Meet Your Alumni Advisory Council Members

Marlene Borneman (Fleitas), Alumni Volunteer Coordinator

Marlene Borneman

My first summer at the YMCA of the Rockies was 1974. It was a memorable arrival. After landing at Stapleton Airport and riding the Greyhound bus to Estes Park, I was picked up by Nob in a Y pickup truck. Being a proper southern lady from New Orleans, I presented myself in the “appropriate” attire for employment, a short sleeveless silk dress complete with heels and stockings. I was shell shocked! I felt I had landed on Mars! The temperature was approximately 35 degrees complimented by snow.

I had two large pieces of luggage, which staff told me to take uphill to Fern- Odessa. Doug Adams, the first friend I met at the Y and who remains a dear friend, gave me the best advice, “If you have jeans and sneakers please go change clothes.” I do not think I ever wore that dress or shoes again.

I was assigned to the YMCA Grocery Store. By the end of that summer I had climbed Longs, Meeker, McHernys and many other peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park while forming many relationships. That serendipity event of being chosen to be part of the seasonal staff changed my lifestyle forever.

I worked year round at the YMCA of the Rockies for three years. I learned to rock climb, backpack, and ski and yes clean toilets. Most of all I learned to value the world around me; the many people the world holds, and teamwork.

I had received a Bachelors Degree in Social Work at Southeastern Louisiana University in 1974 prior to coming to the YMCA. I then worked as a social worker for Larimer County in Estes Park. I lived in Estes Park from 1977- 1987. Due to employment and educational opportunities, I moved out of the area. I later received a Masters degree in Social Work. I worked in child welfare for twenty plus years; twelve of those as a Child Protective Services Supervisor. I am now licensed in Colorado, and practice today as a mental health therapist working with adolescents.

Even though I was temporarily far away, my heart was always with Estes Park and the YMCA. I know there are many that feel that tug. I was fortunate enough to be able to come back on extended visits several times a year. I moved back permanently to Estes Park in 2001. To quote Kipling;
GOD GAVE ALL MEN ALL EARTH TO LOVE,
    BUT, SINCE OUR HEARTS ARE SMALL,
ORDAINED FOR EACH ONE SPOT SHOULD PROVE
    BELOVED OVER ALL.

I am married to Walter R. Borneman. He is an author, attorney and my beloved climbing partner. I have two daughters; Fadra, twenty-seven, whom just graduated form The University of Pennsylvania Dental School and Avery age twenty who worked at the YMCA Livery for four summers and remains an extraordinary horsewoman. I have climbed all Colorado 54 Fourteeners, 123 of the 126 named peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park and 32 of the 50 state highpoints. Not bad for a girl raised below sea level!

I have supported the YMCA of the Rockies and the Dorsey Museum for many years. I now embrace the opportunity to contribute more to the YMCA through the Alumni Association Advisory Council. I have been involved with several organizations over the years, but the YMCA of the Rockies is the one that has become a strong investment for me. As I grow older, I find myself cherishing my gains more and more; my family, my health, my education, my employment, my faith and my friends of 30 plus years I met at the YMCA. To me, Fulfillment in life is not retirement but to keep going the extra mile, keep learning and keep giving attitude that is self-fulfilling. I now have an avenue to continue to grow by giving back what the YMCA of the Rockies gave me in 1974; a window of opportunity to volunteer in service with present friends and people I have yet to meet that have a common interest in the YMCA.

My hope is the Alumni Association will help create memories and promote fellowship by helping the alumni support the Y’s mission. I am excited to be part of The YMCA of the Rockies Alumni Association; truly a family of Caring, Honesty, Respect, Responsibility and Faith.

Rick Taylor, Council Chair

Rick and Janet Taylor

A while back I was shooting a few hoops in the driveway of my home outside Houston on a crisp and sunny fall day. It’s a great way to clear out the cobwebs. I found myself reflecting on the various ways the YMCA of the Rockies has impacted my life. So I decided to capture the moment and come inside to write it down.

I spent two summers and a winter in the mid-70s on the seasonal staff at the Estes Park Center. Back then to most folks it was known more simply as “the Y Camp”. I had just graduated from college without a clue about what to do with my life. After that first summer at the Y, I visited my school in Pennsylvania. When one of the deans asked me what kind of work I was doing, I told him that I was mostly mopping floors and cleaning toilets. I’ll never forget the rather puzzled look he gave me. His expression seemed to say, “You’re doing that with your college degree?!” But I also remember how I felt when I told him I was proud. Not by the nature of the work, but proud that I had discovered an amazing place where I had one of the best summers of my life. I did something else till the following summer, then came back to the Y and stayed on to work the winter months as well. The Y Camp provided me with room and board along with a little spending money. Mainly, though, it gave me some good friends, a lot of fun times, and some space and time to hang out until I was ready to move on to the next phase of my life. 

