ACE (Achieving Community Excellence)

G. Town Promise

As a part of the ACE initiative, the G. Town Promise will provide youth, residing in Greeley and Evans, who attend Greeley-Evans School District 6, charter and private schools, with the additional help they need to become successful, productive adults and to provide a future workforce for Greeley and Evans.

The intent of the G. Town Promise is to empower and align existing programs to build and support deliberate structures that help students with their academic decisions which then lead to post-secondary options. Those structures include career planning support, leadership development, accessibility to out-of-school time activities, and funding for post-secondary education.

The G. Town Promise impacts the lives of over 20,000 students in the Greeley Evans area every year. In the ACE spirit of relational excellence, humility, and love, we can accomplish unexpected outcomes together with unity and alignment. You can give money, volunteer time, or share your thoughts to fuel this meaningful community effort.

Greeley and Weld County Community Foundation Site

The ACE Young Leadership Summit is a one-day event designed to provide a dynamic opportunity for young high school leaders (ages 15 – 23) to build better communities by creating an experience for young leaders to discover and align their purpose in life with their personal passions, skills, abilities, and talents. At the ACE Young Leadership Summit, young leaders will connect with inspirational speakers from a variety of backgrounds, including education, business, the arts and athletics. These role models will provide highly engaging, research-based content designed to help attendees understand who they are, with a focus on applying this knowledge and self-reflection to impact future career and life decisions. 

The ACE Young Leadership Summit will focus on self-discovery and personal reflection and encourage young leaders to identify the aspects of how attitude and effort eventually can guide them on life’s path. Young leaders will learn the tools to enhance their performance and progress in life, helping them understand how they learn and how they can positively affect others around them. Student groups attending  will apply these timeless leadership principals to an action plan that builds on key components for their group to ultimately achieve excellence for their own community. Young Leadership Summit teams will identify group and community projects that they believe support the foundation of ACE and provide opportunities for the group to actively engage in positive community projects.

Scholarship programs are available providing financial assistance to make a post-secondary degree a reality for many who could never have dreamed of achieving that goal.

• Aims College Promise
• Aims Application
• Community Foundation of Greeley and Weld County
• Weld County Bright Futures

The High Plains Library District developed a college scholarship clearinghouse database for local students looking for help to fund post-secondary opportunities. The College Prep Libguide link, otherwise known as, “The College Prep Resource Center,” is designed to help those seeking post-secondary education find information on passing the GED test, finding a career, choosing the right school, preparing for standardized college admission tests, and locating scholarships and other educational funding.

College Prep Libguide

Local Scholarship Directory

ACE Athletics is an intentional Coaching the Coaches initiative that better equips and aligns current and future coaches at all phases of athletic competition from Recreation, Middle School, High School, Club, and University levels, to focus on the values of virtuous competition to benefit Greeley’s student athletes.

ACE Athletics for Athletes

ACE Athletics exists to provide an opportunity for youth and young adults to learn the value of relationships and the power of belonging to a team; where trust, integrity, perseverance, and courage create the greatest possibility for the pursuit of excellence and enjoyment.

ACE Athletics for Parents

ACE Athletics exists to guide parents/guardians in support of their children through participating in extra-curricular activities. With positive parent support, participation will allow children to develop the necessary physical, social, and emotional skills that will allow them to experience success through the entire process, rather than simply measuring the end result.

Bob was born and raised in Greeley, Co and has spent 29 years working in public education as a teacher and as an administrator. Bob is currently the Coordinator of School Leadership for Greeley/Evans School District 6. His current responsibilities include District Athletics Director, ACE Program Liaison with City of Greeley, District Ombudsman, MTSS Committee Liaison, District Open-Enrollment, Attendance/Truancy Management, Home School Liaison, Student Discipline, District-wide support of building administrators, Field Trip Manager, and EARSS (Expulsion and At-Risk Student Services) Grant Administrator.

Mike Bond has lived in Greeley since 1971 and is currently the Northern Colorado Market President for Guaranty Bank and Trust. Community activities include serving on the Boards of the Greeley Chamber of Commerce and University Schools Foundation. He also chairs the Community Council on Education and is a proud member of Greeley’s first “Zoo Crew,” a group of citizens who participated in a leadership experience in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He has been married to Judy, his high school sweetheart and Greeley native, for 29 years. They have two grown sons, Zach and Josh, who are both graduates of the University of Northern Colorado Monfort College of Business.

