Colorado Springs Business Journal (CO) articles from July 2004

Colorado Springs Business Journal (CO) archives from July 2004

Women fueling rise in business ownership.
July 2, 2004... Byline: Marylou Doehrman Women are jumping from the frying pan into the fire in vast numbers. And a flaming number of women are opening their own businesses. According to the Center for Women's Business Research, "the number of...

Judy Cara honored with 'Unique' woman of the year award.
July 2, 2004... Byline: Marylou Doehrman Judy Cara met an American at the U.S. Embassy in London and eventually married him. In 1979, to her mother's chagrin, Cara and her new husband moved to the United States. Her mother's worst nightmare was America's...

Free downtown shuttle to debut on July 6.
July 2, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Cline Tejon Street will never be the same. At about 10 a.m. on July 6 the free downtown shuttle will be up and running. "We're gonna have a big celebration to kick it off," said Beth Kosley, executive director of the...

Pikes Peak Workforce Center zoning in on youth and IT professionals.
July 2, 2004... Byline: Marylou Doehrman There is business activity abuzz within in the walls of the Greater Colorado Springs Economic Development Corp.; the economy is starting to turn around; jobs are opening up. Dr. Fred Crowley, associate...

Marketing coordinator's journey to business.
July 2, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Cline Chris Peterson, marketing coordinator for Adelphia in Colorado Springs, once trained horses for a living in her home state of Illinois. "It was wonderful, but you can't make any money at it," Peterson said. Those...

Anonymous grants astonish eight local organizations.
July 2, 2004... Byline: Jennifer Knight One anonymous donor made countless lives better last month with a hefty gift to eight non-profit organizations by way of the Pikes Peak Community Foundation. Totaling nearly $1 million, the Alamo Avenue Fund...

Commentary: The best (and worst) of conducting a reader's poll.
July 2, 2004... Byline: Mike Boyd When we decided to conduct the Best in Springs Business survey, we hoped that the categories would distinguish our poll from the other "Best of" lists that various print publications produce. Since we're a...

Colorado Small Business of the Year for 2004 is hat, sunglasses manufacturer.
July 2, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Cline Kevin Johnson has been wearing his thinking cap for more than a decade and it's unlikely he'll take it off any time soon. Johnson was named the Colorado Small Business Person of the Year for 2004. In 1993, Johnson...

Make way for the new communications wave.
July 2, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Cline More and more small businesses are taking advantage of the many telecommunication services on the market. In March, the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration released the results of a...

U.S. Small Business Administration taps into teens.
July 2, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Cline Not all teens spend their summer days flipping burgers or mowing lawns. For business-minded teenagers, there is a new Web site to guide them on their quest for entrepreneurial success. Young adults can visit...

Rural Business Investment Program to stimulate growth.
July 2, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Cline Rural businesses may soon see more money headed their way. In June, Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman and Small Business Administration Administrator Hector V. Barreto announced the creation of the Rural Business...

New report puts focus on Vet-owned businesses.
July 2, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Cline There has been some uncertainty in the reporting of prime contract dollars going to veteran-owned businesses. Companies that have been labeled as veteran-owned in one federal database may not have been identified as...

Colorado's tourist season affected by rain, hotel chains.
July 9, 2004... Byline: Jennifer Knight More troubling than weeks of afternoon thunderstorms are the effects from the flood of large motel chains on local businessmen in the tourism industry. Even if the state's $9 million in expenditures on...

Colorado Springs-based Add Staff employees say thanks to founder on a billboard.
July 9, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Cline Some coworkers simply say thank you. Others get creative. The staff at Add Staff Inc. in Colorado Springs showed their appreciation for founder and President Cari Shaffer by doing the latter, designing a...

Southeast Summer Classic set for Special Olympics of Colorado.
July 9, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Cline On July 31, Special Olympics of Colorado will hold its Southeast Summer Classic in Memorial Park. The Raytheon Co., a defense and aerospace systems supplier, is set to sponsor the event. "This sounds like a great...

Falcon District 49 gearing up for sustained growth.
July 9, 2004... Byline: Marylou Doehrman On July 3, more than 2,000 people attended the second annual Falcon Festival, sponsored by the Falcon Professional Development League, a Falcon-based group of business owners and leaders. The number of visitors to...

RTA Architects associate principal bicycles in his free time.
July 9, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Cline Mark Pelletier, associate principal at RTA Architects, did not always have a love for his craft. "I think I kind of bucked the idea for as long as I could, but with my surroundings, it was probably the biggest...

Commentary: If kids are our future, we are in good hands.
July 9, 2004... Byline: Lon Matejczyk Last week I had the honor of moderating a panel at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs for the Springs Youth Challenge. Participants included Robert Wonnett, the dean of students and director of Student...

