ARCHIVED  November 5, 1999

Bravo! 1999 Nominees

1999 Lifetime Achievement

Award Nominees

Robert Everitt

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Everitt Enterprises Inc.

Robert Everitt moved to Fort Collins in 1953 to manage a recently acquired family lumber yard. In a matter of years, that one lumber yard turned into several in Colorado and Kansas. Over time, the business expanded to include real estate development. The Everitt organization grew to include retail stores, residential, and commercial developments throughout Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas and Oklahoma. Everitt is involved in numerous business partnerships, including Everitt Commercial Partners LLC, KEM Homes., and Coldwell Banker Everitt & Williams Real Estate. Throughout his life, Everitt has also been involved in a wide range of community activities such as United Way of Fort Collins, Poudre School District Volunteer and Colorado Partners in Education.

Tom Gleason,

First National Bank of Fort Collins

Tom Gleason, chairman of First National Bank in Fort Collins, has invested much of his time, energy and expertise to building Fort Collins and the Northern Front Range. In a career that spans five decades, the 70-year-old Gleason has been integrally involved not only on a professional level in developing the Northern Front Range but on a personal level as well. After beginning his banking career at First National in 1956 (as manager of the Installment Loan Department), Gleason watched the bank’s assets grow from $7 million to $44 million by 1967. Since his appointment as bank president, CEO and chairman, assets have grown to $735 million. But many people in Northern Colorado know Gleason not only as a banker but also as a community leader. He serves as a trustee of the Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art, Colorado Outward Bound, and the Lincoln Center Board.

Spiro Palmer

Palmer Flowers

Spiro Palmer, founder of Palmer Flowers, emigrated from Greece with his wife, Angela, in 1972. He worked with his older brothers at a flower shop in Boulder before striking out on his own, and in 1981 opened Palmer Flowers, a retail flower shop specializing in weddings and large events. His first shop was located in downtown Fort Collins, but in 1983 Palmer made a visionary move southward to his present location on College Avenue and Horsetooth Road. At that time, there were few other retail developments south of Prospect Road. Palmer Flowers, which recently ranked 65th on a Teleflora Wire Service nationwide study of more than 26,000 flower shops, further expanded its exposure in January 1997 when it began selling flowers in Steele’s markets under the name Fresh Flower Market. In November 1997, Palmer opened a retail park that includes a design center and lighting store and has recently expanded to include other interior-design businesses.

Wayne H. Schrader

Schrader Oil Co.

Wayne H. Schrader is partner, father and co-founder of Schrader Oil Co. with his two sons, Perry and Steve. Schrader Oil sells gas, diesel, lubricants and propane throughout Northern Colorado and the Front Range. Its assets include several dozen retail service stations, many of which are company-owned and operated. The Schrader’s operation became a family business back in 1953, when Wayne H. Schrader decided to get into the same work as his dad, Wayne K. Schrader. Now his two sons, Perry and Steve, can benefit from more than a half century of lessons learned by their father and grandfather as they carry the Fort Collins company into the 21st Century. The propane division has retail distribution centers in Colorado and Wyoming.

Robert G. Tointon

Phelps-Tointon, Inc.

Phelps-Tointon, Inc., formed in 1989 by Robert Tointon, is a contracting and manufacturing company with several operating divisions. Tointon’s career covered a broad range of construction-related industries. He joined Hensel Phelps Construction Co. in 1963 as a project manager, was elected vice president in 1964, and in 1975 was elected company president. In 1982 Tointon formed Phelps Inc., and in 1989 established Phelps-Tointon. After establishing the new company, Tointon followed a plan of growth by acquisition. Counting assets in real estate development, coal-bed methane gas and the combined volume of Phelps-Tointon operating divisions, the company’s value is approximately $100 million. Tointon has been active in philanthropy and fundraising throughout his career and was named the Boy Scouts of America Distinguished Citizen.

