South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce

	2007-2008 Chair - John Hughes, Clifton Gunderson LLP www.cliftoncpa.com John Hughes co-founded Levine, Hughes & Mithuen Inc., in 1976. In November 2006, LHM merged with Clifton Gunderson LLP, the 13th largest CPA and consulting firm in the country, with offices in 15 states and Washington, DC. Clifton Gunderson's size allows low staff-to-partner ratio and assures its clients a small firm feel with significant partner attention and personnel continuity. John serves as partner in the Denver Area Client Service Center, working in the Denver Tech Center office. John's professional expertise includes management advisory and tax consulting services for privately owned businesses. His areas of specialization include tax planning, accounting and financial consulting for individuals, corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies; business valuation consulting; employee benefit and retirement plans; business profitability and consulting services. John successfully completed the certification process with the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts to earn his designation of Certified Valuation Analyst in 2002. In 1999, he also earned the Tax Planning and Advising for Closely Held Businesses Certificate of Education Achievement Program offered by the Colorado Society of CPAs and the American Institute of CPAs. John is a member of both the CSCPA and the AICPA. In addition to his work with the South Metro Chamber, John is actively involved in the community and is currently the treasurer and a member of the board of directors of the Southeast Denver Rotary Club and Southeast Denver Rotary Club Foundation. He is a past board member and vice president of the Colorado Society of CPAs. He has also been a member of the board of directors of the Castlewood Water and Castlewood Sanitation Districts for over 20 years, and he is a member of the business advisory board for the Colorado State University Accounting Department. John has also been active in several other church and community organizations. He is an avid bike rider and has participated in several Ride the Rockies bike tours. Over a span of several summers, John and some of his biking buddies have ridden from Canada to Mexico and are now riding form the state of Washington to Maine. John has been married to his wife, Patti since 1972 and is a very proud father of three.
	President & CEO - John Brackney, South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce Following a time-honored family tradition, John was born. This event took place in what is now Centennial Colorado, and he grew up a block from where he currently resides and attended Littleton high school. John continued on to the University of Northern Colorado, where he earned a Bachelors' degree in political science. Not yet drained from years of academia he attended the University of Denver where he received a law degree. His formal education completed, he embarked on repaying student loans. John enlisted in the Colorado National Guard and later attended Officer Candidate School, attaining the rank of Captain. He served as the Company Commander of the 147th Combat Support Hospital. During his 12-year tenure he was privileged to twice receive the Meritorious Service medal. John was elected to his first term as Arapahoe County Commissioner in 1996, and was selected as Freshman Commissioner of the Year by his colleagues across the state. Re-elected to a second term, he served as chairman of the Arapahoe County Public Airport Authority, and as president of the Arapahoe County Water and Wastewater Authority. He was one of the founders of the City of Centennial, a city he is proud to call home. In his spare time he is a volunteer fundraiser for the National Multiple Sclerosis society and serves on the Board for Littleton Public Schools Foundation. In his spare spare time he enjoys yard work (really?) and, in an attempt to keep his weight down, runs an occasional marathon. No information about John would be complete without mentioning the people most important in his life, his wife Meredith and daughters Taylor and Jordan. Meredith has provided him with endless support and years of friendship, and his girls keep him on his toes and constantly entertained.
	Executive Committee Member-At-Large - L.G. Chavez, Jr., Burt Automotive Network www.burt.com Lloyd G. Chavez Jr. is President and CEO of The Burt Automotive Network. The Burt Automotive Network has grown from $526 million in revenues in 1995 to $1.630 billion in combined sales in 2003 under the leadership of Lloyd. Burt ranked nationally as the 12th largest dealer group in revenues and the largest minority-owned and operated automotive dealer group. Burt ranked regionally as the second largest dealer group, second largest private business, the largest e-dealer group and the largest minority-owned business in Colorado. L. G. Chavez, Jr. has 15 years of Ph.D. level academic biological research at major national research institutions and over 12 years of industrial biological research. He has significant experience in managing the relationships with several start-up technology companies, research institutions and pharmaceutical companies. His background has also involved intellectual properties management, new product and technology acquisitions and strategic alliance formation. Currently his focus is on development of new business opportunities, strategies, technologies, acquisitions and relationships for the largest automotive group in the Rocky Mountain West with automotive manufacturers and support companies. A Colorado native, L. G. attended Arapahoe High School and the University of Colorado, and he has an extended academic background. He also attended the University of Virginia where he earned a PhD in microbiology and immunology. L. G. and his wife Linda have four children: Lia, Misha, Joshua and Mary. The Burt Automotive Network was established in 1939. L. G.'s father, Lloyd G. Chavez has been associated with Burt since 1950, first as a salesman, then manager and as an owner since 1966.
