South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce

	John Brackney, President & CEO 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 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. 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 (no small task), and his girls keep him on his toes and constantly entertained.
	Don Tallent, Controller Don’s background has included more than thirty years of diverse experience in a unique blend of careers in business management, finance, accounting, sales and marketing. “Done it all” sums up his professional history: VP & CFO for a local marketing & brokerage firm, assistant controller within the construction industry, Assistant VP of Operations for a national bank, an associate with a management consulting firm in Denver and a long list of other financial and sales related positions. He has also conducted dozens of seminars and workshops in accounting, financial reporting, software application and business operations. So you might say we have a very Tallent-ed controller... (yea... that one hurt me as well). When he isn’t elbow-deep in numbers and spreadsheets, Don can be found in the rough at a local golf course, catching “the big one” with his rod & reel, playing with his five grandchildren, rooting for the Rockies or cheering on the Oklahoma State University Cowboys (who?) “Go ‘Pokes!”
	Bart Sayyah, Director of Economic Development Economic Development Group * Legislative Action Committee Bart has lived in Colorado since 1977. A graduate of Colorado State University where he obtained a BA in Spanish Language/Minor in Economics and a MA in Spanish Literature along with a Teaching Certification in Secondary Education. Most of his professional career has been spent in the investment arena working for Kober Financial, Charles Schwab & Co and most recently, Instinet Corporation. He has been on the chamber staff since 2004 and currently leads the Chamber’s economic development and legislative activities. He currently resides in Roxborough with his wife Marsha, and three children, Madison, Lucas and Sydney.
	Cristin Tarr, Director, Events and Visitors Bureau At the 2005 leadership retreat - Cristin Tarr's theme song was "Just Want to Have Fun" by Sheryl Crow. This is indicative of her life as well. Cristin grew up in Michigan and then traveled and moved extensively after graduating from high school. She went to the Virgina Commonwealth University in Richmond and graduated with a BS in Marketing with an emphasis in International Business. She spent her junior year abroad, living in Lueven, Belgium for a year. While there, her interest in tourism was peaked. Cristin worked on Wall Street shortly after graduation and then quickly moved to uptown New York City where she worked for American Airlines in the East Coast executive offices. She held many jobs there including budgets, marketing analyst and international sales. Cristin and her husband, Jonathan, moved to Littleton in 1995. While home with their three sons, Andrew, Gavin and Ian, Cristin co-founded the Rocky Mountain Denver Chapter of Children's International Summer Villages (CISV), an independent organization promoting cross-cultural understanding. As with any small business, she held almost every job within the chapter, helping to grow the membership from three people to well into the hundreds. In February of 2005, Cristin joined the Chamber as the Events and Visitors Bureau Manager. She is passionate about the tourism industry and loves to brag about the South Metro area. In her free time, she enjoys running, reading and finding new places to explore with her family.
	Juli Frey, Executive Director of Corporate Relations Juli grew up in Vermillion, a small South Dakota town named from the color of the eroding cliffs along the Missouri River. Though a tiny farming community, Vermillion is also the home of the University of South Dakota. Juli is one of six children, in those days a small family compared with the average farm family. Life there was slow-paced but full, with many fun-filled days of water-skiing, snowmobiling, and ice-skating. Nights seemed to be very hot or very cold, yet the playing never ended until well after dark. Graduating from high school, she began studying for a business degree, but soon found herself bored and wanting more. She moved to Denver (the big city with big adventures) and graduated from CU with a degree in Architecture. Still not satisfied, she continued to study, this time in the field of meteorology. With most of her life spent in sales, Juli believes her love of people and the ability to listen are her defining qualities - qualities that make her great at what she does today. Juli and her husband have one son, Christopher, a name only mom can use. To everyone else he is known as Kit. If she is not working, Juli will likely be found on the top of a fourteener (51 down and only a few more to go), riding her bike (RAGBRAI ten times), playing hockey herself or watching Kit play hockey. Juli believes in living life to the fullest, constantly enriching it with new people and new experiences.