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1999 Bravo! Entrepreneur

nominees, Fort Collins

David Carson

CBW Automation

David Carson owns CBW Automation, a 28-year-old business that turns out robots for use in machine shops and designs and manufacturers other automation parts. Through the course of their ongoing improvement efforts, they have developed the world’s fastest robotic arm. In the past couple of years, Carson has implemented an entire new culture among his 100 employees and managers, training them to use the Toyota method of production instead of ones traditionally used by American companies. The new system has succeeded in making CBW an employer of choice in its industry. Sales this year will be more than $10 million and are expected rise another 50 percent next year.

Doug DeMercurio

Restrock Management

Doug DeMercurio has spent 16 years in the Fort Collins restaurant industry as the owner of Nate’s, Tortilla Marissa’s and the Sports Station. DeMercurio began his career as a minority partner in a Fort Collins restaurant, which he later purchased and turned into Nate’s. Tortilla Marissa’s opened in 1987, and the Sports Station debuted in 1988. DeMercurio says that he now employs approximately 130 and works hard to provide excellent training.

Terry Dye

Dyecrest Dairy

Terry Dye started a dairy business in New York in 1970. In 1982, he relocated to Hudson, moving 1,000 head of cattle by truck, and later in 1985, moved to Fort Collins. Dye’s operation has grown to 2,000 head of cattle and a $4 million dollar gross income from the dairy. He also sells bulls to other dairies as breeding stock. During the first 15 years, Dye’s business doubled every three years. Dye’s crew of 25 employees rotates shifts to milk 900 cows three times a day, 24 hours a day. Dyecrest Dairy milk is sold to Royal Crest Dairy in Denver, which has a significant presence in Northern Colorado. Most employees have been with Dye for more than 10 years.

Jim Franzen and Johnna Bavoso

Managed Business Solutions

Managed Business Solutions (MBS) of Fort Collins, owned by Jim Franzen and Johnna Bavoso, offers professional services in the areas of information systems, information technology, organizational development and human resource services. MBS is a result of a successful merger of two dynamically different companies: Franzen’s Managed Systems Solutions offering high-tech services and Bavoso’s The People Business, which offered human-resource programs. When companies need technical support they also need people support, and MBS found a way to provide and combine both to suit the needs of their clients. In only five years, MBS has grown from four employees to 80 employee consultants.

Robert Grieve

Heska Corp.

Robert Grieve went from work as an academic and scientist at Colorado State University to the position of CEO for Heska Corp. While teaching at CSU, Grieve was approached by a venture capitalist in California interested in starting a company to develop parasite vaccines for animals. Grieve cofounded Paravax in 1988. Paravax experienced tremendous growth in the next five years, evidenced by numerous corporate partnerships and collaborations. After joining forces with Atrix Laboratories Inc. to develop treatment for periodontal disease in pets, the company changed its name to Heska Corp. in January 1996 and went public in July 1997. 1998 sales revenues totaled $39 million and estimates place 1999 revenues between $55 million and $60 million. Heska employs 650 people worldwide.

Marilyn & Gene Hodge,

Women’s Health Interactive

Women’s Health Interactive, based in Fort Collins, was founded in 1996 by Marilyn and Gene Hodge. The company designs and provides health information for women that is delivered through digital technology 9 the Internet, Web sites, CD-ROM and computer-based training. A pioneer in the use of the World Wide Web for the distribution of health information to women, the company’s mission is to enable women to gain competency and mastery over their health. The company contracts with health-care businesses around the country to provide these services. Last year, Women’s Health Interactive earned nearly $500,000 in revenues. The company’s interactive Web site includes a Midlife Health Center, Gynecological Health Center and Infertility Center. Women’s Health Interactive recently was purchased by Medical Pathways International Inc., a Canadian firm.

Kim Jordan and Jeff Lebesch,

New Belgium Brewing Co.

