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Could we bid to host an upcoming Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games?

Should we bid to host an upcoming Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games?

And, is it possible to accomplish without taxpayer funding?

Answering these questions was the charge outlined by Mayor Michael Hancock and Governor John Hickenlooper when they seated an Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Exploratory Committee this past December and Taloma Partners was honored to play a role serving as the project manager. It was an intensive 6-month process. During that time, five subcommittees – Games Operations, Finance, Legal, Community & Civic Engagement and Communications – took a deep dive in researching and completed a robust outreach effort across the metro area and mountain communities.

And when we say robust, we mean it! The Exploratory Committee:

• • Organized more than 85 steering, committee, and subcommittee meetings
  • Solicited input from 9,511 Coloradans via an online survey
  • Hosted 2 online community meetings
  • Connected with 1,700 individuals via a speaker’s bureau

Additionally:

• • • 65 individuals in the Denver Metro Area were involved in the Sharing the Gold Advisory, a broad-based group from different walks of life who shared their opinions regarding the benefits and challenges of hosting the Winter Games.
    • 200 folks attended Sharing the Gold gatherings in five locations in Colorado mountain communities.
    • A statistically-relevant, statewide poll found that a majority of voters (61% statewide) favor hosting a Winter Games, with even greater support in Denver (65%) and Eagle
      County (76%).

In the end, the Exploratory Committee – and each of the subcommittees – answered the questions above with a resounding YES.

Their collective work resulted in a report of over 200 pages which details information about many aspects of a potential bid, including the important question of how to privately finance the games. The Exploratory Committee also recommended that Colorado voters play a role in the final decision, suggesting a statewide ballot measure as soon as 2020.

Taloma Partners is proud to have been part of this thoughtful and impressive effort. We are excited about a potential bid and are fully on board! Let’s go for the GOLD!

Wow! Was that fun or what?! Thank you to all of our dear friends and colleagues – including former, current and future clients – for attending our launch party earlier this month. Nearly 200 people attended (another 100 sent their regrets) and we were humbled by the outpouring of enthusiastic support for our new firm.

Hosting our party in the beautiful event space at the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce was especially meaningful for the three of us. And, it was wonderful to have Chamber President & CEO Kelly Brough officially introduce us as a firm. You see, we all met through the Chamber. LEX trips to Chicago, Dallas and Seattle sparked friendships that have grown stronger over the years, and ultimately led to us becoming Taloma Partners.

We are privileged to begin our new venture with a strong foundation of reputable clients in the private, nonprofit and public sectors; we are extremely grateful for their continued partnership. And, we are excited about future opportunities to take on new projects for new clients.

Here’s to a successful first year…and hopefully another fun party to celebrate next spring!

Did the world really need another consulting firm?  Initially, we didn’t think so. After all, there are so many reputable ones out there, doing great work and servicing clients. And yet, we thought we were different. We believed we could fill a niche with unmet needs and provide a unique and valuable approach.

In addition to being consultants, all three of us have been the client. In fact, we have been the client for the majority of our 25+ year careers. We’ve served in executive and leadership roles for private companies, nonprofit organizations and in government. Among the three of us, we have managed millions of dollars in consulting contracts. We know what clients want. We know what clients need. We know what clients expect. And, we know what brings added-value.

The ability for us to bring that context when consulting in partnership with a client is extremely valuable.  We consider all of the aspects that may be impacted, not only the ones directly associated with an issue or project. And, we identify opportunities to be leveraged and challenges that can be mitigated or eliminated.