The Explore Issue
LIFE + CULTURE
SONNY LUBICK: FAMILY, FOOTBALL AND LASTING LEGACY
The Stories and Friendships We Carry
There is something special about the word explore. It can mean packing a bag, taking a trip, finding a new trail or discovering a place you have never been before. But it can also mean looking a little closer at the people, traditions and stories right here in our own community.
That is what this month’s Explore Issue is all about. As a CSU alumna who attended college near the end of Sonny’s coaching years, I have always admired not only the coach, but the man behind the coach. Sonny’s love for his family, his devotion to Carol Jo, his pride in his children and the joy he finds in his grandchildren all speak to the kind of man he is. He is kind, humble and deeply genuine, and I am truly honored to call Sonny my friend. His impact on Fort Collins reaches far beyond the football field, through the lives he has shaped, the community he has lifted and the legacy his family continues through RamStrength. Their story is one of love, resilience and community, and it is an honor to share even a small part of it in this issue.
We also share the story of the “Yellow Jacket,” a tradition that began with a few men exploring something new in the Fort Collins city softball league. What started as a simple game grew into a lifelong friendship, and over the years, the jacket became a symbol of the stories, laughter, loyalty and memories they built together. Through Jerry Touslee, Rick Hontz and the men who have carried the jacket forward, we are reminded that some of life’s greatest adventures begin when we simply say yes and explore something new.
We also follow Race Director Mandy Mullen and the NOCO Urban Ultra, where runners travel the Poudre River Trail through Fort Collins, Timnath, Windsor and Greeley. More than a test of endurance, the race becomes a moving story of encouragement, resilience and community, reminding us that meaningful journeys often happen one step at a time.
As you read this issue, I hope you feel encouraged to explore Fort Collins in a new way. Not just through its places, but through its people. The families, friends, coaches, dreamers, doers and everyday leaders who make Northern Colorado such a special place to call home.
With Gratitude and Purpose,
CARLI TAYLOR-DRAKE, PUBLISHER
July 2026
PUBLISHER
Carli Taylor-Drake carli.taylor-drake@citylifestyle.com
EDITORIAL COORDINATOR
Luke Purvis
luke.purvis@citylifestyle.com
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Mandy Mullens
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Colorado State University, John Robson
Corporate Team
CEO Steven Schowengerdt
President Matthew Perry
COO David Stetler
CRO Jamie Pentz
CoS Janeane Thompson
AD DESIGNER Rachel Otto
LAYOUT DESIGNER Lillian Gibbs
QUALITY CONTROL SPECIALIST Anna Minnick
city scene
WHERE NEIGHBORS CAN SEE AND BE SEEN
1: Riley Inn and Rio Newcombe. Bronze men's doubles medalists. 2: Miles Hoover (men's singles silver medalist), Zach Gonnering, Maddy Rasmusen, Eduardo Santinia. All Challenger players. 3: Kava Luv owners Michael Hamwey and Chad Brunette celebrate their ribbon cutting.
4: Addison and Elsie enjoying the grand opening of Pure Green. 5: Chloe Beyerlein and Joshua at Timnath Connect, hosted at Pedro’s Coffee.
6: Brandy and Dr. Mark of Black Diamond Orthodontics at Timnath Connect. 7: Gavin Riches, Wayne Fraleigh, Carli Taylor-Drake, Chad Smidt and Ben Lucus enjoy RSP Golf Outing.
ZERO ZERO TWO.
ZERO ZERO TWO.
NIKKI LUCAS
8: Dr. Gregory Seitz and Jen Seitz celebrate the grand opening of their new Timnath location. 9: Portia Cook visits with guests about The Ranch’s Master Plan during Timnath Connect. 10: Dr. Redman shares a moment with a patient at Animal Dental Care & Oral Surgery. 11: Taylor Hedding, Jeremy Meek, Sarah Wheeler and Will Frazer at The Still Whiskey Steaks. 12: Owners Zenna and Oliver celebrate the grand opening of Pure Green. 13:
owner of The Back Nine Golf, joins the community at Timnath Connect. 14: Brandie, Beyond Blue Media’s Katie, Russ and Savannah at Eagles Game 7 at Blue Arena.
