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BUSINESS NEWS PIKES PEAK SUMMITVISITOR CENTER CELEBRATES GRAND OPENING The new Pikes Peak Summit Visitor Center, following three years of construction, celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony Wednesday, June 30. Colorado Governor Jared Polis joined Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers and Frank Beum from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service in commemorating the historic event on the summit of Pikes Peak, a National Historic Landmark. At 14,115 feet above sea level, it is the highest altitude visitor center in the world. “The City of Colorado Springs and many other stakeholders have long been committed to the task of building a new Pikes Peak Summit Visitor Center that is truly worthy of the majesty and magnificence of Pikes Peak and the luster of its history,” said Suthers in his ceremonial address. “We now have a visitor center that William Palmer, Spencer Penrose and the generations of Pikes Peak advocates who have come before us would be proud of. Today we commence a new era in the history of Pikes Peak and of Colorado Springs.” The celebration also recognized the reopening of The Broadmoor Manitou & Pikes Peak Cog Railway, which has taken visitors to the summit of Pikes Peak since 1891. The Cog, America’s highest railway, reopened in May 2021 after a three-year, $100 million rebuild. Visitors can experience breathtaking views on a new elevated pathway and overlook designed to help protect the summit’s fragile tundra, digitally interactive displays, plus
retail and fresh menu options, including the famous high-altitude donut recipe used since 1916. The new visitor center is sited to withstand the extreme environmental conditions of the summit. Nestled into the mountain, exposure to winds that can exceed 230 miles per hour is minimized, while the mass of the building provides sheltered outdoor areas to enjoy the views. The new building was designed to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver certification, a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement. It also strives to achieve the Living Building ChallengeSM (LBC), a two-year certification process, as a highly sustainable, net-zero energy building. Currently, no other buildings in Colorado are fully LBC certified. The entire site was also designed to meet the latest Americans with Disabilities Act standards. It was constructed by GE Johnson (Colorado Springs) and designed by GWWO Architects (Baltimore, Maryland) in collaboration with RTA Architects (Colorado Springs) as architect of record. The visitor center and 19-mile highway is operated by Pikes Peak – America’s Mountain (PPAM), an enterprise of the City of Colorado Springs, through a special use permit from the U.S. Forest Service. The total project cost is an estimated $65 million, funded in part by revenue bonds and reserves from PPAM, which generates revenue through highway toll fees and concession sales. The new visitor center is part of the 38,000-square-foot Pikes
Peak Summit Complex, which also houses a Colorado Springs Utilities communications facility and the U.S. Army’s High Altitude Research Laboratory. “I am proud to say that the Pikes Peak Summit Complex embodies the USDA Forest Service goals of harmonizing the environment, restoring natural resources and incorporating the cultural values of our Native American Tribal communities,” said Beum, U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region regional forester. “Visitors worldwide can now enjoy this beacon of American history in a new and wonderful way.” The new building replaces the Summit House, which had operated since 1964. The very first summit house was constructed in 1873, and an original wall from that structure has been preserved on the summit. It had welcomed guests like Katharine Lee Bates who authored “America the Beautiful” following her visit to the summit in 1893. GWWO Architects is an award-winning, story- based architectural design firm specializing in cultural and educational facilities. For more than 45 years RTA Architects has created award-winning architectural and interior designs for the Colorado built environment, specializing in healthcare, education, retail, and commercial properties, delivering beautiful functional environments that serve the unique needs of their owners and occupants.
names – they modify them post-founder departure or in preparation for the founder’s departure. You have to be really careful here that you don’t lose your identity as a company or any brand equity if you do this. I say proceed with caution on this one! Founders and CEOs, I don’t want to minimize the difficulty of doing this. I know it is really hard to ease out of something that has been such a big part of your life and identity. But think how great it will be to see that business growing and thriving without you! I can tell you from personal experience it is incredibly gratifying. MARK ZWEIG is Zweig Group’s chairman and founder. Contact him at mzweig@zweiggroup.com. “I know it is really hard to ease out of something that has been such a big part of your life and identity. But think how great it will be to see that business growing and thriving without you! I can tell you from personal experience it is incredibly gratifying.”
MARK ZWEIG, from page 11
times I have heard from leaders in this industry that they want to delegate, but no one is as good as they are at “X.” I always tell these people that they have to get past that. Sure, no one will be as good as you are at something you have done for years at FIRST . But they may actually be better than you after a little while. 4)You need to document and codify your systems and processes. Whatever it is you use to run your business needs to be fully defined and described and shared with everyone. And it should be followed or changed if you aren’t following it. You cannot have it all in your head but not known to anyone else. This is super critical to your ability to step away and have the business still thrive. 5)You have to create a brand and promote the other people there to your client base and what they are doing long before you exit. This will get your market thinking the business is not all about you. And if that brand is strong, the business will have a lot of inertia that will help them overcome the loss of your involvement at some point. This is really important and cannot be started soon enough! 6)You may want to consider a company name change or perhaps a name modification. Again, you don’t want the perception that the business is all about you. This is how many companies end up with the bland “alphabet soup”
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THE ZWEIG LETTER JULY 19, 2021, ISSUE 1400
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