	Vice Chair, Membership - Sherry Armstrong, Award & Sign www.awardandsign.com
	Vice Chair, Small Business Development Group - Mark Ryan, Snelling Professional Services www.snelling.com
	Vice Chair, Executives in Leadership - Vickie Thomas, Thomas Martin & Associates Vickie Thomas is President of Thomas-Martin & Associates, a strategic marketing firm that specializes in branding, strategic planning, marketing research, collateral development, training and program implementation. She has worked with a wide variety of industries and market segments, and has accumulated a wealth of knowledge. Vickie's passion, however, is working with fast-growth entrepreneurial organization. The value she brings is her unique perspective of the needs that businesses face in today's competitive and challenging marketplace. As a successful entrepreneur, business advocate and national speaker who has started and developed a number of successful companies, Vickie has an extraordinary understanding of the unique challenges that businesses encounter. She and her husband, Dick, have a son, Jason. They moved to Colorado in 1988 from San Jose, California.
	2007-2008 Chair Elect - Dean Murphy, American Civil Constructors www.acconstructors.com Dean Murphy is the Director of Business Development for American Civil Constructors. ACC works in light and heavy civil service construction projects with a focus on rehabilitation, reconstruction and reclamation of bridges, tunnels, highways, water and utility projects, landscaping and other infrastructure services. ACC has branches in California, Colorado, Texas and Washington, and the home office is headquartered in Denver. As an active member of the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce, Dean serves on the Board of Directors as the chairman of the Economic Development Group. He feels that part of any person's job is to contribute to the whole and that the more dialed in to the Chamber a company is the more effective the business can become. A native of Tennessee, Dean and his wife, Kathy have two children, Madison and Jesse. Dean graduated from Lipscomb University in Nashville with a business degree and he moved to Colorado in 1990 after various stops in other parts of the country. According to Dean, the people of Colorado are an accepting community and open to others, and he enjoys the vibrant business climate as well. Before making his way to Colorado, he was a partner in a large landscaping business called Ground Effect. Dean works so he can hunt and fish, and he has fly-fished in both the ocean and in rivers. He also has a long list of hobbies, including golf.
	Past Chair (2006-2007) - John Vachalek, Webolutions, Inc. www.webolutions.com John Vachalek is CEO of Webolutions Inc. Since 1994, Webolutions, thought the creative use of interactive & conventional media, has focused on generating positive marketing results for their clients. Ranked in the top 5 Web site design companies by the Denver Business Journal, Webolutions marketing services also include Corporate Branding Strategy, Advertising Campaign Planning & Implementation, Online & Offline Graphic Design, Online Marketing, and Email Marketing Systems. Some of Webolutions clients include: The State of Colorado, Douglas County Colorado, BURT Automotive, Sky Ridge Medical Center, The Denver Botanic Gardens, Tony's Markets and The International at Castle Pines. Aside from his service to the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce, John also serves on the State of Colorado's Branding Team, The Board of Directors of the Griffith Center for Children, the Curriculum Advisory Board for the Colorado Institute of Art's Interactive Media Program and The Advisory Board of the South Metro Small Business Development Center. John is an active speaker at events throughout Denver, including the SBA's SCORE workshops and Small Business Development Center workshops which both help new businesses get started on the right foot. John is married to Linda Cringan-Vachalek and has 3 year old twin boys (Robert & Jared). His hobbies include spending time with family, wine (almost anything to do with it) and cooking.
