Vail, Colo., Dec. 19, 2024 — In the for-profit business world, companies are always looking for new markets and new ways to innovate.
And in the nonprofit world? Can an entrepreneurial approach be applied to help build a better community?
The answer is yes, and perhaps no one embodies this idea better than Vail Valley residents Sue and Mike Rushmore.
Together, Sue and Mike Rushmore have brought their energetic approach to the Eagle River Valley’s nonprofit world in many impactful ways. They have looked for areas of need, filled those needs, built new programs and organizations, and bolstered existing ones. The end result is an impressive list of remarkable positive outcomes for the Eagle River Valley community.
Therefore, for their many contributions to this community, the Vail Valley Foundation is proud to recognize Sue and Mike Rushmore as the 2025 Vail Valley Citizens of the Year.
“Our community is incredibly fortunate that Sue and Mike decided to establish roots, and to work tirelessly to make a positive difference here. They are truly deserving of this award,” said Mike Imhof, President of the Vail Valley Foundation. “They bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to our nonprofit landscape, and they know how to take something from vision to successful reality. We are grateful to know them and to enjoy their partnership in so many of our community’s most important pursuits.”
The Vail Valley Citizen of the Year Awards is one of the highest honors in the community, awarded since 1981 to deserving citizens who have provided broad support, vision, and leadership to the betterment of the Valley. Although the Vail Valley Foundation manages this prestigious award, the award is not exclusively awarded to an individual or individuals involved with the Vail Valley Foundation. Recipients of this award must show many years of dedication, leadership, and contributions to multiple nonprofits spanning myriad causes, and their efforts and impact must stand the test of time.
“The Rushmores have had an incredible and outsized, positive, impact on our community,” said Chris Jarnot, Chair of the Vail Valley Foundation Board of Directors. “They are a lightning rod for positive change, they inspire those around them, they are hands-on, and because they are such goodhearted people, everyone is always eager and excited to work with them. We are proud to honor them with this award.”
Sue and Mike Rushmore will be celebrated at the Vail Valley Foundation’s Black Diamond Ball on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, at the Grand Hyatt Vail.
Foundation of our community
The Rushmores have longstanding ties to the Valley. Sue’s family started skiing here in 1965 and Sue and Mike continued the tradition with their children, eventually buying their first place in 2002. Soon they were spending their summers here and, in 2011, Sue and Mike made Vail their primary residence.
As they looked for ways they could give back to the community that they had come to love, they started asking questions, doing research, and trying to discover the biggest areas of need. They were in their, “third phase” of life, as Mike Rushmore explains it – the first being education, the second being work, and third?
“We didn’t yet know what that was,” Mike said.
Rather than choosing an area of philanthropy that intrigued them, and then creating a nonprofit to pursue that type of work, Sue and Mike took a different approach. They met with engaged and active community members. They asked what the biggest needs in the community were, and what could be done to address them. They asked what gaps needed to be filled.
It was an entrepreneurial approach.
And this is how, in 2015, Mike founded the Eagle Valley Community Foundation (then known as Our Community Foundation). Mike worked with a group of cofounders including Seth Ehrlich, Jason Denhart, and Jeremy Reitman to address the most pressing needs in the Valley – the first area of focus was food insecurity which was addressed through The Community Market, providing healthy food to those in need.
Susie Davis, who had been an integral part of the Youth Foundation among many years of other leadership work in the community, joined the team and helped bring the vision into fruition, expanding the programs to include the MIRA Bus, a health and human services outreach program.
In 2020, Melina Valsecia took over as the Executive Director of the Eagle Valley Community Foundation. With broad experience in community organizing, advocacy and strengthening leadership of the Latino community, Valsecia is helping create an inclusive community where economic opportunity, innovation, and the ability to thrive within Eagle County can be attained by ALL community members.
Valsecia said that Sue and Mike’s support and vision have been instrumental in the creation and the success of the Eagle Valley Community Foundation.
“Sue and Mike’s impact on Eagle County reaches far beyond what many see on the surface. They not only contribute generously but do so with genuine care and humility,” Valsecia said. “They embody what it means to be engaged and proactive citizens, always working to understand and address the real needs of those around them. Their approach has transformed the way our community tackles challenges, bringing others along in their mission to make a difference. Honoring them as Vail Valley Citizens of the Year is a tribute to their dedication, love for the community, and the lasting legacy they are building here.”
Guardians of our future
Education has always been a priority for the Rushmores. Upon moving here, Sue quickly became involved with Guardian Scholars.
The Guardian Scholars Program has been a powerful tool to provide scholarships to students with a financial need in Eagle County. Founded by Ron Davis in 1998 in California, the Eagle County chapter of Guardian Scholars was initiated in 2003.
Sue serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors, but her work with Guardian Scholar recipients goes far beyond financial support and her Board role. She mentors students and helps them build the networks and connections that many students lack upon entry to college. She provides career advice, connects students to professionals in their field, and builds relationships with the students.
This “hands on” approach is part of what makes the Guardian Scholars program so successful.
