Collaboration is in Colorado’s DNA, Jake Rishavy likes to say.
Rishavy, 39, is vice president of innovation for the Denver South Economic Development Partnership. He’s built a career connecting health startups to big-name hospitals, insurers and foundations through Prime Health.
It’s not a contradiction, Rishavy says, that cooperation remains a driving force in a state settled by fiercely independent Americans.

“If you look at what was going on 150 years ago here, people were coming out here with that same pioneer spirit,” said Rishavy. “And in order to survive in that environment you had to be able to rely on community and work together. It’s logical that that same ethos or philosophy would apply today.”
Rishavy is leveraging that pioneering attitude in the Colorado Smart Cities Alliance — a public-private-academic partnership with 12 cities in the state. The University of Colorado, Arrow Electronics and the Colorado Technology Association will all be involved in the collaborative platform that aims to share best practices among the cities as they tackle transportation, affordable housing, energy conservation and public health. He says that, to the best of his knowledge, it’s the first partnership of its kind in the nation.
Business leaders in Colorado are eager to collaborate, said Rishavy, but don’t have the time or means to build the necessary infrastructure. His economic development work allows him to see larger patterns and design custom-suited programs.
“It must be someone’s day job,” Rishavy said. “I’m extremely blessed that it’s my day job to do just that.”
After moving to Denver from Minnesota in 2001 and running his own successful company, Rishavy felt the desire to do something more civic-minded. He asked himself how he could apply his entrepreneurial and communications experience to something that would benefit the community as a whole.
“That really led me to economic development,” Rishavy said. “For me that’s the perfect blend of those two passions.”
 
CAREER & WORKPLACE
After a stint at the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, he met Denver South EDP president and CEO Mike Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald wanted to focus on entrepreneurship, but wasn’t sure of the best approach. Together they drafted the details of a new position that would look at best practices in supporting entrepreneurship and innovation in the community.

As Rishavy tells it, he had only been at Denver South EDP for two or three days when Fitzgerald stopped by his desk and dropped off a 200-page in-house study of the health care industry.

“Basically, Mike said to me, ‘Hey we’ve done this great piece of research work…We know there’s an entrepreneurial bent to this…Try to find a way that our organization can utilize this information to benefit the business community here,’” said Rishavy. “And that kicked off this really amazing experience in forming this group Prime Health.”

Prime Health’s annual Digital Health Challenge is now in its fourth year, and will culminate with a “Shark Tank” style competition on Oct. 19 in which six innovative health startups will pitch in front of nearly 1,000 people, including big health care system payers and providers. Competitors include Boulder-based Hippo Health, which promises a new approach to on-demand healthcare, and New York’s Yosi, a cloud-based platform that aims to do away with paper patient registration and check-in. The winners will share a portion of $150,000 to fund their pilot programs.
Whether it’s disrupting health care through Prime Health or reexamining transportation and housing through the Smart Cities Alliance, Rishavy’s cooperative vision is fostering change in the state.

“We basically tried to leverage that collaborative DNA that exists in Colorado,” said Rishavy. “And apply it to try and solve some of these big, complex systemic challenges.”

Jake Rishavy
Title: Vice President of Innovation
Age: 39
Company: Denver South Economic Development Partnership
Location: Douglas County
Phone: 720-231-6542
Website: www.denversouthedp.org
Email: jake@denversouthedp.org
Twitter:@RicochetDenver
Industry: Economic Development
Education: Mass Communications, Journalism, 2001, St. Cloud State University
Favorite thing to do outside of work: Fly fishing. Both my wife and I worked as river guides around the time we met, but with a 20-month-old girl we don’t fish as much as we used to!

CU South Denver is excited to invite South Metro Denver Chamber members to upcoming EduTalks and World Affairs presentations at the CU South Denver campus!  

The campus is excited to offer a special discount to SMDC members-- receive a 20% discount by using the code SMDC at checkout for upcoming networking events and programs!

On October 10th CU South Denver will be hosting The Art of Negotiation with Tanya Kelly-Bowry, Vice President of Government Relations at the University of Colorado.  Lunch will be prepared by their world-class culinary team.  Don't miss this great speaker, great food and great conversation! Register today at: 
http://southdenver.cu.edu/events/event/edutalks/.

