When Sarah Tescher and Chad Cheeney set out to begin a developmental youth cycling program in Durango, they had three coaches, seven riders and a dream: to make lifelong cyclists. Today, there are 900 members and 75 coaches. That dream is flourishing.
So, when Tescher announced she was moving on from Durango DEVO, to some, it marked the end on an era. To her, it’s the beginning of a new one.
“I was a founder, a coach, then a director and a president of the board. I was always bouncing around,” she said. “Around a year and a half ago I was like, ‘OK, what’s my next move?’”
With a teaching credential and certificate in nonprofit management, her next move is to bring her hands-on brand of hard work, teamwork and program development to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Colorado, where she will take on the role of chief operations officer, continuing her effort with kids.
“It’s a perfect fit, still getting to serve kids, but in a different way,” she said. “With DEVO, it was almost created from scratch, and with Big Brothers, it’s been around for 100 years, so there’s a lot I’m going to learn from working there.”
Big Brothers Big Sisters now operates in all 50 states and 12 countries, striving to make a difference, helping youths with difficult circumstances find and reach their potential by pairing them with mentors.
The idea isn’t new to Tescher. For her, it’s always been about the kids, and she knew some had it rougher than others.
“Certainly, it was always my favorite part with DEVO, when we actually had (adversely affected) kids in the program, I would do everything in my power to support them – give out scholarships, just reach out.”
She said she hopes to bring a new skill set to Big Brothers Big Sisters.
“To me, in DEVO, I managed the coaches, but they managed me just as much,” she said. “We were all one big family working together for a common goal. So that’s what I’d really like to bring to Big Brothers: a sense of a more common goal, an office culture where we’re a family working together.”
Josh McDowell has been named her interim successor, as upper level program manager. Having joined DEVO as a coach in 2013, he said he’s motivated about the position.
“It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a few years now, so it’s exciting to be transitioning to that point.”
McDowell said he is passionate about mountain biking, and through DEVO has worked with kindergartners all the way up through high school. He’s ready to take the lead but also is sorry to see Tescher go.
“She is really the heart and soul and backbone of DEVO as it is,” he said. “So to have her move on, my hopes would be that with Amy Haggart, the executive director and myself, that we could continue on with that same passion and that original mission.”
Haggart said that DEVO has hired Aleph Johnston-Bloom to be younger level program director. Johnston-Bloom most recently has been executive director of the Alaska Avalanche Institute and is a former director of the Silverton Avalanche School.
Co-founder Cheeney left Durango last year for Bend, Oregon, with his wife Annie, a former DEVO coach. Annie is pursuing a master’s degree in counseling.
It was not long before the Cheeneys left that DEVO hired Haggart as executive director. Tescher has helped Haggart get to know DEVO inside and out in the last 1½ years.
“It is going to be a big change for us,” Haggart said.
Tescher won’t be far down the trail. She’ll still coach the girls high school mountain bike team and the desert- and mountain-trotting DEVO Explorers.
She said DEVO was her life. Even her children were raised in the organization.
“A lot of people think I started DEVO for my own kids, but anyone that knows me knows that that’s not the case,” she said. “If anything, me working that hard from their younger years, I wasn’t around a lot.
“The flip side is that my kids have been raised by DEVO. So many times I had to drag them around to a bike swap or to a bike race, go on a trip or a fundraiser, and someone would always have to take them under their wing, and it was always a DEVO coach or a DEVO parent.”
She said she was blessed working with coaches to kickstart every club program, coaching all but the boys high school team. For her and the others involved, the program remains about sharing with kids a passion for the outdoors and the fun of a bicycle. Just as their motto says: “One ride at a time.”
“You don’t punch a clock; you take work home,” she said. “You do it in the middle of the night. You do it on the weekends. For me, I guess, I just always tried to instill in everyone ... this idea of serving kids. It’s all about the kids.”
bmathis@durangoherald.com
