COLORADO BUSINESS AWARDS.

California's Silicon Valley may seem an odd place for the owner of a Colorado-based whitewater rafting company to search for clues on running his business. But that's where Joe Greiner of Wilderness Aware Rafting in Buena Vista found himself last year, touring the corporate campuses of technology

"Being a small business, I'm at the user end of technology -- I buy software off the shelf," said Greiner, who joined six other Colorado companies on a tour of Silicon Valley last year as part of ColoradoBiz's annual Company of the Year awards. "But it was really helpful to see where the big picture is going, and that the Internet will become an increasingly large part of businesses like mine. It convinced me not to get locked into my own little world."

The seven recipients of the 14th annual Company of the Year awards -- sponsored by ColoradoBiz, UMB Bank and accounting firm Deloitte & Touche -- will embark on a similar tour of Silicon Valley in January.

"The whole idea is for these companies to take a peek at the future of technology," said UMB Bank Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer Jim Matteoni, who is coordinating the trip. "Even for smaller companies, the message taken away last year was that businesses really must change to adapt to the evolution of technology."

This year's winners were chosen from 60 nominees in seven categories (no winner was selected in the communications/media services category). Partners from Deloitte & Touche chose three finalists in each category, selecting each based on financial performance and contributions to the community. Companies also were judged on a chosen area of emphasis: product innovation, operational efficiency research & development, quality of management or marketing innovation.

"It was difficult to narrow the field in a lot of categories," said Jim Vaughn, managing partner at Deloitte & Touche. "Colorado's economy has been so strong, and we're fortunate to have a lot of outstanding companies."

Competition in some sectors has become fierce: E-business consultant Interlink was chosen from among 15 services firms. A dozen companies vied for the top spot in the burgeoning Internet/e-commerce category.

"It's a big honor to be recognized for our hard work, especially considering the tough competition among technology companies in the state," said Evoke Communications President and CEO Paul Berberian, whose company was chosen as the Internet/e-commerce company of the year.

The Colorado Council on Education's Enterprising Teacher of the Year, the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry's Business Leader of the Year and ColoradoBiz's Top Company of the Year Awards, all part of the Colorado Business Awards, were distributed at the Colorado Business Awards luncheon early this month. All these award winners are profiled on the following pages.

WILL NICHOLSON JR.

CACI Business Leader of the Year

Longtime Denver-area businessman Will Nicholson Jr. was caught off guard when he heard he had been awarded the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry's Business Leader of the Year award. "It's surprising at this stage of my career, but I'm honored and flattered," Nicholson said.

Yet the award doesn't come as a surprise to those who know Nicholson, including hundreds of business leaders from around Colorado and the United States. At 71, Nicholson is as active in the business community as most executives half his age.

Last summer, he completed a one-year term as Chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which represents 3 million businesses and 3,000 state and local chambers nationwide. "It was a fascinating experience, talking to various businesspeople around the country about what's going on in their areas," he said. His chief aim during his term was to lessen the regulatory "intrusion of Washington, D.C."

From 1985 to 1995, Nicholson was chairman and chief executive officer of Colorado National Bankshares -- a high-profile position that allowed him to forge business relationships with executives throughout Denver and Colorado. When Colorado National was acquired by First Bank System inc. (now U.S. Bancorp) in 1995, Nicholson became the chairman of Rocky Mountain BankCard Systems Inc., a credit-card issuer and wholly owned subsidiary of US Bancorp. He remains chairman today.

Although technically retired, Nicholson still sits on the boards of several nonprofit organizations: the National Western Stock Show, Health One, the Colorado Golf Association, the Downtown Denver Partnership and the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Denver. He was a founding member of the Boys and Girls Club.

TOP COMPANY

FIRST DATA CORP., ENGLEWOOD

Financial Services, Insurance and Real Estate

Emphasis: Product Innovation

The list of companies best positioned to prosper from the global explosion of e-commerce includes a handful of high-tech firms. But what about a financial services firm that traces its roots back 150 years?

First Data Corp. handles $2 trillion worth of transactions annually. Now the company, along with its Englewood-based subsidiary Western Union, is once again remaking itself -- this time facilitating the global transition to a cashless economy.

Western Union is leading the way with a string of innovative new products to make electronic transactions faster and easier. A new service called PayCash will let customers make Internet purchases in cash: Western Union forwards money to the merchant at the point of purchase. First Data President and CEO Charles Fote said future product innovations will allow merchants and customers to make and track transactions via mobile applications.

First Data generates more than half its $5.5 billion annual revenue from products that did not exist 10 years ago, Fote said.

"That will be true 10 years from now," he said. "It's a tribute to our employees.

"They're innovators."

