Estes Park is a small-to-medium-sized town that often looks like an urban cosmopolitan crossroads. Not only do we have visitors from every state of the union and from many countries, but we also have a surge of bright, college-level adults from many parts of the world who provide energy to the Estes summer engine through the exchange visitors program.
They speak fluent English and work at about 75 different businesses in town. The YMCA has the lion’s share. I interact with many of them frequently. I’m often served by them in shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues, though I sometimes just meet them in passing. I ask them about their experiences and if they have any challenges. The answers that I receive are upbeat and positive.
This year, the exchange visitors gained a great central resource, the Community Support Group (CSG). The state department oversees the framework of this group, here in Estes and in several other cities and towns. One of the visa sponsors is K. Leigh Furzer of LifeTraveled. She’s also the builder, coordinator, and manager of the CSG. She is a powerhouse who, in addition to getting the program on its feet, created an orientation day, a World Cup Final watch party, and more. She’s the prime moving force of this effort.
There’s another event coming up August 3, called the Exchange Day.
While K. Leigh has some support, the CSG needs more to create a good, lasting, organized effort that will be there for exchange visitors every year. I’ve donated a bit of my own money to the cause to help with supplies and things. I feel strongly that these summertime visitors are very important to Estes economically and culturally.
I’ve written to various service groups to suggest that some volunteers offer help with both the mundane and uplifting tasks associated with this cause, including with the August 3 event. I hope those requests bear some fruit. If not this year, I hope we see more support for the effort leading into the second year of the program in 2027. Estes needs to give this program strength, because the exchange visitors give us an injection of energy, youth, and cultural vitality each summer.
I also encourage engagement from the businesses who use employees from this program. Some are already active in the effort, including Brownfields, The Country Market, the YMCA, and Serena Rappel’s several businesses. Others have helped give momentum to the program by donating to events. I encourage others to help in tangible ways — perhaps even providing some funding to the program through the coordinator, K. Leigh Furzer. (You can reach her via EstesPark@CSGNational.org.)
There are other ways to engage, too. I know some in town are looking to raise the bar on some of the housing options for the exchange visitors. That’s a good effort, also.
This influx of varied cultures and personalities is a good thing for Estes. Let’s make it last. I hope we’ll see the CSG program grow next year and beyond. Though we have a small number of exchange visitors compared to larger towns and cities that have this program, there are many hundreds of these industrious young folks in Estes. They bring much light and energy. The exchange program helps bring the world to Estes Park and raises our boat a bit higher on the sea of culture. And the CSG program puts more wind in the sails of the temporary, but very useful, exchange visitors.