	Marcia Pessemier, Director, Small Business Development Center Marcia got her introduction to the business world by spending 10 years in various sales and marketing positions with Hyatt Hotels, The Lee Apparel Company and Showtime Networks. A Cancer survivor herself, she held leadership positions supporting those on the cancer journey at The Cancer FitSpa and QuaLife Wellness Center. In 1989, she visited the Small Business Development Center at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, KS, and started her first business - a marketing consulting firm with a business model of launching and growing companies… at the rate of 100 per year! She is a self-professed “business midwife” helping birth companies and guiding them through the subsequent growing pains. From this auspicious start, Pessemier has continued her entrepreneurial drive over the past 18 years. She has owned six companies as diverse as a marketing consulting firm, a murder mystery theatre company, a motivational speaking and training company and both in person and online coaching companies as well as working with other SBDCs along the way. Marcia is thrilled to join the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce as the Director of the SBDC and to lend her entrepreneurial spirit and skills to the current and start up businesses in the South Denver Metro area. “Watching someone’s dream or passion come to fruition in the business world is one of my foremost experiences.” As Director of the SBDC, she hopes to impact the community by leading with the wonderful group of business consultants and trainers associated with the group. She is the past founder and president of Limelight Presentations, a creative firm specializing in helping professionals in the limelight. Watch your TV closely, because when not directing the SBDC, Marcia also does TV commercials and local theatre as a professional actor. Marcia is an avid skiers and lives in Centennial.
	Lisa Hajek, Executive Assistant, Small Business Development Center Originating in South Dakota, Lisa Hajek and her husband Jim (PGA Head Golf Professional at Fossil Trace Golf Club) moved to the Denver area almost 20 years ago. She joins the SBDC after 16 years of successful golf course operation management at both public and private facilities. She brings great attention to detail which may only be eclipsed by her energy - just ask anyone she comes in contact with! Her degree in Mass Communications and Public Relations comes in handy with her dedication to the SBDC, its clients and the SBDC Director - Marcia Pessemier.Lisa is very active in her church and loves the theater, whether experiencing the DCPA or performing in local theater productions. However, her genuine honesty and caring for people is no act.
	Elyse Feldman, Executive Assistant to the President & CEO We will be getting the low-down on Elyse just as soon as we can slow her down enough to talk to her...
	Suzy Beltz, Marketing & Visibility Consultant Chamber Golf League Suzy was born in a small town on the edge of the Poconos in eastern Pennsylvania. There she learned the ways of the tom boy: catching frogs and salamanders, riding dirt bikes, fishing, and swimming in the creek. At the age of seven, she moved with her family to Salt Lake City. She enjoyed school and spent her summers back in Pennsylvania and up and down the east coast. During those summers, she took up flying small, single engine Cesna’s and flew solo in a glider at the age of 15. Instead of pursuing a sensible degree like business or medicine, She followed one of her lifes passions, Anthropology, at the University of Utah. She completed her degree, including a summer field school for archaeology in southern Utah. After living in Texas for a stint, she came to Colorado. Suzy loves the outdoors, and when she isn’t working hard at the chamber, she spends time with her two dogs, Whiskey and El Heffe, golfing, camping, backpacking, and fly fishing (occasionally all at the same time!)
	Brian Bartony , Marketing & Visibility Consultant Renewable Energy Task Force Brian feels very fortunate to be a part of the South Metro Denver Chamber. Before joining the staff, Brian was a individual member and a proud volunteer of the Chamber Connection. Brian grew up in Dedham, Massachusetts. He attended The University of Maine, graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree, with a concentration in Marketing. During Brian’s college career he was a very active member of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity, on which he served a variety of leadership positions. Brian was also very active in student government, serving as a student senator, the President of The College Republicans, and was the campaign chair for various student government campaigns. Upon graduating college, Brian made the long trek across America to call Colorado his home, where he has lived for more than 13 years. Brian is married to his wonderful wife Victoria and has a son named Stephen who is exploring his world with little sister Jessica. When Brian is not working with South Metro Denver Chamber’s members to be incredibly successful, he can be found in tailgating in Lot M during the Denver Bronco’s season, cooking gourmet food in the parking lot. During the summer, Brian can also be found in the streams of the Colorado Mountains, prospecting for gold.
	Mary Kay McCarty, Membership Representative Mary Kay has a long and storied history, with the Chamber that is. A member since 1988, she has seen three Chamber Presidents, two office relocations and one name change from Centennial to the South Metro Chamber of Commerce. After participating and volunteering for a while with the Chamber she was offered a position as a Membership Representative in 1992. Her response was "I'll give it six months since I have no sales training or experience" and the rest is history. She soon found that sales was definitely her niche. By 1996, Mary Kay was named one of the top three salespeople in the State of Colorado by Colorado Business Magazine. That same year the South Metro Chamber was named "Best Chamber" for the second year in a row, thus the reason our website name: www.bestchamber.com. Mary Kay, a.k.a. "Pit Bull" in her early days at the Chamber, loves sharing her sales stories. Her all time favorite is when she sold a membership to a door-to-door salesman that had stopped by her home to make a sale and walked away wondering "What's wrong with this picture?" Anyone that knows Mary Kay is aware of how important her family is to her. Married 45 years, she and her husband Larry are the proud parents of five children (all grown, married and living in the metro area) and very proud grandparents of ten grandchildren. Growing up in Kansas, her family moved to Houston where she attended high school and college, majoring in Elementary Education at the University of St. Thomas. After getting married and moving to CA, she taught 5th grade in San Diego before coming to CO in 1969. Mary Kay retired from the Chamber for a while in order to pursue her passion for traveling (she is still always packed and ready to go at a moment's notice) and her other hobbies as a pianist, seamstress and artist. She was coaxed out of retirement in 2000 to work part-time at the Chamber and still continues to enjoy her involvement with this very dynamic organization.