Zack Cira,
KATIE MILLER
Toward a Bright Financial Future Your First Step
RATE AS LOW AS
*Annual Percentage Rate. Full details at bluefcu.com/ credit-cards
Fort Collins Chamber Honors Kilwins’ Holli McElwee Volunteer of Year
Holli McElwee, owner of Kilwins Fort Collins Old Town Ice Cream & Treats, was honored by the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce as Volunteer of the Year during its 2026 Annual Celebration. The recognition celebrates Holli’s dedication, generosity and support of the local business community. Her involvement reflects the heart of Fort Collins, strengthening connections among businesses, neighbors and community leaders. Pictured are Chamber CEO Ann Hutchison, Holli McElwee and RGI CEO Sheri Ridgway.
Photography by Craig Volmer Photography
The Buxton Brings Boutique Glamour to Fort Collins
The Buxton brings a fresh boutique stay to Fort Collins, blending modern design with a welcoming, locally inspired feel. Located across from Colorado State University and close to Old Town, the reimagined hotel offers guests a stylish place to relax, gather and explore the city. With updated rooms, thoughtful details and community-centered charm, The Buxton adds a new hospitality experience for visitors, families, alumni and locals looking for a memorable Fort Collins staycation.
Castorena’s Granite & Quartz Name Joins the Ranch’s Equine Center
Fort Collins-based Castorena’s Granite & Quartz has been named the new naming rights partner for The Ranch Events Complex’s Equine Center, now Castorena’s Equine Center. The premier Northern Colorado venue hosts equine, livestock and animal-focused events year-round, supporting youth, agriculture and the equestrian community. A ribbon-cutting will take place July 14.
SONNY LUBICK’S LEGACY OF LEADERSHIP, FAMILY AND FORT COLLINS
THE MAN BEHIND THE COACH
Some names become part of a place.
In Fort Collins, Sonny Lubick is one of them.
For decades, his name has been connected to Colorado State University football, to packed stadiums, bowl games, unforgettable wins and a chapter in CSU history that helped shape the pride of an entire community. But sit with Sonny for even a short time, and it becomes clear that the story is not simply about football. It is about people. It is about loyalty. It is about family. It is about a life built with one relationship, one lesson and one act of kindness at a time.
And if you ask Sonny about the legacy so many others see so clearly, he will almost always point somewhere else.
To his coaches.
To his players.
To Fort Collins.
To his children.
And most of all, to his wife, Carol Jo.
“She’s the glue,” Sonny says. “She’s the rock. None of this happens without her.”
Long before his name became synonymous with Colorado State football, Sonny was a kid from Montana who loved sports, recess and competition. He grew up in an era when sports were woven into the rhythm of everyday life. Basketball, baseball, football, if there were enough kids to play, they played. After high school, his path shifted unexpectedly. An injury while working in the copper mines changed the direction of his life, leading him to college, teaching and eventually coaching.
What followed was a career that took him from small schools to Montana State, Fort Collins, Stanford, the University of Miami and, ultimately, back to Colorado State University in 1993. At Miami, he was part of a powerhouse program and national
championship teams. But when the opportunity came to return to CSU, Sonny saw a different kind of challenge. He saw a hungry program, a university ready to believe, and a community waiting for something to rally around. Still, Sonny says he never set out to build something larger than football.
“You never realize you’re doing that,” he says. “You get in there, you get working, and things just happen.”
What happened was an era that changed CSU football. The wins came. The bowl games came. The pride came. Students and alumni traveled, celebrated and believed. At Canvas Stadium, the field now bears his name, Sonny Lubick Field, a visible reminder of the era he helped build at Colorado State. But for Sonny, the deeper legacy has always been found in the people: the players, students, family and community who continue to carry those lessons forward.
But even then, Sonny does not speak about it as something he did alone.
“There was no ‘I,’” he says. “It was all of us.”
That sense of “us” may be the truest thread running through Sonny’s life. He talks about success not as a straight line, but as something shaped by failure, resilience and the people who help you keep going. He believes losses teach more than wins. He believes hard days reveal character. And he believes the most important thing a person can bring to any role is themselves.
Today, as he works with students at CSU’s College of Business, Sonny continues to share many of the same lessons that shaped his coaching career.
“Your best asset is yourself,” he tells his students, a reminder to trust who they are and what they bring into the room.
