Welcome to the Golden West Pioneer Council
 |
This is the homepage for the Golden West Council, Colorado Chapter, Qwest Pioneers.
The Golden West Council is one of six pioneer clubs or councils in Colorado. Geographically, the Golden West Council covers the Western Slope of Colorado. The Western Slope is everything North to South on the Western side of the Rocky Mountains. This includes such cities in the North and to the East from the Utah border as Craig and Steamboat Springs. From the Utah border and to the South it covers such cities as Durango and Cortez. In the middle of the state from the Utah border it covers such cities as Grand Junction, Delta, Montrose, Gunnison and Crested Butte. The Golden West Council holds its board meetings in Grand Junction.
Contact Information
Qwest Pioneers-- Golden West Council
800 Main St.
Grand Junction, CO 81501
Telephone: 970-244-4982
Liz Pierce - Council President
Telephone: 970-434-4439
Liz Pierce is the current Golden West Council President, and she will serve us through 2010.
Please welcome Liz to the Golden West Council Presidency.
A MESSAGE FROM THE "OLD" NEW PRESIDENT
Oh so many miles away and so many years ago, (1970), I started my telephone company career as an operator with New York Telephone Company. My very 1st call on the switchboard was an emergency 911 call that I did incorrectly - but imagine that - they let me stay.
After getting married in 1972, I moved to Arkansas where I was hired at Southwestern Bell, again as an operator. You can imagine how strong my New York accent was but my new peers were not interested in my accent, where I came from, or even my name! They just wanted to know how much time I had. Everyone was relieved that I was a new hire and would not bridge my time for 5 years. I hated that job. I got to do what most people always wanted to do - I threw my headset at the chief operator and told her where she could put that job!!! But imagine that - she let me stay!!!
After visiting Colorado, I transferred to Grand Junction in July 1978, again as an operator. I stayed in "trouble" most of the time for talking and laughing and moving from chair to chair. I got myself transferred real fast (October 1978) to the business office - exactly what I had been wanting since I arrived!! Ha ray! It's been a blast ever since.
Ruby was always in the Pioneer Store at 800 Main making popcorn and selling candy. She was the "pioneer club" for me. Ruby introduced me to the organization however the Pioneers still had a stipulation about how many years of service you had to have to be a Pioneer. Sometime around 1985, after we moved the office to the Horizon location, we started the future pioneers with the guidance from the Pioneers. We had a great club, did lots of projects and had allot of participating members.
Somewhere along the way, the pioneers and the futures joined forces and imagine that - the pioneers let me stay! I've enjoyed the ride so far. So here I am today as your new president - imagine that! The big question is - will you let me stay?????
Liz Pierce
Please welcome Liz, and let's give her lots of support!!
 |
| Golden West Council 2010 President - Liz Pierce |
What's New ??
Financial Rewards
Each year our council gives 2 high school seniors a finacial reward of $500.00 each to help them in their in-state college expenses. The $500. reward is divided into 2 $250.00 amounts for distribution during each semester. Now is the time to apply for this reward. Contact Jim Wight for an application. Jim can be reached either by telephone or email. His telephone number is 970-243-0320 or by email at jimo831@msn.com. Applications for the financial rewards program are due no later than March 31, 2010.
And this years winner is -- Mitch Sneddon. Mitch is a senior at Fruita Monument High School, Fruita, Colorado and will attend Colorado State University in the fall of this year.
TelecomPioneers Scholarship Program
The TelecomPioneer Organization has established a yearly scholarship program for $1000.00 that is given to a high school senior who is related to a pioneer member. Scholarships are given to students who are involved in community service, school and leadership activities, and academic achievement. Go to the TelecomPioneer website at http://www.telecompioneers.org to download an application. Do a search for scholarships to find the download link.
Applications must be mailed and received no later than February 28, 2010.
Cards for Veterans
Qwest Pioneers is sponsoring a "Cards for Veterans" project. Pioneer members are requested to purchase or make a card to support the project. Mail, or hand carry cards by each board meeting (second Monday of each month) --
Golden West Pioneers
800 Main St.
Grand Junction, CO 81501
or
give to any Golden West Council board member. Cards will be assembled and delivered on or near each board meeting to the Veterans Hospital on North Ave. in Grand Junction. Each month will carry a different theme.
Newsletter
A change to our newsletter is going to take place. We have distributed the newsletter in the past on a quarterly basis. For 2010, we will continue to distribute it as before, but it will be much shorter due to the retirement of our newletter editor. Therefore, new information will periodically appear here throughout the year as needed.
Toiletries
Our Telephone Pioneer Council has found several agencies in our area that are in need of toiletry items such as hand soap, sanatizer, shampoo, chapstick, toothpaste, etc. Please donate any toiletry item/s by giving to any Golden West Pioneer Board member. Board members will assemble them into packages and deliver them to the appropriate organization.
"I Like Me" Newspaper Article Written by Sharon Steele
The Palisade Tribune Newspaper published an article on April 29, 2010 regarding the distribution of the "I Like Me" books given to kidergarten students at Taylor Elementary School in Palisade, CO. The books were presented to the children on April 8, 2010. Sharon Steele wrote the article. Sharon is a member of the Palisade Altrusa organization. Palisade Altrusa provides the funding for the I Like Me books, and the Qwest Pioneers provide the ordering. Both groups work together to make the presentation of the books to the children. This is the 13th year that the two organizations have worked together on this project. Some of the kids have graduated from high school and still have their books. The highlight of the presentation is when the children say a big thank you by singing a song titled "I Am Very Special." Rebecca Watson has been the primary kindergarten teacher who has worked with both Altrusa and Qwest Pioneers in making the annual presentation to take place. Rebecca is retiring this year, and she will be dearly missed.
More Information
You should visit Qwest Pioneers to pickup on the latest Qwest Pioneers Regional and Chapter pioneering information.
If you would like more information about Golden West Council Pioneering, you can send Ron an email.
If you have any ideas of what to include on this site, please click here and write me a message. This is the email address for Ron Shelp, webmaster for Golden West Council.
The following table provides links to other Golden West Pioneer Council pages. You can click on the appropriate link to obtain additional information
Links to Additional Information
Action To Get Information For Click On Board of Directors Click On New Members Click On Thanks for Giving Click On Luncheons Click On Social Events Click On Gunnison Museum
