Three years ago, I began the work of co-leading EMJD, a precision sheet metal manufacturing business in Englewood. I assumed my 17 years in nonprofit leadership would quickly translate into this new blue-collar environment. If I could lead an organization with more than a thousand employees across dozens of countries, surely I could handle a small business with 18 employees under one roof. I was wrong.

Down a winding country road through Colorado’s North Fork Valley, Big B’s Delicious Orchards emerges through the trees like an oasis: thirty acres of fruit trees against the high desert, cottonwoods holding rope swings, ponds for paddling, and the West Elk Mountains rising beyond the orchard.

A credit union is a sacred place. It is a financial cooperative with a unique fiscal responsibility. As a nonprofit institution, a credit union exists to serve its members and the community. “A credit union is the financial industry’s best kept secret!” Darius Wise shared enthusiastically. Wise is the President of Red Rocks Credit Union and is passionate about people seeing Red Rocks Credit Union as a local ally, helping people navigate their individual financial realities.  

The driveway is a sacred place. Although driveways are often referenced as utilitarian space and considered an unwanted hallmark of suburban neighborhood design, they transcend their uniform purpose to be a place where countless moments of our lives are shared. Far more than simply serving a task of automobile entry, they provide a place where we are welcomed and welcome others. Our driveways serve as an extension of our home and hospitality.