TOP COMPANY

COORS BREWING CO., GOLDEN

Manufacturing

Emphasis: Quality of Management

If there is one business that is synonymous with Colorado, it's Coors Brewing Co.

The 127-year-old brewer might be as strong as ever. Coors has achieved heady financial results this year -- setting company records for both revenue and net income during the third quarter, with net income surging 58 percent.

But it was a different story in the early 1990s, when Coors -- like most U.S. breweries -- was mired in a slump. Volume was stagnant and revenue growth was flat. "The industry had been consolidating dramatically and our two biggest competitors kept getting bigger," Coors Chairman Peter Coors said.

Two moves helped Coors weather the storm. In 1992, the company spun off its ceramics, packaging and aluminum units, allowing Coors to focus on its brewing operations. Then in 1993, Coors hired W. Leo Kiely III as president and CEO -- the first-ever non-family member to assume those positions. Kiely brought to Coors a hands-on management style, financial discipline and strong cultural attributes, Peter Coors said. All helped Coors improve its performance.

Coors now is noted for the diversity of its workforce, which totals 5,800. The company has received several national diversity awards, including one from Fortune magazine honoring the top 50 American companies for minorities.

TOP COMPANY

OPTIKA INC., COLORADO SPRINGS

Software

Emphasis: Product Innovation

Volumes have been written about how the Internet will revolutionize business-to-business transactions, saving companies billions of dollars. But what happens when something goes wrong?

Software developer Optika Inc. of Colorado Springs says it has the answer. In September, the company launched its newest suite of software applications: Acorde Resolve. The product -- now considered the 12-year-old company's flag ship offering -- is said to be the first software solution on the market that allows trading partners to discuss and resolve transaction discrepancies online.

It's estimated that at least 10 percent of B2B transactions hit snags such as shipment shortages or cost discrepancies, and fixing mishaps is costly and time-consuming. Optika's Acorde Resolve creates an online hub for trading partners to view transaction documents such as contracts or buying agreements, to hash over discrepancies and to resolve problems in real time.

"Companies just recently came to the realization that they better start paying attention to the whole issue of resolution, because it's costing them a ton of money," said Optika President and CEO Mark Ruport.

Optika employees are active in the community, with many serving as mentors for children at local elementary schools. The company also sponsors trail maintenance at Garden of the Gods.

TOP COMPANY

PHIL LONG DEALERSHIPS,

COLORADO SPRINGS

Retail, Wholesale and Distribution

Emphasis: Community Service

Phil Long, founder of Colorado Springs-based Phil Long Dealerships, wanted to make community service a cornerstone of his company when he created the business in 1945. His vision is a reality today at all his dealerships statewide.

Since the Phil Long Community Fund was founded in 1990, the company has donated more than $600,000 to more than 175 children's organizations and other non-profit groups. In recent years, the company has teamed with the Denver Broncos to build five fantasy" playgrounds -- two in Colorado Springs and three in Denver.

The Phil Long Run to Help Housing, which was created 11 years ago, has raised more than $100,000 to build affordable housing in Colorado Springs. "Our community service philosophy started with the company's roots," said Jay Camino, company president.

When Camino Joined Phil Long in 1975, the company was a single-point dealership with 150 employees. Today, Phil Long Dealerships employs nearly 1,400 people across 13 franchises. It has focused on customer service through an extensive customer-loyalty program, which offers consumers a checkbook for $1,000 in service-and-repair discounts.

In 1999, Phil Long sold nearly 32,000 vehicles, taking in nearly $640 million in revenue and boosting net income by 73 percent. Automotive News ranked Phil Long the 28th largest auto dealer in the U.S. for 1999.

TOP COMPANY

INTERLINK GROUP INC., ENGLEWOOD

Services

Emphasis: Operational Efficiency

Many firms in the ever-crowding field of e-business consulting are still trying to turn their first profit. Not Interlink Group Inc., which has been profitable ever since founder Mary Pat Link started the company from her basement in 1989.

Interlink has successfully morphed from a computer-services firm into a provider of end-to-end e-business solutions. The transition began in early 1998, when the company outlined a broad overhaul of its service offerings. The result: a tightened focus on software and network solutions that enable clients to conduct e-business.

An important outgrowth of Interlink's reorganization was the creation of software development centers, which provide a creative atmosphere for Interlink to develop custom software solutions for clients. Interlink's management credits the centers as a primary factor in the company's ability to attract and retain quality employees. Its staff has doubled since the end of 1998, to more than 300 employees.

Interlink's revenues jumped 70 percent in 1999 and are projected to climb 70 percent again this year, to $42 million. The company has amassed a client base that includes Motorola, Qwest, Janus and Coors Brewing Co.

Link, who now serves as chair of Interlink's board of directors, also has placed strong emphasis on giving back to the community. Interlink has made more than $1 million in charitable contributions to local organizations since its beginning.