Sandi Elder is a Greeley native, serving her second four-year term on the Greeley City Council. Married 33 years, she has two grown children, who are also service orientated, and two grandsons. Sandi serves on the Greeley City Employee Health Board, Greeley-Weld Airport Authority, Weld County Prevention Partners, Jobs of Hope Board of Directors, Latino Advisory to Greeley's Police Chief, LiLi Initiative Commission, and is a lifelong member Our Lady of Peace Parish. She currently works as a medical student doctor coordinator at North Colorado Family Medicine and Rocky Vista University.

Dan Dennie is the Director of Business Development for Banner Health, Northern Colorado Area, and has served in growing leadership positions within Banner Health since 1998. Dan has over 35 years of healthcare leadership experience. He is retired from the United States Air Force after 21 years of active duty with assignments at the Defense Language Institute, Presidio of Monterey, California, the Pentagon, the United States Air Force Academy, and Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, among others. Dan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Care Administration from Regis University. He serves on non-profit boards and committees and serves as the Chairman of Weld Recovers, the Weld County Community Recovery Committee which responded to the unmet needs following the September 2013 floods. Originally from LaGrange, Kentucky, Dan has been married to Cynthia (Vanek) of Kutztown, Pennsylvania for 35 years and has two children living in northern Colorado. Dan and Cyndi enjoy three happy and healthy grandchildren, living in Wellington.

Kathi VanSoest is a long-time community member living in Greeley for 40 years. She graduated from the University of Northern Colorado, B.A., M.A. Kathi has worked at the Greeley-Evans School District for 11 years and currently has the position of Executive Director of Student Support Services. Her professional mission is to support the children of the community through the development of an excellent education system based on foundational and advanced reading and mathematics attainment. Kathi is married to Ralph and has 3 married children, Eric and Heidi VanSoest (from Greeley), Lindsay and Chris Gentle (from Windsor), and Mandi and Howard Wright (from San Jose, CA). She also has 6 grandchildren who she adores: Maddi, Zach, Peyton, Avery, Eden, and Cooper.

Reneé Holloway moved to Greeley in 1976 to attend the University of Northern Colorado and lived in Greeley for 34 years. She worked in accounting for a small business from 1978 through 2007 and currently manages H & H Family Foundation. Over the years, Reneé has volunteered at Weld County School District 6, Greeley Philharmonic Guild, NCMC Foundation President’s Circle, Cattle Baron’s Ball, Scroll & Fan, and Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church. She served on the Board of Greeley Central High School Athletic Foundation and the ACE Community Foundation. Reneé is married to Ed Holloway and has four children that were born and raised in Greeley, attended District 6 schools, and earned college degrees.

Steve LaForest is the Branch Manager for First California Mortgage in Greeley and has been in the mortgage business for 37 years. He serves on the Greeley Chamber of Commerce Board, the Success Foundation Board, Co-Chair of the Community Council on Education, the Northern Colorado Mortgage Lenders Advisory Committee, the University of Northern Colorado’s Blue and Gold Club Athletics Committee, and the Finance Council at Saint Mary’s Church. Steve is happily married to his wife Megan, and they have three grown daughters, Courtney, Sarah, and Hannah, as well as two son-in-law’s, Travis Kellner and Drew Costinett, and two grandchildren, Luke and Noah.

Steve Hall was born and raised in Fort Morgan, CO and has lived in Greeley since 2006. Steve spent 35 years in management, product development and business ownership within the Oil & Gas industry and Snap-On Tools Corporation including finishing his formal education at Carthage College of Racine Wisconsin. In 2013 Steve was elected to the Greeley-Evans District 6 School Board and currently serves as Vice President and board member. Community activities include serving previously on the Boards of The Resource Center and Victory Christian Fellowship Church in addition to being another proud member of Greeley’s original “Zoo Crew”. Prior to life in Greeley, he served on numerous boards focused on youth activities and athletics in Broomfield CO, Farmington NM and Phoenix AZ. Steve and his wife Becky have been married for 24 years and have 4 children and 8 precious grandbabies ranging in age from 1 to 9 years of age.