It is a simple message, but it carries the weight of a man who has lived through pressure, public expectation, tough losses, great victories and the perspective that only comes with time. Sonny speaks openly about failure, not as something to fear, but as something necessary.
Sonny Lubick, Carol Jo Lubick, Matt Lubick, Marc Lubick, and Michelle Lubick Boyle
Marc Lubick, Sonny Lubick, Carol Jo Lubick, and Matt Lubick
“If you’re not failing, you’re not trying hard enough,” he says.
That philosophy shaped him as a coach, but also as a husband, father and grandfather. Looking back now, Sonny is quick to acknowledge that coaching demanded more than people saw. Long hours. Early mornings. Late nights. Moves across the country. Seasons of uncertainty. While Sonny was building teams, Carol Jo was building the foundation that allowed their family to endure it all.
A nurse by profession and the steady heart of the Lubick family, Carol Jo carried the weight that often stayed behind the scenes. She moved their family from place to place. She cared for their children. She worked. She supported Sonny’s opportunities, even when they came with sacrifice. She saw things, as Sonny puts it, “through her lens,” which he says was often better than his own.
“She may not have been the one on the sideline,” he says, “but she was always there, offering steady support, honest perspective and the kind of advice that kept everything grounded.”
Carol Jo also kept him grounded. Through the highs of success, the pressures of coaching and the demands of a very public role, she was the steady presence beside him. She offered an honest perspective, quiet encouragement, and the kind of love that helped keep family at the center of it all.
That, in many ways, is their love story: honest, steady, supportive and real.
“She never let that job get to my head,” he says with a chuckle. Their marriage, now spanning more than five decades, is deeply woven into the legacy people associate with the Lubick name. Sonny may have been the coach on the sideline, but Carol Jo has always been part of the heartbeat behind it all. People know her not only as Sonny’s wife, but as someone who helped build the sense of family, connection and community that still surrounds their name in Fort Collins today. Players know her. Coaches’ families know her. And even now, people still ask about Carol Jo with the same warmth and affection they have carried for years.
“FAMILY IS THE TEAM THAT CARRIES YOU THROUGH EVERY SEASON.”
During the season, she often welcomed players into their home before games, offering cookies, ice cream and a sense of belonging. Sonny jokes that the players may have come for the cookies, but the deeper truth is unmistakable: Carol Jo helped create the family culture so many people still remember.
“She had as much impact as most of the coaches,” Sonny says. That family culture extended beyond the football facility and into the Lubick home. Their children, Matt, Michelle, and Marc, grew up in a family built around leadership, service, and a commitment to others. Matt and Marc followed football into their own coaching careers, with Matt currently coaching at the University of Kansas and Marc with the Buffalo Bills. Michelle became an educator and later helped turn one of the family’s most difficult chapters into a source of hope for others.
The Lubick Family
Carol Jo Lubick, Sonny Lubick, Marc Lubick, Matt Lubick, and Michelle Lubick Boyle
That commitment to family and service would later take on even deeper meaning as the Lubicks walked through some of their hardest seasons together. For all the public moments connected to football, some of the family’s most defining chapters happened far from the stadium, in hospital rooms, treatment centers, and quiet moments where strength meant simply taking the next step.
When Marc was diagnosed with cancer, the Lubick family was forced to face every parent’s worst fear. Years later, Matt would face leukemia and undergo a stem cell transplant, with Michelle serving as part of that journey as a stem cell donor. Through both battles, Carol Jo’s strength, both as a mother and a nurse, became a source of stability for the family. She stayed beside her children through treatments, hospital stays, and long stretches of uncertainty.
The family learned resilience not as an idea, but as a daily choice.
“You do what you have to do,” Sonny says.
Out of that pain came RamStrength, the cancer support foundation Michelle helped start after her brother Marc was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. What began as a deeply personal desire to support her family has grown into a meaningful force for Northern Colorado cancer survivors, providing financial assistance for basic needs, scholarships, programs and services.
For Fort Collins, RamStrength has become more than a foundation. It is an extension of the values the Lubick family has carried for decades: showing up, caring deeply and making sure people know they are not alone. Through its work, RamStrength has helped individuals and families facing cancer with practical needs that often become overwhelming during treatment. A rent payment. A car payment. Help with daily expenses. Support for students trying to continue their education while also battling illness. These are the kinds of needs that may not always be
seen from the outside but can mean everything to someone fighting to make it through another day.
