Fuchs, Diane
Diane Fuchs
Raised in Greeley. Moved to Evergreen in 1977 with her husband, who is a fourth-generation Coloradan, something she can almost claim to be (her mother, a third-generation Coloradan, followed her father to Texas during the war, giving birth to Diane there).
While raising her children, she served on PTA boards at Marshdale Elementary and served as Girl Scout leader and Cub Scout leader in the 1980s. It was during that period that she started the Science Fair at Marshdale, which evolved into the Mountain Area Science Fair in 1984 with the help of the Evergreen Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW).
The Mountain Area Science Fair continues 26 years later, stimulating young minds in a competitive way. Inspired by her own experience in Junior High School, the program she started was originally for grades 1-6, "designed as a way for elementary students to learn scientific methodology and to appreciate science," Diane explained.
Diane was active with the Evergreen Branch of AAUW, which formed in 1976, until its demise in 2001. The Evergreen Branch built its membership with young mothers looking for more stimulation in their lives beyond raising children. The organization focused on equity for and protection of women and girls. Even after the Evergreen Branch ended its notable run, Diane continued in an active way with the AAUW, serving on the State board for many years and as the State President for a term, as well as a member of the National Board of AAUW.
Diane served on the board of directors for Bootstraps for seven years when it was known as Evergreen Scholarship Bootstraps, an organization providing scholarships and interest-free student loans to graduates of local high schools so they might continue their education.
Her teaching background (15 years in California, some substituting in Colorado) in social studies at the secondary level and as a counselor made her a natural for working with children when she retired from her second career as a certified financial planner and had time for volunteering. Teaching local children and promoting the history of the area combined to make a good match for a fulfilling volunteer opportunity at the Hiwan Homestead Museum.
In 2002 she began volunteering at the museum through membership in the Jefferson County Historical Society (JCHS). By 2004 she'd become a member of the board of directors of JCHS and began serving as the president in 2006, an office she continues to hold. With 106 members in 2011, about 50 of whom are active, JCHS provides all the volunteers for the museum and owns all the collections within the museum. JCHS also owns the historic Medlan School on South Turkey Creek Road where Diane works with Joann Dunn to provide the one-room schoolhouse experience to about 60 youngsters each summer.
