Boulder Chamber celebrates local leaders at annual award ceremony
BOULDER — Six Boulder business and community leaders were recognized Wednesday evening by the Boulder Chamber, which hosted its Celebration of Leadership awards event on Wednesday evening.

The annual event honors “individuals and businesses making an innovative and impactful contribution to the Boulder business community,” the Boulder Chamber said.
The 2023 honorees were:
- Virginia Patterson Business Leader of the Year: Danica Powell, founder of Trestle Strategy.
- Rising Star Award: Perla Delgado, executive director of I Have a Dream Foundation of Boulder County.
- Innovative Business of the Year Award: Rook Capital.
- Entrepreneur of the Year Award: Lane Hornung, founder of 8z Real Estate and Zavvie.
- Franny Reich Lifetime Achievement Award: Philip DiStefano, chancellor of the University of Colorado Boulder.
- Impact Award: Conscience Bay Company.
“On this occasion, which also serves as our annual meeting, I celebrate and honor all of you,” Boulder Chamber president John Tayer said during his introduction to the ceremony.
The honorees exemplify the chamber and broader Boulder business community’s mission to help “solve global challenges with local solutions,” he said. “… Global impact(s) that are worth celebrating.”
Several hundred members of the Boulder business community, which Hornung said belong to “one of the most amazing entrepreneurial ecosystems on the planet,” celebrated alongside the honorees, their families and a live local band Acoustic Ambush at Wednesday’s ceremony held at the Dairy Arts Center.
Attendees included U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Boulder), Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett and entrepreneurship expert and “Good to Great” author Jim Collins.
Collins, who presented Hornung, a military veteran, with the Entrepreneur of the Year Award, emphasized the importance of teambuilding and service among members of the business and innovation community.
“Great vision without great people is irrelevant,” Collins said.
The Boulder Chamber’s award “nomination process is extensive and competitive,” Tayer told BizWest. “We put the call for nominations out months in advance, get a huge list of deserving applicants, and then use a diverse member selection committee to make the final decisions. It’s a very difficult vetting process because we work in a town with so many business leaders and businesses that are living our values of business success in a manner that is consistent with community vitality.”
BOULDER — Six Boulder business and community leaders were recognized Wednesday evening by the Boulder Chamber, which hosted its Celebration of Leadership awards event on Wednesday evening.

The annual event honors “individuals and businesses making an innovative and impactful contribution to the Boulder business community,” the Boulder Chamber said.
The 2023…
Start your subscription to BizWest, The Business Journal of the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado, TODAY!
Online access PLUS print versions of all Bizwest publications
One month subscription includes:
- 1-month online access to BizWest.com which includes unlimited news stories, archived story access and interactive versions of monthly business journal.
- 1-month subscription to BizWest & all of the publications in print version.
- 1-year access to daily email newsletter & breaking news alerts.
Online access for one year.
One month subscription includes:
- 1-month online access to BizWest.com which includes unlimited news stories, archived story access and interactive versions of monthly business journal.
- 1-year access to daily email newsletter & breaking news alerts.
Online and print versions of all Bizwest publications PLUS premium access to BizWest Datastore for one year.
One year subscription includes:
- 1-year online access to BizWest.com which includes unlimited news stories, archived story access and interactive versions of monthly business journal.
- 1-year subscription to BizWest & all of the publications in print version.
- 1-year premium online access to unlimited downloads from the BizWest Datastore!
- 1-year premium online access to the Breaking Ground website!
- 1-year access to daily email newsletter & breaking news alerts.
Premium access to the BreakingGround site plus online and print versions of all BizWest publications.
One year subscription includes:
- 1-year online access to BizWest.com which includes unlimited news stories, archived story access and interactive versions of monthly business journal.
- 1-year subscription to BizWest & all of the publications in print version.
- 1-year premium online access to the Breaking Ground website!
- 1-year access to daily email newsletter & breaking news alerts.
Premium access to the BreakingGround site plus online and print versions of all BizWest publications.
One month subscription includes:
- 1-year premium online access to the Breaking Ground website!
- 1-month online access to BizWest.com which includes unlimited news stories, archived story access and interactive versions of monthly business journal.
- 1-month subscription to BizWest & all of the publications in print version.
- 1-year access to daily email newsletter & breaking news alerts.