Jubilee: Celebrate Business in Longmont 2021
Ugh I'm just weirdly nervous, you know? I just... I really want people to enjoy the show and of course they're not going to because this is never going to be as good as the real thing and I'm just worried they're going to be disappointed. Stop it, I don't have that many fans. You know what? You're right. People will understand because we have been through a lot again this year and this is still something that we can do to celebrate our community.
Thanks Zuzu. It's show time! Hello and welcome to the Longmont Area Chamber of Commerce's annual awards event: Jubilee! Every year we ask the community to nominate the businesses and non-profits that deserve recognition for their accomplishment. We received hundreds and hundreds of nominations and tonight you get to hear from the 2021 business award finalists who have all demonstrated incredible ingenuity, generosity, and growth. This event is to honor and celebrate all of our finalists and to announce our award winners so thank you so much for joining us. We know that
this virtual style doesn't have all the pomp and circumstance of an in-person celebration, but that doesn't mean that our finalists and our community are any less deserving of a little celebration. So I will aim to deliver as much circumstantial pomp as humanly possible. During the show you'll hear from Longmont Chamber leadership, our presenting sponsor the Longmont Times Call and all of the finalists for the 2021 business awards, but before all of that I'm going to take a moment to thank all of our sponsors who support Jubilee. The presenting sponsor of this evening's program is the Longmont Times Call, an invaluable partner to the Chamber and the Longmont community for over a hundred years. Our gold level award sponsors are High Plains Bank, Pinnacol Assurance, Flatirons Bank, Longmont Power and Communications and Nexlight, Elevations Credit Union, Longmont United Hospital Centura and Wonder Tours and our silver sponsor this evening is T-Mobile here in Longmont. Our sponsors are the ones who make an event like this possible. Not only are these sponsors proud to bring you the 2021 business awards,
they also supported the highly anticipated return of the curated local gift boxes- all 250 of them mind you- designed to accompany this event. So if you have a Longmont Chamber celebration box beside you as you enjoy the show please join me in raising a glass to thank our sponsors for their continued support and to honor this year's award finalists. What do you mean I don't have a glass? Seriously? Supply chain issues? When that gets here it better be really good and oh sorry sorry that was a really Karen thing to say. Moving right along I'll turn things over to the CEO of the Longmont Chamber Scott Cook to welcome you all and talk a little bit about this last year and the one to come. Good evening and thank you for joining us for this virtual Jubilee event. This is an exciting time each year when we recognize the accomplishments of our businesses and non-profits in the community. It's also a time when we recognize our outgoing and incoming board members and thank them for their service to our organization.
I'd like to recognize these outgoing board members and thank them for their many hours of service: Jason Amrich with UCHealth Long's Peak Hospital, Christine Cavalier with the Group Real Estate, Mark Sample with Sample Supports, Andrew Ritz with Longmont United Hospital Centura, and Sandi Seader with the City of Longmont. I'd like to recognize these incoming board members: Aparna Palmer with Front Range Community College, Joni Marsh with the City of Longmont, Stephen South with LSE Builders, and Thaxter Williams with Thaxter Williams CPA Thank you to all of these individuals for choosing to give up your time and resources to the chamber. I, probably like you, thought we would be in a different position at this time of year with a pandemic far behind us. We don't often get to choose the challenges we go through in life but we do get to choose how we respond. 2021 was full of progress but also false starts
and a struggle to move forward. 2022 may not be a lot different. In response we are committed to creating safe opportunities that balance the health and well-being of our community with more in-person events. This includes our monthly after-hours, our Leadership Longmont, our committee meetings and one that I'm particularly excited about: Unity in the Community. Yes, after a two-year hiatus this fun-filled community event will make its return in late August. Our Board, staff, and volunteers have worked as hard as we could to deliver membership value during these tough time. Our plan for 2022 is to provide more access to events and meetings
that matter to our businesses and the community. I look forward to connecting with you next year. Thank you for your continued membership and with that let's enjoy the show! Thanks Scott! And now... it's show time. Our first award tonight is Emerging Business of the Year presented by Flatirons Bank. As a locally owned community bank Flatirons Bank is proud to support all businesses but especially those in the early stages of business growth. an emerging business for the Longmont Chamber awards is an establishment between one and five years old. Those early years are often the most trying times for businesses and Flatirons
