Perkins succeeds Hilary Lewkowitz, who was in the chamber’s lead role as marketing director for the past three years. Lewkowitz, who has worked closely with the Colorado Tourism Office on several projects benefiting Ridgway, has become the state tourism organization’s destination development manager, also supporting the Restart Colorado Tourism programs and the Colorado Regional Tourism Strategy.
“I am both humbled and honored to be offered such an incredible opportunity. I look forward to working with the area’s business community in a new capacity,” said Perkins, who was previously the RACC board secretary and a customer services agent at Alpine Bank.
Tim Patterson will be stepping down as RACC board president as his two-year term ends at the end of the year, and Dubroff will become board president.
“From my perspective,” said Patterson, “I’m thrilled to have been part of the chamber for many years, and I’m excited about the transition to the new leadership. The chamber board is not a place where people should sit forever. Everyone in the business community should get involved, understand the chamber’s role, and participate in overseeing its activities.”
Co-owner of RIGS Fly Shop & Guide Service, he has served in various roles with the chamber and different boards in the Ridgway community since 2006. Working with former Board President Colin Lacy and other board members over the past five years, Patterson pointed to the chamber’s successes in rebuilding and strengthening its relationship with the Town of Ridgway staff and council.
“Opening dialog and building trust with the Town has been the number one accomplishment that I’m proud of. Creating a strong board that is not afraid to make changes and modernize how we conduct business and communicate has also been an important accomplishment, and all our contractors and staff have played a big role in that,” he added. “Reimagining the chamber’s operations have gone hand and in hand with lots of new funding, which has helped the chamber for the better.”
Other successful projects in recent years have included establishing new marketing strategies to leverage state resources, more effective digital platforms, shoulder season promotion, and a focus on responsible, sustainable tourism. The Ridgway Visitor Center and Heritage Park have been updated, and more amenities and transformations are planned over the next few years. The chamber also helped create and organize the annual Ridgway Student Volunteer & Career Fair.
Dubroff commented, “We thank Tim, Hilary and Jason Bojar, who is stepping down as chamber vice president, for all of their guidance and dedication in leading the chamber in their various roles. Between Ashley, David and myself, we want to build on their successes, want to represent the business community in the best way that we can. We want to get more people involved in supporting businesses and nonprofits in our great community.”
Managing partner of the Ridgway Lodge and Star Saloon, Dubroff has been on the RACC board since April 2020. He has also served as president of the Ridgway Booster Club and Ridgway Secondary School basketball coach.
“The chamber will continue to operate the Visitor Center, produce the Ridgway Visitors Guide, and maintain the ridgwaycolorado.com website and a strong digital presence,” he said. “The goal of the chamber board is to represent the business community, and we hope that others will join us to help bring diverse voices to the table.”
The new board vice president will be Nunn, a marketing professional and guitarist, has been on the board since April 2021. Kane Scheidegger of Kane Scheidegger Gallery & Studio is also a board member. The board is seeking to fill vacant board seats with business community members from different sectors such as restaurants, stores or professional services.
The new board leadership plans to send out a survey to the business community to find out people’s priorities in the next few months. The survey results will help guide the chamber board and staff in future activities.
