Fort Lupton Press 3
December 1, 2021
Kids Adopted Through an Annual Program The adoption program moves quickly to find the kids homes BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
More than thirty kids wishes came true and found permanent families through the annual Nov. 19 “Adoption Day” that was established by the Weld County Board of Commissioners, according to a Weld County press release. “Every child deserves a safe, loving, and permanent family,” said Perry Buck, Commissioner Coor-
dinator for the Department of Human Services (DHS). “It’s important that people know our adoptive families are valued tremendously for all that they do and support. There is an ongoing need for foster and adoptive families.” Weld County Department of Human Services DHS celebrated the finalized adoptions virtually with the kids and their new families at the Weld County Courthouse on November 20th. The adoption red tape process was from January through October 19th, according to officials. “It’s a true team effort — starting with our intake caseworkers who deal with the initial investigation, to our permanency caseworkers
who work with families to strive for reunification, and if that is not possible, we then work towards permanency with the adoption caseworkers. After adoptions are finalized, our post-adoption caseworkers work hard to support our adoption families along the way,” said Jamie Ulrich, Weld County DHS Director. Weld County is looking for families to sign up to adopt over 60 youths that need homes. There are about 105 active foster homes in Weld County as of November 2021. Since then, some of the foster homes have closed because the kids are adopted. The DHS team conducted an evaluation and needs about 25 more active
foster care homes for the youths in Weld County, according to DHS. According to officials, the children and teens in the Welfare system the foster family adopts them. Weld County DHS will be holding a foster care orientation on Wednesday, Dec. 1st from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. at the Weld County Humans Services building A, Greeley, CO. For more information on the Weld County Foster Care program visit https://www.weldgov.com/ Government/Departments/Human-Services/Foster-Care. Also, for information on The Family, Forever Program postadoption services, call 970-400-6707 or email us at hs-postadoptionsupport@weldgov.com.
Veteran news leader named Colorado Community Media editor Lisa Schlichtman will oversee CCM’s 8-county news operation STAFF REPORT
The next editor-in-chief of Colorado Community Media is Lisa Schlichtman, an experienced, award-winning news executive and an industry leader. CCM Publisher Linda Shapley made the announcement Nov. 29. “I’ve been familiar with Lisa’s award-winning leadership for a number of years, and to have someone with her passion and talent guiding our journalists at Colorado Community Media will mean great things as we look to grow our brand,” she said. Schlichtman, until recently the editor of the Steamboat Pilot & Today newspaper, joins CCM on Jan. 3. “I am thrilled to join Colorado Community Media and take on the new role of editor-in-chief,” Schlichtman said. “I look forward to sharing my years of experience in the newspaper industry with CCM’s talented team of reporters and editors with the goal of connecting the communities we serve through engaging, locally-focused content and impactful journalism.”