The New Belgium Brewing Co. was founded in 1991 by Kim Jordan and Jeff Lebesch on $50,000 pieced together through mortgages and credit cards and without partners or bank loans. The operation stayed in the couple’s basement for 16 months. New Belgium is a small, private, employee-owned company making high-quality beer at a premium price. In 1997, New Belgium was ranked No. 8 in the top 10 craft beer makers in the nation and was one of only two that had shown growth in sales. Revenues are currently at $17 million. In 1995, a new brewery on Linden Street was built with the cooperation of the city of Fort Collins and relief from enterprise-zone tax credits. During the next 10 years, Jordan and Lebesch will be giving away 10 percent of the company to employees based on tenure and productivity.

Richard Keith

Center Partners LLC

In April 1990, Richard Keith opened a temporary employment agency in Fort Collins. His focus was providing large numbers of skilled workers for specific job assignments. By the end of 1995, Keith had offices in Fort Collins, Loveland, Greeley, Boulder, Denver, and Colorado Springs with a temporary staff of nearly 2,500. In 1996, he sold the business to CoreStaff Inc., a publicly traded corporation. In 1997, Keith opened Center Partners, a call center staffed with agents trained to answer technical inquiries about products and services for corporate clients. At the end of 1998, Center Partners operated centers in Fort Collins and Idaho with total employment of more than 750. In September 1999, another call center will open in Knoxville, Tenn. At full capacity, these centers will employ nearly 1,200 workers. On April 16, 1999, Center Partners merged with The Winona Group, a WPP company. The company envisions gross sales of $50 million by 2003.

Doug and Wynne Odell

Odell Brewing and Odell Investments

Wynne and Doug Odell started Odell Brewing in 1989, after they determined that microbrewing was a growing industry. When they arrived in Fort Collins from Seattle, there were no vendors, no demand and no equipment readily available for microbrewing. Within six months, the company was profitable, in part because the Odells had no employees and did everything themselves. Between 1991 and 1997, the company grew 850 percent. Odell Brewing remained debt-free until it built and moved into its new facility. Revenues for 1997 were $3.1 million, with a net income of nearly $600,000. Odell’s beer is distributed in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Wyoming, South Dakota, New Mexico and Arizona.

John Robinson,

Stanley Steemer

John Robinson turned a once-troubled Stanley Steemer franchise into a growing, thriving business. When Stanley Steemer International Inc. offered the Northern Colorado franchise to Robinson, he already had been general manager of the company’s St. Louis market for 15 years. The Northern Colorado market was troubled when Robinson took over. In 1997, he started with one van and two employees. Sales for this franchise market in 1996 had been $169,000. Between April and December of 1997, Robinson generated $522,000 in sales. Robinson also serves the Cheyenne market and recently acquired the Vail/Breckenridge franchise area.

Douglas Schatz

Advanced Energy Industries Inc., Fort Collins

Doug Schatz founded Advanced Energy with $35,000, in a spare bedroom in his Fort Collins home. Schatz had worked in the semiconductor industry in California before he resolved to launch a new company. His first product 9 a direct-current power supply called MDX 9 incorporated switchmode technology never before used in this type of power supply. It immediately put Advanced Energy at the forefront of its industry. First-year revenues were $250,000. Now, Advanced Energy is a $160 million company. By the late 1980s, Schatz had diversified into designing and producing equipment used to make audio disks and digital video disks. Now, the company holds 95 percent of the world market in products used to make CDs and DVDs.

Clayton Schwerin

Alliance Construction Solutions

Alliance Construction Solutions was founded in Fort Collins in 1982 under the name of Baldwin Construction Inc. Clayton Schwerin joined Baldwin in 1993 as part of a planned succession agreement with Ed Baldwin that was completed in December 1995. Schwerin was instrumental in the company’s expansion from public bid work to negotiated contract work in the private sector. In 1993, the company realized approximately $10 million in revenues for its Front Range operations. In 1996 the named was changed to Alliance Construction Solutions, and in 1998, the Fort Collins-based operation produced $62 million in construction revenues. The company’s work force has grown from 40 to more than 160 employees.

