Vail Valley Partnership Success Awards celebrate local businesses and nonprofits

The 22nd annual Vail Valley Partnership Success Awards took over the EagleVail Pavilion on Thursday, May 8, for food, drinks, networking and honoring the very best of the valley’s business and nonprofit organizations.

This year’s emcees were Erik Williams and Maren Cerimele with the Partnership. Chris Romer, the local chamber’s president and CEO, excused himself to watch his daughter play for Battle Mountain High School in the state girls lacrosse playoffs.

Williams noted that while only a few people received awards Thursday, everyone in the room was a winner.

One of those winners was Chris Baddick, owner of Cooley Mesa Detailing and the local Dollar and Thrifty Car Rental franchises. While most of the winners were selected after being nominated, Baddick was chosen by the Partnership staff as the organization’s Member of the Year.

Baddick said while everyone in the room has problems, “our problems are probably better than a lot of people’s problems. And that’s how we know that we’re doing well.”

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Baddick added that the reason he has a better set of problems is because of his team.

“They allow me to deal with really good problems most days,” he said. “I’m really glad that we have a framework to support my team so they can develop themselves, they can become who they want to be, and they can then give me the problems that I want to deal with.”

Dealing with those “better problems” is “how we’re going to grow, and that’s how we’re going to succeed,” Baddick added.

‘E pluribus unum’

While most of the awards were straightforward, Williams noted that the award for Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion has the potential to be controversial in today’s political climate.

“This award was especially important this year,” Williams said, adding that after some internal debate about whether or not to continue the award, “We said ‘No, if we don’t do it, the bad guys win.'”

This year’s winner, the Eagle County School District, was nominated and wrote in its application that its schools follow the motto of the United States, “E pluribus unum” — out of many, one.

Williams, reading the application, continued, “We find strength and pride in diversity to teach our students that they are loved and respected no matter who they are.”

The application added that district officials questioned whether or not to “politely ignore the nomination or accept it with pride. … We refuse to let fear silence our commitment to what is right. Accepting this nomination is not an act of defiance, but an affirmation of our values of kindness, fairness and respect for all.”

Ultimately, the application continued, the nomination was accepted because “our students are watching.”

In accepting the award, Eagle County School District Superintendent Phil Qualman said: “We have an obligation to make every kid feel welcome, every kid feel capable and every door is open to every kid.”

Tia Luck, the district’s student engagement coordinator, credited “the amazing teachers and administrators that we have in our schools who are artfully growing their schools to be more vibrant for all of their students.”

A small business success story

While the school district is one of the largest employers in the county, the award for Small Business of the Year went to a two-person operation, the Minturn Whisky Company, run by Spence and Stef Neubauer, a husband-and-wife team.

In his remarks, Spence credited Stef for the business’s success.

“She does absolutely everything,” Spence said. “Two years ago, I said, ‘I think I’m going to start a whiskey company.’ And she said, ‘OK.’ And then two years ago she left her job and everything else has been her.”

That everything else includes joining the Partnership, dedicating 1% of profits for the planet, designing the tasting room, the Wee Dram, running the marketing program and working with Walking Mountains Science Center.

“She deserves all this recognition,” he said.

In her remarks, Stef said, “I kind of didn’t expect this at all. … So it’s wonderful to be a part of a community that cares about sustainability and community and taking care of each other.”