Shortly after leaving Estes Park, I moved to Denver and began what turned out to be a 20-year career as a local YMCA director. While living and working in Denver, I often returned to the Y camp as a guest with family and friends and occasionally for a YMCA conference as well. After moving to Houston, my family and I would vacation there for a couple of weeks each summer. It was hard to imagine going anywhere else. A special treat was introducing the place to friends. For me, the Y-Camp had become a symbol of continuity in the midst of life’s many transitions. Each time I returned it felt like a homecoming. A sacred place, if you will.

Eight years ago I left YMCA employment to work as a high school math teacher, giving me back my summers. Our daughter is now in college and last year completed her first summer as a day camp counselor at the Estes Park Center. Needless to say, I was one happy dude (make that dad) when she told me of her desire to do that. I guess it was too much to ask that she mop floors and clean toilets as well! When she left home for college, I felt a little freer to do some exploring of my own. So, two summers ago I applied to work as a volunteer in the program department at the Sweet building desk, trying to help Y camp guests with their questions. I loved it!  

I recall a brief chat I had with a rather young seasonal staff member several years ago. I was once again shooting a few hoops, this time in the shadow of Mt. Ypsilon. As we shot and talked he began to complain about what he thought was lousy pay, so-so food, and not so great staff housing. As I listened to him, I didn’t say it but I thought to myself, “This guy is really missing the point of being here. Working at the Y camp can mean so much more”. It sure has for me.

Joe Nichols, Council Vice Chair

Joe Nichols & Family

I was born in Manlius, New York, just outside of Syracuse. My life was fairly normal and uneventful up until Junior High. It was then that I began running with a "rough" and much older crowd. Having failed 7th grade I found myself distanced from the older "gang" as I fell in with a new set of friends while repeating 7th grade.

God gave me a new best friend, Denny, and another love, organized sports. With each other’s support, we went on to excel in sports and kept our broken lives together through graduation from High School.
 
The years between High School graduation in 1969 and coming to the YMCA of the Rockies in 1972 were filled with ups and downs and personal turmoil to match that of our National unrest. In the fall of 1970, I attended The University of Dayton majoring in health and physical education. The first semester went fairly well for me, but because the shootings at Kent State were not far away, I found the ever growing campus unrest to be reflective of the confusion that I was having internally. After a number of "dorm wars" during that first semester, I decided not to return after the New Year.
 
In January of 1971, I went back to work for a business office where I had previously worked. By the spring of 1972, I was still in search of stability. At that time I visited a high school friend, Lois Vermilya, who was attending Ithaca College in south central New York. What I remember most about that visit was how excited Lois was about going to the YMCA of the Rockies for the summer to work! I remember the awesome pictures that she had of the Rockies. Lois gave me the address of the Y and, shall we say, the rest is history!
 
I came to the YMCA of the Rockies in May of 1972 and have been there in my heart ever since! I worked at the Estes Park Center for seven consecutive summers and was there year round in 1974-75.
 
The end of each summer saw excursions to other states to visit Y friends and to work various jobs. The intent was always to come back to Colorado and the Y. For whatever inexplicable reason, the summer of 1978 was my last at the Y. I was back in Colorado the following year though to help the Ravencrest Bible School in Estes Park with Christian ministries. I stayed at Ravencrest through the summer of 1979 and then was hired to work in their maintenance department.
 
That fall I was also driving the Ravencrest bus to help pick up students. On one such trip to the Estes Park bus station the lady, Carolyn, who has been my wife for 27 years, got on board. Again, the rest is history!
 
I went to the Northwest from Ravencrest about three weeks after Mt. Saint Helens erupted. The thought was to visit Carolyn's family and probably return to Colorado. Both head gaskets on my car blew as I was ready to hit the road back to Colorado. Without much money I had to stay there and work. But with the close proximity to Carolyn, just over the border in Canada, I decided to give life a try in northwest Washington.
 
Carolyn and I were married on August 1, 1981 and have since built a home in which we have raised 5 wonderful girls; Bree, Karissa, Allisha, and twins Kralee and Lindsee.
 