Bank is proud to support businesses through a personalized approach and innovative solutions. So now let's hear from the Emerging Business of the year finalists. Hi my name is Mike Simons owner of Biscuits @ Mike's food truck, one of the only breakfast food trucks in the front range. So first things first my mom and I would like to thank the Longmont Chamber and its members for selecting us as finalists in the Emerging Business category. You know we had a lot of confidence in our ability to make a great breakfast but we've never really owned a business before so being selected for something like this is incredibly humbling and we feel like we owe a lot of our success to our engagement with our community and our ability to respond to our community and so it's very important for us that we're recognized for something like this. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Hi everyone I'm Jennifer Ferguson with Bricks Retail,
a brick and mortar retail shop in downtown Longmont making local gift giving easier and providing equitable and accessible retail shelf space for local vendors and I can't tell you the honor of being nominated and being a finalist in this year's Chamber Emerging Business award so with that deep honor I just want to say thanks again and we'll see you soon. Hi I'm Brenda Fuller with Outworld Brewing. As a new business we have appreciated the support that we have received from the Longmont community as we have launched our brewery and full service restaurant to bring to Longmont a unique dining experience and private event venue using sci-fi fantasy themes and events. We have partnered with local talent businesses and organizations to make Outworld a local destination for music, comedy, dinner theater, and other on-niche entertainment such as Dungeons and Dragons and role-playing games. The Longmont community has warmly embraced us and we are honored and humbled to be named one of this year's finalists for the Emerging Business awards. Cheers! And the winner is- what is this? I'm supposed to drink it? Drink the beer? Okay... well...
light beer the original bubbly water and apparently the winner is in here. Here we go oh god oh that's that's really awful okay oh okay okay oh sorry about that all right here we go all righty and the winner is Biscuits @ Mike's! Congratulations, cheers to you! They always say that the first few years of business are like drinking from a fire hose so can relate. Congratulations Biscuit @ Mike's, our Emerging Business of the Year! Recent years have brought a whole new understanding and appreciation for workplace safety the Longmont Chamber is proud to have been offering a workers compensation safety program to our members for nearly 30 years every year a business is recognized for their exemplary track record and named our safety champion this year that award goes to Nixcavating under the brokerage of True North and Dave Owen Congratulations! Moving right along we have the Building Bridges Award presented by Elevations Credit Union Longmont, sponsor of the Chamber's Education Committee. Elevations is a member-owned not-for-profit financial institution serving the Colorado front range. They have long been devoted to community involvement, volunteerism and
education. The Building Bridges award recognizes a member of the community both an individual and a business who demonstrates commitment to supporting student success and partnering with education in Longmont. The Longmont Chamber and Elevations Credit Union would like to recognize Kim Kittlson in the individual Building Bridges award category. Kim has been an engaged advocate for student literacy and single-handedly collected over 70 stuffed animals so each first grader could have a book buddy to read with. In the business category for Building Bridges the award goes to FastSigns Longmont. FastSigns has been a highly engaged business with our local students and hosted a student intern from the Education Committee, providing them real world exposure and experience with design, manufacturing, and customer service. Thank you Kim and FastSigns
for your investment and involvement with our future workforce and leaders. Whoa! Speaking of fast signs that was my cue card telling me we're a third of the way through the show! I think it's time to hear from Al Manzi the CEO of Prairie Mountain Media and the Longmont Times Call the presenting sponsor of tonight's show. The Times Call's long history in the community has made them a close partner and supporter of the Longmont community for decades. Take it away Al! Good evening, my name is Al Manzi and I'm publisher for the Longmont Times Call and President and CEO for Prairie Mountain Media. The Times Call has been a proud sponsor of this event for over a decade
and we're honored to be presenting the finalists for Legacy Business of the Year. The Times Call is by definition a legacy business. We've been serving the greater Longmont community for well over a hundred years. Staying in business that long means that you have to be willing to change. Our news and information used to be viewed only in print. Today our news and information is viewed by more people than ever before. It's true. We still have a lot of printed copies but
now you can get your information that we produce through a multitude of digital platforms. In fact I bet when Longmont news breaks many of you receive that news on your cell phone almost immediately. The Legacy finalists this year have weathered the same change and continue to excel. They are: the Samson Law Firm, members since 1992, Edward Jones John McLean, members since 2009, and Georgia Boys BBQ, members since 2011. In total these businesses have been serving the community for over 50 years. I have no idea who will win, but one thing I am certain of is that every one of these finalists is clearly deserving and we all want to thank them for their long service to the Longmont community. I also want
to congratulate the Chamber staff for their hard work in making tonight possible. Business in Longmont continues to grow and thrive thanks to all of you. Thanks and have a wonderful evening. Look at that! I got my drink just in time to raise it in thanks to Al and everyone from the Longmont Times Call for their decade-long support of the Jubilee event. Cheers!
