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Estes Park’s tourism agency names new CEO

Visit Estes Park, the tourism and marketing organization for the city that marks the entrance into Rocky Mountain National Park, will have a new leader at the top of its helm.

The organization announced last week that Sarah Leonard will be the CEO of Visit Estes Park. She begins Dec. 1.

Leonard has decades of experience in the tourism industry. She started out her career in the field at Arizona State Parks. She then worked at Alaska Travel Industry Association for a decade as its president and CEO. She later became the president and CEO of Visit Longmont.

“Her strategic approach to sustainable tourism, community engagement, marketing, and destination stewardship made her the perfect candidate,” said Sean Jurgens, chair of the Visit Estes Park Board of Directors, in a press release. “She brings a proven record of strong leadership, community collaboration, and a deep passion for tourism advocacy.”

When Leonard begins, Visit Estes Park said her priority will be connecting with local businesses, residents, community partners and government leaders to hear about concerns and opportunities about tourism in Estes Park. She will also lead the Tourism Master Plan, the agency’s several-year vision plan.

“The opportunity to lead an organization at the heart of the community’s economic vitality and set within such an iconic setting near Rocky Mountain National Park is truly exciting,” Leonard said in the release. “I look forward to listening, learning, and working collaboratively to foster sustainable growth and a strong sense of place.”

An indoor slide park opens in Aurora

Slick City Action Park, an indoor park full of slides, has opened in Aurora, according to its website. It’ll host its grand opening on Wednesday.

The indoor slide park is located at the Southlands Shopping Center at 5999 S. Southlands Parkway. It’ll be the company’s second location in Colorado, though it will be the first owned by a franchise owner. The Slick City Action Park in Lakewood is corporate-owned.

Slick City Action Park was founded in 2021 by Bron Launsby and Gary Schmit and owns 48 patents on a variety of slides, according to the company. The indoor entertainment park is quickly growing and has more than 50 locations across the U.S. and in 18 states.

The Aurora park will feature the patented slides, as well as basketball and dodgeball courts. It will have several new attractions not available at the Lakewood location such as the Twin Turbo, Twister, Hyper Loop and Riptide slides. It will also have dedicated slides for children 5 years old or younger.

“Our family instantly loved Slick City, and we knew right away it was something special we wanted to bring to Aurora,” said the Aurora franchise owner Nick Meldrum in a press release. “This is more than an entertainment park, it’s a place where families can spend time together, where kids can be inspired and where parents can relax and enjoy themselves too.”

New Chick-fil-A opens in Firestone

A new Chick-fil-A opened in the north Denver suburb of Firestone last Thursday.

It’s the town’s first Chick-fil-A and created about 100 jobs, according to the company. The restaurant is located at 4405 Firestone Blvd.

The Firestone Chick-fil-A is owned by Lindsay Randall, a Colorado resident of 20 years.

“A fan of the Chick-fil-A brand for many years, as I looked for opportunities to serve locally and contribute more intentionally to the Northern Colorado community, I knew that a partnership with Chick-fil-A would be a tremendous catalyst for creating big impact,” Randall said in a press release.