax and unwind.

We spend so much of our time and energy in our businesses, be it working for someone else or pursuing our own entrepreneural endeavors, that it can be easy to let our work life consume us. I’ve found that Happy Hours can be a great way to ease the stress and tension from the day, acting as the perfect transition from work to home. A simple light and delicious small plate, maybe a glass of wine, and conversation with a friend is all it takes to melt the heaviness of the day away.

Happy Hours can also be a smart way to sample restaurant menu offerings on a smaller budget.

Rather than going out for a full meal at a higher price point, you can taste a variety of Happy Hour dishes in a very budget-friendly range. If you dine out for special occasions only, this is a fantastic opportunity to get out and taste what the city has to offer on a regular, guilt-free basis!

There are a number of Fort Collins restaurants that host some incredible Happy Hours; it can be difficult to choose the best of the bunch. Here is a list of some of my favorite Happy Hours to help you narrow it down.

half shell, flown in daily from the East Coast.

These creamy, delicate morsels are delightful.

Top that with a hand-crafted cocktail, like the Cucumber Lemon Press and you might have the happiest of Happy Hours.

Canyon Chop House

D’Vine Bistro

The Canyon Chop House is well-known for their incredible menu and is often reserved as a special occasion dining spot. Served on the patio or lounge only, you can enjoy Happy Hour at the Canyon Chop House Tuesday through Friday from 4:00-6:00 p.m. I’m particularly fond of savoring the moment on their beautiful patio with the Skewer de Jour and a glass of wine, with the special price of $3 off wine by the glass.

El Monte Grill and Lounge Happy Hour at El Monte is a daily luxury from 4:00-6:00 p.m. held in the lounge and patio.

One of the best dishes at El Monte is their cut-to-order guacamole. With a choice between classic guacamole with cilantro, onion, tomato and Serrano, and the exotic guacamole with strawberries, mango, goat cheese, chives and habanero sauce – you cannot go wrong either way. This is a must order for Happy Hour, along with a cocktail like their Watermelon Martini.

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Jax Fish House One of the best Happy Hours in the entire city is at Jax Fish House. Stop by Monday through Thursday from 4:00-6:00 p.m. and Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 2:00-6:00 p.m. This is my favorite Happy Hour of them all because of the fantastic prices for some incredibly delicious dishes. You’d be remiss to skip out on the $1 Emersum Oysters on the

Jay’s Bistro

Interested in sampling some travel-inspired savory tapas? Visit Jay’s Bistro’s Happy Hour Monday through Friday from 4:00-6:30 p.m. for your choice of flavors from Spain, The Mediterranean, America and more. Try a duck confit slider with hoisin and locally sourced arugula from their Asia menu section and a famous lemon drop martini to spice up your Happy Hour night.

Fish Restaurant

Maybe wine is more your speed after an eventful day at the office. Head on over to Fish Restaurant Monday through Saturday from 3:00-6:00 p.m. and Sunday from 5:00-6:00 p.m. for half-priced house wines, $1 oysters and a relaxing, fun time.

Their oyster menu changes seasonally, but you typically have a choice of four or five different types. Mix and match for an oyster bar variety!

D’Vine Bistro offers Happy Hour every day from 3:00-6:00 p.m. with fantastic specials on their Signature Sangria. Pair that with some of their remarkable appetizers like their Stuffed Medjool Dates with chevre, blue cheese and prosciutto. In their small and intimate atmosphere, Happy Hour is a great opportunity to chat up staff about their extensive wine selections to try for future visits.

The Crown Pub

This may be the most unassuming incredible Happy Hour in Fort Collins. From the outside, you expect it to be just another bar. But that would be a misguided assumption! Happy Hour at The Crown Pub is Monday through Friday from 3:00-6:00 p.m. and Sunday through Thursday from 10:00 p.m. to close. Here you can drink draught beer along with surprising menu items like Applewood Smoked Trout with shaved red onion, roasted red peppers, capers and spicy mustard. They also have the best Fish and Chips you can find in Fort Collins.

Kristin Mastre is the premiere food blogger and restaurant critic in Fort Collins and Northern Colorado. Being an honest writer, she’ll tell it like she tastes it. Her reviews can be read on FeastingFortCollins.com.

