The Partnership Podcast Vail Valley Partnership

Erik heads to Cooley Mesa Detailing for a tour and conversation with owner Chris Baddick.  They discuss a number of different business issues including the joys and challenges of taking over a family legacy business.  Chris also discusses how a former professional cyclist came to work in the auto business and how he and his team can work towards positive social and environmental outcomes.  As Chris shares, the rental car experience is often someone's first "handshake" with the valley and wouldn't you like that handshake to be competent and CLEAN?!

Founded in 1988 and locally owned ever since, Cooley Mesa Detailing has established itself as the Vail Valley’s primary high touch auto detailing specialist. Located at the Eagle County Regional Airport, Cooley Mesa Detailing built it’s reputation by providing exemplary service to passengers flying in and out of the Vail Valley Jet Center.

Learn more about Cooley Mesa Detailing HERE

Erik is joined this week by John Burns, owner/operator/co-founder of Slalom Fox cocktails.  Based in the Front Range but with a strong mountain presence, John recounts the story of how this company came to be, what challenges they faced building their dream and how it is moving into the future.   They talk candidly about challenges around brand awareness, local market share and running a small business with a regional and statewide focus.
Join us as we look at small business through the lens of a craft cocktail company and I imagine you'll be surprised at what can apply to business of any size.
Learn more about Slalom Fox cocktails HERE

Erik is joined by Shannon Grant, Director of Post Secondary Learning and Career Readiness for Eagle County School District and Carolyn Tucker, Regional Business Services Coordinator for the Colorado Workforce Center to discuss WORK WEEK!
 
It's not Shark Week, it's Work Week.
Work Week 2023  March 28 – March 30Join us for the new, week long spring hiring event! Over 100 business positions available. Explore what business is right for you. There are options to participate both in-person and virtually. Resumes are required.
Join us at one of the following locations to chat with businesses in-person.
Tuesday, March 28th
2:00-4:00 Eagle County School District Students Only
4:00-6:00 Anyone and everyone welcome
At Edwards Field House
450 Miller Ranch Road, Edwards, COThursday, March 30th
2:00-4:00 Eagle County School District Students Only
4:00-6:00 Anyone and everyone welcome
At Gypsum Recreation Center
52 Lundgren Blvd., Gypsum, CO*View businesses participating in-person.
Virtual Participation
Click here to visit the virtual work week portal. You will need to first register for the event, then you can explore employer booths where you can ask questions, have discussions, and secure interview spots. Through the online portal you can also submit your resume.*View businesses participating virtually.
Is your business interested in participating in work week? Click here to fill out the business registration form. If you have already signed up and wish to participate in virtual interviews, click here to register.

In this podcast Erik steps WAY out of his comfort zone to talk taxes...and finds out it's not really that uncomfortable after all!  Brush Creek Financial Advisors' Matt Welsh joins Erik to talk about new additions to the tax code, things we should be aware of in the coming year and some simple strategies that make sense for people of all income levels.

There's also an impromptu Mettalica "quote-off" and perhaps the best answer you've ever heard when a financial planner is asked "tell me the future".  Join Matt and Erik for this fun and informative conversation and learn more about Brush Creek Financial Advisors HERE.

Childcare.
Early Childhood Education.

It's a topic frequently in the news, it's a strategic priority for Eagle County but what does it look like from a local childcare provider perspective?

Whitney Young, Executive Director of The Family Learning Center (FLC) and Cristina Betancourt Santos, Site Director at FLC invite Erik into the school (during naptime...you'll hear how that went!) to talk about what Early Childhood Education looks like from the ground level.  They discuss the push for more educators in this field and the steps being made to fill those positions.  Both Whitney and Cristina stress the need for greater community awareness and knowledge around the issue of childcare so...thanks in advance for listening and sharing!

Learn more about the Family Learning Center HERE

This is the podcast where host Erik Williams says "Really?" and "No way!" far too many times, however we dare you to listen and not feel the same!

Local archeologist, founder and curator of The Museum at Dinosaur Junction, Billy Doran takes the listener on a private tour of the museum, sharing stories of Eagle County's incredibly rich dinosaur history, how he came to find some of these pieces, and who he calls first when he makes a big discovery (spoiler, it's mom...and then the scientists!)

The Museum at Dinosaur Junction is dedicated to inspiring, educating and enriching life in Eagle County and Colorado as a whole by deepening the understanding and appreciation of history and science through the research, preservation and exhibition of paleontological discoveries.
Exhibits cover a comprehensive 200 million year history of the region, from fossil dinosaurs beginning in the Triassic, through the Jurassic, and into the Cretaceous including fossils from the Western Interior Seaway that covered the land millions of years ago.

Learn more about the Museum at Dinosaur Junction HERE:

Also, on Feb 8th Vail Valley Partnership will be hosting their monthly mixer at the Museum, learn more and register HERE: