Paraphrasing the “Love Vail” sustainability program, the Vail Valley is already a tremendous place, and by working together we are making it even better. This sense of being better together – working diligently on a local level, while recognizing we serve as a regional economic, social, and environmental unit – is part of what I love about this community.
Consider our local government entities and their visions, missions, mottos, and goals. Eagle County strives to provide exemplary services to all constituents.
Vail strives to grow a vibrant, diverse economy and community and preserve our surrounding natural environment, providing our citizens and guests with exceptional services and an abundance of recreational, cultural and educational opportunities.
This is aligned with the Town of Gypsum’s motto to “Live, Work, Play and Be Healthy.”
In Avon, they strive to be champions of trust for the betterment of the town. They take it one step further by repositioning challenges into opportunities, and to remain boundlessly devoted to our residents and guests.
Minturn shares the goal of working together with government agencies and local organizations to meet the needs of our community.
Eagle works to engage citizens to make a difference. They say “You may not think about it, but people just like you manage our municipal government. The next time you come up with that great idea to make our community better, consider running for office or volunteering to serve on a committee. Colorado cities & towns work for you — and now they need you to work for them.”
Our unincorporated communities of Beaver Creek, Edwards, and EagleVail share similar values, and Red Cliff sums everything up succinctly saying that the town is made up of friendly people with a mountain frontier attitude.
Our local towns and entities recognize that we’re all in it together. They are focused on providing service, meeting community needs, and building an environment where people can be successful.
They understand what the slew of to-do list apps, productivity systems, self-help books, and business gurus who claim that productivity is personal miss out on. This valley – and our leaders – recognize that the important work we do is never truly “solo”. We are, all of us, part of a larger ecosystem.
Consider your business. I’m betting that you tackle projects with colleagues, have meetings with clients, check in with employees and vendors, receive feedback from bosses. You can download the best apps, read the latest books, and implement the most modern productivity system, but if you don’t have support and understanding from those in your larger ecosystem … good luck getting any of it to stick.
My point isn’t that apps, books, and systems are worthless. Far from it — personal pursuit of better focus is absolutely the starting point for any journey to a more productive larger environment. But you have to remember it’s just that — a starting point.
For real, lasting improvement, we have to realize that tacking our community challenges takes the whole team. From Vail to Gypsum, from special districts to nonprofits, from businesses across industry sector, we’re all in it together and we’re better when we work concurrently.
Alone, our community challenges including transit, transportation, housing, health care, broadband, child care, and workforce development might seem overwhelming and impossible. Why do I love the Vail Valley? Because we recognize the need to work across jurisdiction to tackle these issues. It’s not always the easy way to do things, but working together almost always wins out in the end.
Chris Romer is president & CEO of Vail Valley Partnership, the regional chamber of commerce. Learn more at VailValleyPartnership.com