Posts Tagged ‘development’

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Join now!

Thursday, August 14th, 2008

fitness-center.jpgAlthough most of us will be less than thrilled to say goodbye to the long summer days where the sun is always shining and the warm air heats our skin, it will soon be time to put away our hiking shoes and concentrate on the upcoming winter season. With the slopes opening in just over 100 days (wooohooo!), now is the perfect time to get in shape for those treacherous Highland’s bowl hikes and unbelievable powder days.

With the conceptual approval of our Aspen Living Project, changes at the club are in the near future. The Aspen Club is proposing to establish a healthy living community that will be an internationally renowned model for sustainable, healthy living development. With this, the club will be revamped and redone, allowing it to remain the valley’s premiere health club and spa. As we head into the future, we will begin to limit our membership so that can continue to live up to the reputation our members have come to expect. Now is the time to join our community and get a membership!

As a member of The Aspen Club & Spa, you will get your muscles moving in a setting that will make you want to work hard for your health. Member privileges include discounts on personal training, spa and salon services, boutique purchases, tennis and private Pilates. We have a full cardio deck with cardio theater, a massive weight area, a heated lap pool and over 50 fitness classes a week!

We have a membership for anyone’s needs. Please see Erin or Robert in membership to get in on this amazing opportunity!

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Posted in Aspen Colorado, Aspen Members, Health and Fitness | No Comments »

Nancy Dick

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

The Chris Klug Foundation will be honoring Nancy Dick at the Tuesdays with Michael event on Tuesday July 22nd. Nancy E. Dick was the 42nd Lieutenant Governor of Colorado, serving from 1979 to 1987 under Richard Lamm. She was Colorado’s first female Lt. Governor. Nancy was very instrumental in the development of Colorado’s donor program.

The Dick family suffered a terrible loss of Timber Dick, who died on April 10 from injuries sustained in a car accident. A great article about Timber Dick was just featured in Westword magazine and here is an excerpt…

As the story goes, two somber government types showed up at Nancy Dick’s Aspen door one winter day in early 1963 and handed her a letter addressed to President John F. Kennedy — with her return address on it.

“Dear Mr. President,” the missive read, “Our country has a big problem. We must get to the moon before the Russians! Regular rockets will take too long and use too much fuel. I have plans for an atomic powered rocket engine. It is the most powerful engine ever made by man! I will contact you again soon. Signed, Mister X.”

The FBI wanted to find this Mister X, so Nancy sternly trotted out her eight-year-old son, Timber, his leg cast from one of the many broken limbs he’d suffered since moving to Colorado from Cleveland with his family seven years earlier. Timber sheepishly admitted he’d sent the letter — but didn’t surrender his detailed rocket-engine drawings, which were hidden among the Popular Science magazines and model spaceships in his room.

Click here to read the full article

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Aspen Club redevelopment receives preliminary approval

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

Carolyn Sackariason
The Aspen Times
ASPEN — Preliminary plans to redevelop the Aspen Club & Spa into a destination holistic health facility with 20 timeshare condos was approved by elected leaders Monday.

The Aspen City Council voted 4-1 to conceptually approve the development plan presented by one of the club’s owners, Michael Fox. But before it receives final approval, a host of concerns voiced by council members will have to be addressed, including an assurance that the facility will20permanently remain a health club.

Council members asked Fox several questions regarding the project’s financial model and the need for timeshares.

Fox responded that the sale of timeshares will pay for between $12 million and $16 million in club improvements, as well as 12 affordable housing units and energy-efficient building of the development.

The council focused on the project’s finances after Fox indicated that if he cannot redevelop the aging property, he may be forced to sell it off in separate real estate pieces that would be developed into free-market homes.

“That door has been opened, and that argument has been made,” said City Councilman J.E. DeVilbiss. “That justification is being argued here. That’s a thorny issue, and I don’t know how we are going to stay away from it.”

Fox said it’s getting more difficult to do business in Aspen as real estate prices continue to escalate. He added that operating a sustainable health club requires reinvestment.