To date, RamStrength has raised more than $2.5 million, turning one family’s pain into meaningful support for cancer survivors and their families.
Sonny speaks with genuine pride about the students and families impacted by the organization, especially those who write back with gratitude after receiving help during some of the hardest moments of their lives. He talks about CSU students battling cancer while trying to stay in school, families carrying financial stress on top of medical fear and survivors who return years later as reminders of what hope, community and perseverance can do.
In many ways, RamStrength reflects the same lessons Sonny spent a lifetime teaching on the football field. Keep going. Don’t give up. Lean on the people beside you. And when someone else is struggling, find a way to help carry the weight.
“It doesn’t get any better than that,” he says.
For Sonny, strength has changed meaning over the years. Once, it looked like a fourth-quarter comeback, a player fighting through pain or a team refusing to quit when everything seemed to be going against them. Through his family’s own challenges, strength took on a deeper meaning: walking through uncertainty together, surrounding one another through treatment, turning pain into purpose and watching a community show up again and again.
That community has always mattered to Sonny.
He still loves walking across the CSU campus, especially on a beautiful day in Fort Collins. These days, his connection to Colorado State continues through his work with students at CSU’s College of Business, where he shares lessons in leadership, resilience, and character. He notices the familiar faces, the people who stop to say hello, and those who still take a moment to thank him for what he did for Colorado State. Those moments mean something to him because they were never about status. They were about connection.
That may be why Fort Collins embraced him so deeply. Sonny never seemed separate from the community. He belonged to it. And in many ways, it belonged to him.
When asked what he hopes people remember when the records and football memories fade, Sonny does not talk about wins, trophies or packed stadiums.
He hopes they remember kindness.
He hopes they remember family.
He hopes they remember that he cared.
Because behind the coach, behind the name, behind the legacy etched into Colorado State history, there is a man who still believes in showing up, staying humble, loving your family and treating people right.
And perhaps that is Sonny Lubick’s greatest legacy of all.
Sonny Lubick stood on sidelines teaching young adults how to respond to adversity. He preached resilience and perseverance. He believed setbacks were temporary and that character was revealed when life became hard.
Those lessons helped build football teams in Fort Collins.
Years later, the words Sonny shared with generations took on a deeper meaning as the Lubick family faced challenges far beyond football.
For the Lubick family, resilience became deeply personal when Sonny and Carol Jo’s youngest son, Marc, was diagnosed with cancer. Years later, their oldest son, Matt, faced leukemia and underwent a stem cell transplant, with his sister Michelle stepping forward as his donor.
These challenges were not measured in wins or losses. They were measured in treatments, uncertainty, determination and faith.
The same values Sonny spent a lifetime teaching, perseverance, resilience and showing up when life gets hard, became the foundation that carried their family forward.
That journey lives on through RamStrength, helping families facing battles of their own and reminding them they do not have to face them alone.
Sonny and Carol Jo Lubick at Canvas Stadium
ARTICLE BY KALI KASPRZYK
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JANIE JONES
MAKEUP BY MIKAYLA CRANE
The 10% Target Mindset
Jen Cohen ON THE PRACTICE OF ASKING FOR WHAT YOU WANT
Winnipeg in the winter, and a 17-year-old waits 45 minutes in the cold for Keanu Reeves. Her fingers are numb. She is not there for an autograph. She is there to ask him to appear in her audition tape for MuchMusic, Canada’s MTV. When he finally agrees, she writes her number on a gum wrapper with a borrowed lip liner.
He calls days later.
That 17-year-old was Jen Cohen — fitness expert, host of the Habits & Hustle podcast, and best-selling author. She has built a career on the premise her frostbitten afternoon proved. She calls the practice the 10% Target: 10 attempts at whatever you want most in life.
The premise is simple. Most people never make one attempt. Almost nobody makes two. The math works in favor of the person who keeps going.
The top-rated Habits & Hustle podcast has logged hundreds of conversations with high performers and the people who study what the body does to the mind. Her TEDx talk, The Secret to Getting Anything You Want in Life, has traveled widely inside Fortune 500 sales-training rooms. On the Share the Lifestyle podcast, Cohen sits down to share the working rules that are the foundation of her latest book, Bigger, Better, Bolder.
