October 2018 Speakers:
  • 10/02:  Summit Daily
  • 10/09:  Exchange Students
  • 10/16:  The Leadership and Community Education Academy
  • 10/23:  Arc Thrift Stores / Down's Book
  • 10/30:  Breckenridge Heritage Alliance
 
  • 10/02:  Summit Daily - Ian Donovan
    • Wow, who knew that the Summit Daily and parent company Swift had so much going on?!
    • Ian reviewed the wide variety of services and products produced by the company, including the Summit Daily, Weekender, Explore Summit, Visitor Guide, Bike Guide, Investigative reporting series, SC Home/Luxury magazines, Best of Summit Awards/Event, the "Give" program, Digital Optimization services (such as SEO), the shared event calendar, and more.
    • We reviewed some impressive numbers around the website traffic that the Summit Daily and Everything Summit sites receive online...  Great opportunity for businesses to advertise, non-profits like ourselves to "get the word out", and readers to benefit from knowing all of the great things that our community has to offer!
    • The approach is very consultative, working together with the full team of writers, designers, etc. to provide the best services to those advertising and providing content for the various media produced.
    • He emphasized the primary goals or points to leave behind with us - They are here to help people, be a local community partner, let us know that the free model works here!, and it is really important that they remain relevant.
    • Next Steps for BMR:  We completed our initial information for the "Give" magazine and agreed to the spread we will have there, we discussed the options for upcoming "wraps" for the Summit Daily, and Candy has been wonderful in additionally getting our Young Professionals event onto the shared community calendar.
    • Website: https://www.summitdaily.com
       
  • 10/09:  Exchange Students - Janica & Borja
    • We were delighted to hear from Borja about his hometown of Valencia, Spain, followed by Janica about Finland.
    • We learned a lot about the culture, food, some of the typical activities that they participate in back home, and some of the things that they're looking forward to during their year here in Summit County.
    • It was really fun having Teresa join us, as well.  She is one of our "Youth Exchange Committee" members - She serves as a Youth Exchange Officer (YEO), along with Lisa & Jenni also pictured here.  She organizes the Ski Weekend for the district in January, and she has also recently helped host a student.  This program has so many benefits to the students and to our clubs.
    • Next Steps for BMR:  Buy a Cookbook!
      • We are excited to see the results of their upcoming fundraiser, a Cookbook from around the world, all of the students from our district are putting it together now.  Stay tuned, and if you're interested in supporting our students to raise money towards their bus trip, it would be a really fun cause!  What a great idea!
      • Sign up to help our students experience Colorado!  Take them to a Nuggets game, Breck. Theatre, Bowling, Horseback Riding, Ice Skating...  There are so many great things to offer in our own county and down in Denver.  Participating in this "bucket list" can really help you have more interaction with the students, learn about their home culture, and provide them with opportunities that they may not otherwise experience!  Contact Jenni or Lisa for more information.

 
  • 10/16:  The Leadership and Community Education Academy - Christine Katzenmeyer
    • Today, we had an interactive and interesting discussion around the idea of "Aging in Place".
    • "We Need Your Voice" - Looking for more Summit County residents to get involved.  Benefits in Action has received a grant to help older adults with or without disabilities examine whether there are enough resources available to age in place in Summit County.  Participants will receive leadership training and gain a better understanding of the resources available in the community.
      • Interested?  Contact Benefits in Action at 720-543-0920 or kstevens@benefitsinaction.org.
      • Class Schedule:  10/29 - 9am-2pm, 11/19 - 9am-2pm, 11/29 9am-2pm
      • Provider interviews will occur in Jan/Feb, and Public Awareness will occur March-May.
    • Goals of the program:
      • Hear about services available and needed in Summit County
      • Hear the Voices of older adults in our community
      • Hear about gaps, ideas, and problems
      • Share this information - there are sufficient grant funds that could cover various ways of getting the word out about services available, so that our community knows about these services before they are needed.  The goal is to allow the community to determine the best approach to delivering this message through this forum.
         
  • 10/23:  Arc Thrift Stores / Down's Book - Luke Stahmer
    • We learned so much today around this topic!  It is really amazing, the accomplishments that have been made by arc Thrift Stores.
    • The stores are obviously one very big part of the great services that are offered back to the community.  However, we learned about so many other great things that they are doing...  Leading some legislative changes to be more inclusive, employing people with special needs...  Arc University provides job & life skill training, taught by volunteers, and provides a chance to "replay" high school experiences that may have been overshadowed by the special needs at the time (over 600 Arc 'degrees').  The company has received over 40 awards for customer service and prides themselves in the retention rate of employees, providing a great work environment with many benefits, such as social events that many employees may otherwise not have access to...
    • The presentation also covered an interesting angle on how much waste is being prevented, how clothing donations provide a 7 lbs CO2 offset, and all the creative ways that they partner with other companies to help decrease waste and reuse materials and donations, even if they weren't resold.  Additional topics included partnerships, such as providing support to Meals on Wheels, vouchers for clothing, and a nationwide program for donated vehicles.
    • The number of volunteer hours for the organization is quite impressive - about 12,000 per week, over 2.7 million hours.  Wow!!
    • The research that we also briefly discussed sounds incredibly promising, and I look forward to hearing positive results to come in the near future!  I'm afraid I may get some of the details a little off, but there is basically a link between the chromosomes involved with Down's Syndrome and Alzheimer's, and this discovery has led to some very promising test results.  Can you imagine a world where people with these conditions may see some reversal of symptoms, such as returning memories to Alzheimer's patients?!  
    • Please check out the link to the CEO's book "Why Not Them".
    • Thanks to Luke for such an inspiring and engaging presentation on this topic!
       
  • 10/30:  Breckenridge Heritage Alliance - Cindy Hintgen
    • We had a wonderful time learning more about all of the tours, events, museums, and more that BHA offers in our area.
    • Check out their website for more current tour information:  BreckHeritage.com
    • Interested in having a private group tour?  Some really cool options are out there, just contact them for more info!
    • I'm personally interested to check out the Summit Ski Museum, tucked away at 308-B S Ridge St.  Sounds like it may have a temporary relocation during some remodeling, so stay posted on their site for any updates.
In November, we'll be hearing from Mental Health Colorado, have time for Club Business, World Music Development, and more.
 
Tip:  To view information about Past Speakers, you can go to the Calendar option, and go back to a previous month.