However, council members are viewing the proposal as more of a real estate development than a transformation of the club into a healthy living retreat center.

Neighborhood impacts also are a concern, and a detailed traffic impact study will be required for approval.

The vision for the new facility, which would be called Aspen Club Living, is for families to come for an extended health retreat. When the timeshare units aren’t being used by owners they will be available for groups, families and single travelers who participate in special one- and two-week healthy lifestyle programs.

Councilman Steve Skadron said he wants Fox to guarantee that the new facility is accessible to the public, even though Fox is proposing to allow several groups, including nonprofits and kids organizations, to use the facility at no cost.

But it appears the biggest hurdle Fox will have to overcome is agreeing to legally bind himself to operating the facility for years to come, as well as proving there is enough community benefit to get approval.

Dozens of people attended Monday night’s meeting to speak in support of the project, including professional athletes, members, employees and physicians who use the club. Two neighbors of the Aspen Club spoke in opposition during the four-hour review.

City Councilman Jack Johnson, the lone dissenter on approving the conceptual plan, said it failed to meet the needed criteria. He also said he doesn’t trust Fox’s word that it will remain a health club facility.

“There is no guarantee that the use will remain or the investment will happen,” Johnson said. “No one is questioning the value of the Aspen Club, its employees or Michael’s effort; that is not what this is about.”

Mayor Mick Ireland said Fox’s representation that the club is a locally owned business isn’t completely accurate because 65 percent of the company is ow ned by outside investors. Fox owns 35 percent of the company. In addition, Ireland said he thinks the free market doesn’t help address the public’s needs.

The proposal is similar to the one that Fox submitted and subsequently withdrew in 2006 because of a lack of support from the City Council and the club’s neighbors.

The latest proposal includes expanding the club to 72,409 square feet, as well as 20 timeshare units, 12 affordable housing units available for rent for club employees and 133 parking spaces, which is a net increase of 42 spaces. An underground parking lot would be accessible from Ute Avenue.

From the Aspen Times 

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Living healthy is a proposition for the future

Tuesday, July 8th, 2008

We are all the future of The Aspen Club & Spa and we are all the future of Aspen.

That’s because as we look beyond tourism, real estate and construction, we look toward a future of sustain­ability and healthy living — an opportunity to combine local vitality with economic survival.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane to get a sense of this Aspen institution known as The Aspen Club & Spa.

Flashback circa 1978, The Aspen Club: The Aspen Club is the tennis club extraordinaire, hosting pro-celebrity charity events that bring excitement and energy to our quiet mountain town with the big-time ski hill.

Visitors and locals flock to the club to play, watch, workout and gather.

Flashback circa 1997, The Aspen Club & Spa: Evolving to meet emerging trends in health and fitness, new Aspen Club owner Michael Fox relocates to Aspen and spends $8 million to renovate and upgrade the 77,000-square-foot club. And when it re-opens in December 1997, it isn’t just another pretty-face spa. Rather, it is a one­stop health club, sports medicine facility, and spa and salon with an inclusive approach that fur­thers the Aspen idea of mind, body and spirit.

Housing local non-profits, hosting hundreds of non­profit events as well as employing hundreds of local employees, The Aspen Club builds its reputation as a vital community asset.

Flash forward 2012, Aspen Club Living —The Future of The Aspen Club & Spa: In support of Mayor Mick Ireland’s view that Aspen is a “town that reach­es for the best” and is known for its environmental stewardship, Aspen Club Living is recognized as the first project in the country to combine sus­tainable green development with a holistic wellness focus to create a healthy living community.

Environmentally conscious, frac­tional residences replace 30-year-old tennis courts, allowing families, visi­tors and community members to spend quality time together relaxing by the outdoor pool or learning about healthy living in a retreat setting.

Innovative healthy living classes and programs bring the community and visitors together to refresh, recharge and even reinvent.

Aspen Club employees live and breathe the Aspen idea while living on-site in desirable affordable hous­ing. With the opportunity to grow professionally, they choose to stay in town rather than move downvalley or to a big city. Guests, members and employees join forces to utilize alter­native modes of transportation. Bikes, electric cars and other forms of ener­gy efficient transportation replace cars.

