HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS
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CARING FOR THE COMMUNITY
Megan McManemin jokes that her involvement is an excuse to visit more often; to hike her favorite trails, see a movie at the Nugget, ski and enjoy a Diggity Doggs hotdog while people watching. Living in Dallas, she adores a good MEGAN MCMANEMIN San Juans winter blizzard. But in reality, McManemin is involved because she’s a dedicated individual who 2010 - present Telluride Foundation Board truly believe in making a difference. 2006 - 2012 She served on the Telluride Academy board of diTelluride Academy Board rectors for several years and is still a regular at AcadFavorite Hike emy events. She has volunteered for Mountainfilm, Silver Lake and she currently serves on the Telluride Foundation Favorite Ski Run board of directors. Whatever I skied “The people who spend time in Telluride and are best that day! dedicated to Telluride are just the most interesting Favorite Restaurant and vibrant out-of-the-box thinkers,” McManemin Pescado says. “It’s really a joy and an honor to be involved in First Visit to Telluride organizations here. It’s a good vibe all around.” Winter 1988 The feeling is mutual. Telluride Foundation President Paul Major describes McManemin as a “deeply analytical person, wrapped in compassion.” He adds, “She is a mix of caring a great deal for the community and the people in the community with a focus on smart and strategic solutions. We are so lucky to have people like Megan call Telluride home.”
RYAN BONNEAU / TTB ©
IT’S A FAMILY AFFAIR
A LOVE AFFAIR with telluride BY CARA PALLONE
When Megan McManemin and her family were preparing to move to Telluride for a year in 2001, she got a gloomy warning from an acquaintance: She was told that when locals found out her family was only in town temporarily, they wouldn’t be welcomed or included. Nothing could have been farther from the truth. “It was a magical year,” McManemin recalls. “We were so welcomed and embraced and included.” That year began a longstanding love affair between the McManemins and their beloved Colorado mountain town, where they now own a home and live part time. To this day, the McManemins remain included and active in the Telluride community. 60
visittelluride.com | summer / fall 2016
McManemin, her husband Casey and their three daughters, Ryan, Hayes and Audrey, lived in Telluride from 2001 to 2002. Megan fondly remembers walking the girls to school and being in awe hearing about her oldest daughter’s Ski PE experiences. The first time the McManemins set eyes on Telluride was in 1988, when they visited friends who had been coming here for years. McManemin was the only first-time skier in the group. As they all hopped on Chair 8, she rode the bus over to Mountain Village and rented her skies from a trailer. Times have changed. And so have her skiing skills. “I have improved, but I always think I’m better than I am,” she says, with a chuckle. Her vibrant sense of humor shines through as she explains a hilarious inner dialogue that plays out when she’s on the slopes and watching other skiers (I can do that. Oh, no! No, I can’t!). Over the years, the McManemin girls were involved in Telluride Academy’s Mudd Butt International theater group. Collectively, they traveled to Ireland, Nicaragua, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Chile and Turkey. “It opened the world to my kids,” McManemin says. Since the McManemins first arrived in town, a neighbor observed that the family has never been just “takers” of Telluride. McManemin put it this way: “We owe it to our community to get involved. It’s just part of being a good citizen.” a