WCC Board

WCC Board of Directors	Gretchen Nicholoff [President] and her husband Robin have been active in public lands issues in WCC and WSERC forever, it seems. Gretchen worked at High Country News in Paonia and is active in the Democratic Party in Delta County.	Penny Heuscher [Vice President] first became active in WCC when the Colorado Riverfront was threatened by a re-zoning proposal in Grand Junction. She was also active in Grand Valley Audubon, Mesa County Medical Society, and Orchard Mesa Beautification before recently moving to Cedaredge.
	Randy Parker [Treasurer] and his wife lived in New York's Adirondack Mountains for 30 years, where he operated a private law practice and served as Vice President of a non-profit which served special needs clients. Since retiring to Ridgway, he has been involved with Ridgway-Ouray Community Council's land use campaigns.	Dennis Olmstead [Secretary] is retired from the Santa Fe Railway where he worked in marketing and the development of ocean containerized shipping. About 11 years ago, he said "No, thanks" to serious Corporate Life and eventually moved to Montrose. He is active in Barbershop Chorus and Friends of the Montrose Library.
	Steve Aigner (Community Alliance of the Yampa Valley) retired as a sociology professor specializing in community development and practice in Iowa to live in Steamboat Springs where his 3 adult children and grandchild also live. Steve continues his community practice in Steamboat by working with the Community Alliance to empower citizens on land use and natural resource issues.	Paul Light (Grand Valley Citizens Alliance) is a retired Director of Research and Development for National Ministries with the American Baptist Church. He and his wife live in Garfield County where they are outspoken advocates for responsible gas development.
	Rein Van West has been guilty of cultural and scholarly neglect in favor of more time outdoors. However, he did manage to find great rewards in 25 years as an educator and spent time as an administrator with the Colorado Outdoor Education Center, finding that connecting children with nature might be one of the more important nurturing and long-term benefits for our planet.	Marv Ballantyne is recently retired from his career as owner of Black Canyon Appraisal in Montrose, and now can be found playing banjo with any number of bands in the area. Marv served as WCC President from 1986 to 1988 and was a spokesperson for WCC's Toxics Committee in the 1990s when it fought against a proposed low-level radioactive waste dump in the West End of Montrose County.
	Claudette Konola (WCC of Mesa County) is a retired executive with over 40 years of experience. In Mesa County, she has served as treasurer of not only the Riverside Task Force, a not-for-profit that works to make Latino Communities vibrant and safe, but also the Democratic Party.	Monica Wiitanen (At-large) is a member of the North Fork Coal Working Group, Delta County's Upper North Fork Area Planning Committee, the Valley Organic Growers' Association, and is a vendor at the North Fork Farmers' Market. Monica also enjoys the fiber arts--spinning, weaving, knitting, tatting and sewing.
	Bob Arrington (At-large) is a retired engineer who, among other things, designed air pollution control equipment for Universal Oil Products and worked with the Colorado PUC. He is now a member of the Garfield County Energy Advisory Board and collects air quality samples as part of a citizens' "Bucket Brigade".	David Cale (At-Large) is an optometrist with offices in Grand Junction, Delta and Montrose. He is a former Peace Corps volunteer in Niger, Africa, and a former professor at Southern College of Optometry in Memphis for 7 years.
	Peggy Rawlins (Emeritus) moved to Battlement Mesa in Garfield County in 1996 and almost immediately became a spokesperson on issues surrounding gas drilling. The issues of gas drilling seem to have followed Peggy when she moved to Grand Junction, where she helped pass a watershed protection ordinance in 2006.

Western Colorado Congress is an alliance for community action empowering people

to protect and enhance their quality of life in western Colorado.

PO Box 1931, Grand Junction, CO 81502; phone (970) 256-7650; fax (970) 245-0686