“You have to be the CEO of your own life.”
FEATURING JEN COHEN
Discover the full 10% Target Mindset framework.
1 2
MAKE TEN ATTEMPTS
The door opens, or another door does. The unmade attempt and the refused one leave you in the same place — except one of them teaches you something.
STACK THE DECK
Cohen frames her habits as a wager: How do I stack the deck so I win more than I lose? The workout happens first, and the food decisions follow. The email follow-up gets sent, and the answer arrives. The choices compound in a single direction.
3
DISCIPLINE IS A PRACTICED SKILL, NOT AN INHERITANCE
No one is born with it. The people who look disciplined are running a routine they have rehearsed long enough that it no longer feels like effort. The reps are the skill. Miss them, and the skill fades, the same as any other.
4
SELF-TALK ONLY WORKS WHEN THE BODY BACKS IT UP
Confidence does not arrive by repeating the word. It arrives after the body has done the thing — the workout finished, the cold walk endured, the email sent. The mind takes its cues from what the body proves it can do. Talk follows action, not the other way around.
5
NEVER MISS A MONDAY
The first decision sets the slope of the rest. Skip the Monday workout, and the rest of the week tends to follow. Hold the line on Monday, and the slope tilts the other way.
Going miles. Beyond: 50 Miles on the Poudre River Trail
Urban Ultra
ARTICLE BY MANDY MULLEN
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN ROBSON
At 4 a.m. on April 12, 2026, long before the first hint of sunrise, headlamps flicker to life in the quiet of Bellvue, CO. Sixty-five runners gather at the edge of the Poudre River Trail, nerves humming beneath months of preparation. There’s no roaring crowd or elaborate start line. Just the soft shuffle of shoes on dirt and the quiet understanding that what lies ahead will ask more of them than they can fully predict.
Race Director Mandy Mullen, an ultra-runner herself, understands the emotion, anticipation, and uncertainty these runners carry to the start line. Alongside her husband, Nick, and a closeknit team, she moves through the small gathering of athletes, grateful for the chance to support them on a day that will test both body and mind.
The setup is intentionally simple. Unlike many races, there’s no finish line waiting where the runners begin. Once they leave Watson Lake, they won’t return. Instead, they’ll spend the day moving east along the trail through Fort Collins, Timnath, Windsor, and eventually Greeley — crossing county lines and personal limits along the way. This is the NOCO Urban Ultra.
The course unfolds gradually, tracing the Poudre River through stretches of open trail, neighborhoods, farmland, and growing communities. Along the way, runners watch the sunrise over the plains, endure the midday heat, and settle into the reflective silence that often comes during long hours on the move.
Sometimes, everything comes together: legs feel strong, conversations are easy, and the miles go by quickly. Other times, exhaustion sets in, the body hurts, and runners wonder why they chose to run such a long distance.
Photo bottom: Kim Russick from lululemon and miles. Beyond Race Director Mandy Mullen bring the energy, cheering on runners as they crush their goals!
Suz Kandler of Windsor running as part of a relay team
Alexis Templenuevo smiles at the NOCO Urban Ultra, a race that beautifully captures encouragement and resilience.
“The NOCO Urban Ultra is more than a raceit paints a picture of encouragement, resilience and community.”
-
Alexis Templenuevo
But running ultra is about far more than mileage.
It’s about training runs before sunrise, sacrifices made behind the scenes, and the willingness to pursue something difficult simply because it matters.
For returning runner Gabriel Beckman-Nedela, the course connects different chapters of his life.
“I ran last year, and this course is sentimental to me because I spent most of my childhood in Fort Collins and now I’m building a family in Windsor,” he says. “I had too much fun at last year’s Urban Ultra to even list all of the positives.”
For others, the race represents growth through discomfort. Runner Suz Kandler signed up during what she calls a “year of doing hard, uncomfortable things.”
“This race is helping answer my question for all my choices lately,” Kandler says as she prepares to pace friend Mandy Mullen at the Cocodona 250. “I’m going for time on feet, regrouping between legs, and finding joy.” Kandler is also heading up a team for the upcoming Wild West Relay, raising funds for The Matthews House, a local nonprofit.
The trail itself reflects that same spirit of perseverance.
