Boulder Chamber Annual Award Honorees
We were very pleased to recognize our 2010 Award Honorees at our Annual Dinner on April 21, 2011. Please join us in honoring this dynamic crew of Boulder business professionals and businesses.
Frannie Reich Award for Lifetime Achievement
Francis “Franny” Reich was Manager and President of the Boulder Chamber from 1934 to 1973. He was responsible for shaping Boulder into the community we know and love today. Under his watch IBM, Ball Aerospace and the National Bureau of Standards were lured here. He took part in the creation of the Boulder/Denver toll-way, known today as Highway 36, and the erection of Crossroads Mall in addition to countless other feats. Not only an advocate for business, Franny was also a tireless volunteer and a warm philanthropist. 
Frank Day
President, Concept Restaurants, Inc.
Chairman of Board, Craft Works Restaurant Groups
Restaurant and Hospitality veteran Frank Day has built one of the nation’s leading restaurant groups, which is responsible for several nationally known, highly successful restaurants. He has served as President of Concept Restaurants, Inc. (CRI) since 1976 and managing general partner of the Hotel Boulderado in Boulder, Colorado since 1980.
Concept restaurants is the hospitality development group responsible for Rialto Café, Table Mountain Inn, Hotel Boulderado, Woody’s Wood-Fired Pizza, and Via Baci. CRI also played the role as the start-up company for the Old Chicago and Rock Bottom Restaurants Group. Frank Day is chairman of the board of Rock Bottom Restaurants, Inc. (now Craft Works) that began in Boulder with one Old Chicago pizza restaurant.
He also is active in many civic and nonprofit organizations, having served as director of the Boulder Chamber and helped found and served as the first president of Downtown Boulder, Inc. Frank served on the People’s Clinic Board for many years and in 2008, the Day family contributed to Clinica Campesina for an opportunity to develop the Day Family Health Center. He is particularly involved with the Rock Bottom Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit which is dedicated to combating hunger and homelessness in the communities in which the restaurants operate.
The Virginia Patterson Businessperson of the Year
The recipient of this award has consistently contributed business expertise and experiences to connect the Boulder business world to city, charitable, or other public-spirited causes and is a leader in making Boulder a better place to do business. 
Lou Della Cava
LJD Enterprises, Inc.
Owner
Lou joined the IBM Corporation in White Plains, New York after service with the US Army. During a career spanning 22 years, held various management positions with IBM in Finance and Product Line Management. He left IBM in 1985 to devote time to rapidly growing real estate operations.
Lou purchased the Arrow Office Equipment Company in 1985, which is still owned and operated with partners Pam Komhyr and Todd Silbert. He is developer and owner of a number of commercial and industrial properties and development projects in Boulder County and Denver, including properties owned jointly with partners Stephen Tebo and Bill Reynolds.
Lou was a member of the Board of Trustees of Boulder Community Hospital Foundation (1999-2006). He has been a member of the Board of Directors of Boulder Community Hospital since 2006 and is currently Vice-Chairman. He has been a member of the Advisory Board of Wells Fargo Bank in Boulder since 1985, and was Chairman of the Board of Directors of Boulder Tomorrow, Inc. from 2005 to 2009. Lou was inducted into Boulder County Business Hall of Fame in April 2009.
Key Contributor of the Year
This award recognizes an individual who has made a positive impact on the community through leadership and a significant contribution of time, talent and expertise. 
Susan Connelly
Colorado Chautauqua Association
Executive Director
Susan Connelly became Executive Director of the Colorado Chautauqua Association in 2003 after being a land use and real estate lawyer in Florida and Illinois; Community Development Director for the Town of Vail, CO; Deputy Commissioner in the City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development; and Vice President for Community Design at McStain Neighborhoods in Boulder.
Susan identifies the common denominator in her work to date as the planning for and fostering of community. She serves on the Boulder Convention and Visitors Bureau Advisory Board, including two terms as Chair (2005 - current) and the Boulder Chamber’s Community Affairs Council (2010 - current). Susan also served on the Chamber Board of Directors (2009 - 2010) and on the Boulder Urban Renewal Authority (2001 - 2010).
After providing leadership to the Boulder Convention and Visitor’s Bureau for several years, she led a successful ballot initiative in 2010 to increase hotel accommodation tax. Half the proceeds of the tax will be reinvested in tourism, benefitting hundreds of Boulder businesses that serve visitors to our community.