TOP COMPANY

EVOKE COMMUNICATIONS,

LOUISVILLE

Internet/E-commerce

Emphasis: Product Innovation

Evoke Communications President and CEO Paul Berberian likens his company to a car engine: scores of complex components working in unison to produce a smooth ride.

Evoke's proprietary systems produce a virtual meeting platform that allows faster and easier communication among a company's employees. Its flagship product, Evoke Webconferencing, merges Internet communication technologies -- streaming audio and video, Web conferencing, Web collaboration -- with traditional telephony.

"Communication technologies historically have been vertical in their use," Berberian said. "Now we're allowing them to talk to one another so they look and feel like a single experience to the end user. So no matter where your people are, they can interact with others in a rich, collaborative fashion."

Other products include Evoke Mobile Webconferencing, which extends Web conferencing capabilities to wireless Internet devices, and Evoke Talking E-mail, which allows a user to save a 30-second voice message and send it as an e-mail.

Since its start in 1997, Evoke's staff has grown to 400 employees. Each month, Evoke sponsors an event called "High Tech Fridays," which draws employees from the Denver/Boulder area's high-tech firms. Money raised at the event goes to provide computer equipment at local elementary schools.

TOP COMPANY

Health Care & Biomedical/Technology

CRAIG HOSPITAL, ENGLEWOOD

Emphasis: Quality of Management

Craig Hospital is an anomaly in today's health care field: an independent, specialty care provider that is thriving in the turbulent era of managed care.

The non-profit rehabilitation hospital specializes in the treatment of patients with spinal cord injuries and traumatic brain injuries. Since 1956, Craig has treated more patients with spinal cord injuries than any other hospital in the world. It has forged a reputation as a premier rehabilitation hospital, ranked in the top 10 by U.S. News and World Report for 10 consecutive years.

At the core of the hospital's success is staff loyalty and expertise: Craig's attending physicians have an average tenure of 18 years. Craig Hospital President Denny O'Malley has served for more than 25 years.

"We work in a highly specialized area of medical care, and we've been able to keep our expertise intact," O'Malley said.

The hospital's success also hinges on its steadfast commitment to helping patients regain their physical independence -- boosting their quality of life while reducing subsequent complications and the need for costly attendant care. 'We've been successful convincing payers to look beyond the initial investment and to look at the cost of these catastrophic injuries over time," O'Malley said. "The true payback starts when patients leave."

MARC JOHNSON

Enterprising Teacher of the Year, Colorado Council on Economic Education

The mere mention of economics to a typical high school student can elicit an audible sigh or a recognizable glazing over of the eyes. But Marc Johnson --an economics teacher at Smoky Hill High School and director of the school's social studies department -- says economics doesn't have to be a dreaded subject.

"It's called the dismal science, but I don't buy that," said Johnson, who teaches a 10-week economics course at Smoky Hill. While classes such as geography or history sometimes offer doom-and-gloom discussion of overpopulation or genocide, economics is inherently an optimistic science, Johnson says. "I try to teach kids that when combined with political freedom, economic freedom allows people to pursue their own self interests and improve their quality of life."

Johnson's course helps students grasp economic concepts by "demystifying" complex charts and graphs. His economic theory -- honed through dozens of hours of graduate-level economics courses -- is incorporated into his geography and history lessons as well. And through voluntary workshops and presentations, he has helped other teachers develop ways to meld economics with other social studies. The economic behavior of Native Americans, for example, is taught in an American history class.

"Economics is a lens to look at the world," Johnson said. "That's why teachers need to educate themselves in the discipline. If you don't understand the lens, it's going to be tough to pull off."

TOP COMPANY

PANEL OF JUDGES

Cynthia Evans, Colorado

Vice President,

Public Service Companies

Pete Estler, Founder/CEO, iBelay

Dorothy Horrell, President, Community Colleges of Colorado

Leo Kiely, CEO/President, Coors Brewing (recused from participating in manufacturing category)

Harry Lewis, Chairman/CEO, Harry T. Lewis Investments

Bob Manning, Partner, Thomas, Cressey Equity Partners

Dick Robinson, Co-Chairman, Robinson Dairy

Dean Salter, Chair of Executive Committee, Holme Roberts and Owen, LLP

Thayer Tutt, President/CEO, El Pomar Foundation

Brian, Vogt, President, South Metro

Denver Chamber of Commerce

Sarah Dodge, Executive Director, CACI Educational Foundation

The Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry chose its business leader of the year.

The Colorado Council on Economic Education chose its enterprising teacher of the year.

SPONSORS

Delloite & Touche LLP

ColoradoBiz

UMB Bank

The Colorado Business Awards were crafted and provided by A&S Award & Sign Connections Ltd., Englewood.