Jane Hickcox and John Pryor Named 2007 Citizens of the Year

Thursday, August 30, 2007, The Telluride Watch

Due to their extraordinary community efforts over many years, John Pryor and Jane Hickcox have been selected as 2007 Citizen of the Year co-recipients.

The Telluride Foundation created its Citizen of the Year award in 2003 to honor San Miguel County residents who make remarkable and unselfish contributions to the region. To celebrate the award, the Telluride Foundation and MountainFilm co-hosted a “Best of Telluride” celebration to honor the Citizen of the Year recipients and show some of MountainFilm’s best 2007 films.

“Jane Hickcox and John Pryor have both engaged in enormous community-based efforts,” said Mark Dalton, co-chairman of the Board of the Telluride Foundation. “The two have been instrumental in government leadership, our schools and preservation efforts over many years, culminating in their work on the Valley Floor.”

Hickcox has devoted herself tirelessly to community efforts during her 32 years as a Telluride resident. In addition to serving on the boards of the Rocky Mountain Ark and the Telluride School District, she has been a dedicated land conservationist. As a volunteer at the San Miguel Conservation Foundation, she has been instrumental in promoting land preservation strategies and educational programming for the more than 6,000 acres of open space under the organization’s stewardship. Most recently, Hickcox has played a leading role in the community effort to acquire the Valley Floor, first as a member of the government-appointed advisory committee that encouraged the municipal bonding strategy, and that, together with the Town’s Open Space Commission, crafted the draft Conservation Easement that will govern future Valley Floor land uses. She was integral in forming the Valley Floor Preservation Partners to support the Valley Floor acquisition and preservation efforts of the Town of Telluride through private fundraising. As a boardmember and spokesperson of the VFPP, she played a key role in the group’s successful community fundraising campaign which secured the town’s Valley Floor acquisition funding with $24.5 million in private contributions.

Mayor Pryor, a 22-year resident and passionate conservationist led both the negotiated and political efforts for a compromise proposal for the Valley Floor with the landowner to provide alternatives to the voters on the town’s condemnation action. Once the compromise was rejected by the voters, Pryor led his council to fulfill the voter mandate of pursuing condemnation. His roles in the fundraising efforts were critical to the private fundraising success and ultimate funding of the jury’s award of $50 million. In addition to his numerous accomplishments as mayor, Pryor sits on the State Board of the Nature Conservancy, is the president of CAST (Colorado Association of Ski Towns), is a Telluride Foundation boardmember, was previously the Mayor of Ophir and chair of the Hanley Rink fundraising committee.  In the past, Pryor has owned a local main street business, served on the boards of the Telluride Education Foundation, Ah Haa and Telluride Jazz Celebration.

The Telluride Foundation’s Citizen of the Year award is given in recognition of someone who has unselfishly contributed to the community’s quality of life. Hickcox and Pryor will receive a commemorative plaque and a grant of $5,000 to be given in their name to the local nonprofit of their choice. Hickcox and Pryor share the honor with Bill Carstens, John Micetic, Lissa Margetts, and Terry Tice as Citizen of the Year in 2006, 2005, 2004, and 2003 respectively. Annually nominations are solicited from the community and a small ad hoc committee of Boardmembers of the Telluride Foundation.