Community Sustainability Leader
This award recognizes an organization that demonstrates success at managing an integrated triple bottom line – economic success, commitment to social equity and concern for environmental footprint. 
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado at Boulder is well known for loving the environment—and there are over 50 years of reasons why. CU-Boulder is home to the nation’s first student-run environmental program (1970) and its first collegiate recycling program (1976). It is also home to the nation’s first environmental law class and casebook, Cases and Materials on the Law of Natural Resources (1951), and one of its top 10 environmental law programs today.
The campus is continuing to lead in efforts to reduce its environmental footprint, with a growing list of LEED-certified building projects, the nation’s first-ever zero-waste BCS football stadium, and aggressive efforts to reduce energy and water usage as much as possible. CU-Boulder is also among the nation's leaders in research dedicated to environmental sciences and energy—including key partnerships with federal research laboratories and sister universities in the state—underscoring its widespread and long-standing commitment to understanding and preserving the environment through its research, teaching, service, and day-to-day operations.
Best Place to Work
Awarded to a company that demonstrates proficiency in leadership, communication, respect and alignment.
Western Disposal
Western Disposal is a 40-year old company that provides collection services for waste, recyclable and compostable materials to all of Boulder County. From its beginning in 1970 with one refuse truck and 1,200 customers it has grown to a fleet of 70 vehicles, 50,000 customers and 125 employees.
Every day Western employees and trucks make 20,000 individual collection stops in the community. Western has also been a leader in providing services to its customers that allow them to divert as much material as they desire from landfills. In 2010 Western’s residential customers in the City of Boulder diverted over 50 percent of their waste stream to composting and recycling.
Western Disposal is a homegrown company that is making a difference as our community evolves. They are a major annual sponsor for Crayons to Calculators with employees raising money for the cause, including a charity auction that raised more than $50,000 in 2010. Their employee tenure is certainly noteworthy—they have 120 employees with an average tenure of eight years and many staying 10 to 20 years. Likewise, their employees are a referral base for the company. When a position opens, they recommend it to their friends since it is such a great place to work. 
Boulder 2140 Young Business Person of the Year
This award recognizes a member under the age of forty who has an impact on his/her organization, demonstrated significant contribution of time or talent to the Boulder area and shows potential for future leadership. 
Shaun Oshman
iSupportU
Owner
Shaun arrived in Boulder in March of 2009 and started iSupportU as a company within two days of arriving in town. He found a great Schwinn cruiser and began providing IT support to clients on two wheels. The business was run out of a spare bedroom for the first year. In March 2010, there was enough revenue to move into the space at 2232 Pearl Street with the three staff. Now with a team of seven, the company moved to 1825 Pearl in April 2011. iSupportU has over 1,000 clients in Boulder, including businesses such as Avery Brewing, Pedal to Properties and Stellar Properties.
Shaun has been a Boulder Chamber Ambassador for the past year and is significantly involved in Boulder 2140, the Chamber’s young professionals group, as a board member and the co-chair of the Professional Development Committee.
Members of Distinction
This award recognizes members who have demonstrated a passion for and made a significant contribution to one or more Boulder Chamber councils, programs or projects; put in two or more years of significant volunteerism with the Boulder Chamber; and have the ability to motivate others.
Jan Autrey
Without Bounds
Owner
Jan has had a passion for photography for as long as she can remember. As a CU-Boulder employee for almost 20 years, she also enjoyed applying her skills in typography, graphic design, and web design and development.
As a retiree from CU and a student of life since December 2005, Jan has continued to pursue her artistic passion. She had a solo exhibition in the Boulder Public Library entitled “Paradigm Shift: Seeing the Ordinary in an Extraordinary Way.” In addition to photography, Jan works on web projects that showcase her own creative work as well as helping clients find their own web presence.
Jan is an integral part of the Chamber as the hands-on photographer capturing events and ribbon cutting celebrations to preserve them for history.
Brent Hultman
Taggart Insurance
Commercial Insurance Specialist
Brent is the Small Business Specialist at Taggart Insurance. A Colorado native, Brent has four sons and a two-month old granddaughter. He is active in volunteer leadership development and summer camp programs for school-age children and enjoys hiking, cooking and outdoor activities with family and friends.
His background as an entrepreneur in corporate training and technology along with insurance expertise enhance his interest in local businesses and add to his drive to support the Boulder Chamber in every possible way. He has been a Chamber Ambassador for over four years.
Brent also serves on our Workers’ Comp Safety Committee and is one of the brokers that helps the association plan grow and prosper.