	Kevin Wong, Marketing & Visibility Consultant Diversity Program As a native of Taipei, Taiwan, Kevin has taken residence in Colorado since the age of 4. His education history consists of being an alumnus of Littleton H.S. and The University of Northern Colorado. During Kevin’s tenure at Littleton H.S. he majored in art and became a marketing major when arriving at UNC. Other than the (SMDCC) South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce, Kevin has been associated with the (AKL) Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity, (AMA) American Marketing Association, and the (FMA) Financial Managerial Association. Kevin’s professional background is in marketing and is experienced in management. As a son of former restaurant owners, his business philosophy is based around relationship building, hard work, and integrity. Kevin’s professional goals are to provide value to those around him and become an asset to those who associate with him. As Kevin looks to the future, he expects to continue his personal and professional endeavors within Colorado. He aspires to have a long career connecting businesses together while joining any new organization with acronyms.
	Valerie Fitch, Marketing & Visibility Consultant Chamber Dance Group * International Trade Committee Born and raised in Texas, Valerie has had her share of both small towns and large metropolitan areas. She relocated most recently from Montana. In Montana, she attended the University of Montana-Helena College of Technology earning an Associates Degree in Business Management with an emphasis on marketing. With her degree in hand, Valerie began her illustrious career, standing out from the crowd in restaurant management and public relations. Self-motivated and always enthusiastic, when she decides to move forward on a project or goal, she has a stubbornness that rivals that of more than a few mules known throughout history. The joy of her life is her protégé, Brent, a fine young man of 7, going on 35. To call Valerie an extrovert is understating the obvious. Her outgoing, passionate, confident, caring and humorous style is both a curse and a blessing to those working around her as they feebly attempt to emulate her charisma. Her passion is dance and is quite the bell of the ball, whether it be Country-Western, Ballroom or Hip-Hop (you gotta see her krumping!). In her spare time you can find her on a dance floor, or attending the nearest Hot Rod Show as she has true appreciation for gearheads.
	Korri Stainbrook, Major Events Coordinator Women in Leadership Korri’s roots run deep as a 5th generation Colorado and 3rd generation resident of Littleton. A graduate of Littleton High School and Colorado State University, she stays active as the mother of two busy middle school boys. The bubbly blonde owned and operated a Large Child Care Facility for 10 years. She also worked for St. Andrew United Methodist Church as Assistant Director for their Early Childhood Education Program for 8 years as well as taught at Peabody Elementary. Her compassionate nature lends itself to being involved with community activities including: (deep breath taken here…) Town of Littleton Cares Meals on Wheels, Make A Wish Foundation of Colorado, Denver Health Medical Center Sexual Assault Victim Advocate Program, Littleton High School Alumni Assoc., Peabody Elementary PTO – Fundraising and Food Drive Chairperson, Kings Point Pool Board of Directors, and is now the PTO President at Newton Middle School. (…and we wonder why she is occasionally looks a little weary…) When she isn't planning a splashy bash for the Chamber or involved in making the lives of those around her better, she really does have a life... Well known for her entertaining, particularly her Martini Parties, she also enjoys baking and cooking (she does some mean chile rellenos and green chili), mystery novels and cross stitch.