According to project manager Zac Wiebe, the trail connection has been nearly 50 years in the making, requiring collaboration between municipalities, organizations, and landowners. When the final section beneath I-25 was completed last year, it opened the door for events like this to showcase the trail in a new way.
Aid stations become pockets of energy and encouragement throughout the day. Volunteers, including the Fort Collins Lululemon team — where Mullen serves as an ambassador — provide fuel and words of encouragement to runners.
Ultrarunning isn’t reserved for elite athletes. It belongs just as much to the person crossing right before the cutoff as it does to the front runner. The common thread is simple: the willingness to continue forward when things become uncomfortable.
Mullen estimates that nearly four million steps were taken along the trail during this year’s event. Beyond the individual journeys, races like this also bring a unique form of tourism and a sense of connection to the region. Runners traveled from across Colorado and nine different states. Many bring family members or friends who spend the day supporting runners while exploring Northern Colorado’s towns along the route.
As the final runners crossed the finish line and the sun disappeared below the horizon, the day came full circle. What began in darkness ended there too, but with a different kind of light — one built through grit, community, and the shared experience of pushing through something difficult. For every runner, the NOCO Urban Ultra became more than a race; it became a lasting story of resilience, accomplishment, and memories that can never be taken away.
A Thrift-Store Jacket that Became a Classic
How Fort Collins recreation softball sparked lasting friendships, laughter and one unforgettable yellow jacket tradition.
ARTICLE BY CARLI TAYLOR-DRAKE | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JERRY TOUSLEE AND RICK HONTZ
Jerry Touslee and Rick Hontz putting the “Classic” in YJC with yellow knickers and jaunty golf caps. 2018 in New Castle.
Some traditions are carefully planned. Others begin with a softball team, a golf weekend, a $20 bill, and one ugly yellow sport coat.
For the men behind the Yellow Jacket Classic, it was never about the Jacket. It was never just about golf, either. It was about friendship, humor, shared history and the kind of connection that grows when people show up year after year.
The Roots of the Yellow Jacket Classic were planted in Fort Collins. A group of men first met playing recreational softball. They came from different places and backgrounds but found common ground in a shared sense of humor, an ability to laugh at themselves, and a willingness not to take life too seriously.
That chemistry became the foundation.
“We all kind of came from different places,” Rick Hontz, an early and distinguished member of the YJC, said. “Philly, New York, California, Milwaukee, Colorado. But we all had the same sense of humor. That was the core of the whole thing.”
The original connection started on the softball field, but it quickly moved beyond the game. They became friends who gathered after games, knew each other’s families, supported each other through life events, and built a community that didn’t disappear when the season ended.
The team met through the Fort Collins Recreation adult softball league. Many lived near each other, worked in the same circles or were recruited by someone else. Neighborhood, business, and friendship connections overlapped until an unlikely group of teammates became something lasting.
YJC 2019 champion Bob Banta started the tradition of celebrity signatures in the Jacket with rock legend Alice Cooper (left).
The Men of the Yellow Jacket Classic at their most recent tournament gathering. Fossil Trace Golf Club in Golden, September 2025.
“There would be no Yellow Jacket without Fort Collins. This city gave us the friendships, memories and tradition that started it all.”
- Jerry Touslee
“There would be no Yellow Jacket without Fort Collins,” said Jerry Touslee, founder and “Commissioner” of the YJ.
The golf tradition began in 2014, when Touslee moved from Fort Collins to Colorado’s Western Slope and bought a home on a golf course in New Castle. He was not necessarily an avid golfer, but the setting gave him an idea. He invited a handful of softball friends over for golf. Six said yes. With the host included, they needed one more player, so a New Castle neighbor named Chris joined in. That group became known as the “original Eight.”
Before they left for the course, Touslee handed his wife $20 and asked her to stop by a thrift store. The request was simple: find the ugliest, most obnoxious sport coat she could.
She came back with exactly that: a banana-yellow, late-80s or early-90s Jacket that looked like it had wandered out of Miami Vice and into a golf tournament by accident. It was perfect.
The Original Eight members of YJC. New Castle, CO 2014. “Let’s do this again next year” was the consensus.
Men of the jacket show off their matching yellow polos in 2025, their 12th year.
Brian Geraghty drapes the Stanley Cup with the jacket after the Avs win the Championship.
That evening, the Jacket was awarded for the first time. The men laughed, loved it, and decided to do it again the following year.
