Press Releases 2018

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame Names Priscilla Walker Director and Board Chair of the NW Colorado Region
Palisade Native Brings a Commitment to Volunteerism to CWHF
PALISADE CO August 6, 2018 – The Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame (CWHF) has named Priscilla Walker to its board of directors. Walker will serve as the Northwest Colorado region board chair.
Priscilla Walker spent 14 years in marketing and public relations as well as business development in the cable telecommunications industry, working in the Denver area for American Television and Communications Corp. (ATC). In 1989, she founded Walker Innovations, Inc., an advertising and communications services firm specializing in cable industry clients.
“I am honored to be selected for the CWHF board,” says Walker, “and thrilled the organization is strengthening its focus on the Western Slope.” CWHF is a statewide organization, but continues to bring on board members throughout the state to increase representation outside of Denver.
From 1979-2017, Walker was a Charter Executive Member of Women in Cable and Telecommunications (WICT). She served on the Steering Committee to organize the Rocky Mountain Chapter in 1979, chaired the program committee, was vice president, and then was president of the Chapter from 1981-1982. Walker was an officer and spent four years on the WICT National board’s executive committee. She also chaired the WICT Management Conference in Denver in 1983 that emphasized case-study training developed with Dr. Ron Rizzuto at the University of Denver. This program resulted in the Cable Management Education program that was used for the next 20 years as a key educational tool for the industry, especially women.
In 1993, Walker and her family moved to Palisade, where she grew up. She graduated from Palisade High School and has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from the University of Denver.
Since 2009, Walker has been actively involved in creating the Palisade Historical Society that was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in 2010 and she continues to serve as its Founding Chairman.
The all-volunteer CWHF Board of Directors donates expertise, intelligence, and time to share the stories of the women in the Hall through its website, portrait exhibits, speaker’s bureaus, events, and videos—one of which recently won a Heartland Emmy Award for Best Musical Arrangement.
“The women in the Hall are unsung heroes — hidden figures — who have endured with superlative strength, beauty and love,” says Beth Barela, Board Chair of CWHF. “They deserve absolute respect and acknowledgment. They are shining examples of the potential of all women. Their accomplishments are worthy of being emulated and have shaped history as well as transformed lives. The CWHF board commitment to this is deep and wide.”
To listen to our podcast interviews with Kami Guildner:

Newsroom


To learn more about inductees, visit: https://www.cogreatwomen.org/inductees/women-in-the-hall/
Stay in touch via Facebook: www.facebook.com/cogreatwomen
The LinkedIn group: Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame
Follow CWHF on Twitter @ColoradoWHF.
Find Us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coloradowomenshalloffame/?hl=en

About The Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame
The Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame was created to recognize, honor and preserve the contributions of trail-blazing Colorado women. Both historical and contemporary women have shared foresight, vision and accomplishment, but lacked a forum for recognition. Since 1985, the Hall has inducted 162 extraordinary women who have been outstanding in their field, elevated the status of women, helped open new frontiers for women or inspired others by their example. Inductees include scientists, teachers, social activists, philanthropists, authors, business leaders, elected officials and more. To view all 162 inductees, visit the website: www.cogreatwomen.org

For more information, contact:
Deborah Radman, 917-841-9228, Deborah.radman@rad-comm.net

Rocky Mountain PBS and the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame

Premiers Historic, Multi-Episode Series About Great Colorado Women in 2018

DENVER, Jan. 4, 2018 – The Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame (CWHF) and Rocky Mountain PBS will debut a new broadcast series focusing on historic and contemporary Colorado women and their little known, underreported achievements in a five-episode television on Thursday, February 1, 2018.   The program is entitled Great Colorado Women and was produced by the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame.

The multi-season series will feature more than 100 women inducted into the Hall. These stories provide role models to remind women and girls; men and boys, that they can aspire higher to reach their dreams.

The pilot of the series premiers statewide on Thursday, February 1 at 8pm MT on Rocky Mountain PBS.  The premier episode of this five-part Season I features the story of Marion Downs.  By simply choosing to stand in the shortest line she could find to register at the University of Denver after WWII, Downs launched an amazing career, pioneered innovations in audiology, and is institutionalized through the Marion Downs Hearing Center at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center on the Anschutz Medical Campus, named in her honor.

