Meet Mieke Scripps

When Mieke Scripps left New York City with her husband and two young children, she thought she was headed west to Denver where her husband was offered work. They lived there for a time, but when the lease on their home was up, Mieke and her family lived temporarily with relatives – Evergreen fixtures Barb and Tom Scripps, an aunt and uncle – and decided to stay in Evergreen.

Seeing as how Mieke is from the rural Midwest, this move from city to country makes a lot of sense. She says Evergreen “feels like where (she) grew up,” which is Kaukauna, Wisconsin. She loves that Evergreen is “suburban close without the suburban feel” and that it has “its own stores and its own community.” There seem to be many people who transplant themselves here, likely for these same reasons.

Mieke is now an instructor at Studio B (B for Bliss) where our community is offered a wide variety of yoga, movement, and fitness classes. She was last employed at Juilliard School, a premiere performance school in New York City, where she was one of three physical therapists who were contracted to provide services for dancers, musicians, singers and drama students. She has also treated in the clinic and backstage at New York City Ballet, Miami City Ballet and on Broadway.

For the four months she has officially lived in Evergreen, Mieke has been maintaining her private practice as physical therapist. She is now moving out into the larger community by taking up instructing at Studio B.

She says Evergreen is more friendly than Denver is but is surprised at how most people who are from here are in their 50s and 60s. She wants to play a part in making sure sure that people of her generation become invested in Evergreen in the ways the people of her aunt and uncle’s generation have. She has faith that this can happen as “You have to want to live here," she says. "No one gets transferred to Evergreen.”

Mieke would like to see fundraising opportunities that are marketed more toward families, where the event provides some kind of childcare. Or events with a social event to follow, where with the purchase of a ticket, you can get a few free drinks afterward. Basically, this is to say, we may have a need for more of a call to “young donors,” to get people in their 20s and 30s more involved as a whole so that they are in the company of others with similar budgets. Because she is the mother of a two-year-old and a four-year-old, she can’t quite see to it by herself, but perhaps in due time these ideas will catch on and contribute to an integrated and thriving community.

With this said, Mieke is certainly impressed by and involved with all that goes on here. Because her aunt and uncle have been active members in the community for decades, she was likely given a most comprehensive introduction. In this way, she feels easily acclimated. With little ones to keep her young, this infusion of youthful spirit will likely only gain speed.