And just like that, the Yellow Jacket Classic was born.
What started as a weekend among friends has grown into a 13-year tradition. The group expanded from eight to twelve, and later thirteen, but remained intentionally small. Over the years, people have asked how they can join, but the group is protective of what it has built.
“It’s not that anyone is a bad person,” Hontz explained. “It’s that chemistry is so important for the entire weekend.”
That chemistry is what made the Yellow Jacket Classic far more than golf. The group rents houses or cabins, travels together, plays a Friday warm-up round,
CONTINUED >
Rick Hontz sits on the famous bridge at St. Andrews, Scotland, birthplace of golf.
and holds the official tournament on Saturday. The competition is real, but so is the silliness. They play a two-person scramble, but the rules include challenges designed to keep everyone grounded.
In the seventh year, players had to use a seven-iron on Hole 7 for everything, including putting. Another year, landing in a sand trap meant making a sand angel. There are longest-drive and closest-to-thepin contests, but also YJC-specific challenges like sending a photo in the group text of your foursome, spelling out the YJC year number. The purpose is not just to win, but to remember the weekend is supposed to be fun.
“It reminds you not to take yourself too seriously,” Hontz said. “We’re competitive, but then you’re doing a sand angel, and you remember, okay, this is a fun weekend.”
The Yellow Jacket has become the group’s traveling trophy. Each champion signs the inside with his name and year. The winner keeps the Jacket for the year and is expected to document its adventures.
And the Jacket has traveled.
YJC 2018 champion “Neighbor Chris” Hutto took the Jacket deep sea fishing in Mexico. Extra strength dry cleaning was required.
Commish Touslee and YJC 2022 champion Brian Geraghty celebrated Yellow Greatness on the summit of a Colorado 14er.
Rick Hontz with the original Liberty Bell and Independence Hall in the background, the birthplace of the USA, in Philadelphia.
It has been snowboarding, deep-sea fishing, and skydiving. It has been to St. Andrews in Scotland, Dublin for St. Patrick’s Day, and the Blarney Stone. It has appeared in a teacher’s school photo and in places no one imagined when it first came home from the thrift store. It has even collected celebrity signatures, including Alice Cooper.
Those stories are part of the tradition. On Friday night, before the tournament, the group creates what they call an altar for the Jacket. The Jacket is hung in a place of honor, and each man presents an offering for good luck before the next day’s round.
Some offerings are funny. Some are ridiculous. Some are deeply personal.
One member brought his mother’s ashes after she passed away. Another brought something meaningful after losing his daughter. Grief, memories, and laughter have all found their way into the room. The moment can shift from jokes to tears and back again, which may be exactly why it matters.
The Yellow Jacket Classic gives the group a reason to gather and a way to carry each other through life. Over the years, they have celebrated weddings, milestones, victories and new beginnings, while also showing up for one another through memorials, divorces, losses and difficult seasons. They may not all be best friends in the
traditional sense, but they are connected by a bond that has carried them through the fun and fragile parts of life.
Everyone has families. Everyone has jobs. Everyone has responsibilities. Yet once a year, this group makes room for friendship.
“There are a lot of stories,” Touslee said. “But most of all, we have this story that we all share, and it just builds and becomes more meaningful.”
That may be the heart of the Yellow Jacket Classic. It is a reminder that exploring life does not always require a plane ticket or a faraway destination. Sometimes exploration begins with trying a new team, saying yes to an invitation, playing when you are not the best golfer, or finding the people who make life feel lighter.
The Yellow Jacket men have gone from softball to golf trips, from Fort Collins fields to courses across Colorado and beyond. They have created memorable traditions, inside jokes, a bourbon club, offshoot golf tournaments, and more stories than anyone can retell. But the real adventure is not the sport, the location, nor even the Jacket.
The real adventure is friendship.
It is the rare kind of friendship that makes space for one more story. It is built on a simple but meaningful idea: find your people, embrace the experiences, and do not wait too long to start.
When asked to sum up YJC, the answers came easily.
Fun. Experiences. Relationships.
And perhaps the truest one of all: Brothers.
