14-Color
14 The News-Press
May 8, 2014
Chamber names Stucy Businessperson of Year Others also honored at group’s annual banquet By Mike DiFerdinando
mdiferdinando @colroadocommunitymedia.com Elaine Stucy started her real-estate business in 2001 as a lone agent in her home. In 2007, she purchased the office at 413 Wilcox St. in Castle Rock where she operates Stucy Realty Co., and on April 25 at the annual Castle Rock Chamber of Commerce banquet she was named Businessperson of the Year. “When you get recognized for just doing what you love to do, that’s as good as it gets,” Stucy said. During a period when many struggled economically, Stucy was able to build her business into one of the most successful in Castle Rock. “There are always people, for fundamental reasons that need to buy and sell homes. So it’s not just a whim. It’s not a luxury item, per se. It’s a necessity. Everyone has to live somewhere,” she said. “In those hard times,
From left, Betty Graf, Aaron Barrick and Elaine Stucy celabrate winning awards at the 2014 Castle Rock Chamber of Commerce Banquet. Courtesy photo you just work a little bit harder. You look for opportunities. You always do the right thing for your clients, and in the end you’re rewarded with business for that.” Stucy Realty now employees 25 people. Stucy provides an in-office nursery for
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her employees and recently began to offer 401(k) plans. “Some girls dream of being models or rock stars or doctors, but for me, business has just always been something that I’ve liked doing. I always wanted to build a
company where people would want to work here,” Stucy said. Castle Rock has undergone tremendous growth in the last decade, and town projections estimate the population could reach 100,000 by 2030. “As a real-estate person, you do like to see growth and development. You have growth and development because you have a good quality of life,” Stucy said. “On the other hand, if you have uncontrolled growth and development, you can stifle quality of life. What’s really great here is that we have a really great small-town feel but we’re really close to big-city amenities. The town has done a really good job of balancing, I think.” Stucy was not the only person to receive a 2014 award at the banquet. Ernie Fazekas was honored as Citizen of the Year; Ping Lee Jung was named Volunteer of the Year; Town Manager Mark Stevens was named Castle Rock Advocate of the Year; and Reliv International’s Betty Graf was named Chamber Ambassador of the Year. Stucy’s husband, Rick, was honored with the Businessperson of the Year award last year. “My trophy is a little bit taller than his,” she said.
Lone Tree doctor finds meaning in missions Plastic surgeon joins team to help disadvantaged By Jane Reuter
jreuter@coloradocommunitymedia.com
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When a poor African man posted a plea for medical help on RealSelf — a website most commonly tapped for advice on plastic surgery methods and surgeon reviews — the typical responsive chatter from doctors and patients fell silent. Clement Kihitula had a large keloid, an overgrowth of tissue, on the back of his neck, and no money for treatment. “Am from poor family in Tanzania East Africa where can’t afford treatment abroad,” Kihitula posted. “How can I get assistance?” Lone Tree doctor Stephen Weber was the only surgeon who offered to help Kihitula. The 19-year-old growth was so large it limited Kihitula’s ability to move his head, and was so disfiguring that Weber said, “People would notice that before they noticed him.” Kihitula’s timing was almost perfect, dovetailing with Weber’s annual medical mission trip to eastern Africa. In mid-March, three weeks after the initial post, Weber operated on Kihitula in Sangida, Tanzania. The man’s home is on the road between the airport and Singida Regional Hospital, where the Outreach mission is conducted; he met
Lone Tree Dr. Stephen Weber, left, poses with patient Clement Kihitula, who he met during a medical mission trip to Africa. Courtesy photo the team in Singida the day they arrived. “I thank you for what you have done for me,” Kihitula recently wrote in an email to Weber. During that same two-week trip, Weber, fellow practice manager Camille Kamingo and 24 other American doctors, nurses and volunteers saw 350 patients and conducted 20 surgeries — all at no charge. They repaired cleft palates, lips torn during domestic violence, skin damaged by cobra bites, cooking oil burns and other deformities and injuries. It’s a far cry from the Botox injections, liposuction surgeries and other procedures he regularly performs in Colorado. “I think we did a huge amount of good. We helped a lot of people,” Weber said. “Most people focus on cash-pay-
ing customers that pay the bills. That’s important to us, too. But I really think our most important service is the mission work — giving back to people who can’t afford or don’t have access to treatment, who are medically isolated.” The Outreach mission is conducted as a temporary clinic in conjunction with Singida Regional Hospital. Doctors who practice in the area are overworked and in short supply, focused almost exclusively on labor and delivery, and their training is limited. The Outreach team performed several tonsillectomies because the African doctors don’t know how to do many such basic procedures, Weber said. Returning to his normal practice in Lone Tree is always a culture shock, Weber said. “It’s very hard to wrap your mind around operating with windows open and a fan going to operating in a stateof-the-art, climate-controlled operating room,” he said. Despite the differences between facilities and clientele, Weber believes his patients in both countries have more in common than it would appear. His client base includes a mix of aesthetic, reconstruction and trauma procedures. “It’s a different demographic but I think it’s similar,” Weber said. “People want to look good and feel good — whether that’s a birth defect, treatment of a scar or changing the shape of your nose, I think the motivation is really similar.”
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