On October 19th the new World Affairs series will be launched, and the first topic will be Negotiating the Baggage of International Business with Bill Decker.  These events will include networking, with an opportunity for guests to inteact directly with speakers and participating community members, plus continental breakfast.  Register today at: 
http://southdenver.cu.edu/events/event/world-affairs-speaker-series/

Neill to Lead Market Development Across 13 States
 
DENVER – October 16, 2017 – Comcast today announced that Peter Neill has been named Vice President of Comcast Business for Comcast’s West Division. In this role, Neill will lead sales, marketing and the customer operations organizations across 13 states focused on delivering an exceptional customer experience, accelerating market expansion and growing Comcast’s portfolio of business solutions and services, including Ethernet, internet, Business VoiceEdge™ and SmartOffice™.
 
Neill is a 30-year veteran of the telecommunications industry with extensive experience leading engineering, operations, sales, service delivery, product management, and customer experience initiatives for both startups and established companies. Throughout his career, he has served in a variety of leadership roles where he has improved customer loyalty while delivering quarter-over-quarter organic subscriber and revenue growth through the development of great teams.
 
“Peter’s extensive skill set and passion for building and leading winning teams make him the ideal person to lead Comcast Business for the West Division,” said Steve White, president of Comcast’s West Division. “His team-oriented approach, in combination with his ability to transform customer and employee loyalty into revenue retention and growth will lead the Division’s six regions to continued success.”
 
Prior to joining Comcast Business, Neill was executive vice president of global product strategy and customer experience at EdgeConneX, which specializes in global data center solutions at the edge of customer networks. Before that, he served as the chief customer officer and senior vice president of business process at Level 3 Communications, in addition to holding several other executive roles over seven years. Neill also has more than 15 years of wireless experience, working at both AT&T Wireless and Sprint early in his career. He has been instrumental in developing telecommunication businesses as an investor and operator, providing capital and management to help them focus and exceed business plan growth expectations.
 
About Comcast Business:
Comcast Business offers Ethernet, Internet, Wi-Fi, Voice, TV and Managed Enterprise Solutions to help organizations of all sizes transform their business. Powered by an advanced network, and backed by 24/7 technical support, Comcast Business is one of the largest contributors to the growth of Comcast Cable. Comcast Business is the nation’s largest cable provider to small and mid-size businesses and has emerged as a force in the Enterprise market; recognized over the last two years by leading industry associations as one of the fastest growing provider of Ethernet services.
 
For more information, call 866-429-3085. Follow on Twitter @ComcastBusiness and on other social media networks at http://business.comcast.com/social.

Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company with two primary businesses, Comcast Cable and NBCUniversal.  Comcast Cable is one of the nation’s largest video, high-speed internet, and phone providers to residential customers under the XFINITY brand, and also provides these services to businesses.  It also provides wireless and security and automation services to residential customers under the XFINITY brand.  NBCUniversal operates news, entertainment and sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, television production operations, television station groups, Universal Pictures and Universal Parks and Resorts. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.   

Media Contacts: Leslie Oliver, Comcast
Leslie_Oliver@cable.comcast.com
(303) 810-6326

September 21, 2017
Contact: Allison Wittern, 303-754-3443
 
Watch Local Artists at Centennial Chalk Art Festival September 23 and 24
 
Watch in awe as pastel chalk paintings come to life at Centennial's award-winning park. Join the City of Centennial Saturday, September 23 and Sunday, September 24 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and see more than 40 talented artists bring masterpieces to life right at your feet. Metro area food trucks and beverages will be available for purchase. There is potential for rain Saturday night into Sunday. We will continue to watch the forecast and make necessary adjustments as needed.
 
Don't miss live entertainment by great local musicians. See the band line up below:
 
Saturday, September 23
11 a.m. - Noon Megan Burtt
12:30 p.m. – 2 p.m. Kenny Lee Young
2:30 p.m. - 4 p.m. Patrick Dethlefs
 
Sunday, September 24
11 a.m. - Noon Jason Vigil
12:30 p.m. – 2 p.m. La Pompe Jazz
2:30 p.m. - 4 p.m. Follow the Fox
 
Arapahoe Road at I-25 will be closed the entire weekend. Alternate routes are encouraged. Park visitors may use Orchard or Dry Creek Roads. Centennial Center Park is located at 13050 E. Peakview Avenue. All activities and entertainment will take place in the parking lot adjacent to the Park.
 