Rayno Seaser

The Egg & I

Rayno and Patty Seaser opened the first Egg & I restaurant in 1987 in Fort Collins. Today there are eight restaurants in Colorado and Wyoming, and the Seasers have majority ownership of four of those. In 1997, Seaser started franchising his upscale breakfast and lunch concept. The first franchise opened in Greeley. Since then, franchised restaurants have opened in Cheyenne, at the Denver Tech Center, and in Estes Park. All Egg & I restaurants have been recognized in their communities. They receive ³The Best Breakfast in Town² award year after year. The Seasers plans to open two to three stores per year. A Windsor location is expected to open in December 1999, and a site for North Denver is planned for early 2000.

Phyllis Thode

Headlines Salon of the Rockies

Phyllis Thode, artistic director and owner of Headlines Salon of the Rockies since 1988, has captured a premier position among Northern Colorado hair salons. The modest six-chair salon located in Fort Collins now has a staff of 35. In 1997, the salon grossed more than $936,000 and during 1998 Thode broke the $1 million mark. In addition, Thode has developed the Headlines Academy, a training institute for hair designers. In 1997, Headlines of the Rockies received the ³Best of Fort Collins² award.

Nancy Valentine

Creative Career Connections

Creative Career Connections, founded by Nancy Valentine in 1975, is a full career-service center offering counseling, networking assistance, career transition, and resume and portfolio development. Valentine was the first career specialist in Fort Collins to offer applicants a fee-paid opportunity to change career positions and to provide support in the process. She has developed ongoing internship programs with Colorado State University departments including the English, Public Relations and Marketing departments. In 1997, gross revenues for the company were $120,000.

William Ward

Front Range Internet, Inc.

William Ward founded Front Range Internet Inc. in August 1995. Ward put his retirement money at risk to start a brand-new business concept that could have just as easily failed as taken off. He overcame a very competitive market with high overhead and turned a profit two years after he started. 1998 revenues for FRII were at $1.65 million. FRII has been the largest Internet service provider in Northern Colorado since is inception. The ISP now has 5,100 customers across the Front Range and worldwide and more than 8,700 accounts.

Maury Willman,

Willman Productions LLC

Ergonomic Health Systems Inc.

Maury Willman, CEO of Willman Productions, produces training and educational videos. In addition to Willman Productions, she recently formed Ergonomic Health Systems Inc. with a renowned ergonomic expert, to help take his ideas and products worldwide. Willman also volunteers in the community, serving on the board of directors for United Way, the Fort Collins Senior Center and Colorado State University’s Women’s Financial Program. She is president of the Women’s Development Council and a founder of the Young Women of the West program. Willman now has five employees and intends to eventually employ 20 to 30. Revenues have grown from $10,000 in 1996 to $250,000 this year.

Robert Paul Woodward

Subway Shops and Bagelmakers Bagel Shops

Robert Paul Woodward started his first Subway sandwich shop in 1990, as a senior at Colorado State University and managed to maintain a 4.0 grade point average at the same time. During his first semester at CSU, he spent three days a week in class and the rest of the week in Wyoming getting his first Subway shop off the ground. He continued his education at DePaul University in Chicago and continued to run his businesses long-distance. Woodward opened his first Bagelmaker Shop in 1995. By 1998, Woodward owned 14 shops, and revenues exceeded $5 million.

Ellen and Ted Zibell

The Perennial Gardener

Ellen and Ted Zibell opened The Perennial Gardener, a garden- and nature-inspired gift store, in the summer of 1994. Through a combination of innovative store design, unique products, and customer service, the store began showing a profit before the end of the first year. The Zibells have been an active part of downtown Fort Collins. The building that houses The Perennial Gardener at 154 N. College Ave. has been restored following the guidelines of the Preservation Commission and Colorado Historical Society. The Zibells did most of the restoration themselves, and in January 1999 they purchased the two buildings north of The Perennial Gardener where they are adding a complementary business, Sense of Place.

