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Kudos and Kindness from Aspen Times readers (Jan. 20, 2019)

Buddy Program changes lives

Feel like changing the world? I sure do, but I have a job and other responsibilities, and I don’t have a lot of free time.

I do, however, like to have fun. So my little way of changing the world is happening right here in the Roaring Fork Valley. Four years ago, I applied to be a Big Buddy. I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew I wanted to make a real difference.



I was matched with a fourth-grade girl in Basalt and we spent the next few weeks getting to know each other. We played board games, I taught her how to shuffle cards and we laughed a lot. Now she’s in eighth grade and we are still laughing together. I had no idea how she would change me. I’m more open to new activities and ideas, and I’m connected to her life in a way I’d never imagined. (She made me ride that super-scary swing ride at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park three times in a row this summer. And I survived.)

The Buddy Program needs more local folk to step up and become a mentor. You don’t need any special skills; I certainly don’t have any. I’m supported by a case manager from the Buddy Program who checks in with me frequently and there are monthly activities for my Little Buddy and me to enjoy together. We’ve taken a pottery class, gone bowling, and we’ve even taken a gondola ride up to the top of Ajax. I would’ve never done these things on my own. But my life has been enhanced by my Little Buddy.




I thought I’d be changing the world. I certainly have. But being a mentor has changed me, too!

To learn about how you can become a mentor, just visit http://www.buddyprogram.org

“To the world you may be one person, but to one person, you may be the world.” — Dr. Seuss

Laura Seay

Recruitment manager, Buddy Program

Aspen

A Daily blessing

The following letter was originally sent to Allison Daily of Pathfinders.

I have wanted to send you a note to express my deepest gratitude for the importance you have had in my journey after my soulmate’s passing.

I hope you know how much I truly needed and continue to need you in my day to day existence without Jack.

There are times I feel as if I can’t go on, but with your guidance and understanding, I somehow do just that, even though it pains my every being.

You somehow know exactly when I am struggling, and I feel your presence and words to get me through the deepest moments of my sorrow.

You as my connection to Pathfinders is a blessing I feel each and every day.

I simply wanted to put my feelings on paper to let you know how much you have and continue to help me. Thank you.

Ruth Hatfield

Snowmass Village

Good work all around

Kudos to:

• Tommy Isaac for his decades of service to the community with a positive, smiling, professional attitude.

• Stephen Kanipe, chief building official, with more of the same.

• The Aspen Institute Hurst Family Foundation’s sponsor of the middle school seminar. Giving insight into the psyche of these young children, Lee Bycel moderated this must-needed outlet for the valley kids.

Ruth Harrison

Aspen

Aspen community lifts AVSC

Dec. 30 was the busiest day of the holiday season for Aspen Skiing Co. It also was the biggest fundraising day of the year for Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club. On Dec. 30, we hosted our ninth annual Audi Ajax Cup, a ski race fundraiser on Little Nell on Aspen Mountain, complete with a finish corral and a viewing platform that consumed half of Gondola Plaza. With both town and the mountain filled with visitors, Skico prioritized local kids.

The Audi Ajax Cup fundraiser is critical to AVSC’s ability to provide subsidized programming to all athletes, and scholarships to athletes in need. Our 2018 event raised over $900,000 — funds that will have an enormous impact on our ability to coach and inspire local athletes to excel on skis and snowboards.

I wanted to take a moment to thank Mike Kaplan and Skico for their generosity in allowing us to host this fundraiser at a peak time. Thank you in particular to Aspen Mountain manager J.T. Welden and the Aspen Mountain operations team, as well as Skico’s senior team. Thank you to the Crown family for encouraging Skico to lead with values first; AVSC benefits greatly from the culture of generosity, passion, and community that you’ve cultivated.

Furthermore, we’d like to thank the larger community of the Roaring Fork Valley for helping AVSC develop great kids and great athletes. We are humbled by the community’s support and immensely proud to call this place home.

Mark Godomsky

Executive director, Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club

Excellent service at Creperie du Village

Three of us came for lunch on a snowy day last week to find a very full restaurant. As we were thinking that we would have to find another restaurant, an already very busy hostess made room for us at the bar while keeping the already seated clientele happy. We had a delicious lunch and a delightful time due to excellent customer service. Many thanks.

Susan Harvey

Snowmass