The Legacy Business of the Year award is presented by the Longmont Times Call. This award recognizes businesses that have been members of the Longmont Chamber for over 10 years. With 50 years of business between tonight's finalists, I think one of the hardest things they've had to do is sum all of that history up into 30 second videos, but let's have them give it a shot, eh? Hello I'm John I'm Catherine we are honored to have our Edward Jones branch be a finalist for Legacy Business in Longmont in 2021. We have been serving this community for over a decade helping families and businesses meet their financial goals. We are proud of the fact that during a global pandemic we have increased our capacity to serve with the personal touch that you expect from Edward Jones. This nomination means a lot to us because it feels like a validation of the work that we do to help people here in the community. Thank you for your support and we wish you and yours a happy holiday season.
Hello everyone! I'm Matt this is Nick from Georgia Boys Barbecue and we're super excited to be nominated for the Legacy Business award this year. Here at Georgia Boys Barbecue we provide southern-style food and hospitality to all of our guests and community. One of the most proud accomplishments that we've done here is provide over 4,000 meals to evacuees, firefighters, and first responders during the 2020 East Troublesome fire We also want to thank our staff as we hit a huge milestone this year. We hit our 10-year anniversary this past July and we couldn't have done it without our staff and without our community so thank you. Thank you. Good evening, my name is rick Samson. I'm an attorney, I've been practicing in Longmont for about 30 years. My wife and I moved back to Longmont in the 1970s. My wife is a native
we wanted a community where we could raise a family so that they would have a true hometown. Longmont is a true hometown, and we have enjoyed every minute that we've been here and I am honored to have been nominated for this award. ...and the winner is... cute. Because this is my legacy. At least it's not 38 jalapeno peppers. It's just one bell pepper. Let's do this. *chewing sounds* and the winner is Georgia Boys! Congratulations! I would like a lifetime supply of barbecue bell peppers. Thank you. Let's go now to the Ambassador of the Year award presented by Pinnacol Assurance. Ambassadors of
the Longmont Chamber represent the values of our organization in the community and support the success of our many events and programs. Without them our staff of four would not have been able to bring back more than 25 in-person events this year. For this very event, many of them gave countless hours- who am I kidding I definitely counted it was over 300 hours! Tag writing, bow tying, and box stuffing for the return of those amazing local gift boxes. This type of unseen work is too often in the background, but it makes a huge impact that is exactly the kind of work that resonates with Pinnacol Assurance, a company that has stood with Longmont businesses to ensure that they have the resources and support that they need to navigate a time where workplace safety is of significant importance for business success and employee safety. Standing with and supporting the Chamber is second nature to tonight's finalist. Her consistency, care, and compassion make her presence at events a joy. She's willing to step up and do whatever is needed. This is also why
she is heavily relied upon by Chamber staff when we're in need of the kind and careful touch that is so unique to her genuine nature. Off-the-wall volunteer roles like "please follow me around all day with a walkie-talkie headset and do all the things that I know I will not have the time to do" or even being the exclusive golf lounge bouncer, because who could argue with a congenial British lady? For everything that she's given the Chamber, her fellow members, and this community, it is with great pleasure that we honor Catherine Mchale as Ambassador of the Year. Not bad for your first year as a U.S. citizen, Catherine! Congratulations! Our next award actually represents two events. High Plains Bank, sponsor of the Non-Profit of the Year award, is also the presenting sponsor of Unity in the Community, our largest event that we haven't been able to host now for two years. However, the belief that community comes together at the intersection of businesses non-profits and elected officials (or at least at 4th and Kimbark) is alive and well thanks to High Plains Bank who believes in helping people build thriving communities by doing the right things and by doing things right.
