Rita Simon, Community Ambassador

from Southwest Colorado Women in Business

by Ballantine Communications

Kerry Siggins, Professional

Community Ambassador SOUTHWEST COLORADO WOMEN IN BUSINESS

o c c u p a t i o n Durango Chamber of Commerce Manager

e d u c a t i o n Grand Island School of Business

Rita

SIMON

S

Cultivating Cooperation

CHAMBER MANAGER ORGANIZES EVENTS TO BENEFIT SMALL BUSINESS

upporting the businesses that attract families and individuals to Durango, whether for a quick visit or a lifetime, is Rita Simon’s specialty. When she moved here in 1998, she fell in love with all the region has to offer through the eyes of visitors. “I started working part time in the visitor center on the tourism side,” Simon said. “I’ve just worked my way up the ranks, I guess. The job has definitely evolved from one thing to a multitude of things.”

Simon is the chamber manager at Durango Chamber of Commerce, a membership-based organization that seeks to support local businesses. Simon was promoted to office manager, business manager and then to her current position as chamber manager. In this role, she controls financial functions and manages human resources challenges.

Helping visitors has led to a career that keeps her close to the community. For more than 20 years, she has helped the organization grow and prosper.

“The community has definitely grown,” Simon said. “The chamber has taken a strong role in helping businesses be better at what they do, and providing them with education and events – things they can do to grow their business.”

Simon said she often feels like her job has two different sides. While the financial administration and human resources aspects of her job allow her to exercise her critical thinking, planning events for businesses gives her space to be creative.

Some of the biggest events Simon plans annually include the Girls Gone Golfing and the Chamber of Commerce Durango Rocks Awards. While Simon loves celebrating the community at Durango Rocks, Girls Gone Golfing holds a special place in her heart because she loves to golf. Simon said the event has grown year after year and provides an opportunity for women in our region to learn about golf while networking with other professionals.

In addition to these big events, Simon is responsible for planning regular events to provide educational opportunities to business owners and a platform for community leaders to share information.

“We do a ton of events, like Eggs & Issues, Business After Hours, Lunch and Learn, Coffee at Carvers,” she said. “I love planning events, making them fun and coming up with new ideas. Even sitting at the events and talking to all the people as they come in, I love that part as well.”

Alongside Executive Director Jack Llewellyn, Simon sorts through dozens of proposals for speakers and workshops every month. Together, they look at the topics presented in past events and determine which programs and speakers will benefit area businesses. One of the most popular types of events are those that help business owners with organizational skills, management and marketing.

“Everybody has something interesting to share,” Simon said. “I always come away learning something, so I think our members are the same. Obviously, they are coming because they are interested in the topic.”

For Simon, working closely with other local organizations, such as Durango Area Tourism Office, Business Improvement District, Local First and La Plata Economic Development Alliance, is crucial to identifying the barriers to success for businesses, and choosing topics to address at their events. Collaboration helps each of these organizations achieve their own missions in different ways and prevents them from duplicating work. “It’s super beneficial for us to know what each other is doing. There are ways we can collaborate and help each other out,” she said.

Simon said that’s the Durango way. She witnesses the effort business owners make to provide benefits

and opportunities for their staff firsthand, and applauds the number of individuals and small businesses that seek to help other independent companies thrive.

“I’ve been here a long time,” Simon said. “I love it, I do. I don’t think you can be in a job for 20-plus years if you don’t love it. But I’m looking forward to that next chapter, and what it might hold.” l “I love the community involvement here. It just seems different than other places I’ve lived. And people seem to really care about other people and about their community.”

A Innovative Ideas

PEDIATRICIAN GROWS PRACTICE TO BETTER SERVE THE SOUTHWEST

ches and pains. Coughs and sneezes.

Hyperactivity and tantrums. Parenting dilemmas. “It’s all part of the human condition, which we take care of,” said Cecile Fraley, a founding member and current CEO of Pediatric Partners of the Southwest. As a pediatrician and business partner, Fraley works tirelessly to provide care to children and young adults at her practice in Durango. She’s been helping parents raise healthy children for more than 25 years.

Fraley began her career in this community in 1994 after completing her residency at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City. She was looking to settle in a mountain town and received an opportunity to join Southwest Pediatrics.

In 2005, Fraley and three other regional pediatricians came together to form a new pediatric practice, Pediatric Partners of the Southwest. The PPSW team offers holistic physical and behavioral health care for residents from birth to 21 years old. They administer routine vaccinations, diagnose illness, provide parents with growth and development guidance for their children and support young adults.

“It runs the gamut of routine illness to really complex illness because we are far from the front range children’s hospitals,” she said.

Fraley said the practice uses telemedicine to work with specialists at the Children’s Hospital Colorado in Denver to provide a higher level of care and to allow PPSW patients to be seen at their home for some health care. This is just one of the many ways Fraley is using health innovations to remove barriers to better health care in the rural region. “The business has just grown tremendously, both in innovations and offerings,” she said. “It’s really great to be able to offer that level of care here, so people aren’t needing to drive, whether to our offices or to Denver.”

As the company grows, so do the tasks ahead for Fraley as CEO. Today, there are eight pediatricians and four advanced practice providers, as well as four behavioral health experts offering integrated behavioral health care, and about 20 other staff members. As a leader of the small business, she carves out time to consider new advancements in care and how to implement those systems in the practice. “The role as CEO has evolved,” Fraley said. “As we’ve gotten bigger, it became challenging to manage the business and see patients full time. I still see patients one day a week. The rest of the time, I run the business.”

Transitioning day-to-day responsibilities allowed Fraley to create new partnerships in the community, and beyond. Fraley helped establish a PPSW school-based health clinic in Bayfield in 2018, and PPSW took over operations for the school-based health clinic at Durango High School in 2019. Fraley meets with practitioners in the region to share

successful implementation of new processes and discuss best practices. She is also helping other practices in Montrose and Farmington streamline their own telemedicine programs. Fraley impacts state health care policy by serving on the board for the American Academy of Pediatrics Colorado, and a Medical Services Board for Colorado Health Care Policy and Finance. She was selected to be part of the Rural Colorado Primary Care Leaders program sponsored by Colorado Health Foundation, Center for Creative Leadership and Colorado Rural Health Center. “It’s really neat to be here in Southwest Colorado but involved in statewide efforts,” Fraley said. “We just got back from presenting at the national conference for American Academy of Pediatrics in New Orleans. We had six rounds of presentations on telemedicine to general pediatricians at this conference. It was really amazing to realize that we are on the forefront of something that is not commonly done. But here in our small town, it really makes sense.”

Fraley works with attorneys, teachers and health professionals as a member of the Colorado Department of Health and Human Services Behavioral Health Task Force to identify challenges for delivering care.

After 25 years, she is the oldest partner in her practice. Still, she loves staying connected to the community.

Fraley said: “Every day I’m seeing patients of mine having their own kids. Seeing the cycles of life in the community is amazing. I am incredibly proud of the PPSW team.” l “I think being able to see how the community comes together to support kids and families, I’m just really moved by that. I’m honored that we got to raise our kids here.”