ABOUT OUR ORGANIZATION

The Vision...

Sustainable Ways had its beginning in 2005.  A few visionary individuals found they shared some common concerns while also having a lot in common; they all lived in a part of Colorado that is spectacularly beautiful (the Wet Mountain Valley in the Southern Central Rockies); they all shared a love for Nature and were concerned about how humans were abusing the privilege of living in Nature; they all believed in the power of humans to change their ways of living; and they all believed that working together could accomplish more than working individually.

So a meeting of the minds was held to discuss what to do. It was called a "think tank" and this first meeting was held in the beautiful "Earthship" home of Laura and Santi. Food was shared, ideas were shared, and through this first heartfelt discussion a spirit emerged that has guided the group through to the present. The group recognized the idea that represented what they were most concerned about and that was to share with their community ways of finding and communicating more sustainable ways of living. From that first meeting was born what has become Sustainable Ways, the organization.

We found that we have struck a chord in our community, that there is a thirst for knowledge about all things sustainable, and a genuine desire in the hearts of people to improve our world and our relationship to Nature. We began our work in earnest.

Where We Are Today...

Today we are a community organization that is actively engaged in our stated mission: To educate, advocate, and demonstrate ways of living that are consistent with the principles of sustainability: for our selves, our families, and our community.

In order to best pursue our mission, we felt we needed to establish a formal organization, marshal our resources, seek other interested individuals and extend our power to educate others in this important cause.

We are a formal Non-Profit Corporation in the State of Colorado. We voted on officers and established a Board of Directors, and in (April of 2008) we filed with the IRS for our official 501 (c)(3) designation as a Non-Profit Organization. Our application was approved on November 19, 2008.

In 2009 the Board decided to transition to a Membership Organization for greater community "buy-in" and giving members the right to vote for members of the Board of Directors.

Bylaws, Officers, and Board of Directors...

In order to facilitate and pursue our mission towards sustainable ways of living, we have established all of the things that go with the formalization process. We want to be open with everyone about who we are, why we are, and how we conduct business, so we provided this information with the best of intent. You are welcome to review our information, and we invite any comments you may have.

Emails can be sent to:  

Bylaws...

Our Sustainable Ways Bylaws were developed and finally approved by the Board of Directors on March 3, 2008. The Bylaws are available to the public and can be viewed here: Sustainable Ways Bylaws 

Officers of the Corporation...

Officers of the Corporation are elected by the Board of Directors at the first Board Meeting following the Annual meeting which is held each year on Earth Day. The 2011 officers are:

Chair: Sue Pitman
Vice Chair: Simone Soucy
Secretary: Simone Soucy
Treasurer: Scott Jackson

In addition to the Officers of the Corporation, members of the Board of Directors are:

Rob Blessing

Tyler Stein

Buffy Lenth

Roland Williams - Communications

Lisa Kaufman - Recycling

Robin Young - voting ex-officio member

Meeting Minutes...

Meetings of Sustainable Ways and Board of Director meetings are held regularly and are open to the public. Minutes are produced and we have made copies available for the public on this website. Please feel free to review our meeting minutes.

(They're coming!)