Discounted animal licensing is also available at this event! By attending this event, residents may receive a 3-year animal license for the price of a 1-year license.
 
Thank you to the event sponsors:  Arapahoe County, CH2M, Terracare Associates and media partner, Colorado Community Media. 

Highlands Ranch, CO -- Schomp Honda is teaming up with fellow Rocky Mountain Honda Dealers to fill over 2,500 backpacks with much-needed new school supplies for children affected by the recent hurricanes. From now until September 30th, the dealership is reaching out to members of the community to help in this effort by bringing in donations of new school supplies to Schomp Honda, 1003 Plum Valley Lane in Highlands Ranch. Schomp employees will load them into backpacks and fill as many Hondas as possible. The filled backpacks will then be shipped to affected areas and distributed to children who need them.
For a list of School Supplies Needed: https://www.schomphonda.com/disaster-relief/
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Training an employee for management can be difficult, especially if they have no previous management experience; however, growing entry-level hires into bigger roles will allow you to keep your turnover rates down and stay profitable at the same time. It takes valuable resources and considerable effort to train someone for a management position, so it’s important to do it right the first time. This means choosing the perfect candidate for the job at hand and looking for management qualities in them from the very beginning.

Of course, attracting the right candidate means you’ll need to write out a stellar job description. Knowing how to get the right people to apply for the job will save you time and money down the road and will ensure that you’re able to populate your business with only the best employees.

Read on to find out more about how to hire the right people for the job and grow them into management material.

Write out what you want

Before you begin searching for an employee, write down everything you want in a new hire. Do they need to have so much experience in the field? How valuable are soft skills--such as knowing how to handle customers professionally and speak well over the phone--for this job? Are you open to hiring someone a little older? Can you hire interns to do some of the work then grow them into full-time positions once their skills and commitment to your organization is assessed? Think hard about the kind of employee you want to attract.

Next, start writing out a well-worded, eye-catching ad that details the job description as well as what your company can do for the employee. Studies have shown that these types of ads--rather than the ones that only contain what demands the employer has of an applicant--fare much better and attract a higher quality applicant.

For more tips on what to think about--and look for--when it comes to a new hire, check out Homeadvisor.com for a helpful list.

Brush up on your interview skills

That’s right; you may have a leg up in the interview because you’re the employer, but you still need to have the right skills here. That means asking the right questions and being prepared to answer some of your own. It also means being able to suss out whether an applicant really wants this job or if they are just looking for a paycheck. While there’s nothing wrong with being interested in making money, good management material will always have a true interest in the job itself.

The right applicant will also be dressed professionally and know how to speak well during the interview. Look closely at those who show up a little early, as these people are usually go-getters.

Be a mentor

Once you’ve found the right employee for the job, treat him or her like a student from the very first day. Becoming more of a mentor than a typical boss will help your new hire see the potential in this job and strive to do better. Training can be tedious even when the employee is a fast-learner, in part because you have your own job to do, but knowing it’s being done right will give you peace of mind when you’re ready to promote them.

Training also adds value to your employees, especially if there is an issue with a skills-gap in your area. Teaching an employee how to grow their job into a management position gives them a self-confidence boost and adds to the feeling that they are a part of something, which will automatically make them want to do well.

Finding the right employee may take some time, so try to be patient. It’s worth it in the long run to make sure you have the right hire even if it means you’re a bit short-handed for a little while, rather than taking someone on simply to fill a spot.

Grow your small business with LinkedIn by using these seven proven tactics.
 
There are nearly 30 million small businesses in the United States, but only half of them will make it past five years. To ensure your small business is in the successful half, we encourage you to capitalize on the various ways LinkedIn can evolve your business.
 
With LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, you can generate leads, produce sales, and hire top professionals to fuel your growth. Here are seven ways to grow your business using LinkedIn:
 
1. Create a LinkedIn Company Page
 
We’ve found that LinkedIn members are 50% more likely to buy once they’ve engaged with your business on LinkedIn. But they can’t connect with you if you don’t have a LinkedIn Company Page. According to Forbes, only 57% of companies have pages. The remaining 43% are missing out on a free opportunity to generate leads, talent, and, ultimately, revenue.
 
If you don’t already have one, create a LinkedIn Company Page. Personal profiles don’t have the same marketing, advertising, and recruiting features as Company Pages, making them less effective at promoting your business. As you create your page, think about the kind of impression you want to create among potential customers and employees. This will help you select the right photos and messages to use on your page.
 
For a step-by-step guide on how to create an above and beyond Company Page, view our LinkedIn Company Page Best Practices.
 
2. Promote Your Company Page
 
Once you have a Company Page, announce it to your clients, employees, and personal network. This will help you gain your first followers, who in turn will help to promote your Company Page on the content you post to it.
 
Promoting your page on other platforms or via email is also a great way to grow your audience. Here are some simple ways to get the word out:

• Announce the launch of the Company Page on your personal LinkedIn profile
• Encourage employees to follow the Company Page by making it a part of your onboarding process—Social Media Today reports that content shared by employees receives eight times the engagement as brand shared content
• Link to your Company Page in the footer of your marketing emails or newsletters
• Embed a Company Follow button onto your website so visitors can easily follow your LinkedIn Company Page

 
3. Share Content Regularly
 
The more you post, the more people you can potentially reach and convert. Best-in-class LinkedIn Company Pages are consistently updated to ensure that visitors have plenty of new content to consume and share. 
 
To get started, try posting at least once per week. It’s not uncommon for companies to post three or more times per day. Post whenever you have something worth saying. Posting consistently shows Company Page visitors that your company is active on LinkedIn. Use LinkedIn’s Company Page analytics to see your top performing updates, your best times to post, and which members of your audience are the most engaged. With this information, it’s easy to make data-driven decisions to optimize your Company Page content.
 
In addition to posting often, here are a few more stats to help you boost engagement:

• Posts with links receive up to 45% more engagement
• Images see an incredible 98% increase in engagement
• Posts that have relevant “best-of” lists get almost 40% more amplification

 
When a post gets good engagement, consider promoting it to a wider audience with LinkedIn Sponsored Content. Take the Sponsored Content Tour and discover how Sponsored Content amplifies your best content.
 
4. Showcase Thought Leadership
 
Seventy nine percent of buyers say thought leadership is critical for determining which companies they want to learn more about. To get started with thought leadership content, try to provide a unique perspective on your industry, product, or organization. Sharing your opinion on the future of your industry or creating a definitive guide on your product are just two ways to demonstrate your expertise and position your company as a credible partner.
 
For more ideas and advice on expanding your brand’s authority, download our Sophisticated Marketer’s Guide to Thought Leadership to learn more.
 
5. Target Sales Prospects
 
LinkedIn has over 500 million users to date. That may seem like a lot to sort through, but LinkedIn also provides you with tools to identify and target your ideal audience.
 
LinkedIn members are more likely than other social media users to keep their profiles up-to-date, making it easier for you to find the right people. Use LinkedIn profile data to search for LinkedIn members based on geographic location, education, experience, and even connections. Once you’ve found prospects using the search feature, visit their profiles. Their endorsements or recent profile views might surface additional qualified prospects, too.
 
For more ways to reach your ideal audience, learn how to advertise on LinkedIn.
 
6. Build an All-Star Team
 
LinkedIn has helped 75% of job switchers make informed career decisions, making LinkedIn a top recruiting network. What are candidates looking for when making those decisions? Our research shows that 66% of candidates want to see company culture over everything else. To take advantage of this preference, consider enhancing your Company Page with a LinkedIn Career Page.
 
Career Pages allow you to target audiences with a personalized look into your company, culture, and jobs. They give you dedicated Life and Jobs Tabs on your Company Page that attract and engage relevant professionals.
 
In addition to creating Career Pages, encourage employees to share job postings and “day in the life” content as well. This gives visitors a genuine idea of what it’s like to work for you and adds to your authenticity. If you have a few employees who lead the pack in sharing content, consider linking them to your Company Page’s Life Tab. Their shared articles and recent updates will automatically populate, providing visitors with up-to-date information. Watch LinkedIn's video below on how to use the Life Tab to attract the right talent for your company.