Major upgrades and renovations to The Aspen Club & Spa’s facilities pro­vide members and guests access to a state-of-the-art health and wellness centers.

The Aspen community had a choice in 2008, and they chose local vitality and healthy, sustainable living.

The Business Lounge is a feature of Inside Business, published Tuesdays in The Aspen Times.

Kim Moore is the Aspen Life Director at The Aspen Club & Spa, where she oversees healthy living pro­grams and retreats. A 15-year valley resident, Moore serves as a big buddy with The Buddy Program and is the membership chair of the Aspen Young Professionals Association. For more information, e-mail her at kmoore@aspenclub.com.

 

Aspen Times Article in the Business Lounge 

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Aspen Club timeshare plan passes P&Z

Thursday, May 8th, 2008

 by Curtis Wackerle, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer

Thursday, May 8, 2008

 

A plan to build 20 timeshare units at the Aspen Club and Spa received a preliminary approval from the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission this week.

The 4-1 vote, which came at the end of the fifth two-hour session before the P&Z in recent months, laid blessing to the project’s design and massing. Lingering concerns about traffic and open space will be addressed when the plan goes before City Council.

“The project is moving in the right direction,” Jessica Garrow, long-range planner with the Community Development Department, said Wednesday. “It’s not all the way there, but (remaining issues) can be addressed through the final review.”

The ownership of the Aspen Club and Spa, represented by Michael Fox, a co-owner who manages the day-to-day operations of the club, seeks to build 53,900 square feet of timeshare lodging units, divided into 20 three- and four-bedroom units, a 34,630-square-foot expansion to the club athletic facilities, and 12,330 square feet of affordable housing divided into 12 two-bedroom units. The plan also includes a 53-space underground parking garage and 45 surface parking spaces.

The 20 timeshares, which would be allocated into one-sixteenth interests, would be sold as a health and wellness retreat under a concept being called Aspen Club Living. When the timeshare members aren’t there, and in the shoulder seasons, the units would be made available to the general public. The sale of the timeshare units would finance millions of dollars of improvements to the club’s facilities, many of which betray their 1970s origins.

In the coming months, the project will go before City Council, which will give a conceptual review to the overall development plan. If it passes the council’s conceptual review, it will go back to P&Z, and then again to City Council for final review.

The original design considered by the P&Z included 19 timeshare units, but 3,000 more total square feet of timeshares. City planning staff and P&Z did not approve of the layout of buildings on the site, which put two buildings with four and seven units along the “lower bench” of the site, where the outdoor tennis courts sit. The design did not address sufficiently the river and bike path, which are directly below the “lower bench” and created a wall of building between the main club building and riparian area, city planning staff said.

The design has since been reworked, removing a unit from the lower bench and dividing the two buildings into three smaller buildings with more open space between. All of the units were made smaller, but planners added a unit onto the upper portion of the site, bringing the total up to 20 units while reducing the total square footage by 3,000 square feet.

“I commend you for the changes you have made,” Commissioner Stan Gibbs said. “They make the project much better.”

Gibbs noted that he still has questions related to how the club will reduce the amount of traffic the new lodging would generate, but he can support the project conceptually.

The Aspen Club is proposing measures such as increasing shuttle service and implementing a car share program that it said would eliminate the additional traffic the timeshare development would create on Ute Avenue.

The club is are seeking a specially planned area — or SPA — designation, which applies to projects with unique site constraints in which the public interest would be served if underlying zoning regulations were scrapped.

About 15 community members and club employees came to the meeting to support the proposed project. Allowing the club to expand its programming and improve its facilities would be a benefit to the entire valley, supporters said.

The timeshare units will add to Aspen’s shrunken pool of short-term rental units and will bring “high quality” customers for Aspen’s business community, said Warren Klug, general manager of the Aspen Square condo hotel. He added that an amenity like the Aspen Club is crucial to the satisfaction of Aspen’s visitors.

