CentrePointe Neighborhood Assoc.

Board Member Named "Aurora Woman of the Year"

Sep 20, 2005

By George Peck, Vice President, Aurora Chambers of Commerce

Aurora has over 300,000 residents, each year only one person is named as the ?“Woman of the Year?” by the City of Aurora Chamber of Commerce. For 2004, that person is Ellen Belef!

The Woman of the Year award is designed to honor a woman in our community whose contributions to the Chamber and the community make a difference in the success of Chamber programs and our quality of life. This year?’s ?“Chamber Woman of the Year?” joins a long list of distinguished honorees.

They can be recognized by such characteristics as perseverance, optimism, and an unfailing ability to bring others on board to participate in community events and activities.

The winner for 2004 in this category is just that kind of individual, one whose extensive civic participation is an inspiration to us all. A relative newcomer to Aurora, our awardee arrived in 1996 when her husband was transferred to Buckley Air Base. She became involved in her new municipality very quickly, becoming a community activist with a solid reputation for getting things done. If the city needed a volunteer, she could be depended upon to step up. She volunteered at the Plains Conservation Center, at KidSpree, Pumpkin Fest and the Fire and Ice Festival.

She actively supported the Jewell Wetlands Project, and donned her jeans and hip boots to help with the annual Highline Canal Cleanup. She was equally adept indoors as a sharp eyed and outspoken member of the Aurora Citizen?’s Advisory Budget Committee. In her neighborhood-CenterPointe-she served on the board of the Neighborhood Association, then widened her horizons as a member of the Executive Board and Treasurer of the Prairie Conservation Land Trust. Her accomplishments were many but perhaps her proudest moment came when her leadership of the Open Space Initiative for Arapahoe County led to passage of that initiative by a huge margin. She was rewarded by being named Chair of the Arapahoe County Open Space and Trails Board where she oversees the application of tax revenue to purchase open space in Aurora and Arapahoe County With the Aurora Chamber of Commerce she worked tirelessly to support passage of local bond issues on the successful Aurora 4 You campaign. Outdoorswoman, community activist, consummate campaigner, visionary, all describe our 2004 Woman of the Year, Ms. Ellen Belef.