Painting a few strokes for the Big Picture….

A couple of gatherings this week, one at each end of the valley, gave a nod to some forward thinking and a big picture mentality.
On Tuesday afternoon, Western State College president Jay Helman opened the new academic year with a talk to the community. Being the former athlete and coach he is, Helman’s talk drew upon former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden and his pyramid of success. “Forget the trick plays,” he said. “Stick to the fundamentals,” he added. “The base of the pyramid includes loyalty, friendship, cooperation, enthusiasm and industriousness. Character and attitude are essential to success.”
In that vein, Helman emphasized that the college’s strategic plan relies on long-term thinking. He touted a “sustainable” plan, and in fact this academic term has been dubbed the “Year of Sustainability.” Helman said an institution committed to sustainability and the environment fits the brand of the college.
Helman declared his team is focusing on “meaningful communication that provides value to the students and their parents. It’s not about us, it’s about them,” he emphasized.
Like a good businessman, Helman said it was important to provide great customer service. “That is vital,” he commented. To reach out and meet student needs and find them where they are… which is probably on-line.
“We aren’t going to chase the latest and coolest thing but are focusing on a long-term plan,” he said.
In what could be considered good advice to anyone, Helman said it was important “to focus on what is within your control. If you focus on what’s not in your control (like the state legislature), it all becomes a distraction,” he told the crowd. “Keep the focus where things can be accomplished.”
Good thoughts from our neighbor at Western State.
Keep a big picture focus. Work with what you have. Set a long-term direction. Build on the good things we already possess.
In that regard, an “informal” meeting was held Wednesday morning at the north end of the valley by stakeholders in the Crested Butte trail world. Invited by the town of Crested Butte, specifically councilperson Jim Schmidt, representatives of the biking, hiking and Nordic skiing communities, the county commissioners, the Land Trust, and the county Trail Commission gathered to talk opportunities—short-term and long-term opportunities that fit a Crested Butte “brand.”
Schmidt said the idea was to focus on the more than 300 acres of Kochevar property and specifically the Smith Hill acreage, which will eventually be owned by the town. Local trail expert Don Cook has said there are probably 20 miles of trails available on that acreage. Can you imagine the playground on that property a stone’s throw from Crested Butte?
“We want to envision what could be there one, two, five, ten or twenty years from now,” Schmidt explained. “The idea is to really move forward with getting more trails. I believe the paper pointed out this is the mountain bike capital of something. We also want to eliminate what happened with the Baxter Gulch situation and try to involve all of the trail parties from the beginning.”

So here’s a pat on the back to WSC and a strong focus on keeping a vital institution fresh in this valley—listening to the customers, engaging the community, following through on an understandable brand and direction are good lessons.
And here’s another pat on the back to the town (and all the stakeholders) for making the effort to move toward something tangible. And in this case, that something is action that could be really beneficial in the long term and honor the roots of this mountain biking and hiking Eden. Doing the work to create more trails is a good thing.