“The club has a huge value to our economy,” Klug said.

But Richard Nieley, an attorney working for neighbors opposed to the project, cautioned that all the good things the club does today should not be argued as a basis for approving the new development. Everything could change overnight should the club, with its new timeshare units, be sold.

“The only guarantee is that you will get 20 new free market units,” Neiley said. “You have to separate the good things they do now from what could happen in the future.”

Commissioner Michael Wampler said he has no qualms with the massing and density on the site, and that the traffic issue could be dealt with.

But he noted that he is still struggling with questions about the development’s public benefits and whether the east end of Ute Avenue is an appropriate area for lodging. He also said he would like to see a condition of approval requiring a deed restriction ensuring that the club continues indefinitely as an athletic club.

In voting no, Commissioner LJ Erspamer said he would like to see fewer timeshare units on the site. By adding one unit from the original total, the project will introduce more people, traffic and impacts to the site, Erspamer said.

curtis@aspendailynews.com

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Aspen Club expansion gets scrutiny from public, P&Z

Wednesday, March 5th, 2008

by Brent Gardner-Smith, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

The city of Aspen will have some weighty factors to sift through with the proposed Aspen Club residential expansion project.

The owners of the Aspen Club and Spa, located east of downtown Aspen, are proposing to build 19 condominiums through a building expansion and on what is now the club’s tennis courts.

In a concept called Aspen Club Living, owners of the units would buy two weeks each year to come for a healthy retreat, taking advantage of Aspen’s amenities and expanded wellness programs at the club.

The proceeds from the sales of the 304 timeshare interests, which if sold at $2,000 per square foot would top $94 million in sales, would finance a renovation of existing club facilities, including a new outdoor pool and new locker rooms. The timeshare owners would not have access to their units in the shoulder seasons, when the club would offer weeklong wellness retreats to the general public.

The project would also include 12 affordable housing units that would house about 27 employees. All this is proposed to be built to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards, and would include an array of solar panels and a ground-source heat-pump system.

In a two-hour meeting with Aspen’s Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday, a wide range of issues were touched upon, but no vote was taken. The P&Z must recommend approval or denial to Aspen City Council.

Town staff supports the concept of a wellness-themed timeshare development, but has issues with its design, architecture and mass, and how it relates to the nearby Roaring Fork River. The design of the residential buildings, particularly one long building that will house seven of the 19 units, cuts off the view from the entrance of the club to the nearby riparian area, city planner Jessica Garrow told the commissioners. The planning office would like to see the structure more broken up, Garrow said, and finds the architecture itself uninspiring.

“I don’t think the architecture represents the mission that has been stated,” Garrow said.

An architect from Poss Architecture and Planning, which designed the units, said perhaps the planning office had not been able to “pull out of the drawings” the project’s unique features. The architect cautioned that pulling the mass of the building apart would create dark, U-shaped dead spaces between the buildings.

Some of the club’s 200 employees showed up to praise their workplace, saying the club’s expansion would further professional opportunities for its personal trainers, massage therapists and physical therapists. The club was presented as an organization that does right by its community through its existing wellness programs and the dozens of local nonprofits it supports.

“This is exactly what you would want to see for the next level for the club,” said Mindy Nagle, a local physician who said the club is a major source of referrals to her office.

“We could all grow in a direction that we wouldn’t normally be able to do,” said Morgan Walsh, a massage therapist at the club.

The most clear opposition came from a lawyer representing neighbors, who said it’s “just another real estate development” with questionable benefits to the community.

Rick Nieley pointed out that for Aspen Club owner Michael Fox to get approval to build a timeshare lodge, he must be approved under a provision of the land-use code known as a specially planned area, or SPA. According to the code language, an SPA is reserved for areas where because of the “unique historic, natural, physical or locational characteristics of the site” the public interest would be better served if different zoning was granted.

Nieley argued that the Aspen Club Living project meets none of these criteria.

Happiness with the way club is run is not reason enough to approve essentially a hotel surrounded by residential zoning, Nieley said, adding that Fox would have to demonstrate the new growth would add something more to the community than continuing existing services.

