Moore, Michael C.
Mike Moore
1938 -
Mike is a Colorado native, a graduate of Yale University, and a veteran volunteer of the Peace Corps (Togo, French West Africa) where he met his wife, Ann. He returned to Denver in 1966 to become the Executive Director of Denver Opportunity, the War on Poverty Community Action Agency. He and Ann settled in Evergreen in 1966.
Mike and his wife co-founded three corporations: Snugli, Inc., which manufactured cloth baby carriers (inspired by the women in Africa) and other juvenile products; Weego, Inc, the manufacturer of Weego Soft Baby Carriers (based upon the original Snugli Baby carrier); and Air Lift Unlimited, Inc., which designs and produces custom-sewn cases for portable medical equipment and portable technology. Mike was also a founding director of The Boppy Company, a producer of juvenile products.
Mike was a co-founder of the Jefferson County Open Living School, an alternative public school open to anyone within the county who wished to attend. The school was housed in Evergreen until 1989. He served as a member and officer of the Policy Advisory Committee from 1968 to 1974.
His engagement with community
Mike’s sustained participation in the arts in Evergreen spanned several decades, starting in about 1974 with being a member of the Evergreen Chorale, playing a significant leadership role on several occasions over the years as president and/or a board member.
He was active on stage not only in Evergreen but also within the Denver Civic Theatre, Littleton Town Hall Arts Center, and the Loveland Music Guild. On many occasions, he had leading roles with his bass voice, portraying characters such as King Arthur in Camelot, Daddy Warbucks in Annie, Mikado in Mikado, and Emile DeBeque in South Pacific.
His love of entertaining included participation locally in the Moore Family Singers (with his wife as well as their three daughters) with a repertoire that included barbershop, jazz, spirituals, yodeling and folk songs. Baroque Folke, another family entourage, entertained with classical, opera, light opera, and Christmas music.
Individually, he participated in the Evergreen Chorale Camarata and Pizazz (Broadway revues, jazz, gospel, yodeling and related repertoire). At times he appeared with the Colorado Symphony Chorus, the Aspen Music Festival Chorus as well in the Boulder Bach Festival.
In 1976 he was a founding member of the Evergreen Center for the Arts (now Center for the Arts Evergreen) and served in various leadership positions on the board over the next 30 years until 2006.
He was a founding member and Chairman of Plan Jeffco in 1972, which promoted the referendum creating the Jefferson County Open Space program (JCOS). He was appointed a founding member of Jefferson County Open Space Advisory Committee (OSAC) in 1973, serving on the OSAC for six years and as Chairman for two years. JCOS was formed to preserve open space lands, natural and cultural resources, and to provide for quality park and recreational experiences throughout the county.
Acquisition of properties through JCOS is funded by a one-half of one percent sales tax. Some of the properties in the Evergreen area acquired under that program include: Elk Meadow Open Space (including a portion of Noble Meadow), Alderfer Three Sisters Park, and Hiwan Homestead Museum. As of 2011, JCOS had acquired more than 51,000 acres with approximately 210 miles of trails.
In 1988 he helped to found and served as the co-chair of Culture Jeffco, which promoted the formation of the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). In 1989 he was appointed to become a founding chairman of the Jefferson County Cultural Council, Jeffco’s governing board of the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District. The board is responsible for distribution of Tier III funds, Jefferson County’s share of the $38 million collected annually (as of 2011) for the purpose of art, music, theater, dance, zoology, botany, natural history, or cultural history.
Funding for SCFD comes from a 1/10 of a cent sales ta x throughout the seven counties that comprise Metro Denver – Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson -- averaging $14.92 per resident each year. More than 300 organizations benefit, including locally: Evergreen Chorale, Evergreen Children’s Chorale, Evergreen Jazz Festival, Evergreen Players, Center for the Arts Evergreen, Evergreen Chamber Orchestra,. Evergreen Music Festival, Evergreen Handbell Choir, and Evergreen Naturalists Audubon Society.
Working with the Evergreen Chorale to create Center/Stage from the Evergreen Conference Meeting House, Mike played an important role in suggesting and securing a grant from his Rotary club to pay for ¼ the cost of the new lobby, which was then named the Rotary Gallery at Center/Stage. He has been an active member of the Rotary Club of Evergreen and has served as a director.
Discussing renovations to the 100-year-old building brought back memories…. The original light board, which now serves as a piece of sculpture on the patio at Center/Stage, was once a serious hazard in the men’s dressing room. Anyone who passed by feared electrocution, according to Mike. He recalls when theatre-goers wore heavy winter clothing to keep warm during the performances in the 1970s before the installation of a furnace. Reflecting on the more severe winters years ago, he commented that inevitably at least one performance each spring and fall would be cancelled because of a blizzard. Likewise, he reminisced about the early days of the theatre before restrooms and proper seating; folding chairs were set up on plywood risers. “Getting heat and bathrooms were huge!”
Politically, Mike was a director of SOS (Save Open Space), the successful campaign to obtain voter authorization for bonded indebtedness for the JCOS program in 1998. He has served as a precinct committeeman for the Democratic Party numerous times. He also ran unsuccessfully for the State Legislature in 1970.
In 2010 he was on the founding board of Evergreen Alliance for Sustainability +You (EAS+Y).
The Jefferson County League of Women Voters recognized Mike for his public service in 1973. In 2005 Mike received the Rex Morgan Citizen Volunteer Award from the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District. Also in 2005, he was named Arts Person of the Year by the Evergreen Arts Council.
Mike serves on the regional board for World Denver, which manages the Denver World Affairs Council and the International Visitor Leadership program (IVLP) sponsored by the Department of State. IVLP hosts about 900 international guests each year, pairing up host families to entertain visitors in their homes. The Moores have hosted numerous guests over the years.
Their "net zero" home
Mike and his wife built a “net zero energy” home on Kerr Gulch at Evergreen Parkway. When they moved into their energy-efficient, sustainable home in 2009, it had the fourth lowest Home Energy Rating System (HERS) rating in the country at a -7. In 2010. Their home was featured in the annual tour of solar energy homes by the Colorado Renewable Energy Society.
Source: Mike Moore
