Claim OwnershipEveryday Estes
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© Donna R. Carlson
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Stories told by the people you pass by every day, on topics that will pique your curiosity and make you want to get to know them – and keep you coming back for more. This podcast series is part of a connecting community initiative of the Estes Valley Resiliency Collaborative (EVRC). Hosted by EVRC volunteer and podcaster Donna Carlson.
20 Episodes
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The Pet Association has been the local human society in Estes Park for 50 years. For 30 of those years, Carolyn Fairbanks has been loving and placing pets in good homes. Since she died in February, her longtime friend and volunteer, Crystal, has been keeping the association running. Crystal is on the show today this week to fill us in on what the Pet Association does for our animals and our community.
Find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PetAssociationofEP. They need volunteers!
Wendy and Jan moved to Estes in January 2020 and experienced about six weeks of normal before the pandemic hit. They’re new residents to Estes Park but not new to Estes Park at all. Wendy has been coming here for over 50 years and Jan has been living in Estes for about 35 years, pinching himself now every morning when he wakes up and realizes that he lives here now. Their house is decked out with furnishings from stores all over town -- it's like a cabin designer showcase, as you can see illustrated with the greeting over their mantle. We hope you enjoy getting to know them a bit more.
Paula and Ryan Hale have a health and wellness practice on the third floor of The Church Shops. Ryan is a counselor and Paula provides massage therapy in this beautiful, sunny spot. They talk about the services they provide and about how their own family has learned to thrive in the pandemic by "normalizing" and getting things into context. And watching Marvel movies....
Stay in touch with them on Facebook or contact them directly:
Contact Ryan about a counseling appointment at 970-215-4030 or thejocdoc@outlook.com.
Contact Paula for massage at 720-235-2408 or healthy.habitz@yahoo.com.
Mark and Meredith Powell just moved in, enrolled their three kids into Estes Park schools and then got to work getting the inn ready for reopening this summer as Seven Keys Lodge. They aren't sure if it will be May or June, but you can guarantee there will be a chance for you to come and check it out. Join us for this episode to learn more about where they come from, the Outlaws & Legends music festival they created in Texas and their love of history, which makes them the perfect family to inherit the legacy of the Baldpate Inn from Lois Smith and family.
You can keep up with the Seven Keys Lodge online, on Facebook or on Instagram.
Rick met Val their sophomore year of high school and knew he "needed to lock this one down." Val made him wait and they married when she was 21. Counting high school, they have been together 38 years, sharpening one another and taking turns living the dream. Their daughter goes to college this year, so they will be busy franchising You Need Pie and starting a new donut shop! This will be a fun one, kicking off our February series of love stories in Estes Park.
Amy has been in the coffee business for a long time and endured several natural disasters. She talks in this interview about how her team maintains an attitude of joy as they spread kindness in their work. Her brand values are apparent to everyone who walks in the door. In the spirit of resiliency that the EVRC promotes, Amy is a pro.
Did you know that the same company, Delaware North, owns both the Ridgeline Hotel and Trendz, an upscale shop on Elkhorn? Walt moved to Estes Park to run the Ridgeline in the middle of the pandemic, having previously worked at several other Delaware North properties. Learn a little bit about Walt, where he comes from and how Estes Park compares to other gateway towns and national parks he has had the pleasure to experience throughout his career.
Rob's story resembles a global trend in the midst of this pandemic. The gift of COVID, if there is one, is that it is providing time, space and capacity for entrepreneurship and innovation. Level Red has put the brakes on the flow of business, for restaurants more than many. In the unfortunate circumstance that his neighbor folded in the early days of the pandemic, Rob jumped on the opportunity to lease the space and start a new venture. Listen to hear more about Rob's vision for Seasoned - An American Bistro - and Stella's Place next door.
It's not easy to remain flexible as the COVID dial rises and falls, but contingency planning is the new reality of running a business in a pandemic. Melissa Strong shares in this week's episode how she stays flexible in running Bird and Jim during a pandemic. Her staff is fiercely loyal and operates as a team, even when they need to back off the hours and even file unemployment... again. I asked Melissa how she manages the decision process of how to staff, what to order and when to run an ad. "We have to laugh," she says. We're all in the same place, so we hope you will feel right at home and in good company with Melissa in this conversation.