Schlichtman will lead the news teams of CCM’s two dozen Colorado newspapers and websites as well as other publications. CCM was sold earlier this year by Jerry and Ann Healey to The Colorado News Conservancy, a partnership of Schlichtman The Colorado Sun and the National Trust for Local News dedicated to fostering community journalism. CCM newspapers serve Adams, Arapahoe, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Elbert, Jefferson and Weld counties. “Our publications have tremendous potential and reach, and it is exciting to be part of the newly established Colorado News Conservancy,” Schlichtman said. Schlichtman succeeds Mark Harden, who retired as CCM editor last fall but has been serving on an interim basis since July while the search was underway for a permanent editor. Harden steps down Dec. 16. “Lisa is just the sort of dynamic, innovative, experienced news leader who can help CCM reach its greatest potential,” Harden said. “I am so pleased she has agreed to join us and I wish her great success.” Since July 2013, Schlichtman has been editor of the Pilot & Today, a
daily newspaper founded in 1885 and serving Steamboat Springs and Routt County. Schlichtman and her staff received the Colorado Press Association’s 2020 News Leader of the Year award for a multiplatform, in-depth reporting series, “Indivisible,” which focused on issues of diversity, equity and inclusion in Routt County and efforts to bridge divides. CPA named the Pilot & Today the state’s best newspaper in its size class for 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019. And the newspaper under Schlichtman also received the 2019 Presidential Award from the Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance for its eight-week “In Our Shoes” series on sexual assault. Schlichtman previously was an editor, co-publisher and coowner of various publications in Missouri, including the Monnett Times, Cassville Democrat and Wheaton Journal newspapers as well as Ozarks Outdoors and Connection magazines. She began her career as a reporter and assistant editor at the Cassville newspaper. In addition to her professional career, Schlichtman has been active in helping to support journalism and the news industry. She is a past president of the Colorado Press Association, the statewide news-media trade group, and is a board member of the Colorado News Collaborative, or COLab,
a Denver-based organization that serves as a local media resource hub. Previously she was a vice president and secretary of the Ozarks Press Association. Schlichtman also has been engaged in community roles. She is a graduate of the 2014 Leadership Steamboat class, a past chairperson of the Cassville Planning and Zoning Commission, and a past board member of the Cassville and Monett Area Chambers of Commerce. A St. Louis native, Schlichtman holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She and her late husband, Mike, have two grown sons who live on the Front Range. CCM publications include the Arvada Press, Brighton Standard Blade, Canyon Courier, Castle Pines News-Press, Castle Rock News-Press, Centennial Citizen, Clear Creek Courant, Commerce City Sentinel Express, Denver Herald, Douglas County News-Press, Elbert County News, Englewood Herald, Evergreen Lifestyles, Fort Lupton Press, Golden Transcript, Highlands Ranch Herald, Jeffco Transcript, Life on Capitol Hill, Littleton Independent, Lone Tree Voice, Northglenn/Thornton Sentinel, Parker Chronicle, South Platte Independent, Washington Park Profile and Westminster Window, plus two shoppers, the AdCo Advertiser and 285 Hustler.
Front Range-focused Canvas Credit Union plans merger BY MARK HARDEN MHARDEN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Canvas Credit Union, a Front Range-focused financial company based in Lone Tree, announced Nov. 15 that its merger with a Western Slope credit union has been approved by regulators and the two organizations’ boards. Canvas currently has about 30 branches across metro Denver and in the Fort Collins-Greeley-Loveland area, so the merger with Grand Junction-based Western Rockies Federal Credit Union marks an expansion into western Colorado. Under the deal, Canvas will add
more than 40 employees of Western Rockies FCU to its workforce, and Western Rockies FCU’s Grand Junction, Rifle and Fruita branches will remain open, Canvas said in a statement. Western Rockies member accounts will transition to Canvas. Marksberry Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. “Canvas also plans to explore opportunities to open more branches along the Western Slope,” the statement said. Grand Junction-based Western Rockies FCU has $150 million in as-
sets and 14,000 members. The statement said the combination had been approved by the state of Colorado and the National Credit Union Administration, the industry’s federal regulator. “Our team has been dreaming about how we can expand our impact well beyond the Front Range,” Todd Marksberry, Canvas’ CEO and president, said in the statement. “The opportunity to welcome the Western Rockies Federal Credit Union members and team to our Canvas family opens the door to manifest even more positive change for people across Colorado.” Kristi Porter, Western Rockies
FCU’s CEO and president, “will play a crucial role to Canvas’ collaboration with the Western Slope community,” Marksberry said. Canvas — formerly known as Public Service Credit Union — is metro Denver’s third-largest credit union based on total assets as of Dec. 31, 2020, according to the Denver Business Journal. Canvas says it currently has assets of $3.47 billion and 263,700 members. It is the descendant of a credit union founded in 1938 to serve employees of Public Service Company of Colorado, now part of Xcel Energy. In recent years it has acquired several other credit unions.