By the grace of God, I was able to go back to the Y for the first time in 30 years this last August. What a blessing to be there again and visit my daughter Karissa who was working in the Housekeeping Department. I reacquainted myself with old friends and made new ones while volunteering in Food Service.
The experiences at the Y and the people I met there have impacted my life beyond what words could accurately describe. I’m honored to serve the YMCA of the Rockies and my fellow alumni as a member of the Alumni Advisory Council.

I was employed at Meridian Yachts/Bayliner Boat Company in Arlington, Washington for almost twenty-two years. A new chapter is coming in my life after they ceased production at the Arlington facility.

Onward and upward!
Joe

Julie Adams Day, Council Secretary

Julie Adams Day

Attending The Fellowship of Christian Athletes' summer conferences with my family was my first introduction to the Y-Camp. From the time I was in 6th grade, I would go to the front desk and ask "How old do I have to be to work here?” Finally, in the summer of 1982, I became a Pondo gal in a.m. kitchen, complete with that lovely gold dress with the white collar! I still write and visit several friends from that first summer.

In 1983, I returned as a hikemaster. The people I met and the friends I worked with truly made it the best summer of my life. The whole experience is something I still reflect on and treasure. 
A college logic course kept me from returning the following summer; however, our family returned annually.  When I got married, my husband didn't quite understand my strong attachment to the YMCA of the Rockies until we made our first trip.

Chuck Trimble, Council at Large 

Tena & Chuck Trimble

I worked in the craft shop and ran the lapidary department in 1976.  I had a sign up that read "Chuck's rock shop" in honor of Dick's Rock Museum. It is still the best job I ever had.  I got paid to play. 

That summer I met a beautiful lady named Tena who worked in Housekeeping. The next Christmas we worked through the holidays.  I ran the Longhouse and Tena worked in the Pine Room.  

We decided that winter to be married the next summer.  We thought about living in Fort Collins, because I had some friends that lived there.  My family discouraged us from that, and so Tena and I moved to Wylie, Texas where the rest of the family lived.  I was the second of six children.  We had come to the y camp several times growing up and loved coming back every year.

Eventually, it was just Tena and me and our grown sons living in Wylie. The rest had moved away and most of them to Loveland, Colorado.  So here we are now in Loveland.  One of the main reasons for moving back was to get more involved with the Y Camp and to promote the Alumni Association that was discussed when we came to the 100 year reunion last summer.  What a delight to see all the old friends that we hadn't seen in all that time.  It was like going to heaven.

God has placed upon my heart that this place is an important asset to His plan and that he wants it to thrive and be a blessing to all to want to come there.  I believe that the future of the Camp hinges on the alumni supporting this great place.

Tena and I are looking forward to the reunion next summer and want to encourage all the alums to plan now to come then.  We will be contacting all that we can find to invite them.

Marilyn Hawes, Council at Large

Marilyn Hawes

I was three years old when I first visited the Y-Camp. A co-worker of my father told him about this great vacation place in Estes Park. You could take the whole family and have a good time, and it was affordable.

It was always the highlight of the summer to spend a week at the Y. I remember that in grade school you always had to write a little essay about what you did over the summer. I always wrote about the Y-Camp, figuring everybody knew what I was talking about. I illustrated my essay with crayon pine trees.

I'm sure taking hikes and nature walks with Park Rangers during those vacations influenced me to decide that I would be a biologist, with the idea of going back to the mountains to work. I haven’t made it back to the mountains yet, but I did get a biology degree and worked in environmental monitoring, usually involving the Missouri River. I took early retirement in October and now work for a local caterer.

I worked at the Y two summers during college. My first summer was in Housekeeping, assigned primarily to the old Wind River Lodge, which of course was partly preserved to serve as the Lula W. Dorsey Museum. The second summer I was lucky enough to be assigned to the Craft Shop.

Unlike many of my fellow alumni, I don’t have any Y summer romance stories to share. What a pity. When I worked at the Y I think somebody figured there were seven girls to every guy! Pretty slim pickings. 

I have continued to vacation at the Y since those early years. My husband, Todd, comes with me to Estes Park at least every other year. Twenty-one years ago I began volunteering at the Dorsey Museum. I was their first room-and-board volunteer. Back then there was no paper work for volunteers to fill out. I just showed up for work. My "dorm room" was the Infirmary. Now that I’m retired I hope to volunteer regularly in the future.

