Hall of Fame inducts six business leaders

BOULDER — The six inductees into the 2004 Boulder County Business Hall of Fame, in addition to success in their respective businesses, share a common trait — a desire to give back something to the community in which they live and work.

Boulder County’s business community will honor the new inductees at 11:30 a.m., Wednesday, April 28, at the Millennium Harvest House in Boulder.

For the 12th year, organizers of the hall of fame will highlight the achievements of county business leaders.

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This year’s inductees are the late Rodney Ahlberg, founder of Ahlberg Funeral Chapel in Longmont; Bill Reynolds, a real estate developer; Laurence Paddock, former editor of The Daily Camera; Kevin Thede and Ronda Leggett, the husband-and-wife team and founders of the Marketplace Bakery in Louisville; and David Jacobs, founder and chief executive officer of Boulder-based Spyder Active Sports.

Laurence T. Paddock

Laurence “Laurie” Paddock’s family owned the Daily Camera newspaper; he started in the mailroom, and honed his skills in photography and reporting through high school and while attending the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Upon graduating from CU in 1950, he worked full time at the Camera, becoming its editor in 1960. He retired from that post in 1991, but served on the paper’s editorial board for another nine years.

Paddock’s father was one of the founders of the Boulder Historical Society’s museum, and Laurence has contributed both his time and money to the cause for many years.

He’s currently helping to catalog a collection of his father’s photography that will be donated to the society, and he also served several terms as president of historical museum and served on its board, too.

Paddock also served on the board of the Colorado Historical Society, and is a former president of the Boulder Rotary. He helped write the charter amendment that created Boulder’s Parks and Recreation Department, and served as the first chairman of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.

The lifelong Boulder resident recently has been involved as a board member of both Special Transit and Fraser Manor.

Paddock also was one of the 15 businesspeople who were founding board members of the Boulder County Business Hall of Fame.

Rodney A. Ahlberg

No one exemplifies giving back to the community more than Rodney Ahlberg, who died in November last year.

Ahlberg spent more than 50 years contributing his time, energy and devotion to numerous causes in the Longmont area.

Upon his return to Longmont from service in World War II in 1946, Ahlberg got married and began his long involvement in the community, joining the Longmont Jaycees that same year. He helped found a Boy Scout troop in 1947, and at various times was involved with the Elks, Masonic Lodge, American Legion, Friends of the Longmont Senior Center, Longmont Symphony Orchestra, American Red Cross, O.U.R. Center (an organization to aid the homeless and needy in Longmont), 4-H and for 50 years, was a member and past president of the Longmont Rotary.

He started Ahlberg Funeral Chapel with Corrine, his wife, in 1958. It has since been taken over by their two sons. According to Corrine and Ahlberg’s son Randall, what drove his extensive involvement in the community was his faith and belief that God wanted him to serve all people, regardless of their beliefs. “He felt everybody should be treated favorably,” Corrine remembers. “He was very compassionate.”

William A. Reynolds

Bill Reynolds, founder of the W.W. Reynolds Companies and W.W.R. Real Estate Services LLC in Boulder, says his success as a real estate developer in Boulder and Fort Collins is tied to having “excellent people that work for me. & I give them a lot of authority.”

Reynolds says his approach to the business has a lot to do his long run in the real estate market in the county.

“We’re in the business for the long term; we’re not short-term players, so that has always worked well for us, and I’ll assume we’ll continue,” though he admits that the past few years have been tough ones to be in real estate in Boulder.

“It costs more” to do quality development, Reynolds admits, but his lifelong love of the Boulder area — Reynolds grew up here and was determined to settle and raise his family here — means that the extra effort involved in doing high-quality projects is worth the effort.

Reynolds encourages his employees to be active members of the community and to follow his example of involvement. He was one of the founding members of the Real Estate Center at the University of Colorado, and says that even though the school is going through difficult times right now, “we need to support our university. That’s our economic engine.”

Kevin Thede & Ronda Leggett

Kevin Thede and Ronda Leggett say great employees are a top reason for their success, too. They credit “the wonderful help we’ve had” for the 19-year run of their business, The Marketplace Bakery in Louisville.

Leggett says that customers know what to expect when they visit Marketplace.

“We’re very consistent,” she says. “We just love our business. We love all our customers and have made a lot of good friends. & A lot of people make the bakery part of their every day routine. We’re grateful for that,” she adds.

Thede and Leggett say a friendly, fun atmosphere also makes the Marketplace a place customers want to visit. Their contributions to the community make them popular with their customers, too.

The bakery regularly donates goods to Louisville establishments like the St. Louis Catholic Church, Heritage Home for Girls and the Tri City Elks.

The bakery also opens its doors to the community, giving tours of the facility to Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops and elementary school groups.

And around Thanksgiving each year, Thede and Leggett give a free pumpkin pie to anyone who comes in the door.

Thede says last year about 350 pies were given away — a way for them, Leggett says, to thank all their customers for their two decades of success.

David Jacobs

David Jacobs credits “passion, consistency and persistency” with the smashing success of his Spyder Active Sports company, based in Boulder.

From humble beginnings in his own kitchen, Jacobs has grown Spyder into the largest pure skiwear brand in the world. He employs 75 full-time workers in Boulder.

Jacobs says staying focused on what his company does best has helped Spyder achieve growth rates of 50 percent this year and last. “It is passion for my brand and product, recognizing who my market was, who my consumer was” that propelled Spyder to where it is today, Jacobs says.

And Jacobs continues to build the brand. Recently, Jacobs signed a sponsorship agreement with the Austrian ski team. Now, along with deals with the U.S. and Canadian ski teams, Spyder is a sponsor of three of the world’s top Olympic ski teams. All will be wearing the company’s skiwear at the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy.

“Between the three,” Jacobs predicts, “we’ll definitely have a Spyder athlete on the podium” when Olympic medals are awarded, and presumably, millions of potential customers around the world are watching on TV.

Public invited to attend Hall of Fame luncheon

The 2004 Boulder County Business Hall of Fame luncheon, to be held at 11:30 a.m. at the Millennium Harvest House in Boulder, is open to the public. Cost is $35 in advance, $37 at the door. For reservations or information, contact (303) 998-3856 or visit www.wildcatevents.com. Click on event registration.