Downtown Club of Fort Collins Announces Inaugural Community Impact Award Recipient

Downtown Club of Fort Collins 

Announces Inaugural Community Impact Award Recipient

Award presentation luncheon, September 27, 2019

By

Ray Martinez, President

(970) 690-3686

[email protected]

The Downtown Club of Fort Collins is proud to announce a new award program recognizing an individual who has committed much of their time and talent to volunteer for a local nonprofit. The Community Impact Award is a reflection of the Club’s mission to improve the quality of life for the youth at risk and in need in our community. The award will be presented at a luncheon on Friday, September 27 at 11:30 a.m. at the Fort Collins Country Club, 1920 Country Club Road. Tickets are $20 per person and can be purchased by calling Ray Martinez at (970) 690-3686.

“There are so many special individuals that have inspired us and made a significant contribution to our community, and this award will give us the opportunity to properly recognize them,” said Chairman of the Awards Committee, Ron Lautzenheiser. “Jeannie is someone who has dedicated her life to empowering those less fortunate with non-profit solutions that have made a difference in their lives.”

The recipient of the first Community Impact Award is Jeannie Craft. Craft is a retired Poudre School District (PSD) teacher. She spent one year at Bauder Elementary and 27 years at Irish Elementary. She currently devotes her time to Project Smile as the operations coordinator. Started at Irish Elementary 13 years ago, Project Smile provides PSD students living in poverty or without private insurance free dental and vision care. Craft is also involved with and passionate about Coats and Boots, a local nonprofit which outfits kids in PSD with new coats and boots. These two programs have provided care for more than 1,000 children throughout PSD. Additionally, she is a founding member of Book Trust, a nonprofit that gives students living in poverty the opportunity to purchase books of their own to encourage reading development. Collectively, Craft has given more than 10,000 hours of service over the last 13 years.

In addition to the award and being honored at the luncheon, a $1,000 donation will be made to a charity of Craft’s choice. 

Community Impact Award recipients are selected based on the following criteria:

• Must be nominated by a nonprofit in the greater Fort Collins area
• Nominee must reside in the greater Fort Collins area
• Nominee is nominated based on time and talent given to nonprofit – not through financial donations
• Nominations must be submitted on behalf of a nonprofit in the greater Fort Collins area

Additionally, characteristics such as integrity, reliability, and honesty are also desired and considered when evaluating nominees.

The Downtown Club of Fort Collins was founded in 2018, the Downtown Club of Fort Collins, a Northern Colorado men’s club, is committed to volunteerism and service. Their mission is to improve the quality of life for the youth at risk and in need in our community. They work together to serve those children through volunteer service and financial contributions. Their name is new; however, the group is not. The Downtown Club of Fort Collins emerged from a chapter of Sertoma International that was founded in Fort Collins on March 15, 1969. The original group was chartered as a men’s only club made up of 25 members. Over the past 48 years, the membership of the Club has included dedicated men from the Fort Collins area from all walks of life, industries and professions. Four former mayors of Fort Collins, a number of judges, several graduates of the military academies, educators, a district attorney and other leaders in the local community have been members. Many still are. For more information on the Downtown Club of Fort Collins, visit downtownclubfc.org.