“Sue has been extensively involved in the success of the Guardian Scholars program, and being a founder of the Eagle Valley Community Foundation, I have been inspired by Mike’s vision and leadership,” Ron Davis said.
Help along the whole path of life
Colorado Mountain College’s Diana Scherr first met Sue and Mike Rushmore during their quest to create the Eagle Valley Community Foundation, but her relationship with them has grown in multiple ways over the years.
“Sue was a key stakeholder in many creative, groundbreaking ideas, including bringing a bilingual mental health professional to the CMC campus, supporting students through the Guardian Scholars program, and being part of CMC’s ‘Women in Philanthropy’, a group that pools their collective annual ‘dues’ to create a bigger impact on the students, programs & initiatives at the college,” Diana said.
Then, in 2017, with a grant from the Rob Katz and Elana Amsterdam Foundation, the Eagle Valley Community Foundation partnered with Colorado Mountain College to create a multi-pronged approach to addressing the needs of childcare in the Valley. The program provided scholarships to remove barriers towards creating a more educated childcare workforce. When the original funding was depleted 2 years later, it was Mike and Sue who agreed to personally continue the program. They also provided significant funding to launch the free evening childcare center on campus for parents who take night classes.
“Sue and Mike have an uncanny knack for recognizing a challenge, reaching out to engage others in the solution, and then calling upon talents from many different sectors to address the need,” Scherr said. “Their combined volunteer efforts have changed the way this valley approaches childcare, food insecurity, youth programing, access to college, mobile healthcare, supporting the Latino community and so much more. Imagine if we all just took one page out of their philanthropy handbook – the impact would be immense!”
A wide-ranging impact
The Rushmores have brought their enthusiasm and leadership to a wide range of organizations. As mentioned in this article, Mike founded the Eagle Valley Community Foundation, Sue has been critical to the Guardian Scholars program, and both have stepped in to fund Colorado Mountain College’s early childhood teacher education program. Their work with the Vail Valley Foundation, through the Vail Valley Foundation’s YouthPower365, has been instrumental, and they have also been significant supporters of Roundup River Ranch, the Vail Veterans Program and many other organizations and programs in the Eagle River Valley and beyond.
The Vail Valley Foundation is honored to be presenting this award, on behalf of the entire community, at the Black Diamond Ball Feb. 14, 2025, at the Grand Hyatt Vail. To learn more about the Vail Valley Foundation, please visit vvf.org.
The Rushmores join a venerable list of previous recipients:
PREVIOUS CITIZEN(S) OF THE YEAR HONOREES:
1981 Peter Abuisi
1982 E.B. Chester
1983 Jack Crosby
1984 President Gerald R. Ford
1985 Harry Frampton
1986 Helen Fritch
1987 George Gillett
1988 Merv Lapin
1989 Sheika & Pepi Gramshammer
1990 Paul Johnston
(Gerald R. Ford)
1991 Kent Rose
(Phil & Jane Smiley)
1992 Rod Slifer
(John Galvin)
Mike Kloser-Athletics***
Patricia Herrington-Arts & Culture***
Nick Seaver-Education***
1993 Dr. Richard Steadman
(Winton & Carolyn Blount)
Bib Isbell-Athletics***
Helen Fritch-Arts and Culture***
Jerry Santoro-Education***
1994 John Garnsey
(Bob Brotman)
Kara Heide-Athletics***
John Giovando-Arts & Culture***
Jim Himmes-Education***
1995 John Horan-Kates
(Brian Nolan)
John Rammuno-Athletics***
Marilyn McCray-Arts & Culture***
Susie Davis-Education***
1996 Vi & Byron Brown
(John Boll)
1997 Gil Giordano
(Alison Knapp)
1998 Barbara Treat
(Craig Tuber)
1999 Judy Alexander
2000 Pete Seibert
(Peter May)
2001 Mary Louise Shaw
(Vince Cook)
2002 Gerald Gallegos
(Michael Balk)
2003 Cathy & Howard Stone
(Suzy & Jim Donohue)
2004 Oscar Tang
(Susan & Harry Frampton)
2005 Diana Donovan
2006 Chupa Nelson
2007 Erik & Kathy Borgen
2008 Jack Eck
2009 Beth Slifer
2010 Martha Head
2013 Ann Smead
2014 Amy & Steve Coyer
2015 Pat & Pete Frechette
2016 Mary Sue & Mike Shannon
2017 Jay Precourt
2019 Betsy and George Wiegers
2020 Donna Giordano
2021 Sheika Gramshammer
2022 Rosana and Johannes Faessler
2023 Amanda Precourt
2024 Alexia Jurschak
*In 2018 the award dates shifted to reflect the new dates of the Black Diamond Ball, where the Award is presented each year.
** From 1990–2005 the Beaver Creek Citizen of the Year Award was awarded as an integrated aspect of the Vail Valley Citizen of the Year Award. Recipient indicated by parentheses.
*** Indicates the three annual recipients of the Hornblower Award, given from 1992-95.