I'm looking forward to the next reunion and being more involved with the mission of the Y

Ken Updegrove, Council Member at Large

I was born in Seattle, Washington on September 17, 1940, the son of Jacob W. and Ruth C. Updegrove.  My father joined the U. S. Navy at the beginning of World War II, serving in the South Pacific and many other duty stations during his 31 year career.  When the Korean War broke out in 1950, my family was stationed at the Charleston, SC Naval Base.  My father was immediately sent to the Far East and my, mother and brother, Loyal, moved to Denver.

 During the summer of 1951, my mother was the Camp secretary for Camp Chief Ouray Director Bill Wright, Loyal was a Junior Counselor and I was a camper with the Apache Unit.  That summer convinced me that there was no place like the mountains, and I vowed to return to CCO and eventually live in Colorado full-time.

After my Father returned from overseas, my family lived in several other locations throughout the country; wherever, the Navy sent us.  I was able to return to CCO during the summers of 1956 and 1957.  In 1956, I was an Apache Junior Counselor and in 1957 was an Apache Counselor.  One of my duties was to work in the hiking shed and I took numerous trips to Crater Lake, Pawnee Lake, Lake Dorothy, up the Roaring Fork and many other wonderful spots favored by the campers.

 In 1957, I graduated from Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, Virginia, where I was a member of the Schoolboy National Championship Junior 8-oared shell crew.  I spent one year at Penn State before receiving an appointment to the U. S. Naval Academy from which I graduated in 1962.  I took my commission in the Marine Corps and served 20 years with the Marines before retiring in 1982. Three of those years were spent in Vietnam.

 After retirement, I entered the University of Utah, College of Law from which I graduated in 1986. I served a judicial clerkship with the Utah Court of Appeals and a short stint with the Utah Attorney General before joining the Office of the District Attorney for Salt Lake County as a prosecutor.  In 2006, I retired for the second time from the DA's Office after spending most of my time there prosecuting felony cases.

 That summer, I returned to Colorado to a home I built north of Cedaredge which is on the south slope of the Grand Mesa.  I spend a great deal of the time fishing in the local area, a love I picked up while at CCO.

 I firmly believe that Camp was one of the most profound influences on my life and I hope that a great deal of money can be raised for scholarships for Camp Chief Ouray. 

Mark Birdseye, Council Member at Large

Mark Birdseye

I first visited the YMCA of the Rockies, Estes Park Center in the summer of 1983 to hike with staff and friends that came out from Ames, Iowa.  I thought it was a cool place and would be fun to work at sometime. Well, low and behold I applied and was accepted to start work in December of 1983.

My first job was working with Bobby Ecker in the Longhouse. I then moved to maintenance where I worked in the woodshop refinishing and making furniture. The spring of 1984 I also worked housekeeping. In the summer, I was a day camp counselor and had the time of my life. I enjoyed running cross-county through the forest and biking to Boulder!

I returned to college and graduated from Iowa State University. Upon graduation, I was invited back to graduate school so I thought I would do one more YMCA of the Rockies experience. I was accepted as a day camp counselor. Upon arrival, Human Resources needed another floater which sounded like a cool job; picking up trash, cookouts, greeting guests at the airport and serving tea to Board spouses. I got Michael Jordon’s autograph while greeting YMCA groups at the Denver Airport. During that summer, I also went to Snow Mountain Ranch to work in foodservice and housekeeping.

That fall, I worked for EPC foodservice doing dishes in the morning and volunteering in the afternoon at Estes Park High School as an assistant x-country coach. I was just about ready to return to Iowa State when I was invited to visit Mr. Garris, “Oh no, what have I done!”  He asked me to interview with Jerry Donner for the Assistant Program Director job at Snow Mountain Ranch. After the interview, I returned to Iowa to get started with graduate school paperwork. A few weeks later, I received a call and was offered the job at SMR! In 1987, I was promoted to Program Director.

I was and still am so excited to be here, in a place that God has ordained for His glory and service. As I sit and write this, it is snowing like crazy creating a beautiful winter wonderland for families, groups and staff to experience the beauty of creation!

I’m married to Kim who I met here at Snow Mountain Ranch. She was the Camp Chief Ouray Nurse in 1986. Kim is currently an emergency room nurse at Granby Medical Center We’ve been married for over 20 years and have two children Lindsey, who hopes to study Sports Psychology and play soccer in college, and Nathan who enjoys hunting, fishing and playing soccer and wrestling.