Throughout her career, Marion Downs fought tirelessly for hearing screening in newborns and for early intervention for those found with hearing problems. She introduced the concept of newborn screening and lead the initiative for promoting methodologies of screening and follow-up.  Her story, along with four other CWHF amazing women, will air each Thursday evening for five weeks.  Here’s the on-air line-up:

Great Colorado Women air dates

  • Thursday 2/1 8:00-8:30pm and  Friday 2/2 1:30am-2:00am
    “Marion Downs” Mother of Pediatric Audiology

  • Thursday 2/8 8:00-8:30pm
    “Dana Crawford “Saving the Soul of Denver

  • Thursday 2/15 8:00-8:30pm and Friday 2/16 1:30am-2:00am
    “Penny Hamilton” Penny the Pilot

  • Thursday 2/22 8:00-8:30pm and Friday 2/23 1:30am-2:00am
    “Jill Tietjen”Engineering Women Back into History

  • Thursday 3/1 8:00-9:00pm and Friday 3/2 1:30am-2:00am
    “Marilyn Van Derbur Atler” An Incest Survivors Odyssey

“So many women in the Hall are unsung heroes, hidden figures who have endured with superlative strength, beauty and love. They deserve absolute respect and acknowledgment,” says Betty Heid, CWHF’s producer of the series. “They are shining examples of the potential of all women. Their accomplishments are worthy of being emulated and have shaped history and transformed lives.”

Each episode of Great Colorado Women meets Colorado Academic Standards for K-12 and can easily be integrated into classroom studies through PBS Learning for schools to consider using in their curricula to teach students about women’s history.

Janina Martin, Corporate Sponsorship Manager at Rocky Mountain PBS says, “Rocky Mountain PBS exists to strengthen the civic fabric of Colorado. This new series is really an eye-opener to the impact women have had on our state, our country, and our world.  We think it will have broad audience appeal for Colorado citizens including the general public, historians, elementary through high school students, and college students.

“We want to help others to know about those who have gone before us, and in doing so, we believe the stories about the women in the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame will inspire women to play a bigger role in shaping Colorado’s history,” she added.

History has shown that when women get involved, great things can happen.  “A better world happens when women’s contributions are encouraged and recognized,” Heid emphasizes.  “Women have been overlooked in history and in the media. The amazing stories of women’s success, leadership, vision, and accomplishments have not been told.”

Great Colorado Women draws on the historic, scientific, cultural, public policy, education, agriculture, healthcare, and social justice accomplishments of the current 152 women in the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame.

 

Enchanted Road Productions, along with Heid, is responsible for continuing to develop 30-minute programs to sustain the series for multiple seasons.  Rocky Mountain PBS is actively seeking underwriting to support this programming.  CWHF is working on community and corporate sponsorships to support production. Both the CWHF and RMPBS believe that individuals, businesses, and organizations can garner great benefit from sponsoring and sending a strong message that women and their contributions matter.

 

A special invitation-only preview screening event is being planned for late January, hosted and sponsored by Balfour Senior Living at its Riverfront Park location in lower downtown Denver.  Balfour communities are well regarded for their comfortable elegance and for the individualized quality of life. But it’s their dedication to service, innovation, and respect that truly defines The Balfour Way.

About RMBPS

Rocky Mountain PBS, part of Rocky Mountain Public Media, began in Denver in 1956 as Colorado’s first public television station. It is now Colorado’s only statewide television network, with stations in Denver (KRMA), Pueblo/Colorado Springs (KTSC), Steamboat Springs (KRMZ), Grand Junction (KRMJ) and Durango (KRMU). Our mission is to strengthen the civic fabric of Colorado through public media, developing and distributing our content on-air and online, and connecting communities to it through meaningful engagement.