Time constraints prevented Fox from being able to respond to Neiley’s statement. But prior to Tuesday’s meeting, Fox denied that Aspen Club Living is another real estate development; rather, it’s a unique opportunity to create a sustainable, holistic amenity that will secure the Aspen Club’s future for generations.

“If it’s done right, the Aspen Club could be an icon throughout the world,” Fox said.

The traffic debate

Opponents of the project say that club-generated traffic on Ute Avenue is already bad enough, and that this project would make it worse. But Fox said steps can be taken to reduce traffic currently generated by the club’s 1,900 members (up from 400 just five years ago).

Club representatives presented traffic estimates that concluded the residential expansion would increase traffic volume on Ute Avenue by 15 percent. Fox said that can be mitigated by instituting paid parking for members and guests, doubling or tripling the level of its shuttle service to and from the club, and providing a fleet of electric cars for guests and affordable-housing residents to use.

Sunny Vann, the club’s planning consultant, said that the real issue is traffic capacity on Ute Avenue, which he said isn’t close to being full. Opposition to more traffic isn’t sufficient reason to deny the project when the road has more capacity, Vann said.

But the city, and neighbors to the project, are demanding more specifics on what measures the club would take to reduce traffic and how much traffic, specifically, the club thinks its mitigation measures will take off the road.

“I don’t think anyone has focused on what really will work,” said Gary Rappaport, a part-time homeowner on Ute Avenue.

Other members of the community expressed fear that if the club is not allowed redevelopment, its owners would sell to someone who would raze the community institution to build second homes.

Aspenite Steve Marolt, who acknowledged that his reputation of late has been against development, said the city must consider the alternative if the timeshare project isn’t built.

The city “wouldn’t have to give the world” to Fox to make the project work, but Fox could easily sell to another owner who wouldn’t think twice about tearing down the club and replacing it with 5,000-square-foot trophy homes, Marolt said. He termed Fox’s proposal the best alternative.

curtis@aspendailynews.com

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Aspen Club Living

Wednesday, February 13th, 2008

The Aspen Club is proposing to establish a healthy living community that will be an internationally renowned model for sustainable, healthy living development. This is a program that pays tribute to the longstanding “Aspen Idea,” as a place where people can develop in mind, body and spirit, as well as matching with and promoting Aspen’s Canary Initiative, the Aspen Area Community Plan and the Civic Master Plan. For over thirty years, the Aspen Club and Spa has been recognized as the best health facility in Aspen. Today the Club has more than 1900 members, over 200 employees, and thousands of monthly physical therapy, sports performance, spa, and salon clients. With the development of the project described below, the Aspen Club will become a model for healthy living communities around with world as well as remaining a viable business that continues to serve the needs of Aspen locals. Click here to learn more about Aspen Club Living

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ACRA Training

Friday, November 16th, 2007

Customer Service Training and More!

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Brought to you by the Aspen Chamber Resort Association

At The Aspen Club & Spa

8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

The crash courses you and your employees need to be perfectly prepared for our winter guests.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007 Class Schedule
8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast (provided by Paradise Bakery)

8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Best Practices -Best Places Bennett Bramson
This is an abbreviated version of our popular “Magic of Guest Services” sessions, geared towards those who need to ‘open the business by 10 AM.’ This program will focus on training your guest services team for success and rewarding excellence in guest service delivery. Because of the short span of time allotted for the session, we encourage participants to contact us about personalized programs for your staff, which can be scheduled for half-day workshops or full day retreats, to maximize the training experience.

8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. This is a complimentary session!!
Marketing 101 – for easy online success Casey McConnell
Techniques you can use for your business that are free online. How can you take and make your business stand out in the crowd? Using these simple tools you can create web 2.0 traffic that will ultimately drive traffic to your website and profits to your bottom line. Bring your lap top with you if it is wireless enabled. We will be in the Cafe and you are welcome to order breakfast.

