Pagosa Rotary Club was honored at the 2025 Chamber Gala and Community Awards Ceremony. All photos by Jeff Laydon, Pagosa Photography.
And the Winners are…
A festive evening was held on Friday, February 5, where residents and businesses of Pagosa Springs were honored at the annual Chamber Gala and Community Awards Celebration. For the past month, nominations were submitted in each of the categories of Non-Profit, Small Business, Volunteer and Citizen of the Year. The winners were honored at the Gala.
In the Non-Profit category, the Rotary Club of Pagosa Springs was honored with forty-four years of service to the community. Included in their services are the youth scholarships, where they have awarded over $564,000 since 1982. They also offer teacher mini-grants, a backpack program, two miles of highway cleanup, a youth exchange program, build houses with Habitat and then financially support a three-year giving campaign for three transformative community projects: the Library Expansion Program, Aspen House, and Wings Early Childhood. They participate in many other community programs and just in their fiscal years 2023-2024, contributed over 7,500 hours of service.
In the Small Business Category, 9-year business, Echo IT Consulting was the winner. Starting with just one person, this business now employs six full-time and three part-time people. Specializing in IT technology, Echo IT has been instrumental in forwarding the broadband capacity in Pagosa Springs and working with other entities to provide regional broadband coverage. Their give-back to the community includes an assortment of engagements including the Wolf Creek Ski Team, 4-H, Archuleta County Fair and the Livestock Committee, Aspen Village HOA, the Chamber of Commerce, Rise Above Violence and more. Named after the owner, Eric Christian Hittle, Echo IT has become known as the “go-to” business for premium IT service in Pagosa Springs.
The Volunteers of the Year for 2024 were Bill and Nancy Crouse. Quiet, unassuming and humble yet determined and engaged, this dynamic duo over the years have created projects and served the community tirelessly. Nancy was one of a handful of women that started the weekly Loaves and Fishes program over 20 years ago that was so needed in our community and functioned until COVID hit and then the sale of the Parish Hall downtown rendered the location to be no longer available. She also started the annual Thanksgiving and Christmas community meals at Loaves and Fishes. Prior to mammography services in Pagosa Springs, Nancy created the infamous “Boob Bus” where ladies would travel to Santa Fe to take over an X-ray center for breast mammography exams. For over 20 years, this trip became a social and physical respite for many women. Bill has been an active volunteer for over 20 years for the Pagosa Fire Protection District often being the one behind the wheel at most of Pagosa’s events and rallying at many emergencies. Their other volunteer activities include working with organizations such as Special Olympics, LASSO, the Humane Society, Aspen House, No Limits Ranch and more.
The Citizen of the Year award went to Larry Ash, 47+ year resident, premier builder and co-founder of the Build Pagosa organization. Having graduated from Pagosa Springs High School and leaving the community, he returned to Pagosa to work and raise his family. Coaching sports, mentoring and serving on numerous community boards, Larry has helped guide new rules and regulations improving the safety and growth of Pagosa Springs in an array of areas including fire, water and building protection. He is most recently known for his work as co-founder of the Build Pagosa non-profit organization working to improve CTE studies, especially in the building trades for our youth. Starting out with only 36 students, the class now serves over 150 students. The organization is intent on completing a multi-million dollar capital campaign to build a regional workforce center for not only youth but also adults.
There were many qualified candidates in each of the categories, as there are every year. We appreciate the nominations that people took the time to submit and the time the selection committee took to make the hard decision of just one winner. We expect to see some of the nominees return to the pool of candidates next year!
Congratulations to all nominees and winners for the 2024 Community Awards.