	Deverick Wilder, Marketing and Visibility Consultant Diversity Program * Helping Young Professionals Excel (H.Y.P.E.) Sooner born and Sooner bred. Deverick is a transplant from Oklahoma where he was born and raised. He attended the University of Oklahoma where he attained his Bachelor of Business Administration with emphasis in Marketing in 2003. In addition, he received a law degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 2006. So, he is a proud Oklahoma Sooner through and through. Deverick originally moved to Denver in 2006 after being recruited by a corporate defense litigation firm out of law school. After some time in Denver, he decided to branch off from the legal field and utilize his business background and experience. Deverick joined the Chamber staff to become more involved in and to give back to the community while building lasting relationships with business owners and business leaders. One of Deverick’s passions is helping to create and foster diversity initiatives in the community. He believes diversity enhances all arenas including academia, business, government and others and that a dedication to awareness of diversity helps our community grow stronger. Be sure to ask Deverick about the Chamber’s Diversity Committee. Deverick is very interested in politics and thus keeps a watchful eye on the state and national political scenes. During the 2008 election, he was a delegate at the precinct, congressional district, and state levels. There is a possibility that he will test the waters to pursue a career in politics in the future. Be on the lookout for his name in a voting booth near you!
	Craig Hakes, Marketing and Visibility Consultant Originally from Kansas City and a big fan of the Jayhawks and barbeque, Craig has lived in Colorado since 1998, both on the western slope and currently in downtown Denver. He’s a Fort Lewis College graduate majoring in business with an emphasis in marketing. His professional track record varies from small business management and operations to client marketing and consultation. He knows the Rocky Mountain Region very well, spending his weekends there year round. Whether it’s snow sports or hiking, rafting or playing with his dog Denali, Craig loves Colorado, its active citizens and our economy. Craig also is a well-traveled gentleman who travels to all parts of Europe and even as far as China and Tibet. If you want to spark a conversation up with Craig, bring up international trade issues or Colorado’s resort and hospitality industry. He’s one of our Marketing & Visibility Consultants and vigorously works with his colleagues to grow our client’s businesses by utilizing our extensive network and connecting them with our other strong members.
	Terry McElhaney, Manager of Communications Greater Littleton Youth Initiative Born and bred in Littleton, Terry has a real passion for his hometown. Graduating from Littleton High School in 1970, he had already completed 6 of the 27+ job descriptions he would eventually accumulate before arriving at the South Metro Chamber. After a stint in the Navy as a communications electrician on a minesweeper (“Yes… any ship can be a minesweeper – but usually only once.”), he followed his ambition of being a high school counselor to Adams State College. Somewhere along the line he discovered photography and from the little town of Alamosa, he went to the big city of Los Angeles. Graduating from the Art Center College of Design with a degree in photography, Terry returned to Colorado and began shooting everything from the brew to mountain panoramas to super models for Coors Brewery. He switched his focus to computer graphics in the early years when a single computer took up the whole room and watched as the computers shrunk while their capabilities grew. All the while, Terry maintained an entrepreneurial spirit by sprouting several home-based businesses and gaining a MS in Systems Management. In 1999, his sister convinced him to drop everything and become partners in the burgeoning coffee business. At one point operating four coffee bars throughout the south metro area, they have settled down and are now focusing their attention on Romancing the Bean. “Littleton’s Hometown Coffee Shop” is located at the downtown Littleton light rail stop inside the 134-year-old D&RG railroad station. Shifting gears back and forth from coffee to communications, Terry still spends a few hours a week making caramel mochas and true Italian machiatos as well as being actively involved in the Historic Downtown Littleton Merchants Association. He also occassionally gets in a scuba trip to 'big water', but now his passion is getting the word out about the South Metro Chamber and it’s bevy of great member companies.
	Silvia Flores, Receptionist Silvia is an unassuming figure until she looks at you with her large eyes and quick, bright smile which create automatic warmth. Born in Denver and a proud Latina, She currently resides in Littleton with her 5 children: Ayesha, Darien, twins Julia Marie and Christina Marie, and Carlos. Silvia has an artistic side with interests in painting and contemporary art and a gift for faux painting and murals. “I can create a forest from a blank wall or turn a dresser into a building. My love of learning new things and pushing my goals keeps me always in search of another responsibility to take charge of…,” she says. Silvia is also a strong advocate for victims of domestic violence and mental illness.
	Monique Melton, Receptionist Growing up in southeastern Virginia, Monique has a strong sense of family and enjoys meeting people. She has a small immediate family but a rather large extended family. As a child she was very active, a recreational cheerleader, ran track, and played sports with her cousins and brother. Monique has always had a love for the arts. She has an interest in sculpting and sang in school choruses and choirs. She went to Christopher Newport University in Newport News, VA and graduated with a degree in Political Science with a concentration in International Relations. After graduating she came to Colorado to attend the Colorado Center for the Blind. She decided to stay and since, has been keeping busy with many things including internships at the Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning and Araphoe/Douglas Works!. She spends a lot of time participating in the many activities of the National Federation of the Blind like tandem biking, and bowling. Other hobbies include singing, watching and playing sports, going out to eat, and traveling.