10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon
The ‘MAGIC’ of Guest Services Bennett Bramson
The hospitality, service, and retail industries, as well as businesses and nonprofits are undergoing daily change. Serving our guests is at the forefront of the quality movement and key to our success, for both employees and managers. Our guests are our bottom line and they include visitors, tourists, and residents, as well. This session will enlighten, entertain, engage, and educate YOU in becoming an excellent practitioner in the ‘MAGIC’ of Guest Services. Come prepared to laugh, learn, and LEAD Aspen to a role as America’s guest service paradise!

10:00 p.m. – 12:00 noon
The Do’s & Don’t’s of Human Resources Gint Baukus/Rebecca Doane
I-9s, documentation, what can you ask during an interview, sexual harassment, workers’ comp questions, employee expectations, employee training, ways to reduce employee turnover, increase retention, etc. This course just scratches the surface on any one of these topics. The intent is to provide a “cheat sheet” of sorts so you are comfortable with the basics of what you should be aware and some of the more value added benefits of HR.

kimdirk.jpg

10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon
Wellness at Work Dirk Schultz
Stress accounts for 90% of all illness. Work stress can be alleviated when you are living ‘well’. Find out what is stopping you from being even healthier and discover what you need to do to live ‘well’. Prepare to leave knowing more about how to be happy at work especially when circumstances are tough. Absolutely everyone can benefit from this session. ayp31.jpg

 

12:00 noon – 1:00 p.m.
Buffet Lunch at Garnish $15 per person inclusive/$20 at the door
Relax and enjoy a lunch buffet at The Aspen Club & Spa. A special price for participants has been arranged. $15 for advance purchase with RSVP by November 30 and $20 at the door.

1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
The ‘MAGIC’ of Guest Services Bennett Bramson
The hospitality, service, and retail industries, as well as businesses and nonprofits are undergoing daily change. Serving our guests is at the forefront of the quality movement and key to our success, for both employees and managers. Our guests are our bottom line and they include visitors, tourists, and residents, as well. This session will enlighten, entertain, engage, and educate YOU in becoming an excellent practitioner in the ‘MAGIC’ of Guest Services. Come prepared to laugh, learn, and LEAD Aspen to a role as America’s guest service paradise!

1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

The Do’s & Don’t’s of Human Resources Gint Baukus/Rebecca Doane

I-9s, documentation, what can you ask during an interview, sexual harassment, workers’ comp questions, employee expectations, employee training, ways to reduce employee turnover, increase retention, etc. This course just scratches the surface on any one of these topics. The intent is to provide a “cheat sheet” of sorts so you are comfortable with the basics of what you should be aware and some of the more value added benefits of HR.

3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Reception at Garnish

Come and enjoy a complimentary wine and cheese reception following sessions. This is free to all paid participants for morning or afternoon sessions. Please RSVP for this reception.

All sessions are $39 per person for ACRA members and $100 per person for non-ACRA members.

Group discounts are available for more than four people from the same business or more than four sessions per business: $29 per person/per session available ONLY for ACRA members.

About the instructors:

Gint Baukus
A recent resident of Aspen, has over 20 years of Human Resource leadership experience with Fortune 100 companies. Both domestically and internationally, this experience is in a variety of industries ranging from financial services, healthcare, manufacturing to technology and customer service outsourcing. Gint has worked in all areas of HR, including Staffing, Organizational/Leadership Development, Labor Relations, Compensation, Benefits, and Training. Outside of HR, Gint had roles in Mergers & Acquisitions and Business Process Outsourcing. He earned his Bachelors and Masters Degrees at Loyola University of Chicago. Gint is a founding principal of a local consulting concern specializing in helping small-medium sized businesses attract and retain top performing talent.

Bennett A. Bramson, MPA
Has become widely recognized as a sought after trainer, motivational speaker, fundraising executive, and management expert for myriad organizations and businesses throughout the United States. He is president of his own consulting firm, DevelopMentors, Inc., whose clients have included several major cruise lines, the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Education, and Labor, the National Restaurant Association, the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, as well as many RFV non-profits. He served as Executive Director of Aspen Youth Experience, Deputy Director of the Aspen Art Museum, and Executive Director of the Touro Infirmary Foundation of New Orleans. In 2006, he was honored by the Aspen Rotary Club with the Tom Sardy Award, for distinguished community service, and was recently honored by Florida International University’s Alumni Association with the 2007 Torch Award for Community Leadership.