Part I: Animal control in Colorado Springs.
July 16, 2004... Byline: Marylou Doehrman Editor's note: This is the first of a two-part series that looks at the issue of animal control in Colorado Springs. In December, the Human Society of the Pikes Peak Region lost its contract with the city after...

Bestselling author to speak, sign books at The Broadmoor.
July 16, 2004... Byline: Jennifer Knight If you've ever wondered whether the plucky private eye Kinsey Millhone could possibly have any more adventures, be sure to make a note on your calendar: from 2 to 3:30 p.m. July 26 at The Broadmoor, New York Times...

Husband and wife team up to open wine store.
July 16, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Cline On December 20, Beth Kirk-Small and Bob Small took their love of wine to a higher level and opened the Wine Store on Cascade Avenue. The shop houses about 450 bottles from all over the world, and the couple is eager...

Buck Blessing, real estate entrepreneur, takes hands-off approach.
July 16, 2004... Byline: Jennifer Knight He started his own business during his senior year at Colorado College, at the ripe old age of 21. His success is evident 20 years later, and Buck Blessing stops to count his blessings. He was a finalist for...

Mayor Rivera took interesting path to business/civic leadership.
July 16, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Cline When Lionel Rivera was elected mayor, the economy was in bad shape. Unemployment was on the rise, programs had to be cut and money was tight. Rivera found that he had to prioritize. Now, more than a year later,...

Real estate exec. makes work fun, often leads by example.
July 16, 2004... Byline: Jennifer Knight Pat Stanforth wears a lot of hats. The ebullient vice president of resident management at Griffis/Blessing Inc., a real estate services company with offices in Colorado Springs, Denver and Pueblo, keeps current...

Pikes Peak Humane loses animal control services contract in Colorado Springs.
July 23, 2004... Byline: Marylou Doehrman Editor's note: This is the second in a two-part series that looks at the issue of animal control in Colorado Springs. In December, the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region lost its contract with the city after...

Senior in-home care a burgeoning business.
July 23, 2004... Byline: Marylou Doehrman An estimated 35.6 million people, or 12.2 percent of the population, are 65 years of age or older. By 2011, the baby boom generation will begin to turn 65, and, by 2030, one in five people is projected to be age 65...

Reston, Va.-based Nextel introduces direct-connect technology for quick response.
July 23, 2004... Byline: Marylou Doehrman The smaller the better; the quicker the better; the more integrated, the better; how much better can it get? Technology companies cannot afford to look the other way for even a brief moment because a competitor...

The Best of Springs Business winners announced.
July 23, 2004... Byline: Staff Report Best Automotive Dealer: Phil Long Dealerships At Phil Long Dealerships, the journey begins before customers drive away from the lot, even if they don't know it. "We try to embrace our corporate philosophy-The...

Counselor at Colo. College Career Center prepares students for the real world.
July 23, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Cline When Matt Birnbaum was growing up, he had no idea he would one day counsel college students. Birnbaum is the director of the Colorado College Career Center, a place that helps thousands of students and alumni find...

Reports from Colorado Springs area indicate economic recovery.
July 30, 2004... Byline: Marylou Doehrman Good news from the office of Freddie Mac's chief economist, Frank Nothaft, indicates a solid gain toward economic recovery. Freddie Mac economists listed payroll employment up by 248,000 during May, which added to...

Considerations to take before moving a business out of the home and into an office.
July 30, 2004... Byline: Jennifer Knight When someone works from home, the biggest barrier to expanding a business often is finding a quiet, affordable office space. But moving a home-based business into an office isn't for everyone. "For one...

Colorado Springs Philharmonic prepares for a 2nd season.
July 30, 2004... Byline: Jennifer Knight In the same year that the 75-year-old Colorado Springs Symphony went dark, the inaugural year of the Colorado Springs Philharmonic Orchestra was a financial success-in the black and even boasting a modest cash...

Colorado Mountain Beanery in Colorado Springs features exotic loose leaf teas.
July 30, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Cline When Laura Nelson bought Colorado Mountain Beanery in December 2002, she said the shop had a distinct thrift store quality. Not quite the atmosphere most people would want to linger in. Colorado Mountain Beanery has...

"Of Angels and Light" production kicks off Colorado Festival of World Theatre.
July 30, 2004... Byline: Diane Wengler The Broadmoor Golf Club's driving range was transformed into a celestial playground where the audience watched "angels" (supported by a nearly invisible wire apparatus) spinning and dancing, floating high above the...

Colorado unemployment rate remains steady.
July 30, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Cline The unemployment rate for the state of Colorado is at 4.9 percent, a welcome change from 6.1 percent at this time last year. On July 20, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment released figures for state...