Bear Smart thankful for donations
Bear Smart Durango, a local nonprofit, would like to thank Coutts and Clark Western Foundation for its $5,000 contribution toward general operating support and Bear Smart’s Electric Fencing Incentive program.
This new program seeks to assist 20 county landowners with small-scale, backyard electric fencing systems to deter bears from chicken coops, beehives, fruit trees, livestock and more. Bear Smart also received donations from Colorado Parks and Wildlife, SME Environmental, Jazz Morgan, Jane Pedersen and Rod Turner for this program.
Visit bearsmartdurango.org/electric-fencing-incentive-program for more information.
Accelerator program to host event Aug. 21
Southwest Colorado Accelerator Program for Entrepreneurs will host a Start Up Showcase from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Aug. 21 in the Fort Lewis College Ballroom.
Participants will view five innovative startups selected and sponsored by SCAPE, Telluride Venture Accelerator and the New Mexico Angels.
For more information, visit www.goscape.org.
Griffin & Associates receives recognition
Griffin & Associates, one of New Mexico’s largest communications firms, has made the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing privately held companies in the country.
Joanie Griffin, the company’s CEO, will receive the award at the Inc. 5000 conference in Orlando in October. Griffin & Associates recently re-did the website for the Durango Area Tourism Office – Durango.org.
Griffin & Associates is based in Albuquerque, with a satellite office in Durango. The company provides marketing, advertising, public relations, Web development and social-media services to clients with an expertise in tourism and hospitality, health care, small business and nonprofit groups.
For more information, visit griffinassoc.com.
Film office adds board member
The Four Corners Film Office has named Deahna Geehan as the newest member of its advisory board.
After graduating from the College of Santa Fe with a degree in moving-image arts and a minor in business management, Geehan worked on television and film productions as assistant location manager in Los Angeles, and was the location coordinator for the Arizona Film Commission.
Geehan currently works as the manager of the ticket office for the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College. She also worked for the Durango Film Festival from 2003-2005 and then helped start the Durango Independent Film Festival. Geehan attends many regional film festivals to network with other festival staff and filmmakers, and also solicit films for the Durango festival. She is also a recent graduate of Leadership La Plata.
The film office assists filmmakers, production companies, local business and communities by acting as an information hub and facilitator for production needs in Southwest Colorado and the Four Corners.
Visit www.4corners filmoffice.org or call (720) 295-6570 for more information.
Composting business announces opening
Owner Jeff Wright announces the opening of Everything Dirt Composting.
Representing a new era in human health and hygiene – the business collects and composts humanure. The toilet actually isn’t a composting toilet but a collection unit. It is called a sawdust toilet. No electricity or ventilation is needed. Contents are collected and then composted in hot piles. The toilet installation is simple, quick and inexpensive.
In addition, the company collects and composts all organics from the kitchen, including meat, bones, dairy, vegetable, fruit, paper towels, cooking liquids, grease and others. The company will work with restaurants, schools, hospitals, events, towns and the county. Everything Dirt Composting also builds completely contained, custom compost bins, for complete containment and harvest of human and household organic waste.
Individuals or groups interested in using a sawdust toilet system, or developing property without the expense of sewer or “black water” are invited to contact the business.
For more information, call 799-2175 or email dryshop.wright423@gmail.com.
Managing workers’ compensation seminar
Pinnacol Assurance and Mountain West Insurance and Financial Services will host a seminar on managing workers’ compensation costs from noon to 1 p.m. Aug. 5 at the Durango Community Recreation Center, 2700 Main Ave.
The seminar will address how workers’ compensation premiums are calculated and the variables that affect the premiums. It will also offer tools to implement, manage and mitigate overall costs. This seminar will benefit office managers, controllers, financial officers and business owners who manage workers’ compensation and risk-management programs. RSVP is required for attendance.
For more information or to reserve a seat, call Mary Frazer at 759-0684 or email maryf@mtnwst.com.
Boys & Girls Club names 3 to board
The Boys & Girls Club of La Plata County announces the addition of Joe Clair, Tiffany Lee Parker and Chester Brandt to its board of directors.
Joe Clair is an agent/investor with Keller Williams Realty in Durango. He is a graduate of Miami University and joined the board to help identify and create opportunities for youth growth and development.
Tiffany Lee Parker is the La Plata County clerk and recorder. She was interested in serving on the board because, as a full-time working mother, she has found the club offers an invaluable service.
Chester Brandt is the information technology manager at StoneAge, Inc. in Durango. He arrived in Durango in 2004 to attend Fort Lewis College. He is married and has two young children. “I chose the Boys and Girls Club of La Plata County because I am passionate about their mission, and I can use my expertise to give back to the kids in the community,” Brandt said.
The Boys & Girls Club of La Plata County mission is to provide a fun, safe place that kids can call their own, and where they are inspired to reach their full potential as productive, caring and responsible citizens.
For more information, please call 375-0010.
Herald Staff
