Hall’s class of 2010 exudes positive influence

LONGMONT – The Boulder County Business Hall of Fame’s class of 2010 includes a chemist, store owners, artesian spring water hawkers and a master of martial arts.

This eclectic mix of businesspeople have one thing in common, over the years they have had a positive influence on Boulder County through their businesses and community involvement, providing direction, energy and support to the shaping of Boulder County.

The Hall of Fame was established in 1992 to recognize and honor businesswomen and men who personify “business at its best.”

The class includes Marvin Caruthers, George Karakehian, Doug Larson, Jeremy Martin, Kevin Sipple, Hung Tran, and Butch and Bev Vernon.

Caruthers

Caruthers is a professor of biochemistry and bio-organic chemistry at the University of Colorado. He has been a member of the faculty since 1973, earning numerous honors and distinctions along the way for his RNA and DNA research.

Caruthers was a co-founder of Amgen Inc. and Applied Biosystems and helped launch Array BioPharma. He remains on the board of directors at Array BioPharma and also is a board member of miRagen Therapeutics and Nanosphere. He formerly served on the board at Biostar.

His chief scientific achievement was his groundbreaking research in nucleic acid chemistry, which led to the efficient and automated chemical synthesis of DNA and RNA. When combined with other biotechnology breakthroughs, this work reshaped research in biotechnology, biology, and pharmacology, and paved the way for developing many life-improving and life-saving drugs.

Karakehian

Karakehian has been running his business Art Source International in Boulder for more than 20 years. He is called Mr. Downtown Boulder for his efforts to promote the downtown area as well as Boulder.

Karakehian moved to Boulder in 1971 after graduating from Colorado State University to follow his soon-to-be wife, Kristin.

In 1980 he opened Art Source International, which specializes in antique maps and prints.  It has been located on the Pearl Street Mall for the last 20 years. He is actively engaged in the Boulder community serving on city boards, nonprofit organizations including Hospice, Imagine! Foundation and Chautauqua, and has been an avid supporter of CU athletics and is on the advisory board for Guaranty Bank.

He was the driving force behind the creation of the Downtown Boulder Business Improvement District.

In 2009, he was elected to the Boulder City Council. George and Kristin have two daughters, Jessie and Katie.

Larson,  Martin, Sipple

The trio of Larson, Martin and Sipple are being inducted for being at the forefront of the movement to bottle fresh spring water and thoughtful caretakers of a natural spring. They purchased the Eldorado Springs Resort properties in 1983, founding Eldorado Artesian Springs Inc.

In 1986, the company went public (OTCBB: ELDO). In 2001, the company built a 38,000-square-foot facility in Louisville to bring the healthy water to market.

The company’s key product, Eldorado Natural Spring Water, has received numerous awards over the years. It also offers vitamin-enhanced spring water, coffee, tea as well as a line of water-filtering equipment.

The three co-founders are graduates of the University of Colorado.

Eldorado Artesian Springs has a long history of sharing the benefits of the spring with the community, and now contributes to hundreds of charities and organizations each year throughout the Boulder County area.

Tran

Tran is a lifelong practitioner and teacher of the martial arts. Born in Saigon, Vietnam during the war, Tran, his two brothers and two sisters became refugees from their war-torn country at the end of the Vietnam war.

 In 1994, Tran opened Tran’s Martial Arts and Fitness Center in Longmont. The organization consists of six schools with locations in Longmont, Lafayette, Boulder, Loveland, Denver and Fort Collins, as well as affiliate locations throughout the country.

Among his many contributions, Tran provides a scholarship program for those who cannot afford to attend his school.

The Tran’s schools are one of the most successful martial arts organizations in the country. Tran has never forgotten his roots and his school provides a multitude of community minded projects and charity events every year.

Tran now has licensing and affiliate schools throughout the country and is a life coach for numerous individuals.

His passion is to “take your mess and turn it into a message.”

The Vernons

The Vernons own and operate Budget Home Center in Longmont.

When they opened their 10,000-square-foot store on Main Street in 1984, they introduced themselves to the city as locally owned and operated – and even were the one’s who made home and construction site deliveries.

In 1999 they purchased land and built their current 80,000-square-foot store at 789 Boston Ave. The store is a haven for do-it-yourselfers and small contractors.

The Vernons have supported many charitable organizations throughout the years including Boy Scouts and Habitat for Humanity, but have taken a special interest in the OUR Center.

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