By james art 
Be creative and take risks.
That message was woven into the Fremont Economic Development Corp.’s annual meeting. and the dinner on Friday at the Pathfinder Event Center.
Chris Franz, Colorado’s Commissioner of Economic Development and International Trade, who was the keynote speaker, shared one of Fremont County’s “best venture stories” that he uses as an example in his work across the state: Emergent Campus.
“It’s one of the poster children for the levels of state and local support and risk-taking entrepreneurs that we love,” he said.
Franz learned about Emergent Campus when its tenant, Pax8, approached the state for a tax credit to stimulate job growth.
“It’s one of those types of projects where there’s community support and someone takes that risk,” he said. “What they really did was build their own ecosystem. They took what was a really cool building – and it had good internet – and they built a community. There’s an atmosphere, a feel and an entrepreneurial spirit there that really resonates.”
The Emergent Campus is an extension of FEDC’s TechSTART in Cañon City. As Cañon City’s 23 offices filled up, the former Florence High School and later the middle school building were purchased to accommodate the growth and stimulate Florence’s economy.
“It’s a good example of what can really happen when you take a little risk,” Franz said.
The advice Franz offered to everyone was to “be creative, take a little risk and it will pay off in the end.”
Brad Rowland, co-founder of Emergent Campus, said that in the past year, Emergent Campus has received two significant grants.
A $3.5 million grant from OEDIT Colorado was awarded to grow Fremont and expand the Emergent Campus in Trinidad. The grant covers support for the Emergent Campus and the Trinidad team, provides funds for Trinidad State College to teach technical classes, and adds co-working space and an internship program at Trinidad High School.
For more information about Emergent Campus Trinidad, visit https://trinidadstate.edu/emergentcampus/index.html.
The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded a $5.75 million Advanced Manufacturing grant to expand the Emergent Campus. It will expand traditional technologies into advanced manufacturing.
During the meeting, FEDC Executive Director Rob Brown also recognized other longtime local families who have made a significant impact in the community, including the Tezaks, Arys and Esteses.
“These are people who have gone hyper-local and figured out how to add to our community,” Brown said.
When the Arys sold their building materials solutions company last year, Brown said the family chose to put that money immediately into community work instead of sitting on it when they bought the Abbey complex earlier this month.
“We’re proud of it,” Brown said. “That’s the hyperlocal component. We went from not knowing exactly where we were going to end up to actually having a multi-generational local family controlling the largest asset in Fremont County, and they have plans to make it a legacy project for their family.”
Brown also recognized David Reynolds, who has been an integral part of FEDC leadership for nearly 30 years. He said Reynolds and the FEDC board realized about a dozen years ago that the organization had reached a plateau. They decided they had nothing to lose and knew they had to either make a significant change to move it forward or let it go.
The board hired Brown and together they started doing things differently. They began to push FEDC forward with free thinking and creativity, putting a hand on people’s shoulders and bringing them into the fray.
Reynolds talked about hiring Brown a few years ago, along with Diana Armstrong, a decision that changed FEDC’s future for the better. During his opening address, Reynolds also spoke of his commitment to the community.
“My experience with our community is that it has grown and, in my opinion, has blossomed and become a better place to live than it was 30 years ago,” Reynolds said. “… The efforts of everyone in this room help make this community better — not just economically — but a better place to live because we take care of each other, and that’s what makes a community. … I think we’re incredibly blessed to live in Fremont County because not all places are like that. I think we’re pretty special.”
To learn more about FEDC and all it has to offer, visit
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