After carefully reviewing outstanding nominations, the Telluride Foundation is proud to announce Dee Williams as the recipient of the 2026 Volunteer of the Year award. She will be honored on November 10th from 5:00pm - 6:30pm at the Wright Opera House in Ouray, CO. All community members are invited to join us in celebration.

Williams has provided decades of service and leadership in Ouray County. William's many contributions include helping launch the Home Trust of Ouray County (HTOC), where she served for four years on the board and continues to volunteer as a coordinator for the 10K Fourth of July fundraiser and Home Tour. She also founded the Ouray Nordic Council, established cross-country ski tracks at Ironton, and coordinates their ongoing maintenance with the Ouray Trail Group.

When the Wright Opera House was at risk of being sold and converted into condominiums, Williams stepped up to form the Friends of the Wright Opera House. She helped raise funds and preserve the historic building as a nonprofit—ensuring it would remain a special place for the community.

As this year’s recipient, she will have the opportunity to direct a $5,000 grant to the regional nonprofit of her choice.

This year’s Volunteer of the Year award feels especially meaningful. The Foundation has witnessed so many people step up for their neighbors—whether responding to the resort closure, fires, and mudslides, or quietly running nonprofit programs day in and day out. These volunteers are what make our region so special, and Dee exemplifies that spirit of service and community.

Telluride Regional Medical Center has provided essential healthcare to the Telluride region for decades.

Over the past year, the Telluride Hospital District (THD) Board, working with a community-led task force of local healthcare experts and donors, healthcare consulting firm Jensen Partners, and Medical Center leadership, has undertaken a comprehensive planning process to evaluate current operations, community healthcare needs, facilities, strategic partnerships, and long-term financial sustainability. The work has been guided by a central question: What healthcare does our community need, and what is the most effective and financially sustainable way to provide it?

The goal is to establish a sustainable model for delivering high-quality healthcare in our community for decades to come.

A significant development in the planning process is the opportunity to continue using the Medical Center's existing in-town location under a new long-term lease. Newmont Mining has generously offered to keep the site available for a nominal lease cost. This makes it possible to retain primary care in Telluride while developing a purpose-built emergency care facility at Society Turn.

Behind the scenes, the Telluride Foundation has played a key role in moving the process forward. The Foundation has managed scheduling and logistics for the Medical Center team and task force. Our trusted relationships with local donors have also helped connect the campaign team with philanthropists, laying the groundwork for the community investment this plan will require. With this support, the start of a community conversation became a coordinated effort with a clear direction.

As a committed community partner, the Telluride Foundation will continue to provide administrative and campaign support as this important endeavor takes shape.

The Telluride Foundation's West End Apprenticeship Program connected Braxton Brack and Coulter Shumway with the Norwood Fire District (NFD), where they began apprenticing on January 1, 2025, splitting their time between the classroom and the firehouse.

"This apprenticeship prepared me for life after high school; as of June, I started full-time with the Fire Department. I enjoyed going to my apprenticeship every day as I learned a multitude of different things about fire and EMS through hands-on learning," said Braxton.

For Coulter, the apprenticeship offered a new direction. "This apprenticeship helped me choose a new path in life after an injury took me out of my first career goals. I have been lucky to get hands-on learning and officially started my career in June," he said.

Both completed the "Fire Fighter 1" academy and are now working toward their EMT certification. This summer, they put that training to work: Braxton spent two weeks on the Gold Mountain fire, and Coulter was deployed to fight a fire on the Front Range.

Fellow classmates Jackson Dinsmore and Owen Tackett also completed their basic wildland firefighter course and helped cover the district this summer before heading off to college and technical school this fall. Four more apprentices joined NFD in January 2026, gaining career skills and assisting with fire prevention, a real benefit to NFD.

The West End Apprenticeship Program, now in its eighth year, partners with the West End Economic Development Corporation and the Norwood and Nucla School Districts. This semester, a record 17 students are enrolled in paid apprenticeships in fields ranging from fire and EMS to veterinary medicine, signage, and design. In addition, the program has expanded to include aviation mechanics training and electrician experience, giving students a real look at a career before they graduate and, for some, a direct path into one.

Our Climate & Conservation Initiative addresses the impacts of regional climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening wildfire preparedness, protecting ecosystems, and promoting community education and engagement. 

In 2026, the Telluride Foundation financially supported the Green Grants Program, enabling expansion into west San Miguel and Ouray counties. The Program, managed by Eco Action Partners (EAP), funded 38 energy efficiency projects across San Miguel, Ouray counties, and Silverton—already achieving 11.5 metric tons of annual CO₂ reductions from six completed installations, with 32 more underway. These projects bring real benefits: lower energy bills, improved home comfort, and greater resilience for vulnerable residents.

Wildfire threats continue to demand our attention and resources. We helped secure a new emergency siren for Telluride Fire District and a mobile emergency broadcast unit for KOTO, extended a $250,000 line of credit to the West Region Wildfire Council, and co-chaired the launch of the San Juan COAD — a coalition of over 100 organizations providing disaster support across four counties. When the Gold Mountain Fire spread through Ouray County in June, our Ouray Fire Fund raised over $150,000 and provided evacuee and community resources, plus flood cleanup and mitigation support. 

Building resilience also means investing in people and sharing knowledge. Nine graduates earned energy career certificates through our Energy Workforce Development Program with EAP, growing the talent needed to carry this work forward. We deployed $110,500 in Community Grants to organizations protecting critical land and water resources and served as a convener, bringing our region together around climate solutions — more than 750 people attended the climate and wildfire events we co-hosted this year.

Looking ahead, we're positioned to deepen our work: scaling clean energy access, strengthening regional wildfire coordination, and ensuring every community benefits from climate resilience investment.

Housing remains one of the greatest challenges facing the regional workforce, and addressing it is one of the most important ways to strengthen long-term health and resilience.

Over the past decade, the Telluride Foundation has expanded housing opportunities through direct financial support, technical assistance, education, and regional collaboration.

In 2019, we launched Rural Homes, which constructed 59 affordable homes in Norwood, Ridgway, and Ouray. Rural Homes became an independent nonprofit in 2025, allowing the Foundation to focus our housing efforts on financial assistance and collaborative solutions across the region.

In 2023, in partnership with the Trust for Community Housing, we launched the Foundation’s Down Payment Assistance Program, which provides financial support to qualifying local families to help them purchase their first home.

The program began by offering small, forgivable loans of up to $5,000 to help with closing costs. In spring 2025, it expanded significantly to include Shared Appreciation Loans of up to $100,000 in some areas. Since 2023, more than $850,000 has been awarded to 51 families, helping 125 people put down roots in the communities where they live, work, and attend school. The Shared Appreciation Loan program is designed as a revolving loan fund, allowing repaid funds to help future homebuyers.

But our work extends far beyond financial assistance. The Foundation hosts educational seminars and forums on homeownership and collaborative housing solutions, and works closely with municipalities to help them access funding and develop programs that address local housing needs.

Recently, Foundation staff helped Nucla and Naturita launch the West End Community Land Trust, creating a regional approach to addressing their housing challenges. The Trust's first goal is to apply for a state grant to begin acquiring land for future affordable housing development. 

This work would not be possible without the extraordinary support of Foundation donors and regional partners.