Updated: 07/13/21

This July 28th marks another Ed Morlan Day! In celebration of this wonderful Durango community member, there will be a food drive in his honor to continue his spirit of giving back.

If you did not know Ed, he was a creative, out-of-the-box thinker, who helped fund businesses like Mercury Payment Systems, Steamworks Brewing Company, Zuke's and other well-known companies. His impact at Region 9 allowed the organization to climb out of deficit and loan over $22 million to business ventures throughout southwest Colorado. 

Not only did he help with funding throughout the region, he also spearheaded the effort to bring faster internet connections to Southwest Colorado, was in the inaugural class of Leadership La Plata, worked on several state boards in addition to serving over two decades on the Bayfield Town Board and several terms on Bayfield Planning Commission. In our humble opinion his best accomplishment was helping to launch our very own program, SCAPE.

All of this incredible leadership and commitment to the community won him the Barbara Conrad Leadership Award in addition to other honors and awards over the years. Most notably, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper declared July 28 to be Ed Morlan Day.

In honor of this day and to celebrate Ed Morlan, please take a moment to grab your favorite non-perishable items and join us at the Summer eSCAPE Series: Sustainability in Business Event as we’ll be collecting items for the drive. More drop locations can be found in the graphic above.