7. Hire Freelancers
 
You’ve probably had an employee who took on a task outside of their domain. You might have even done it yourself a few times. While the effort is commendable, learning on the fly can also be detrimental.
 
Fortunately, finding the right talent for the task at hand isn’t as tricky as it once was, even if you can’t afford the salary of a full time employee.
 
LinkedIn ProFinder enables you to post your projects, receive free proposals, and hire trustworthy professionals all in one place. ProFinder will even pair you with local professionals to ensure you have the best freelance experience possible. With 172 professional services available on ProFinder, it’s easy to find the perfect professional for any task.
 
LinkedIn vets all the professionals on the platform to ensure they are qualified and leverages your network to find freelancers your connections have used, so you’re never in the dark about who you’re hiring.
 
By using freelancers, you’ll get access to outside perspectives & broad experience of professionals of all kinds, from creating websites and designing logos to managing your books or crafting your marketing strategy. Plus, with none of the management overhead of a full-time employee, you can focus solely on the job at hand.
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Cherokee Ranch & Castle Foundation
James A. Holmes, Executive Director
720-627-7178 Jholmes@cherokeeranch.org
Donna Smith, Community Development Mgr.
720-314-0836 dsmith@cherokeeranch.org

Cherokee Ranch & Castle Foundation Proudly Presents
A Stockmanship Clinic featuring Temple Grandin, Ph.D. and Curt Pate, Clinician on November 4th to Benefit Cherokee Ranch

Sedalia, Colorado. September 6, 2017. Cherokee Ranch & Castle Foundation announced today it will proudly host a stockmanship clinic on Saturday, November 4th at the Douglas County Event Center featuring the most widely respected experts on humane cattle handling techniques, clinician, Curt Pate and CSU professor, Temple Grandin, Ph.D -- in a rare public appearance.

Dr. Grandin is a world-renowned animal behavior pioneer and Mr. Pate is one of America’s premiere horsemen and sought-after stockmanship experts.

In a smaller setting at the fairgrounds’ Indoor Arena, at 500 Fairgrounds Drive in Castle Rock, the morning will open with registration and coffee at 8:30 a.m. The clinic will begin at 9:00 a.m. Attendees will learn new skills or enhance their knowledge of the benefits of humane cattle handling. Time to visit with popular vendors and ranching industry colleagues is built into the half-day session. A hearty western style lunch with Dr. Grandin and Curt Pate is included in the admission price. Advance reservations are now available at a modest $35 per person by visiting CherokeeRanch.org www.cherokeeranch.org/clinic.

We invite you to attend this unique opportunity and for our industry partners, a limited number of event sponsorships are available. These will help Cherokee Ranch achieve its goal of building a Temple Grandin Cattle Handing System at the historic Cherokee Ranch Headquarters as a part of a long-term vision protecting the ranch in perpetuity by implementing an exemplary conservation plan for land, water and wildlife resources in association with the USDA – Natural Resources Conservation Service along with our effort to institute more humane cattle handling methods by implementing Dr. Grandin’s practices.

Cherokee Ranch & Castle Foundation (CRCF) is a 501(c)3 non-profit science, culture and ranching institution established by Mildred Montague Genevieve (Tweet) Kimball in 1996 to preserve the cultural heritage of three early Douglas County homesteads and her home, a Scottish-style Castle built by Burnham Hoyt in 1926. Placed on the National Register for Historic Places in 1994, she preserved the historic district, including the Castle as a house museum featuring extensive fine art and antiques as a permanent cultural resource for the community. Protected by a conservation easement in perpetuity, CRCF offers nature and science programs and serves as a sanctuary for native wildlife and the herd of Santa Gertrudis cattle which Ms. Kimball was the first to introduce to Colorado. 75 acres are reserved for future educational and cultural facilities.
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" the environment animals live in should activate their positive emotions as much as possible, and not activate their negative emotions any more than necessary. If we get the animal's emotions rights, we will have fewer problem behaviors” – Temple Grandin


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