Nico Zentveld,

Nico’s Catacombs

The upscale Catacombs restaurant has been at the same location, under the ownership of Nico Zentveld for more than 25 years. In May 1998, Nico’s celebrated its 25th anniversary. The 50ish restaurateur began his career as a cook in the merchant marine and later attended a specialized cooking school in Amsterdam. Nico’s has weathered the ups and downs of the Fort Collins market over the years, and has become a landmark. Graduation, weddings and anniversaries are only a few of the special occasions that draw people to the Catacombs. The restaurant stands out as one with more than a little panache that doesn’t skimp on flair or substance.

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1999 Bravo! Entrepreneur

nominees, Greeley

Bill Bensler

Flood & Peterson Insurance Inc.

The Flood & Peterson Insurance Agency was founded in 1939 in a tiny room, with shared desk and a borrowed typewriter. Today it is a firm with established affiliations nationwide and offices in Greeley, Fort Collins, Boulder and Eaton. Bensler has maintained a high level of integrity with regard to the growth of the company in Northern Colorado. Flood & Peterson has become one of the largest insurance companies in Colorado and is employee-owned and operated.

Mike Shoop

and Dick Boettcher

Professional Finance Co.,

Professional Finance Co, owned and operated over the years by Dick Boettcher and Mike Shoop, is a collection company that also does billing for health-care companies and accounts-receivable management. The company has a nationwide client base, the bulk of which is located in Northern Colorado. Professional Finance also has an office under the name Creditors Service Bureau in Loveland. In 1978, Boettcher started a second company to work in conjunction with Professional Finance. CrediCheck is a check recovery and verification company serving more than 1,000 businesses statewide. The company collects bad checks and provides merchants with access to a database of bad-check writers. Professional Finance employs 28 people.

Steve Briscoe

Continuum Health Partnerships

Continuum Health Partnerships Inc., founded in 1995 by Steve Briscoe, manages and/or owns a total of 15 nursing homes and assisted-living facilities in Colorado. The company reached $7.5 million in revenues in three and a half years and anticipates revenues of $25 million annually. Briscoe has been recognized by his employees as an innovator of employee-enhancement programs for training and career development. He has weathered vast changes in the health care industry, at both state and federal levels. He has been a leader in lobbying for the best interests of the elderly and has empowered the nursing home residents with the final say-so in who will care for them.

Ruben and Scott Ehrlich

Ehrlich Motors Inc.

On Nov. 6, 1946, Ruben ³Swede² Ehrlich opened a specialty auto-repair shop in Greeley. In 1955, he established Ehrlich Motors Inc., which sold American cars of all brands, and in 1963, he opened the first Datsun dealership in this area, a bold move then, because Japanese cars were new on the market and small cars were not a popular item. Scott Ehrlich worked at his dad’s dealership while he was in school, then 10 years ago, joined the business full-time. Five years ago, he took over as general manager. Last year, the Erlichs added a Toyota dealership, which they run in conjunction with the Nissan, Mitsubishi, Lincoln Mercury dealership that has become a fixture on the Greeley automotive landscape. Erlich Motors has received the Service Award from Nissan every year of the 36 years it has sold the company’s cars.

Bill Farr

Centennial Bank Holdings Inc.

Bill Farr formed Centennial Bank Holdings Inc. in 1993 and since then, has created a success story in terms of rising numbers and new-branch construction as well as through customer service and community involvement. The holding company owns Farmers Bank, The Eaton Bank and Centennial Bank of the West, a branch operation of The Eaton Bank. The numbers have piled up during Centennial’s six-year history. The bank’s total assets jumped 38 percent in 1998 to $302.9 million from $220.2 million the prior year. During the first five months of 1999, Centennial added another $54 million in assets. Equity capital shot up 51 percent, $17.1 million in 1997 to $25.8 million last year. Centennial Banks of the West are popping up all along the Interstate 25 corridor 9 branches have opened in Longmont, Loveland and Windsor, and three exist in Fort Collins.

