{"id":800722,"date":"2019-10-25T15:15:51","date_gmt":"2019-10-25T21:15:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=373529"},"modified":"2019-10-25T15:15:51","modified_gmt":"2019-10-25T21:15:51","slug":"marianne-virgili-experience-leading-chamber-will-translate-to-cmc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/marianne-virgili-experience-leading-chamber-will-translate-to-cmc\/","title":{"rendered":"Marianne Virgili: Experience leading chamber will translate to CMC"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"232\" height=\"217\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/10\/col-virgili-sdn-102819.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt><figcaption><strong>Marianne Virgili<\/strong><br \/><em>Courtesy photo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li>Occupation:<br \/>\nretired as president and CEO of the Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association<\/li>\n<li>Hometown:<br \/>\nborn in Cleveland, Ohio; now reside in Carbondale<\/li>\n<li>Years<br \/>\nin Colorado: 38 years<\/li>\n<li>Family: husband, John; two grown children; and<br \/>\nthree grandchildren<\/li>\n<li>Civic Involvement: CMC 4-year degree lobbyist; 7D<br \/>\nfor CMC campaign chair; Colorado commissions appointee for film, arts and<br \/>\neducation; CMC Foundation Board of Directors member; Valley View Hospital and<br \/>\nValley View Hospital Foundation Board of Directors member; Clean Energy Economy<br \/>\nfor the Region founding member; U.S. Chamber Foundation\u2019s Institute of<br \/>\nOrganization Management Board of Trustees national chair; and CMC committee<br \/>\nvolunteer, including 50th Anniversary Celebration.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When I was a kid,<br \/>\nmy dad said, \u201cIf you continue to get straight A\u2019s, we\u2019re going to have to send<br \/>\nyou to college.\u201d You can bet I wanted to go! My immigrant mother went to work<br \/>\nto help pay tuition, and I became the first of my large Italian\/American family<br \/>\nto earn a degree. It was a gift that I can only repay by giving it to someone<br \/>\nelse.<\/p>\n<p>I have been<br \/>\npreparing for this role for 30 years. As the CEO of the Glenwood Springs<br \/>\nChamber of Commerce for three decades, I know about small-town challenges and<br \/>\nopportunities. I\u2019ve learned how to engage diverse personalities and community<br \/>\ngroups. During my tenure at the chamber, we earned several national awards for<br \/>\nexcellence, not only for our organization but for the community. I didn\u2019t<br \/>\naccomplish this alone. I did it due to the vision and oversight of the best leaders<br \/>\nin town, who served on my board of directors. These are the people who taught<br \/>\nme how to lead.<\/p>\n<p>Teaching and<br \/>\nboard governance are very different things. I taught nonprofit management for<br \/>\nmany years, but it was when I served on the U.S. Chamber Institute\u2019s Board of<br \/>\nRegents and eventually as chair of the national board that I became adept at<br \/>\ngovernance. I understand how to take a 360-degree view, budgeting and fiduciary<br \/>\nresponsibilities, studying new educational trends and marketing techniques to<br \/>\nattract students, identifying resources, appreciation of faculty and staff,<br \/>\nlistening to your constituents, navigating the political landscape and above<br \/>\nall: accountability, transparency and stewardship.<\/p>\n<p>I have been passionate<br \/>\nabout Colorado Mountain College for my entire career. Now that I am retired, I<br \/>\nhave the time to devote to the institution that is so important to every<br \/>\ncommunity it serves. I hope you vote for me so that I can contribute my<br \/>\nleadership skills to you and to CMC.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Priority No. 1: Affordable education<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is where I<br \/>\nput my money where my mouth is. I worked hard on two initiatives that<br \/>\neventually resulted in the passage of 7D for CMC in 2018. Effectively, that<br \/>\nmeasure will keep tuition affordable because it allows the college to retain<br \/>\nrevenue that would have otherwise been lost due to the Gallagher Amendment. I<br \/>\nam proud that the voters agreed overwhelmingly (by 71%).<\/p>\n<p>I also serve on<br \/>\nthe CMC Foundation Board. We are committed to raising additional money for<br \/>\nscholarships and facilities. We want to ensure than everyone who wants an<br \/>\neducation gets one. As a Foundation Board member, I support the income-share<br \/>\nagreement loan program for immigrants who do not qualify for traditional loans.<br \/>\nIt enables these students to pay a fixed percentage of their income after<br \/>\ngraduation in exchange for up-front tuition.<\/p>\n<p>It was the extraordinary<br \/>\nvision of CMC\u2019s founders that students should be able to study, live and work<br \/>\nin their own mountain communities. It is my goal that the mill levy, stabilized<br \/>\nby 7D, combined with $3 million to $4 million in philanthropy raised each year<br \/>\nby the foundation, keep CMC the most affordable bachelor degree in Colorado.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Priority No. 2: Job preparation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Education equals<br \/>\njobs. Like everything else, education is becoming more competitive, and the return<br \/>\non investment is being examined by parents and students. Because of its<br \/>\naffordability and wide range of technical and career courses, CMC should<br \/>\ncontinue to shine in this area. But our work isn\u2019t done yet.<\/p>\n<p>I support<br \/>\neducation for vital positions in our communities: teachers, nurses, emergency<br \/>\nresponders, law enforcement, etc., and I think that we should expand<br \/>\nhigh-demand classes (e.g., nursing) where the number of applicants far exceeds<br \/>\nthe space available.<\/p>\n<p>I believe it\u2019s<br \/>\nthe Board of Trustees\u2019 role to be aware of emerging trends because we can\u2019t<br \/>\neven imagine the jobs the future holds. Health information technology, data<br \/>\nanalysis, digital transformation and clean energy economy positions come to<br \/>\nmind. Above all, degrees and courses should reflect the needs and desires of the<br \/>\nresidents and businesses in our diverse communities. These are the people who<br \/>\npay the taxes to support the college. Researching their needs is critical.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Priority No. 3: Lifelong learning<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The beauty of CMC<br \/>\nis that elective courses reflect the distinct character and personality of each<br \/>\ncampus. At its heart, CMC is a community college, and these types of<br \/>\ncourses make it possible for every member of the community, very young to very<br \/>\nold, to take advantage of continuing education. There is no age limit on<br \/>\nlearning, and we should continue to expand these offerings.<\/p>\n<p><em>Find more election coverage at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/election\/\">SummitDaily.com\/election<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/opinion\/marianne-virgili-experience-leading-chamber-will-translate-to-cmc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Marianne VirgiliCourtesy photo Occupation: retired as president and CEO of the Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association Hometown: born in Cleveland, Ohio; now reside in Carbondale Years in Colorado: 38 years Family: husband, John; two grown children; and three grandchildren Civic Involvement: CMC 4-year degree lobbyist; 7D for CMC campaign chair; Colorado commissions appointee for film, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-800722","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-27 14:25:02","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=800722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800722\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=800722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=800722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=800722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}