With a heart that’s as passionate about the outdoors as it is about painting, Melinda Smith Haymons’ instinctual eye for composition, color and light brings her en plein air paintings to vivid life. Whether capturing a cloudscape in Wyoming, a…
Maggie Morrissey’s grandfather, Hugh Brown Cannon, was 22 when, in 1885, he hopped a train in his native Michigan and arrived in Denver with just pennies in his pocket and the promise of a job delivering milk for a Northern…
Kristen Blessman didn't grow up with the idea of becoming a chief executive, let alone the head of a Public Broadcasting Service station, Denver’s PBS12. In fact, she says, her life easily could have gone in a different direction had…
Football games can be pretty exciting—especially when a nail-biter of a win is involved. The rush that fans of…
We don’t deserve dogs. Their unconditional love, loyalty and companionship are more than we warrant. Lucky for us, these four-legged angels don’t give up easily, and lucky for…
For three decades, the Denver Children’s Foundation (DCF), formerly Denver Active 20-30, has supported at-risk, disadvantaged children in our community. DCF members are a diverse collection of community leaders between the ages of 20 and 39 who have the passion,…
“If you could work on anything—money was no object and it was purely about passion and something you felt deeply driven about— what would it be?” That’s the question TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie posed to his friend Pat Dossett several…
Thirteen years ago, 20 individuals concerned with climate change, food equity and building community got together and agreed…
Portraits by Jensen Sutta ON A CHILLY JANUARY DAY, the Bowlen family walked together into Empower Field at Mile High for the final home game of the 2021/2022 season and the final home game as owners of one of…
JOEL APPEL, the new co-owner of the reincarnated Zaidy’s Bakery & Deli, says his restaurant is a “two-stop shop,” meaning diners stop by two tables to schmooze on their way in, and at least two more on the way out.…
ONE OF THE SECRETS of turning Colorado grapes into good wine is to let the fruit be. “You have to listen to what the grape is saying,” says Carboy Winery’s CEO, Kevin Webber. With a shorter growing season and loamy,…
MICHELLE GRIEGO got her first big break in television at the age of 11. She went on a casting call at a local talent agency and was hired to co-anchor a children’s news show, “Two Bits.” The program was on…
THE NEXT TIME you’re grabbing a bite at McDonald’s, go ahead and say “yes” when the order-taker asks if you’d like fries with your burger—and not just because McDonald’s French fries are delicious. For every pound of French fries that the…
MORE THAN 400 YEARS after Jacopo Peri composed “Dafne,” believed to be the world’s first true opera, the art form commonly described as “drama set to music” continues to delight audiences worldwide—including right here in Colorado. For 90 years, Central…
Portrait By Jensen Sutta MORRIS PRICE JR. exudes charisma. He’s an extrovert, dapperly dressed, impeccably mannered and effortlessly generous with his genuine smile. It comes as no surprise to learn that Price was nominated homecoming king at Colorado State University…
Portrait by Jensen Sutta WHEN SEAN MCNICHOLAS walks through the National Western Stock Show’s Members Club, many of the regulars assume he is the maître d.’ That’s because McNicholas, CEO of SSA Group, the business that runs merchandise, ticketing and…
THE LAST PERSON TO SING Ron Williams’ praises is Ron Williams himself. He’ll down-play his business acumen and gloss over his ability to raise millions of dollars for causes in which he…
A TRIP TO EAST AFRICA in 2016 with the Global Livingston Institute opened Amber Valdez’s eyes about the ways many organizations strive to help underserved communities but sometimes fall short. In northern Uganda, she saw churches that had been abandoned…
We love to shop to find the just-right gift and wrap it with holiday cheer and ribbon. Now is also the perfect time to share our bounty and give to organizations helping those in need, especially with the opportunity of Colorado Gives Day…
LAUREN Y. CASTEEL looked me straight in the eye and said: “I’ve had an extraordinary life, but I am not an extraordinary person.” Anyone who knows Casteel, the president and chief executive officer of The Women’s Foundation of Colorado (WFCO), would…
NICOLE JARMAN IS THE KIND of person you want to have in charge from the very first planning meeting of an event to the moment the last guest leaves. Because while everything might be planned to the tiniest detail, you never…
Photography By Jensen Sutta NANCY TUOR spent more than three decades and held various executive positions at the global engineering firm CH2M Hill, but one project in particular that she helmed gets more attention than all the others. Tuor helped orchestrate the…
Photography By Jensen Sutta WHEN KIM GORGENS walks into a room, people notice. It is not just that she stands 6 feet tall, but her strong voice, confident projection and, most of all, the subjects she talks about command an audience. Gorgens,…
In March 2020, on what was literally the eve of Colorado’s COVID-19 lockdowns, a worried grandmother came to A Precious Child in a panic. In 2015, she had been awarded custody of three of her grandchildren, and now four more were being entrusted to…
