Emily Crespin's Blog

Photo: Martina Rathgens (Flickr: size matters) [CC-BY-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

This morning on my way to work, I heard John Cougar Mellencamp’s “Born in a Small Town” on the radio. I cranked up the volume, rolled down the windows, and joined right in: “I was born in a small town, and I can breathe in a small town…”

As the words came out of my mouth, I felt a little hypocritical—I wasn’t born in a small town, I was born in Denver. (Incidentally, I am also able to breathe here in Denver, which is quite the feat.) What’s strange is, Denver feels like a small town. Each neighborhood has its own character, there’s intense loyalty to place, and it’s darn near impossible for me to go somewhere without running in to someone I know.

A few weeks ago, I had a really exciting experience: I got to spend two straight days talking with people who use words like predictive analysis, segmentation, module, clickthrough, ROI and SEO.

But the remarkable thing about this group of people is that they also used words like mission, engagement, community and change.

Over the last few years, I’ve learned to love technology because it holds such potential for those lacking traditional resources like money, time and staff. In March I was reminded of this potential at the Nonprofit Technology Conference in Washington, DC.

When you picture the Rocky Mountains, what do you see? I’m betting on gondolas and waist-deep powder, the Maroon Bells and the Grand Tetons, and quaint tourist attractions like narrow-gauge railways and natural hot springs pools.

With our best foot forward, those are indeed the images that represent the Rockies. And those images help drive the tourism industry that generates a huge chunk of mountain town revenue. But the real essence of the West lies in the gritty, unpolished towns that most people never visit.

For most Denverites, summer weekends involve a Subaru or Toyota, a tent and a two-hour drive to the mountains. Last weekend, I threw my tent in the “way back” of my friend’s Four Runner and headed to South Park, Colorado.

I trust that you’ve all seen an episode or two of South Park—the irreverent adult cartoon that gained infamy as a result of one of the Internet’s first viral videos. But did you know that South Park is indeed an actual region of the Colorado Rockies? Host of a handful of towns that boast a combined population of about 1,500, South Park is also home to several thousand cattle, gold medal trout fishing, fabulous camping and beautiful mountain vistas.

Last Saturday afternoon, we stashed our fishing rods, peeled off our waders and headed to McCall’s bar in Fairplay, Colorado. With a year-round population of 610, Fairplay is the booming metropolis of South Park. What could make us abandon the abundance of rainbow and brown trout just begging to be caught on the Middle Fork of the South Platte, you ask? The answer is simple: USA vs. Ghana.

I’m a pretty committed Denver girl. I’m a born-and-raised, bona fide Native (that word carries some weight around these parts, hence the capital “n”). In the last few weeks, I’ve been incredibly proud to call this city home, due to the many super cool things Denver has done recently.

Denver B-cycle launched on Earth Day, and is the first effort of its size to occur in the US. John Carney, Orton’s Director of Rocky Mountain Projects, and I volunteered for the launch, spending several hours standing around in uncharacteristically awful weather, encouraging fellow downtown commuters to try the new and remarkably high-tech bikes. Each bike has a built in GPS unit so the folks at B-cycle can track usage, from miles ridden to actual routes that riders take.

Being the new kid on the Heart & Soul block has been easy in a lot of ways. People are welcoming and open and seem genuinely interested in hearing from me. But in other ways, breaking in to this world has been nearly impossible. How does one gather information about a field that’s so unique that its players frequently don’t even know they’re in the game?

I find myself observing a lot, hesitant to contribute until I know more. I frenetically Google while on conference calls. I browse what I hope are relevant blogs and news articles, always looking for something to pique my interest. Because the Foundation is in the business of connecting the dots, there is no well-worn trail littered with crumbs for me to follow from one innovation to the next.