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John Brandenberg
Memorial services for Valley native, John Brandenburg, was 11:00 a.m., Friday, September 30 at Lange Hall. He passed away at his home in Arvada, CO on Sunday, Sept. 4, with his family by his side. Born June 10, 1934, to Waldemar J. and Marie A. (Ireland) Brandenburg grew up on the family ranch in Westcliffe, CO which was homesteaded in 1880. He attended the Willow School House and graduated from Custer County High School. After serving in the Army, he earned a degree in business administration from Western State College. An astute businessman, he worked for several companies and owned and operated an Exxon Full- Service Station and Carwash, all the while running cattle and maintaining hay production on the family ranch. He retired in 1979, but continued operating the ranch.
Much of his retirement was spent in service to his communities. John had a deep love for the Valley and spent countless hours working on projects and concerns he felt would help Custer County remain pristine, environmentally healthy and beautiful. He served on the Custer County Zoning Board for four years; was on the Board of Directors of Custer County Medical Foundation and Fremont/ Custer Historical Society Board of Directors; belonged to American Legion, Westcliffe, and for 28 years was a member of Westminster Elks Club. He and his wife, Sally were instrumental in the restoration of the historic Willows Schoolhouse and its placement on the Colorado State Register of Historic Properties. John was President of the Historic Willows School Society from its inception until 2018, when failing health forced him to retire.
Contributions in John's memory can be made to the Historic Willows School Society (a 501 c(3) non- profit), P.O. Box 1075, Westcliffe, CO 81252.
Much of his retirement was spent in service to his communities. John had a deep love for the Valley and spent countless hours working on projects and concerns he felt would help Custer County remain pristine, environmentally healthy and beautiful. He served on the Custer County Zoning Board for four years; was on the Board of Directors of Custer County Medical Foundation and Fremont/ Custer Historical Society Board of Directors; belonged to American Legion, Westcliffe, and for 28 years was a member of Westminster Elks Club. He and his wife, Sally were instrumental in the restoration of the historic Willows Schoolhouse and its placement on the Colorado State Register of Historic Properties. John was President of the Historic Willows School Society from its inception until 2018, when failing health forced him to retire.
Contributions in John's memory can be made to the Historic Willows School Society (a 501 c(3) non- profit), P.O. Box 1075, Westcliffe, CO 81252.
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Great Things are On the Horizon with Custer County Tourism!
The annual Governor's Conference, hosted by the Colorado Tourism Office(CTO), was held in Snowmass Village on September 21-23. Deb Adams, chair of the Custer County Tourism Board, participated as a panel speaker on Colorado Stargazing: Experience the Night, sharing the story of how Westcliffe/Silver Cliff became the first Dark Sky Community in the state. Shelly Larson of Jo Studio, a contract graphic designer with Tourism, was a first-time attendee at the conference and brought back a few key takeaways:
1) We have so much to be proud of—our small county accomplishes many wonderful community events that truly bring people together.
2) For being small, Custer County has it going on! We are way ahead of larger counties with much larger budgets. We set a high bar with best- practices for sustainable and responsible tourism: Visit Wet Mountain Valley's website, social media and event promotion design, new Visitor Guidebook and Town Maps, our Sangre de Cristo/Wet Mountain Valley Trail Maps, integration of the Care for Colorado and Scenic Byways initiatives as well as being the first (and one of the best advocates for) International Dark Sky Communities.
3) "Together We Shine Brighter" was this year's conference motto and interacting with peers from all- across our great state, I know this can particularly be applied here at home. Tourism can continue to thrive and be just one of the many ways that brings people from Custer County and beyond together and truly shine bright in our extraordinary Wet Mountain Valley.
Ms. Adams attended breakout sessions pertaining to "Protecting Colorado's Natural Resources through Partnership & Collaboration," "Champion the Value of Tourism with Your Elected Officials," and "Search Marketing Bootcamp." The keynote speakers were inspirational, including Andrew Davis—The Cube of Creativity, and Mallory Brown—Shine your light - your journey to becoming a change maker" (https://travelmal.com/).
Both Ms. Adams and Ms. Larson returned invigorated and full of creative ideas to work on the next major tourism project of designing and printing a Past & Present publication that will be expanded and updated from the Then & Now booklet last printed in 2007.
