Boulder, April 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Boulder County Business Hall of Fame today announced the community leaders who will be honored with induction as the Class of 2024.
“Boulder County is home to an incredible, innovative and thriving business community, and we are honored to once again recognize a number of outstanding business and community leaders,” said Scott Green, chair of the organization’s board of directors. “This year’s inductees carry on the rich tradition of not only business success, but strong examples of community service, philanthropy and leadership in breaking through barriers and stereotypes.”
The members of the 2024 Class of the Boulder County Business Hall of Fame are:
- Carol and Harvey Yoakum (Harvey is being inducted posthumously). Carol and Harvey were pillars of the Longmont community and mentored others to community service, a legacy Carol continues. Carol was one of the developers of Meadow Green Farm, a thoroughbred training center. The Yoakums developed Raspberry Hill Business Park, where Stevinson Lexus, Stapp Toyota and other businesses are located today. The Yoakums were active in philanthropic endeavors in many states. Carol was one of the signers when the Longmont United Hospital Foundation was formed. They founded programs at the Ellsworth Correctional Facility in Kansas and carpeted the Spiritual Life Center there. In Pauls Valley, Okla., the couple started a 32-bed drug and alcohol treatment facility which was later sold to the Chickasaw Nation and is now an adolescent treatment facility.
- Ann Cooper: Cooper has been a leader in Boulder County residential real estate for more than 25 years, receiving praise from both clients and colleagues. Her work ethic is impeccable and blends seamlessly into her life’s mission of helping others. Throughout her career, Cooper has assisted non-profits in the sale of gifted real estate without compensation and mentored young people from all backgrounds who have an interest in real estate. She has been a lifelong leader, role model and tireless advocate for social justice, and she has served on many volunteer boards and received a number of awards for her efforts on behalf of all people in Boulder County. Cooper also spearheaded an effort to create a fund at Community Foundation Boulder County for the benefit of BIPOC Women. She believes wholeheartedly in the Beloved Community concept popularized by Dr. Martin Luther King and is passionate about helping Boulder be just that.
- Andrew Quillen, Daniel Vonalt and Kurt Quillen, Main Street Mat Company: Main Street Mat Company is carrying on a legacy that began in Longmont in 1895. Today, Main Street Mat Company is a state-of-the-art business that was certified Green by Partners for a Clean Environment (PACE) in 2008. Additionally, the company was deregulated by the EPA for its innovative wastewater discharge. For more than a century, Main Street Mat Company has been a leader in business innovations, including automated material handling systems, water reuse, wastewater treatment and electrical co-generation. In fact, through investments in leading-edge equipment, Main Street Mat today produces three times the energy it consumes and sells electricity back to the grid.
- Dr. Tom Cech: At the University of Colorado, Cech and his research group discovered that the genetic material RNA could act as a biocatalyst, leading to Colorado’s first Nobel Prize in 1989. He taught freshman Chemistry to more than 2,000 students over the years, and Cech founded one of the first RNA biotech companies, Ribozyme Pharmaceuticals, Inc., in Boulder. In 2000, he moved to Washington, D.C., as president of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. In 2009, he returned to CU Boulder and became the founding director of the BioFrontiers Institute. His awards include the National Medal of Science (1995) and election to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Medicine.
- Dr. Philip DiStefano: Chancellor Phil DiStefano has spent his entire professional career as a leader within the CU Boulder community, serving as an educator, dean, provost and chancellor. Upon his retirement as chancellor this summer, he will transition to senior executive director of the CU Boulder Center for Leadership. Throughout his career, DiStefano has been committed to making CU Boulder a nationally recognized research institution that shapes tomorrow’s leaders and has a positive impact on humanity. A first-generation college graduate, he is a proud supporter of Buffs athletics, a champion of democracy and a believer in the value of town-gown partnerships.
- Clair Beckmann: Beckmann began her commercial banking career with First National Bank in Boulder as a credit manager in 1975 – then an unusual role for a woman. In less than a decade, she was promoted to vice president responsible for commercial and construction lending and made early loans to success stories such as Peppercorn and Kinko’s. In 1984, she was named president and CEO of Affiliated First National Bank of Louisville. Over the next seven years, Beckmann led the bank through re-capitalization and successfully established it as one of the most profitable in Colorado, while also banking much of Main Street in Louisville. Beckmann served as regional president for JPMorgan Chase with responsibility for the Boulder County market for many years before her retirement, and she remains an active volunteer and member of the community.
About the Boulder County Business Hall of Fame
The Boulder County Business Hall of Fame is a private, nonprofit 501C3 dedicated to the encouragement of business excellence in Boulder County by recognizing and inducting Boulder County business leaders into the prestigious Hall of Fame. Since its inception in 1992, 170 Boulder County leaders have been recognized as examples of the highest level of business ethics and celebrated for their commitment to innovation in business and philanthropic practices. In addition, the Boulder County Business Hall of Fame provides scholarships to Boulder County high school students who wish to attend the Colorado Leeds School of Business and to students at Front Range Community College. In total, nearly $150,000 in scholarships have been awarded. For more information, visit https://halloffamebiz.com/.
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