Rob Haimson

Potato Brumbaugh’s and Colorado Grill

Rob Haimson purchased Potato Brumbaugh’s in 1984. His dedication to upscale informality and personal attention has established his restaurant as the place to go for birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions. The restaurant’s laid-back formality mixes well with Weld County’s ag-based population 9 customers looking for an elegant beef prime rib, white table cloth experience without the fuss. Hansen has successfully carried over his management style to the Colorado Grill franchise, which he owns and operates along the Front Range. The Colorado Grill will soon be franchised in Iowa.

Mark and Mary Kendall

Kendall Printing Co.

Mark and Mary Kendall founded Kendall Printing Company in 1984 in a 1,250-square-foot rented space off of U.S. Highway 85 in East Greeley. They worked at building a clientele during the day and worked the presses at night. The Kendalls outgrew their space and built a 40,000-square-foot building on the west side of Greeley, and by 1997 they had outgrown that facility as well. They’ve since acquired three adjoining acres and are planning a 30,000-square-foot addition. The company has billed more than $9 million since 1996. Mark oversees business development, and Mary is the personnel manager for 85 employees.

Steven Klady

Tastefully Yours Catering

Greeley native and culinary chef, Steve Klady owns Tastefully Yours catering. He began catering out of an old restaurant building in downtown Greeley with just $2,500 loaned from his parents. Klady was outgrowing the downtown location and searching for new quarters when he was asked to do an opening party for Garden Square at Westlake, an assisted-living center. He partnered with the administrators at Garden Square and created a unique catering and kitchen facility. Klady now operates his catering business out of Garden Square, while at the same time helping upgrade menus for the assisted-living center. He works with Garden Square’s own kitchen staff, teaching skills he’s learned and developed.

Deb Majors

Mariner Post Acute Care Network

Deb Majors of Mariner Post created an innovative program that places child care inside a long-term care facility, integrating the very young and senior populations. Majors began her endeavor as an effort to improve employee retention in lower-wage positions, especially for employees who are single parents. Onsite day care was developed so employees could bring their children to work. Employee retention turned out to be just a side benefit of Majors’ business, while the main benefit has been the experience, stimulation and relationship between the children and the seniors. Mariner Post, formerly Amerra, has assisted-living and nursing home facilities in Greeley, Fort Collins, Loveland, Windsor, Cheyenne and Boulder.

Mike Morgan

StarTek Inc.

StarTek Inc., originally incorporated as Starpak Inc., provides integrated outsource services primarily for Fortune 500 companies and secondarily as a technical support provider. Founded in 1987 by Emmet Stephenson, chairman, and Mike Morgan, CEO, the company began operations in Greeley with $265,000 in sales. By 1997, that number had climbed to $89 million. This consistent growth landed StarTek in the Inc. 500 Hall of Fame in 1994, as one of the 500 fastest growing companies in the country for five years in a row. Worldwide, StarTek employs approximately 2,000 people at facilities in Greeley, Laramie, Denver, Singapore and the United Kingdom. Morgan credits their phenomenal growth to the quality of employees and employee programs offered such as subsidized childcare and on-going training.

Patrick Roche

P.B. Roche Development

Patrick Roche began his career working for his father in the construction business and found his niche in real estate development. During the mid ’80s, Roche was involved in residential home construction as he continued to purchase properties in a depressed market. He partnered in the building of Westlake Village Center, Greeley; Market Square Shopping Center, Boulder; and the Saddle Ridge Apartments, Denver. Since then, he has worked in the Northern Colorado real estate market and has been involved with the development of Country Club West, Mosier Hill and Covington Knolls Gated Community. Roche’s commitment is to creating commercial buildings and subdivisions that will enhance the community.