You can also get tips and restaurant news by following on Facebook at facebook.com/ feastingfortcollins and twitter @feastingFC. Lydia’s STYLE Magazine

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C U LT I VAT E H O P E G A R D E N PA R T Y May 3:: Marriott :: Fort Collins An evening of live bluegrass music, a garden-themed silent auction and a chance to win flowers for a year brought more than 400 guests together to celebrate spring and to enjoy this annual signature event for The Matthews House. The evening also featured a presentation of the Volunteer of the Year award for 2011.

More than $40,000 was raised at the event to benefit The Matthews House and their programs helping youth and families in transition to achieve and maintain self-sufficiency. Photos courtesy of Craig Vollmer Photography.

Dave & Dawn Frock

Carolyn Davis, Ken & Suzanne Smith, Vanessa Aschmann The Smith’s were the recipients of the Volunteer of the Year 2011 Award

Cathy Rotman, Rebecca Spears

Tracey Johnson, Amy Hoeven, Tanya Horn

W E L D C O U N T Y R E L AY F O R L I F E - W I L D F O R R E L AY !

June 1-2 :: Island Grove Regional Park :: Greeley This event, the largest Relay for Life in Colorado, had more than 6,000 participants and supporters for the 16th annual Weld County event. The huge relay had 138 teams, 350 purple-clad survivors for the kick-off Survivor’s Victory lap, a Luminaria Ceremony with more than 1,000 luminarias lit and much more during the 16-hour event. More than $289,000 was netted for the American Cancer Society for research, education, advocacy and patient services.

Photos courtesy of Jim Shaddock.

David Sanchez, Nancy Gray, Nicki Elsberry, Patti Gates

Alana Muth, Sara Muth

Hunter Baker, the 2012 Honorary Co-Chair

Jan Martin, Matthew McCoy

Tracy Eckhardt

DEBBIE BOOSE MEMORIAL TENNIS TOURNAMENT June 4-10:: North Lake Park :: Loveland This 12th annual tennis tournament provided nearly 200 players a fun and family-friendly competitive venue that featured men’s and women’s singles and doubles, mixed divisions, pro and wheelchair exhibitions and much more.

The event raised more than $21,000 for Pathways Hospice Care Center at McKee Medical Center. The memorial tennis tournament, created in honor of Debbie Boose’s passion for community, tennis and hospice, has raised $379,000 to date. Photos courtesy of Heidi Mueller Photography.

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Nancy Roe , Nancy Jakobsson

Georgia Torson, Sally & Bill Moninger, John Boose, Jane Anderson

Pete & Julie Skeffington Lydia’s STYLE Magazine

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FIRE HYDRANT 5 June 9 :: Edora Park:: Fort Collins More than 750 people and 500 canines paved the way to help the nearly 12,000 homeless, injured, ill, orphaned, wild and domestic animals Larimer Humane Society cares for each year at its annual Fire Hydrant 5, 5K Walk/Run & Pet Expo. The family event included a 5K walk/run, pet- and familyfriendly booths, paw paintings, Fido photos and fun doggie contests throughout the day.

Erin Marion, Karen Horak with Chaco

Avery Chadwick, Carrie Chadwick, Riley Chadwick

Michal Skorupa with Chelsea, Krista Asida with Pikachu

Stephanie Miller with Penelope

Nancy Timmons with Mac & Mo. (Nancy was top fundraiser.)

2 0 1 2 N C M C F O U N D AT I O N G O L F T O U R N A M E N T June 11 :: Greeley Country Club :: Greeley More than 230 golfers, sponsors and volunteers participated in the annual golf tournament to benefit North Colorado Med Evac (NCME) helicopter program, celebrating its 30th anniversary. Golfers were greeted with great weather as the spirit of friendly competition got underway. The day of golf netted more than $39,000 to purchase essential medical flight equipment for NCME, the region’s oldest medical helicopter service, serving Northern CO, WY and NE.

Gene Haffner, Dan Dennie, Jerry Lewis, Bud Hooper Team: North Colorado Medical Center

Carol Vanetti, Tom Boudreau, Char Sheneman, Jim Ferando Team: Banner Health Western Region

P S - S G A R D E N PA R T Y June 28 :: The Hixon Home :: Fort Collins More than 135 Project Self-Sufficiency (PS-S) supporters and friends gathered for an evening of philanthropy, food, cocktails and conversation. Held in the art-filled garden at the Hixon home, this inaugural event included a vocal performance by a PS-S participant and four personal stories from PS-S participants achieving self -sufficiency through their services. Photos courtesy of Lee Jeffrey.