Rebecca Doane
Since 2000 Rebecca has served as the City of Aspen’s Director of Human Resources. In addition to having more than 25 years of professional HR experience she holds a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Psychology and a MBA. Through her HR consulting company, Working Solutions, LLC, Ms. Doane has helped many local organizations overcome the challenge of recruiting, selecting and retaining successful employees as well as comply with all Federal, State, and local employment regulations. As a former Civil Rights Specialist for the State of Colorado she is an expert on unlawful discrimination and has successfully defended many organizations from complaints. She has served as an expert witness regarding sexual harassment in Federal District Court. Ms. Doane continues her consultancy, Working Solutions, LLC on a limited basis today.

Casey McConnell
Casey is currently the marketing director at the Aspen Club and Spa. He has been learning the ins and outs of online marketing for the past 4 years. From youtube videos to search engine optimization he has been online since his high school years back in the late 90’s.

Dirk Shultz
A wellness coach and life coach, certified massage therapist, personal trainer, Dirk combines all facets of wellness to support clients in being the healthiest and happiest they can possibly be.

We will have a drawing for a 50 minute massage at the Aspen Club & Spa drop your name in for the drawing when you arrive for your class. You do not need to be present to win – but you need to be present to drop your name in for the drawing.

Grand Prize – 50 minute massage with Dirk Shultz – Wellness Coach and Featured Speaker.

Registration must be returned no later than Friday, November 30, 2007. Send to ACRA/Attn: Membership/425 Rio Grande Place/ Aspen, CO 81611 or fax to: 970-920.1173.

For additional information please call 970-925-1940.

Group discount for more than four people from the same business or more than four sessions per business: $29 per person/per session for ACRA members.

Transportation to the Aspen Club & Spa is available at Rubey Park. Look for the Aspen Club & Spa Van 20 minutes before your class is scheduled to begin.

Human Resources Training for the small business.

The crash courses you and your employees need to be perfectly prepared for our winter guests.

Motivate your staff to give their best by understanding their needs, involving them in decisions, and rewarding them for what really counts.

Prepare to laugh, learn, and LEAD Aspen to a role as America’s guest service mecca.

Create strategies for coaching employees based on their styles and those of guests, improving both guest service and employee satisfaction.

The acceptance that we are “all” in this together and the decision to really make that a cornerstone for everything we do is the first and most important step in co-creating a system that benefits everyone collectively and individually.

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Healthy Pregnancy

Monday, November 5th, 2007
g
Moss Greene

Healthy Pregnancy Diet for Two
Your pregnancy diet is vitally important to the health of both you and your baby.

Great nutrition during pregnancy reduces the risk of birth defects and is essential to your own well being and your baby’s growth, intelligence, health and happiness.

Pregnancy Diet and Nutrition

Good pregnancy nutrition requires getting higher levels of protein, vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and essential oils from super-healthy foods and supplements.

  • Protein supplies the building blocks for making a baby and acts as a natural diuretic, preventing swelling and fluid build up that can lead to toxemia. Requirements during pregnancy are higher – between 75 and 100 grams a day. Well-cooked lean meat, fish, skinless poultry, beans and eggs are your highest sources.
  • Whole Grains provide fiber, minerals, essential oils and vitamins, particularly B complex, which is vitally important during pregnancy. One B vitamin, folic acid, has been shown to help prevent serious birth defects. But it’s important to get the entire balanced B complex family.
  • Vegetables and Fruit are rich in important vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and fiber. Mainly focus on brightly colored fresh produce, such as red and green peppers, dark green leafy vegetables, tomatoes, berries, oranges and papaya. This doesn’t include juices, which are high in sugar and low in fiber.
  • Dairy Products high in calcium help your baby grow strong bones and teeth. Most are also a good sources of protein and vitamins A and D. Prevent getting too much saturated fat by sticking with low in fat dairy products that are high in nutrition, such as low-fat yogurt.
  • Essential Oils improve your mood, energy, hormonal balance, fetal development and decrease swelling. Studies show Omega 3 fish oil greatly improves brain development and helps your baby sleep better after birth. Essential oils are found in whole grains, seeds, nuts and fatty fish, such as salmon.