Brent Barstad takes the Yellow Jacket to new heights while jumping out of a plane.
events
Bohemian Nights Thursday Night Live
Old Town Square, Fort Collins | 7:00 PM
Enjoy free live music in the heart of Fort Collins during Bohemian Live Music’s Thursday Night Live concert series. Held Thursdays at 7 p.m. in Old Town Square, the summer series brings local and national artists downtown for lively, community-centered evenings under the summer sky.
JULY 3RD - 5TH
3 Nights of STS9 at the Mishawaka
Mishawaka Amphitheatre, Fort Collins | 8:00 PM
A cool river-canyon concert weekend at one of Northern Colorado’s most iconic outdoor venues. STS9 returns to The Mishawaka for three nights of live music along the Poudre Canyon, bringing their signature instrumental sound, high-energy performances and unforgettable summer atmosphere to the riverfront stage from July 3–5.
JULY 4TH
Independence Day Community Celebration
City Park Fort Collins | 7:30 AM
Celebrate the Fourth of July at Fort Collins’ Independence Day Community Celebration in City Park. The free, all-day event includes the FireKracker 5K, family fun, food trucks and a festive fireworks display to end the evening. The celebration takes place Saturday, July 4, from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
H e a t i n g
W e u n d e r s t a n d t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f h a v i n g a n e f f c e n t a n d r e a b l e h e a t n g s y s t e m T o e n s u r e a c o m f o r t a b l e e n v i r o n m e n t n y o u r h o m e o r c o m m e r c a p r o p e r t i e s a n d l o w e r e n e r g y c o s t s y o u l l w a n t t o k e e p y o u r h e a t e r n e x c e e n t w o r k i n g c o n d t i o n
c e g e t n t o u c h w i t h u s W e o f f e r t h e s e r v c e s y o u n e e d w h i l e g v n g y o u p e a c e o f m i n d
W a t e r H e a t e r s H o w o f t e n h a v e y o u h o p p e d i n t o t h e s h o w e r e x p e c t i n g t h e w a t e r t o b e h o t e n o u g h t o t h a w y o u o u t o n l y t o h a v e c y w a t e r r a i n d o w n o n y o u ? f y o u r w a t e r h e a t e r i s m a k i n g i t d f f c u t f o r y o u t o h a v e t h e h o t s h o w e r s y o u w a n t t m a y b e t i m e t o g e t t h e u n i t c h e c k e d o u t
I n d o o r A i r Q u a l i t y I n d o o r a r q u a t y r e f e r s t o t h e c e a n n e s s a n d f r e s h n e s s o f t h e a r n s i d e a h o m e H V A C s y s t e m s p l a y a r o e i n n d o o r a r q u a i t y b y f t e r n g o u t p o l u t a n t s c o n t r o i n g h u m d t y e v e l s a n d e n s u r i n g p r o p e r v e n t i l a t i o n T r u s t o u r c o m p a n y t o h e p y o u a c h e v e o p t m a l i n d o o r a i r q u a t y f o r a s a f e r a n d m o r e p l e a s a n t v i n g o r w o r k n g s p a c e
CONTINUED
JULY 10TH - 12TH
CSU and PBR Bulls
Bring Country Stars to Canvas Stadium
Canvas Stadium, 751 W Pitkin St, Fort Collins | 6:30 PM
PBR Bulls and Beats is riding to Colorado State University, bringing a weekend of rodeo action and live country music to Fort Collins. The event will feature the Collegiate All-Star Rodeo and serve as the opening of the 2026 PBR Teams season. Fans can see performances from some of country music’s stars, including Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert, and Bailey Zimmerman.
JULY 11TH
Odell Brewing 5k Fort Collins
Odell Brewing Company, 800 E. Lincoln Avenue Fort Collins | 10:00 AM
Grab your running shoes and join us at Odell Brewing Company for the Odell Brewing 5K on July 11. This untimed, family-friendly run is open to everyone. After you finish, enjoy a free craft beer, event swag, prizes, and stick around for live music, games, and local vendors. Part of the proceeds will go to support local nonprofits.
JULY 18TH
Live at The Gardens Summer Concert Series
Gardens on Spring Creek, Fort Collins | 6:00 PM
Live at The Gardens brings world-class music to the beautiful outdoor setting of The Gardens on Spring Creek. Guests can explore winding garden pathways, enjoy local food trucks and take in an unforgettable summer evening of live music under the open sky. July concerts include The Okee Dokee Brothers and Beach Boy Al Jardine.