As we look with a hopeful eye on Unity in the Community returning in August of 2022, we would be remiss to not acknowledge the continued effort and extraordinary work of organizations in our community. In 2021 with generous support from High Plains Bank and both Longmont Walmarts the Unity Funds the Community grant at the Longmont Community Foundation has reached its largest sum to date. With this support, every finalist for non-profit of the year will get at least a $1,500 grant from the Unity Fund. When we say the finalists are all winners we mean it! Now let's hear from the non-profit of the year finalists. Hello everyone my name is Tim Rakow. I'm the executive director of The Inn Between of Longmont. The Inn Between exists to provide that gift of home through affordable housing and supportive services which really lead toward a pathway of greater self-sufficiency.
Ultimately we're really proud of the accomplishment of being nominated for such an award as Non-Profit of the Year and I think it's really a demonstration of the value that the community has in the work we do and we're very grateful for that. Thank you very much. Hi my name is Marc Cowell, the executive director here at the OUR Center. I'm very proud of how our team adapted and persevered in a very complex and ever-changing environment. This year alone we experienced over 350 increase in the needs for our services and our team tackled that challenge head-on with the utmost professionalism and compassion. We're very humbled to receive this nomination this evening that highlights our team's creativity, resilience, and dedication during extraordinary times. They are truly my heroes. We want to say thank you for this nomination and thank you for all the community support.
Hello I'm Jackie List, executive director of Safe Shelter of Saint Vrain Valley. We provide safety and support to anyone impacted by domestic violence, family violence, human trafficking, or abuse in later life. We take great pride in the resilience, creativity and dedication of our staff who meet survivors where they are and help them navigate the complex challenges they face. We deeply appreciate being nominated for Non-Profit of the Year by our community there is no greater honor than that granted by the people we serve.
...and the winner is... [*ping*] Safe Shelter of the St. Vrain Valley! Congratulations! It is my privilege to let you know that as the Non-Profit of the Year you will receive a $3,000 grant from Unity Funds the Community. Our other two finalists will receive a $1,500 grant as well. Congratulations! I just love surprises! Which is why when the opportunity presented itself to dupe Chamber outgoing board chair Chris McGilvray, I just couldn't resist.
Chris has experienced a lot of surprises in his tenure: becoming chair for two years, unexpectedly steering our nonprofit through unprecedented pandemic waters, navigating virtual learning as a parent and as a professor at Front Range Community College and pivoting his own brick and mortar business, Longmont Liquors. Chris still gave tirelessly to our organization. So from all of us staff, thank you, you've truly made a difference at the Longmont Chamber. Now, for everyone else please enjoy this amazing candid camera moment where I told Chris he was giving a speech, but in reality he was receiving the Making a Difference Award. Oh, tender! This is it people it's the final stretch- we only have a few awards left! The next award represents the need for us to partner with other organizations and rely on each other as a community. It's amazing to see what happens
when people and businesses rally to support one another the Resilient Business of the Year award, presented by Longmont United Hospital, was created last year to acknowledge the swift response of businesses to support a community in crisis. As this crisis evolves what is apparent now more than ever is a need to care for one another. We are fortunate to have a hospital like Longmont United caring for our community for over 60 years. Tonight we are honoring businesses that have mirrored that care for Longmont in their own businesses. Let's hear from them. Hi I'm Emily Bauer, founder of Blue Skies Massage and Wellness. I'm most proud of our amazing team. We've gone from 600 square feet to 1300 square feet- more than doubled our space and been able to really survive and thrive through this difficult year and being nominated for Resilient Business of the Year means the world to us because it acknowledges really the difference that we make and what we have to give to Longmont.
