February 10—With all of the maintenance, renovation and construction of new businesses happening in Boulder, some may occasionally ask themselves “What makes Boulder relevant?”
Well, the answer is simple. To be relevant, said Chip, CEO of the Downtown Boulder Partnership, a place must have meaning. In Boulder, meaning is everywhere. It comes from the nature that surrounds it, and the people who dedicate themselves to helping it flourish year after year and remain the same today.
“Downtown Boulder is rich in meaning,” Chip said Friday. “We get our nature from the natural environment in this place. That’s why we’re here, and that’s how we’re able to live here — (it’s) our relationship with the natural environment. The other thing is human nature — it’s people. “
The Downtown Boulder Partnership hosted its annual awards ceremony on Friday. The event had 230 RSVPs, said Anna Saleem, vice president of operations and programming.
Before announcing the award recipients, Chip discussed the Boulder Partnership’s recently released five-year vision plan, which focuses on six core goals: to position Pearl Street Mall as a place for 50 more years of success; facilitating Pearl Street Mall discovery, activation and opportunities; embracing the Creek Corridor as part of Downtown; connecting to nearby neighborhoods and districts; tying it all together with safe, comfortable and interesting infrastructure; and storytelling and increasing understanding.
“Our biggest role is to invite more people – not only to witness but to create this space with us,” he said. “Every person we invite has a unique ability to create meaning for themselves, for each other, and for us. Downtown Boulder is relevant that way.”
Award recipients included Avanti Food & Beverage, Virginia Patterson Business of the Year; Gemini, The Rising Star Award; StreetWise Arts, Nonprofit Organization of the Year; Dennis Paul with Elevation Credit Union, George Karakehian Community Service Award; and the Dave Adams, Ron Porter Special Achievement Award with the Downtown Boulder Partnership.
Chipp said that of the individuals the awards were named after, each business or individual who received the award was honored Friday because they, too, are committed to giving back to the city and residents they live in.
“This event is always a reminder that the downtown business community is a unique and special community,” he said. “It’s really a very supportive and collaborative community full of people who really care about downtown Boulder. They really care about each other.”
Chip said a new award introduced Friday was the Virginia Patterson Business of the Year, which recognizes trailblazing business leaders from Patterson. Attendees also learned about another award Friday that, although it was not new, had many never known its significance until the event: the Ron Porter Special Achievement Award.
Porter’s daughter, Lori Cady, talked about her father, whom she said was beloved by many in Boulder and could be seen walking around town every day.
“Ron lived by our family motto, which was actually a song that begins ‘Every day I will do a golden deed by helping those in need,’” Cady recounted. “To all of you who care so deeply about our beloved city, Dad’s golden deeds flourish today as the Downtown Boulder Partnership.”
Source: www.bing.com