Can You Get Everything You Need from Food?

Research shows you can’t get everything you need from food, so natural whole food supplements are essential during pregnancy. They should include:

  • Vitamin B complex with folic acid prevents birth defects and morning sickness.
  • Calcium and other minerals are needed to build bones and tissues.
  • Omega 3 fish oil is necessary for nerve, eye, ear and brain development.
  • Vitamin E supports uterus health and the breast tissue of nursing mothers.
  • Iron helps prevent anemia and keeps blood healthy.
  • Vitamin C with Bioflavonoids builds collagen and improves immunity.

Good pregnancy nutrition also requires drinking eight glasses of water a day and moderate exercise. Water and exercise help carry nutrients to your baby and prevent constipation, hemorrhoids, infections, dehydration and excess swelling.

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Ten Top Health Benefits of Exercise

Monday, October 8th, 2007
g Nutrition Site
Moss Greene
BellaOnline’s Nutrition Editor

g

The health benefits of exercise are extraordinary. And an old-fashioned daily walk is enough.

Regular physical activity improves your mood and helps you to live a longer, happier, healthier life, free from the suffering of degenerative disease and pain.

No matter how well you eat, without exercise, you can’t be truly healthy. Food doesn’t become nutrition until it’s assimilated into your cells. And exercise is an important part of that process. Plus, the health benefits of exercise, such as walking, come cheap and easy.

Health Benefits of Exercise:

  1. Lowers blood pressure, triglycerides and total cholesterol. Exercise also increases HDL (“good” cholesterol), while decreasing LDL (“bad” cholesterol), and keeps your blood flowing smoothly by lowering the buildup of plaque in your arteries.
  2. Decreases your risk of both heart disease and stroke – the #1 and #3 killers. This includes lowering your chances of developing coronary heart disease (CHD), having a heart attack, stoke, second heart attack or dying from CHD or stroke.
  3. Helps you achieve and maintain a healthy weight. You not only burn calories during exercise, but it can speed up your metabolism for as long as 12 hours or more. Regular exercise helps you lose weight more easily and keep it off permanently.
  4. Lowers your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Exercise reduces your chance of getting diabetes, the severity of the disease and long-term risk of complications by improving blood sugar metabolism, insulin sensitivity and body weight.
  5. Decreases stress and increase happiness. Physical activity boosts the release of endorphins – the “happy hormones” that help you to feel good. In the process it lessens depression, anxiety, sleep problems and feelings of being “stressed out.”
  6. Reduces your risk of developing certain types of cancer. Regular exercise has been shown to help protect against the development of colon cancer, by 30–50%, and other cancers, such as breast, prostate, uterus and lung cancer.
  7. Helps build and maintain healthy bones, muscles, and joints. Strength training and other forms of exercise improve your bone density and endurance. This helps slow down the aging process and lowers your chance of developing osteoporosis.
  8. Increases utilization of nutrition. While stress interferes with digestion, physical activity improves digestion and the absorption of nutrients from food. It also promotes healthy elimination of toxins through sweat glands and prevention of constipation.
  9. Strengthens organs, especially lungs and heart. When your heart and lungs work more efficiently, you breathe easier and have more energy to do the things you enjoy.
  10. Can be fun and entertaining. Exercise doesn’t have to be drudgery. Choose activities that you enjoy or can learn to like. Just get physical – if you’re moving, it counts.


All the above health benefits of exercise are yours for as little as thirty minutes input a day. It doesn’t have to be anything extreme – just find your goove and move.

Remember, “It’s easier to maintain your health than it is to regain it!”

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