Hi my name is Molly Abernathy. I'm the owner and veterinarian of the Family Pet Hospital here in Longmont Colorado. I started this practice in 2015 with the idea of "stress less care more" In the past year, this challenging pandemic year, we have actually gained 1,300 new clients, I've physically expanded our space by 1,400 square feet, and we've added five new staff members. I'm super excited to be nominated for this award as it's a recognition of all the work that we've done Hi this is Goodlife Acupuncture. We're a local acupuncture and wellness center here in Longmont Colorado where we use Chinese medicine, acupuncture, and herbs to help keep your entire family healthy. We're really proud because we've been able to help many people stay healthy through the pandemic as well as many recover after the pandemic. We're also really proud
to be nominated because we've been able to keep six employees employed throughout the pandemic and we've been able to use our medicine to show what resilience is truly like. Thank you ...and the winner is... little did you know I have pockets in my pantsuit and I cut ribbons like two days a week and the winner of Resilient Business of the Year is... Blue Skies Massage and Wellness! Congratulations and thank you so much for your dedication to the Longmont community. We're here! The peak! The finish line! The summit! The pièce de résistance! The culmination of the Chamber's Jubilee! I feel...
I feel a little dance number coming on.... ♫ Give My Regards to Broadway ♫ No. This is a terrible idea, just kidding, we're totally not doing it. It's time for the Business of the Year award presented by Longmont Power and Communications and Nexlight. As Longmont's own fiberoptic gigabit internet, Nextlight is for Longmont, by Longmont.
Tonight's Business of the Year finalists also represent this incredible aptitude to support the community first knowing that they will be supported in return. That is the true power of community. Without further ado, let's meet the finalists for Business of the Year. I think one of the most defining things about learning who you are as a person is the struggles that you go through. My name is Rachel Hunter and I am the owner of a florae flowers. Hello, I'm Scott Brasington, owner of GreenPoint Roofing. I'm most proud of our GreenPoint family and the culture that we have cultivated over the past 10 years. I'm very proud of their commitment
to our customers, to each other and most importantly their commitment to our community. We're so grateful and humble be considered for the Business of the Year award by the Longmont Chamber. Just to be mentioned with these other outstanding Longmont businesses is a true honor. Thank you Longmont! Thank you Longmont My name is Stephanie Fournier and I am a shareholder and attorney at Jorgensen Brownell and Pepin. We at JBP are a family-owned, local full-service law firm with attorneys who have decades of experience. That allows us to be your community legal advocates for life's unexpected moments. We are beyond privileged and truly honored to be a finalist for
Business of the Year. Since our inception in 1989, we are proud to have called the Longmont community home and we would not be here without the support of our clients and fantastic staff. We are truly humbled by this recognition. Thank you again.
and now I will magically pull the Business of the Year winner from my top hat! well that's a tiny pumpkin so we're going to try this again. The Business of the Year is... a florae! Congratulations! That's it for our show everyone! Thank you so much for tuning in. We are so happy that you chose to celebrate business with us tonight. We can't express how grateful we are for the support our community continues to give us. Remember, no matter what the year throws at us
we'll get through it. Together. Here's to a healthy prosperous happy new year! I thought you were going to throw it and I was going to be like *GASP* Got it. And the winner is... [I can work with this] Can this be in the bloopers? Oh god! A little more loft, a little more like a- oh! [*laughter* More like that?] Like that. I'll just.. oh god no! It's a terrible idea! It's ruining my hair! [*laughter*] And the winner is- HIGHER! Leah Winkler! How long do you think my arms are? And the winner is...
[*sound of box lid loudly landing in the trash can*] Okay this is just a practice arc? And the winner is- [*crashing noises*] no And the winner is... Safe Shelter of the St. Vrain... Leah Winkler! Control... Control yourself! This is ridiculous! All I see in the background is
2021-12-10 17:54
