16th Annual Boulder County Business HALL of FAME biographies

Peter D. Behrendt

Peter Behrendt joined Exabyte in 1987 after spending 26 years with IBM. With Behrendt at the helm, Exabyte became a leading designer and manufacturer of computer tape drives and libraries, and contributed millions of dollars in value creation to Boulder County through its successful initial public offering in 1989.

He has supported many community causes including the CU Artists Series, Colorado Music Festival, Boulder Youth Symphony, Emergency Family Assistance, CU, the Boulder Humane Society and others. He has served on the boards of the Boulder Chamber, CU Business School Advisory Council and the Boulder Economic Council, to name a few. Today he is chairman of ProStor Systems.

Joan Brett

Joan Brett built the Culinary School of the Rockies from an idea when she was a practicing attorney. The school is now a world-class institution that brings people to Boulder County from across the United States. The school has trained thousands of students in home cooking, as chefs and in the Corporate Kitchen programs.

Beneficiaries of Brett’s generosity include: Echo House, Naturally Boulder, Taste of the Nation, Project Angel Heart, Boulder Valley Women’s Health and Chocolate Lover’s Fling.

While a creative leader and manager in building the culinary school, Brett has served on boards of directors of many local projects such as School Food Project and Community Food Share.

John Fenstermaker

John Fenstermaker is described as a “world-class business executive.” Fenstermaker joined IBM out of the University of North Dakota and held various challenging engineering and engineering management assignments at IBM and Staodyn Inc.

He served, and in some cases continues to serve, as leader on the board of the Longmont Chamber of Commerce, EDAL (now LAEC), Longmont Industrial Park Board, Boulder County Technology Incubator, Boulder County United Way Board, St. Vrain Historical Society Board, Longmont Community Fund and Front Range Community College.

Edwin Kanemoto

Edwin Kanemoto has been vice president and co-owner of Longmont’s largest real estate company, Prudential Rocky Mountain Realtors, since 1977. He has been one of the leading commercial real estate brokers and is a quiet business giant with strong goal-oriented planning and knows how to generate enthusiasm and energy into any endeavor in which he participates.

He served, and in some cases continues to serve, on many business and not for profit Boards of Directors including: Longmont Board of Realtors, Board of the Colorado Association of Realtors, regional banks, County and Longmont YMCAs, Longmont Industrial Park, EDAL (now LAEC), Longmont Chamber of Commerce, Longmont United Hospital and Hospital Foundation Board.

Harlow C. Platts

Harlow Platts, now deceased, moved to Boulder in his early teens and graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in engineering. During World War I, he served in France. In 1919 he entered the family business, Western States Cutlery, one of Boulder’s oldest manufacturers of sheath and pocket knives and axes and known internationally for their quality.

When his father retired, he and his brother Reginald managed the business for several decades. He was active in Rotary and the Elks and served on the Boulder planning board from 1930 to 1960. The park at Viele Lake was named after him for his service on city boards. He died at age 90 in 1983.

David M. Wyatt

Dave Wyatt is president and owner of Wyatt Construction Company, which he formed in 1970. His company has employed hundreds of construction personnel in the Boulder County area.

Community involvement includes supporter of organizations such as the Boulder Valley Humane Society, University of Colorado, Boulder Economic Council, Boulder Chamber of Commerce, United Way, Boys Scouts of America and many others. He has also served in organizations including the Thistle Community Housing, Boulder Community Hospital and YMCA.

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