Ingrid runs a German style pub called The Barrel. Always at the forefront of helping to get our business community open, Ingrid was the first to show up on a call to discuss Larimer county‘s Level Up program – a version of the Five Star program Mesa County created. She’s actually on one of the committees to bring the voice of Estes Park to the program review process. Here’s a really good place to get a primer on what this program is up to. If you want to ask more questions, contract Ingrid at ingrid@thebarrel.beer. You can also get more information on the program and indicate your interest in participating at https://nocorecovers.com/larimer-county-level-up-pilot-program-presented-to-governors-office/
Courtney is the new Mental Health Coordinator at the Estes Park School District. She comes from Texas, which is a vote of confidence in our book right off the bat. It's a delight to have her expertise and her passion serving our kids and our community. Mental wellness is so important for our students right now, thanks for all you do, Courtney. You can reach her at courtney_carroll@psdr3.k12.co.us.
Michael has been the artistic talent behind Catch the Glow for 11 of the 13 years it’s been running. This year when a pandemic forced us to get creative about how to celebrate Christmas, Michael pulled a rabbit out of a hat and created a beautiful stationary parade of lights at the fairgrounds. He didn’t do it alone. He gives lots of credit to Rob Hinkle for campaigning to make this happen and a crew of supporters who run the details. The invaluable float team workers include Aimee Sawlaw, Rod Williams and Chris Biniek! There’s still one weekend left, December 5th, 6th and 7th. You don’t want to miss it.
Great segue from the fire to getting back to business. Anastacia and Kevin were just cutting the ribbon on Macdonald Book Shop on the day we were evacuated. Reuniting the book shop with the coffee shop has been a dream of theirs. Paula Steige has been running the shop since 1971, so this was a decision long in the making. We conducted this interview in the storytelling room, where the Reed boys sit and play at the same table Paula played at when her mother ran the store. It's a heartwarming holiday story. Help make it a great fire recovery story. Special order a book from Macdonald Book Shop that we don't have in stock & when you come back to pick up your book, you'll get a "delayed gratification" book mark for a free 12 oz beverage of your choice from Inkwell & Brew.
There is a lot of knowledge and preparation that goes into battling a wild fire. The most timely interview we could bring you after the evacuation and recovery of the Estes Valley is with Fire Chief David Wolf. Learn how he got into firefighting, where he came from and how the emergency response team makes decisions that impact our residents.
Not that we hope to experience this again anytime soon, but there are tremendous resources for families who live in the Wildland Urban Interface to be prepared, always. It's always good to have a plan. Check out these details at estesvalleyfire.org.
If you love authentic Mexican food or hanker for a margarita, you might know Ericka as the owner of Chelitos on Elkhorn Ave., or the Carniceria & Mexican Market on Dunraven St. She's soon to be the owner of a third business on West Elkhorn selling street tacos! You might know that she has three children and that her youngest, a precocious two-year old named America, follows her to work like she owns the place. You might know that she used to work for Crisis Advocates, that she sells real estate and volunteers selflessly, but I'll be you didn't know she used to practice law in Mexico before she came to America.
Join our conversation and get the inside scoop on Ericka Santana.
You hear the name Nick Smith and you think of beer. You might imagine sitting on the deck at Lumpy Ridge Brewing Co. You might not think of Estes Arts District and Friends of Folk. Nick shows his true colors when he talks about his inspiration for this festival. We've even included a sample of the latest festival, which was recorded because of COVID -- forever immortalized for you on YouTube.
If you know Rachel, you know she coordinates public relations for our town’s destination marketing organization — Visit Estes Park. She works with magazines to write stories about our town and manages media relationships, providing a valuable resource for our tourism economy. What you may not know about Rachel is that she's a volunteer firefighter! Hear the full story here.
What you didn't know about Nick Molle ....
... before he was a video producer, Nick was a songwriter.
Listen to his story.
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