The Tourism Board will be pursuing three grants from the CTO for marketing and management programs in 2023 including continuation as the fiscal agent for Colorado Stargazing: Experience the Night and campaigns to help preserve local history and share the story of our heritage tied in with the Past & Present publication. Great things are on the horizon with Custer County Tourism!
1) We have so much to be proud of—our small county accomplishes many wonderful community events that truly bring people together.
2) For being small, Custer County has it going on! We are way ahead of larger counties with much larger budgets. We set a high bar with best- practices for sustainable and responsible tourism: Visit Wet Mountain Valley's website, social media and event promotion design, new Visitor Guidebook and Town Maps, our Sangre de Cristo/Wet Mountain Valley Trail Maps, integration of the Care for Colorado and Scenic Byways initiatives as well as being the first (and one of the best advocates for) International Dark Sky Communities.
3) "Together We Shine Brighter" was this year's conference motto and interacting with peers from all- across our great state, I know this can particularly be applied here at home. Tourism can continue to thrive and be just one of the many ways that brings people from Custer County and beyond together and truly shine bright in our extraordinary Wet Mountain Valley.
Ms. Adams attended breakout sessions pertaining to "Protecting Colorado's Natural Resources through Partnership & Collaboration," "Champion the Value of Tourism with Your Elected Officials," and "Search Marketing Bootcamp." The keynote speakers were inspirational, including Andrew Davis—The Cube of Creativity, and Mallory Brown—Shine your light - your journey to becoming a change maker" (https://travelmal.com/).
Both Ms. Adams and Ms. Larson returned invigorated and full of creative ideas to work on the next major tourism project of designing and printing a Past & Present publication that will be expanded and updated from the Then & Now booklet last printed in 2007.
The Tourism Board will be pursuing three grants from the CTO for marketing and management programs in 2023 including continuation as the fiscal agent for Colorado Stargazing: Experience the Night and campaigns to help preserve local history and share the story of our heritage tied in with the Past & Present publication. Great things are on the horizon with Custer County Tourism!
Tourism Board To Offer Mini Grants for Businesses and Organizations
The Custer County Tourism Board is inviting local organizations and businesses to apply for a mini grant to market their 2023 event outside the area. Mini grants range from $250 to $1,000, with a total of $5,000 allocated in the 2023 budget.
Grant application requests must be presented in- person by an individual representing the organization or business at the Community Outreach event on Thursday, November 3rd from 5-7 p.m. in the Community Room at the West Custer County Library at 209 Main St. Proposals must be presented using the Special Events Marketing Grant Application available at visitwetmountainvalley.com/eventgrants/.
The Tourism Board will review countywide grant requests during the November 8 board meeting. Priority will be given to marketing special events that encourage overnight stays in the county by visitors, encourage tourism in the off-season or shoulder seasons (October-April), and include an evaluation of the impact their event will have on the county, such as attendance, taxable lodging sales, and other projected county sales revenues contributed to the event.
Along with increased marketing support for local events, Custer County Tourism can provide professional graphic design services for flyers and posters of local events. Shelly Larson of Jo Studio, is a professional graphic designer and has a yearly contract with the Tourism Board. This free service is limited to two events per organization.
For more information, contact Deb Adams at custertourism3@gmail.com.
Grant application requests must be presented in- person by an individual representing the organization or business at the Community Outreach event on Thursday, November 3rd from 5-7 p.m. in the Community Room at the West Custer County Library at 209 Main St. Proposals must be presented using the Special Events Marketing Grant Application available at visitwetmountainvalley.com/eventgrants/.
The Tourism Board will review countywide grant requests during the November 8 board meeting. Priority will be given to marketing special events that encourage overnight stays in the county by visitors, encourage tourism in the off-season or shoulder seasons (October-April), and include an evaluation of the impact their event will have on the county, such as attendance, taxable lodging sales, and other projected county sales revenues contributed to the event.
Along with increased marketing support for local events, Custer County Tourism can provide professional graphic design services for flyers and posters of local events. Shelly Larson of Jo Studio, is a professional graphic designer and has a yearly contract with the Tourism Board. This free service is limited to two events per organization.
For more information, contact Deb Adams at custertourism3@gmail.com.
Failure to Plan is Planning to Fail
My motto is, “failure to plan is planning to fail.” Yesterday, I left the house at 4:30 a.m. and I got back home at about 8:15 p.m. There were approximately 4 ½-5 hrs of drive time in there.
