Hall of Fame.

• Position: 2005 Colorado Business: special advertising section - 16th Annual Colorado Business Hall of Fame - Advertisement

Celebrating a legacy of professional and philanthropic leadership, the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and Junior Achievement Rocky Mountain, Inc. are proud to present the 16th Annual Colorado Business Hall of Fame. Committed to ensuring the vitality of tomorrow's workforce, this event recognizes outstanding role models for Colorado's youth and sets a standard of excellence for our business community. The six individuals we will honor this year have achieved unmatched success in their respective professional industries. In addition, each of our laureates have made invaluable philanthropic contributions to Colorado's civic and community organizations. The Denver Metro Chamber and Junior Achievement hope you will join us as we honor these leaders who have helped shape Colorado's past, present and future. Proceeds from this black-tie event fund the K-12 business and economic programs of Junior Achievement and the leadership, public policy, economic development and small-business development programs of the Denver Metro Chamber.

Thursday, February 10, 2005

Denver Marriott City Center

For more information call: 303-628-7361 or visit www.denverchamber.org

The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and Junior Achievement are proud to present the 16th Annual Colorado Business Hall of Fame. Committed to ensuring the vitality of tomorrow's workforce, the Hall of Fame recognizes outstanding role models for Colorado's youth and sets a standard of excellence for our business community.

CHARLES BOETTCHER

The youngest of six children, Charles Boettcher was born in 1852 in Germany. At 17, his parents sent him to America to visit his older brother Herman, who worked in a hardware store in Cheyenne. Herman enlisted Charles as a partner and they soon bought that store plus others in Greeley, Evans and Fort Collins.

Charles and his wife, Fannie, along with their young son Claudius Kedzie, relocated to Leadville in 1880 to capitalize on the silver boom by selling hardware to the miners.

During the next decade, Charles' business flourished and his investments grew to include several mining properties, a ranch in North Park and Leadville's first electric company. Charles also invested in the First Carbonate Bank and was soon named director of the financial institution.

When they moved to Denver in 1890, the Boettchers had become one of Colorado's wealthiest and most prominent founding families. That same year, the couple had a second child, Ruth Augusta. During this period, Charles held diverse interests including a meat packing company, a railroad and Capital Life Insurance. He also continued to build a banking empire and became president of the National Bank of Commerce. The swift decline in the silver boom forced him to seek new opportunities, however.

At the end of the 19th century, Colorado's economy had shifted from mining to agriculture, and the state's farming communities...