	Vice Chair, Economic Development Group - Dave DiFulvio, Farnsworth Group www.f-w.com Dave DiFulvio moved to Colorado from New York with his wife Lori in 1978. Recently married, armed with a degree in Land Surveying and dreams of success through hard work, after working for a local engineering firm for 6 years, he landed a job with Benchmark Engineering, an up-and-coming firm, managing their survey department. Over the years, he put in long hours and knew that his professional expertise and sweat equity would pay off. He was living the American dream…life was good, except for one problem. The company had become financially embroiled during the go-go Silverado days and the IRS soon came knocking. With little notice, the doors to the business were shuttered and Dave found himself without work. Dave decided to reinvent himself and within a week formed Benchmark Surveying. Although he had no cash and no place to do business, he convinced a few former staff members to join him based on his word and a handshake. He then met with former clients aware of his expertise and convinced them to transfer their business to his new venture. By the end of the second year, its revenue was close to $500,000 and he was off and running at full tilt. In 1997, Benchmark Surveying merged with Farnsworth Group, a 100-year old full-service engineering, land surveying and architectural firm. Today, Dave currently serves as Principal-In-Charge of Farnsworth’s Rocky Mountain Region surveying operations, with department revenues of over $3 million per year. He is a member and past president of Professional Land Surveyors of Colorado; a Colorado Delegate and Director of the Western Federation of Professional Surveyors; a member of the Central Chapter of the Professional Land Surveyors of Colorado; a member of the National Society of Professional Surveyors and the International Right of Way Association. Dave has been married to his wife, Lori, since 1978 and is the proud father of three daughters, Adrien, Lauren and Danielle. The DiFulvio family has lived in the South Jefferson County/Littleton area for 29 years.
Picture not available	Vice Chair, Public Affairs - Mari Lynn Glidden, M4G Investments
Picture not available	Legal Counsel - Debbi Piazza, Montgomery Little Sorenson
	Bill Myers, United Healthcare www.uhc.com Bill Myers is Vice President for Governmental Affairs at United Healthcare, a leading national Health Care provider. Prior to joining the United Healthcare, Bill worked as Assistant Vice President - Colorado for Qwest Communications for 10 years and prior to that in campaigns and politics. Bill worked in Washington D.C. as the legislative director for a member of Congress from North Carolina in the early 1990’s. He later served as deputy campaign manager of a U.S. Senate campaign in Colorado. Bill received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston University. He and his wife, Kim, have two children and live in south Denver.
	Gary Barbosa, Lockheed Martin www.lockheedmartin.com
	Jean Barker, Kaiser Permanente of Colorado www.kp.org Jean Barker is Executive Director for Sales and Account Management, Colorado Region, for Kaiser Permanente. As America's leading integrated health care organization, Kaiser Permanente is focused on delivering accessible health care to the public. Jean has been with Kaiser Permanente for 20 years, where she began her career as a financial analyst. She also worked in strategic planning, product development and marketing before earning her present position in 2002. Jean's responsibilities include accountability for all sales and account management activities, as well as representing Kaiser Permanente to the community and interfacing between the market and the company. Jean graduated from Michigan State University with a B.A. in medical technology and earned an M.B.A. in business administration from the University of Oklahoma. A resident of Cherry Knolls, Jean and her husband, Cliff have three children, Sam, Carrie and Alex. Jean and her family like to ski at Winter Park and enjoy getting together with their neighbors. She also spends her free time reading and cooking.
	Mike Matthews, Wells Fargo www.wellsfargo.com Mike Matthews is Community Banking President and Area Manager for Wells Fargo's Business Banking team for the Suburban Denver market. He is based at Wells Fargo's Arapahoe hub near I-25 and Arapahoe Road. He manages a team of nearly 80 financial services professionals who work exclusively with local businesses to meet all of their financial needs and help them succeed financially. Matthews has more than 25 years of financial services experience and is a 18-year Wells Fargo veteran. Prior to being named to his current position in 2005, he has served as Community Banking president for Pueblo. Before that, he was Community Banking President for Gunnison and Senior Vice President and Manager for Business Banking in Colorado Springs. Throughout his career, Matthews has always been actively involved as a community leader. He serves on the State of Colorado Economic Development Commission and the State of Colorado Venture Capital Authority. He is Chairman of the South East Business Partnership and sits on the South Metro Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and is involved in many other organizations as well.
	Nicole Ament, Brownstein Hyatt www.bhfs.com
	Karen Newman - University of Denver Daniels College of Business www.daniels.du.edu
	John Beeble, Saunders Construction www.saundersci.com
Picture not available	Bev Martinez, CW2 Television www.cw2.trb.com
Picture not available	Brenda Sherman, Integrity Accounting and Tax Services www.integrity-cpa.com
Picture not available	Pam Schenck, Park Meadows www.parkmeadows.com
Picture not available	Tom McDermott, City Wide Bank www.citywidebanks.com
Picture not available	Paul O'Brien, Floyd's Barbershop www.floydsbarbershop.com
Picture not available	Ken Bacon, Littleton Adventist Hospital www.mylittletonhospital.com