Donor Spotlight: BGV’s Dedication to BOEC Through Fundraising Event and More

This month’s Donor Spotlight sheds light on two very important long-time contributors to the BOEC – Dick Carleton and his team at Mi Casa Restaurant and Cantina and Mike Dudick and his team at Breckenridge Grand Vacations (BGV). These two entities are highlighted together because of the tremendous dedication each made to this year’s Fiesta for BOEC fundraising event which took place June 9th, 2022, raising a record-breaking $96K for Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center (BOEC) programs. Among the two, fifty-six (56) years of support for BOEC exist between these amazing organizations.

Although this was only the second year of the newly imagined high-end dinner event, “Fiesta” is a gathering that is steeped in nearly four decades of tradition as an evolution of the ever-popular annual Cinco de Mayo event which Dick Carleton and his team hosted for the BOEC.

This year’s record-breaking $96K was made possible due to the $25K match that Dudick and BGV pledged to help inspire attendees to give that evening. And it worked! On that particular Thursday evening, 82 friends of BOEC, new and old, gathered around 11 tables at Mi Casa Restaurant and Cantina for four courses of elevated Mexican cuisine prepared by Executive Chef Skyler Ray. Each course was paired with signature tequila beverages, sponsored by Herradura Tequila, to celebrate what BOEC does for this community and the 2,500 participants we serve every year.

BOEC went into the event with a modest goal of raising $50K to support our Adaptive Ski and Snowboard and Wilderness Programs that night, but when Dudick shared the positive news of his very generous match donation, we knew we could reach and surpass the goal.

We are thrilled at the outpouring of support from everyone in attendance that evening, which included several of BOEC’s Key Partners (VailResorts, Copper Mountain Resort), Circle of Support Members (BGV, Cornerstone Rocky Mountain Real Estate, Stingray Worldwide), and nearly all of BOEC’s dedicated Board members supporting the cause. This year, however, BGV was really the star of the show, providing a full table of eight lively guests and two high-end exclusive auction vacation packages in addition to the $25K match.

Dudick, who also serves on BOEC’s Board of Directors (BOD) shared, “I ‘m honored to serve on the BOD for an organization that impacts the quality of life for so many – not just in our community, but globally. BOEC’s programs change lives by showing that overcoming adversity comes in all shapes and sizes and provides hope for everyone involved, including the staff, volunteers, and those who are lucky enough to witness the smiles on the faces of the individuals BOEC serves. Our purpose statement is ‘The soul of BGV is creating smiles,’ and BOEC is doing just that day-in and day-out. It’s truly my pleasure to help support the awareness of their programs, facilities, and operations.”

As BGV has prospered as a company, they have also grown with BOEC. We are extremely grateful to have 18 years of support from them in several different ways. In addition to supporting BOEC through various auctions at the Cinco de Mayo Celebration, Tee It Up Golf Scramble, and now “Fiesta”, they are an important partner in the community we both call home. BGV shows up as a leading sponsor for BOEC events and provides tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships to locals participating in BOEC events every year. Furthermore, they participate in a small but important area of BOEC’s programming, our Professional Challenge Program. In fact, last year, BGV’s leadership retreat was themed “Climbing New Heights – Celebrate, Elevate, Motivate, Anticipate,” making it fully appropriate for BGV executives to unite with BOEC’s leadership training.

In regards to the retreat, Juli Rathke, BGV’s Director of Corporate Affairs and PR shared, “We were excited to work with the BOEC as we crafted our Leadership Summit programming in 2021. As leaders, we were able to put our strengths aside and look at things with a new perspective by having the BOEC lead us through some of their curriculum. The teambuilding aspect of this was 5-star and they catered it beautifully to our mission and purpose. BGV Gives, the philanthropy arm of BGV, has given to the BOEC for years and it was amazing for our staff to have the awareness of BOEC’s services right in our backyard, and have since brought smaller teams to their campus for more experiences.”

Rathke is correct in the multitude of ways BGV shows up for BOEC. As if supporting BOEC financially, and participating in our programming is not enough, BGV is also one of our first go-tos for volunteer needs. As the premier sponsor of BOEC’s annual Banff Mountain Film Festival, BGV also helps out on both nights of the event, filling seats at the Riverwalk Center and providing volunteers to help the event run smoothly.

All in all, Hallie Jaeger, BOEC’s Development Manager, concludes, “Our partnership with BGV is essential because we can count on them to support us in a multitude of ways year in and year out and it is always a pleasure to work with their kind, caring, organized and intelligent staff.”

We greatly appreciate both of these supporters for the difference they make to BOEC’s bottom line, and for coming together to support us in a brand new way at Fiesta for BOEC.

For more information on how you can donate to BOEC, include an item in an auction, or secure a table for next year’s “Fiesta”, please reach out to Hallie at [email protected] or call 970-453-6422.