Connie Hunt
Connie Hunt, Ouray County Administrator
By Kathryn R. Burke
A Balancing Act. [Ouray Colo., April 21. 2015] Connie Hunt comes from a family of eight, so learning to balance people, tasks, and time comes naturally. And with a background of nine years in banking, 25 consecutive years in county administration, and a masters degree in public administration, Hunt understands how to balance people and politics.
When you work for a small county, like Ouray, you wear a lot of hats,” she explains. “Larger counties have a separate department to manage most of the things I do, but here, I do it all: finance, budgeting, grant writing, policy administration, long-range planning, and supervision of nine different departments.”
What does she like best about her job? “All of it!” she says. “I like to create new ways of doing things. I like the challenge and I like to help people. My background in banking gave me financial skills at the upper end, and the years in public administration have helped hone my organizational skills and human resource management.”
Hunt believes teamwork is the backbone of a good, solid organization. “The right people will do the right things and deliver the best results.
This article also appears on website for the Woman’s Club of Ouray County. Designed and maintained by Kathryn R. Burke
[Ouray, Colo. March 15,2016] Collen Hollenbeck is now on her second term as elected coroner and has held that position since 2011. Before that, she served as deputy coroner under Gary Miller, who suggested she run when he retired from the position.
[Ouray, Colo. March 17, 2015] “The Black Swift could be called the most elusive bird on earth,” Hirshman believes. “The birds don’t make it easy to find or observe them.” They like to nest in caves, near waterfalls, where rocky ledges and inhospitable terrain protect them from predators.
One of the more accessible locations for these mysterious birds right Box Canyon in Ouray, Colorado. Hirshman has been watching the Black Swift and recording their activities here nearly 20 years. “I hope I can study this bird until I’m 90,” she told Samantha Tisdel Wright for an article in the ‘2014 Adventure Summer Guide’ (1) “As long as I am able to walk, I am going to go over there” and watch those birds.
But she does more than just ‘watch.’ Using a Nikon D-90 with an AF-S Nikkor 70-300 mm lens for close-ups, she gets some outstanding photographs. Hirshman has helped team members band birds. Although Hirshman did not directly help the team to attach geo-locators, many birds were also fitted with that device to track their annual migration – all the way to Brazil and back!
Hirshman’s observations and photographs have been reported in numerous publications and scientific studies. Google ‘Sue Hirshman Black Swift’ and you get several pages of ‘hits,’ including links to articles she writes for the local Ouray County Newspaper. (2) Hirshman relates results of a detailed study of 11 years of Black Swift breeding phenology and success at Box Canyon.(5) “Box Canyon is known as Colorado’s largest nesting colony and the most accessible viewing opportunity, which has gained world attention as an important Birding Area,” Hirshman explains. Hirshman and Carolyn Gunn are updating that study to include another nine years.
Susan Hale and Ann Mellick are avalanche forecasters for the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC). They work on the Highway 550 and 145 corridors in conjunction with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to keep the highways safe for winter travelers. Both have been employees of the CAIC since 2006, with previous backgrounds in snow and avalanche work in the Colorado Rockies.
Susan. A love for the mountains and back-country adventure lured Susan to the Colorado Rockies 28 years ago. Innumerable ski mountaineering escapades and a few encounters with avalanches left her with both respect and curiosity for avalanche phenomena. This interest was piqued during her ten years with the Snowmass Ski Patrol’s Snow Safety Team where she also oversaw the Avalanche Rescue Dog program. In 2004 an irresistible opportunity came along to work as an intern forecaster for the San Juan CAIC office. Here she learned the intricacies of local highway forecasting. Two years later, Susan was on board as a full time forecaster in the Silverton CAIC office.
[Ouray, Colo. October 20, 2015] Beth Goralski has been ice climbing since 2001. During a holiday vacation from Colorado State University, where she was a student, Beth took an ice climbing class. “I fell in love immediately” she said. “I had been rock climbing for quite a few years, so the transition was pretty easy for me.”
to compete in the Ouray Icefest. Last year, she also competed at the Bozeman Ice Festival in Bozeman Montana, which is now a World Cup event. This year she will return to compete in Bozeman, which is “where the world’s best mixed climbers come together to compete. There are six other world cup comps held in Europe and South Korea but Bozeman is the only one held in the Americas.”
[Montrose, Colo. November 18 2014] Thirty-five years ago Lorraine Coyle and her then-husband had a glass-etching business in Lake Arrowhead, California. A lot of their products were architectural – windows and doors primarily. “I also did smaller pieces, selling them at arts and craft shows,” she says. “Which is easy to do in California, because they have a lot of them.”
[Ouray, Colo., January 16, 2018] Bees are our friends. Bees produce honey, the only food source that never goes bad. Bees pollinate, a process that can produce a healthy garden with a bountiful crop.
Bees have a social structure and business organization that we could all take lessons from. A typical, healthy hive has 50-60 thousand honey bees in residence, with one Queen Bee, and a harem of worker bees holding various roles from warrior to nurse. Architects make the comb and comb cleaners keep it clean. Undertakers remove the dead.
[Ridgway Colo., January 20, 2015] Log Hill Firefighter, Marian Austin retired from the Army at the end of June of 2001. Her last assignment had been at the Pentagon, “Where I worked was next to section that got hit on 9-11,” she says. “I wanted to help.” And that’s what got her thinking about community service.