The Boulder Chamber is delighted to announce this year’s honorees for the annual Celebration of Leadership awards, to be held on March 9, 2021.

The Celebration of Leadership is one of the Boulder Chamber’s longest-standing and most-beloved annual events, where business leaders, companies and organizations that have demonstrated a significant positive impact on the Boulder-area economy and community are recognized for their accomplishments and contributions.

The 2021 honorees are:

• Virginia Patterson Business of the Year: Jill and Eric Skokan - Black Cat
• Innovative Business of the Year: David Cohen and David Brown - Techstars
• Rising Star Award: Katrina Miller - Blackat Productions
• Startup of the Year: Aaron Clark - Equity Solutions
• Franny Reich Lifetime Achievement Award: Peter Salas - Latino Chamber of Commerce of Boulder County
• Special COVID-19 Impact Awards:
  • Boulder County Public Health Response Network (Avista Adventist Hospital, Boulder Community Health, Boulder Community Health Foundation, Boulder County Public Health, Longmont United Hospital, SCL Health, UC Health)
  • The Boulder Chamber’s partners in the Boulder Business Response and Recovery Alliance (Boulder Convention and Visitors Bureau, Boulder County, Boulder Small Business Development Center, Community Foundation Boulder County, City of Boulder, Downtown Boulder Partnership, and the Latino Chamber of Commerce of Boulder County)

The 2021 honorees reflect a breadth of contributions to the Boulder economy and community, from critical startup support and creative services to building a more supportive environment for people of color in Boulder.

“I am deeply honored and humbled to be considered for this award,” said Peter Salas, a longtime community leader who works to advance equity and economic opportunity, and most recently served as chairman of the Latino Chamber of Commerce of Boulder County. “There are so many in Boulder who work to support local businesses, equity, and building the economy for everyone in the community. To be selected for this award is a complete surprise and honor.”

This year’s celebration includes special Impact Awards to recognize the coordinated COVID-19 response on both the public health and business support fronts in Boulder County. The Boulder County Public Health Network will be recognized, along with the Boulder Chamber’s partners in the Boulder Business Response and Recovery Alliance (BBRRA). Notably, both the Boulder Chamber and Downtown Boulder Partnership will recognize their partners in the BBRRA at their annual awards ceremonies this year in acknowledgment of the spirit of collaboration that characterized the coalition’s work throughout 2020.

“If there is a theme to this year’s Celebration of Leadership, it’s ‘Innovation and Collaboration,’” said John Tayer, President and CEO of the Boulder Chamber. “Every one of our award winners had to innovate to overcome challenges in building their organization’s success, particularly in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. And we know that Boulder’s business environment is uniquely collaborative, a quality that each of our honorees embodies in their work and civic contributions.”

The Boulder Chamber’s annual Celebration of Leadership awards will honor these leaders and organizations on March 9, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. via livestream. For more information and to sign up to join the livestream, please visit boulderchamber.com/celebration2021.