About the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame

The Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame was created to recognize, honor and preserve the contributions of trailblazing Colorado women. Both historical and contemporary women have shared foresight, vision and accomplishment, but lacked a forum for recognition. Since 1985, the Hall has inducted 152 extraordinary women who have been outstanding in their field, elevated the status of women, helped open new frontiers for women or inspired others by their example. Inductees include scientists, teachers, social activists, philanthropists, authors, business leaders, elected officials and more.

To learn more about inductees, visit: https://www.cogreatwomen.org/inductees/women-in-the-hall/

 About Enchanted Road Productions

Enchanted Road Productions is a Colorado company based in Golden. The company’s expertise is diverse varying from TV shows, commercials, and corporate and notable events. Enchanted Road Productions holds focus in motivational content and accomplished individuals, with an expertise in storytelling.   Enchanted Road Productions has been nominated 10 times, in 3 years, for the Heartland Emmy’s in such categories as Lighting, Photography, Audio, Hosting, and Magazine Style Show.  In 2016, Enchanted Road won a Heartland Emmy for Best Lighting for their commercial for 1600 Glenarm.

(Editor’s Note)

Short bios on each featured woman in the Great Colorado Women RMPBS Series are below.  More information can be found at Women In The Hall.

SEASON PREMIER:  Marion Downs

Marion Downs fought tirelessly throughout her career for hearing screening in newborns and the early intervention for those found to have hearing problems.  Downs directed the audiology department at the University of Denver from 1950 to 1959.  She became a member of the University of Colorado faculty in 1959, where she investigated behavioral responses of newborns to sound.  Her work resulted in newborn screening in all 50 states and many countries around the world.  She was instrumental I the formation of a National Joint Committee on Infant Screening and chaired the committee for a number of years.

EPISODE 2:  Dana Crawford

Dana Crawford is renowned as a historic preservationist and as a developer.  Some of Crawford’s most notable projects include:  Larimer Square, Union Station, Ice House, and the Oxford Hotel.  She continues to restore and develop properties around the state, most notably in Trinidad and Idaho Springs.  Crawford was instrumental in the preservation and the development of the Lower Downtown (LoDo) area of Denver.   She has consulted in over 50 cities around the United States on housing in historic buildings and mixed-use development.  She has been a civic and business leader as well as a founding member of Historic Denver, Inc., and the Lower Downtown District, Inc.

EPISODE 3:  Penny Rafferty Hamilton

Penny Hamilton has been a general aviation pilot for over 25 years.  She has worked for decades to encourage women to choose aviation as a career and to break down barriers that keep women from taking the skies.   She co-holds, with her husband, a World Aviation Record, set October 22, 1991.  In 1994, the Federal Aviation Administration named a new holding intersection west of Corona Pass (at an altitude of 15,500 feet) after her.  Hamilton is the director of Teaching Women to Fly Research Project, has written several books on aviation and has been teaching preschoolers and elementary children about the history of women in aviation with her “Penny the Pilot” program.

EPISODE 4:  Jill Tietjen

Jill Tietjen is a professional engineer and has spent over 30 years in the electric utility industry as a consultant and expert witness on behalf of electric utilities before the Federal Energy Commission and state regulatory commissions.  She has served as an accreditor on behalf of the Society of Electronics Engineers and as the first national president of the Society of Women Engineers.  Tietjen is a formidable advocate and champion for women.  She empowers women in her role as philanthropist, mentor and awards nominator.  She has successfully nominated over 50 women for national and local awards.  She co-authored the best-selling book, “Her Story: A Timeline of the Women Who Changed America”.

EPISODE 5:  Marilyn Van Derbur Atler

Marilyn Van Derbur Atler was crowned Miss America while attending the University of Colorado.  A Denver native, Atler was a motivational speaker who was named “Outstanding Woman Speaker in America” by a poll of over 30,000 business and civic meeting planners.  For 16 years she was the only woman guest lecturer for General Motors.  As an incest survivor, her story and work has opened the door for tens of thousands of sexual abuse survivors.  Her best-selling book, “Miss America by Day”, won the prestigious Writer’s Digest award.  She has shared her knowledge and insights in over 225 cities and answers thousands of letters and emails from incest survivors annually.


 

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