Phyllis Schrader, Mimi Reid, Tedi Cox, Carla Jeffrey

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Happy & Lance Bennett

Todd & Margaret Spiller

Mary Carraher

Donna Stroh, Dean Bratz

Gary Hixon Lydia’s STYLE Magazine

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Joan King Cultivating the Spark Within

By Angeline Grenz

psychology. After a brief stint at the University of Iowa, King moved to Tufts University Schools of Medicine in Boston, in 1979. It was here that she met her third husband, Stuart A. Tobet, and they have been happily married for 33 years.

King spent 20 years at Tufts, much of the time spent as a professor and chair of the anatomy and cell biology departments. After several years in her final position, she promised herself a sabbatical from the rigors of acaer demic life.

Photograph , nu ia ss re aG sy of Christin “I looked like Photo courte I was so successful but I realized it just wasn’t nourishing me,” she oan King believes in the spark within. In each person, she says, there is a kernel of recalls. “I asked myself, ‘is that all there is?’” greatness just waiting to break through.

It was at this time that King was introduced to Her job is to nurture that greatness and give the concept of life coaching. people the tools to set it free.

“I had always believed that people have much more potential than they usually activate King’s history is a story of contradictions.

Right after high school, at age 17, she joined in their lifetimes,” she says. Life coaching helped a Catholic convent. While there, she received a her realize how to reach that potential and this realization sent her to the Success Unlimited degree in chemistry and taught at a college in New Orleans, her hometown. After 11 years, Network, where she became a coach. Today King says she began to feel “crushed” by the she trains new Success Unlimited coaches. She environment. “It began to feel like it was not also trains coaches for the Canadian Demers group, and specializes in financial and execureally about love, but more about rules and tive coaching. regulations.” So she left.

Life coaching allows King to utilize all her King freely admits that she was inexperiskill sets. “My basic philosophy is that life is enced and naïve coming out of the convent.

“During 11 years in the convent, I suppressed creative and expansive,” she says. She pairs this every single feeling I had,” she explains. The thinking with her ability to analyze and evalutransition to life outside the convent hit a few ate her clients’ needs. “I can use my analytical mind that was honed by all the chemistry and bumps, leading her to her first marriage a short science, so the kinds of questions I ask are not year later, unfortunately to a man she did not love. The marriage eventually fell apart. Then superficial. I ask, ‘what is there about this topic in graduate school, she married a second time. that you don’t know that you know?’”

This line of questions can help people break This marriage lasted seven years, but eventually dissolved. down the walls they have built around themWhen King left the convent, she returned to selves. “The conscious mind keeps revolving and school to obtain her Ph.D. in neuroscience and saying the same thing over and over. We develop

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a story and we tell that story to ourselves and everybody else, but it is not the whole story. I help people get rid of the story and see what else is there.”

She adds: “Our public conversation always says what we are not, and never encourages us to explore who we truly are. And we don’t have to live in this restrictive box.”

After making her career switch to life coach, King and her husband mutually decided they were ready for a change. “I was tired of my current pace of life.” In 2003, Tobet was offered a position at Colorado State University. King requested that they settle outside the city and they purchased a home in Redstone Canyon.

Today, King is still busy coaching and training new coaches. She is very involved with the Colorado Women of Influence and was awarded their Woman of International Influence two years ago. She has also written several books, with another about to be published.

And King has yet to slow down despite reaching her seventh decade and being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010. Blogging throughout her experiences, both good and bad, is one way King has turned challenges into enlightenment. She still feels 18, she says, and age to her is just a number.

King mentors coaches both locally and internationally and works with both sexes, though she really enjoys helping women overcome attitudes that hinder them from achieving their full potential; it is a work that keeps her energized.

“My mission in coaching is to help people invoke their greatness,” she says. “I truly believe that everybody has a spark of greatness within them.”

To view King’s weekly blog or learn more about life coaching and her publications, visit her website at www.cellular-wisdom.com.

Angeline Grenz is editor for Style Magazine.

in•no•vate – v. 1. to introduce something new; make changes in anything established, 2. to alter.

Style invites you to nominate your Community Innovator. Send suggestions to angie@stylemedia. com for consideration.

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