Phil Castle, The Business Times: While necessity might be the mother of invention, Cinde Waller knows from personal experience the powerful motivation of pain. Desperate for relief following jaw surgery, Waller tied a satin ribbon around her head to hold her jaw in place. To keep the ribbon from slipping off, she tied another piece […]
Kelly Flenniken brings a new title and a new role to a new approach to economic development. As executive director of the Grand Junction Economic Partnership, Flenniken will oversee efforts to leverage local business connections in proactively developing leads for new and expanding companies. “We’re going to be more aggressive going forward,” she says. Flenniken […]
Opie Johnson has helped reinvent a Grand Junction restaurant, turning what was a franchise diner into a unique operation that serves fare with a thoroughly local flavor. “We’re the absolute epitome of a local eatery,” says Johnson, general manager of Cinnamon Grill. Formerly a Black Bear Diner, the restaurant has dropped the franchise and its […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times Pete First enjoys a good vantage point from which to observe trends in the resale market. First works as director of franchise development for Winmark Corp., a Minneapolis-based corporation with a total of 900 resale stores in operation across the country. And trends in the resale market, he says, have been […]
Sixteen prominent Grand Valley men, among them business owners, have joined in a new campaign to raise awareness about the effects of domestic violence and sexual assault. The Mesa County Domestic Violence Task Force invited the 16 to pose for black and white photographs taken by Dorsey Coe. The photographs, along with quotes reflecting their […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times: Jerome Gonzales oversees one of the fastest-growing professional services companies in the country. Ten years after Gonzales founded JG Management Systems in Grand Junction, the staff has grown to nearly 90 spread out among 13 states. In 2010, annual revenue for the firm increased to $7.4 million. In the process, JG […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times: In answering questions at a forum about a range of issues, three candidates for the Mesa County School District 51 Board of Education highlighted some of their differences. One of the biggest differences concerns a measure that will appear on the same November election ballot as the candidates that requests an […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times: As sales manager at Leitner-Poma of America, Tom Clink is in a position to observe every phase of a chair lift project. Initial designs appear on computer screens and large sheets of paper. Massive chunks of metal cut and machined to exacting specifications fit together like pieces in a gigantic […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times: Even in the midst of the demolition, the remodeling and the other renovations under way at the Wayne Aspinall Federal Building and Courthouse in downtown Grand Junction, Jerry Burton hasn’t lost sight of the ultimate goal. “We’re still reaching for net zero,” says Burton, assistant project manager with the U.S. General […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times: Financing activity under federal small business loan programs held steady in Colorado through the first half of the year, according to numbers from a leading lending organization in the state. Colorado Lending Source was involved in issuing 121 loans through the first six months of the year, 10 more than the […]