Curtis Sears

Sears Real Estate

Greeley native Doug Sears and his two brothers founded Sears and Co. Realtors in 1972. Twenty-seven years later, Sears Real Estate continues its leadership in real estate under the direction of Curtis Sears. In 1998, Sears real estate had the largest market share for residential sales of any real estate company in Greeley. The company sales force of 28 agents averages 10.7 years experience. Seven agents have been recognized as Greeley’s ³Rookie of the Year,² 17 hold a GRI (Graduate, Realtor Institute) designation, and 11 have earned the industry’s highest designation of Certified Residential Specialist.

Joe Tennessen

KFKA Radio

In 1991, Joe Tennessen and a group of about 12 local business people bought the bankrupt 5,000-watt KFKA 1310 AM radio station from Ingstead Bros. Tennessen and the investors used the ³all-talk² format to restore KFKA to life. With a focus on the farmer and Weld County news, Tennessen succeeded in developing station programming, which according to a recent ratings survey, draws 53 percent of Weld County farmers to its morning agricultural programs.

Tennessen, also known affectionately as Mr. Greeley, Mr. Weld County and Mr. Community, is also renowned for his community involvement. He has been active on various community boards, including the Saint Peter’s Catholic Church Parish Council and the University of Northern Colorado Foundation.

John Todd,

Toddy’s

John Todd opened the first Toddy’s supermarket in Greeley in 1977. Today there are three Toddy’s markets in Greeley, Fort Collins, and Berthoud, bringing high-quality products and service to smaller communities. Together, they gross $25 million to $30 million annually and employ 400. In a fiercely competitive industry, Todd began a risky business and built it into a successful company. He succeeded largely by focusing on quality personnel, product, service and shopping experience. Existence as an independent grocery is always chancy, especially in the current environment of national-chains mergers. But over the last two decades Todd has demonstrated smart management in a state of constant challenge. He has diversified into other food-related businesses and has refined his strategy of aiming at small, underserved markets.

Tim Warde

Northern Colorado Paper Inc.

Northern Colorado Paper, founded in 1978 by Tim Warde, is a wholesale distributor of paper products, industrial, maintenance and janitorial supplies, and food-service products. Warde began with a train-car load of products from the Kimberly Clark Corp. and one employee, his wife, who did the bookkeeping and secretarial duties from their home. During the first year of hard work and long hours, the company added another employee, bought a truck and never looked back. NCP now has 85 employees at the Pueblo and Greeley branches, and yearly growth has been at 15 percent for the past 10 years. Warde is still the company’s top salesman. He’s not above making deliveries and yes, you can still see him driving a forklift in the warehouse.

Sid Wilke

Big R Manufacturing & Distributing Inc.

Sid Wilke owns Big R Manufacturing & Distributing Inc., a bridge manufacturing business. Wilke purchased the company in 1986, when he was still a student at the University of Northern Colorado. Today, Wilke has approximately 82 employees and a business that generates revenues in the low eight figures and net income in the mid-six-figure range. He has built the business by sharing ownership of the company with key management people. Like Wilke, some employees have been with the Big R organization for more than 20 years. The company manufactures bridges, bridge components, culverts and other related materials.

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1999 Bravo! Entrepreneur

nominees, Loveland

Bill Beierwaltes

Colorado Memory Systems, Colorado Time Systems, OnStream

1999 Lifetime Achievement

Award Nominees

Robert Everitt

Everitt Enterprises Inc.

Robert Everitt moved to Fort Collins in 1953 to manage a recently acquired family lumber yard. In a matter of years, that one lumber yard turned into several in Colorado and Kansas. Over time, the business expanded to include real estate development. The Everitt organization grew to include retail stores, residential, and commercial developments throughout Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas and Oklahoma. Everitt is involved in numerous business partnerships, including Everitt Commercial Partners LLC, KEM Homes., and Coldwell Banker Everitt & Williams Real Estate. Throughout his life, Everitt has also been involved in a wide range…

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