When most of you are going to have a day like that, where you are gone most of the day or traveling, what do you do? Do you eat breakfast before you leave? Do you pack your food for the day? Or do you do nothing and hit every fast food place available along the way?
I don’t ever eat fast food, so that was not an option. I wanted to be alert while driving and I wanted to be feeling my best for our competition. Skipping breakfast would not have accomplished that, nor would have stopping somewhere to eat unhealthy food that I usually do not eat. Could you imagine trying to be active and running with a greasy gut bomb in your system? Who wants to be traveling and have a stomach issue? Not my idea of fun!!
I always say, food is fuel. I like to give my body the best fuel possible. Especially when you require your body to be at the top of its game.
I packed a cooler for my road trip. I looked at things I wouldn’t have to worry about spoiling, even though everything would be packed in ice. I had food with me that was easy to grab while driving and also something to keep my energy up while at the event.
It was super easy to do. I packed some protein bars, some oranges, and made breakfast burritos and wrapped them in foil. I made them with eggs, cheese, and salsa, in a whole- wheat tortilla. Yes, they are good cold! I found an awesome recipe for a salad with orzo, cucumbers, artichoke hearts, etc. with an oil and vinegar dressing. I also made a Waldorf salad in a yogurt base. I put it on the ice pack and it stayed nice and cold!
My point is, you can do it and it doesn’t take that much effort. If you are feeding a family too, think of how much easier it would be to have food on hand that you know your kids will like? Not only are you giving them healthy food and not having to search down a restaurant, but you are also saving lots of money!! Let’s face it, eating out is expensive.
Don’t forget to pack lots of water, napkins, utensils, plates, and something to use for a trash bag, and you are ready to hit the road!
Some easy packable treats are things like fruit, nuts, healthy bars (great to make your own), cheese, overnight oats, chia pudding, pasta salads, sandwiches, breakfast burritos, peanut butter in a tortilla, chicken strips, etc.
It is also good to pack your own food if you are on a restricted diet, such as gluten- free, low -carb, vegan, keto, etc.
As I said in the beginning, failure to plan is planning to fail. No excuses...with minimal effort you can be on the road, save money, stay on track, eat healthy and enjoy your trip!
When most of you are going to have a day like that, where you are gone most of the day or traveling, what do you do? Do you eat breakfast before you leave? Do you pack your food for the day? Or do you do nothing and hit every fast food place available along the way?
I don’t ever eat fast food, so that was not an option. I wanted to be alert while driving and I wanted to be feeling my best for our competition. Skipping breakfast would not have accomplished that, nor would have stopping somewhere to eat unhealthy food that I usually do not eat. Could you imagine trying to be active and running with a greasy gut bomb in your system? Who wants to be traveling and have a stomach issue? Not my idea of fun!!
I always say, food is fuel. I like to give my body the best fuel possible. Especially when you require your body to be at the top of its game.
I packed a cooler for my road trip. I looked at things I wouldn’t have to worry about spoiling, even though everything would be packed in ice. I had food with me that was easy to grab while driving and also something to keep my energy up while at the event.
It was super easy to do. I packed some protein bars, some oranges, and made breakfast burritos and wrapped them in foil. I made them with eggs, cheese, and salsa, in a whole- wheat tortilla. Yes, they are good cold! I found an awesome recipe for a salad with orzo, cucumbers, artichoke hearts, etc. with an oil and vinegar dressing. I also made a Waldorf salad in a yogurt base. I put it on the ice pack and it stayed nice and cold!
My point is, you can do it and it doesn’t take that much effort. If you are feeding a family too, think of how much easier it would be to have food on hand that you know your kids will like? Not only are you giving them healthy food and not having to search down a restaurant, but you are also saving lots of money!! Let’s face it, eating out is expensive.
Don’t forget to pack lots of water, napkins, utensils, plates, and something to use for a trash bag, and you are ready to hit the road!
Some easy packable treats are things like fruit, nuts, healthy bars (great to make your own), cheese, overnight oats, chia pudding, pasta salads, sandwiches, breakfast burritos, peanut butter in a tortilla, chicken strips, etc.
It is also good to pack your own food if you are on a restricted diet, such as gluten- free, low -carb, vegan, keto, etc.
As I said in the beginning, failure to plan is planning to fail. No excuses...with minimal effort you can be on the road, save money, stay on track, eat healthy and enjoy your trip!
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