DEL NORTE— High Valley Community Center (HVCC) welcomed the community of Del Norte and surrounding areas Saturday, April 22 for an exciting event. Two Denver Bronco team members Will Parks and Corey Nelson made a trip to the center as part of a community appreciation trip. In addition to the players, two cheerleaders accompanied the team to the center and the entire party stayed to sign autographs and host a training camp that afternoon for the children in the center.

The Salute the Fans tour consists of 11 stops along rural Colorado. Del Norte was the second town on the tour and was greeted with Bronco flair from fans coming from all over the Valley. The afternoon was dedicated to the children at the center who were able to sign up for an afternoon of fun and football training provided by Parks and Nelson. Children learned to do drills, catch and throw a football and several other moves that made for a fun and active adventure.

Several members of the community as well as staff from the center spent all day making the event a hit. “We have been here for almost 10 hours, but it has been worth every second,” remarked a HVCC staff member. Volunteers spent the entire day making sure the event was a success. The event was made possible through the combined efforts of the El Pomar Foundation and HVCC.

El Pomar contacted HVCC several weeks ago to begin planning for the event and asked that they host the program at their center. HVCC staff were thrilled to be included in such a unique opportunity and agreed right away. Funding for the program was supplied by the El Pomar Foundation, not by the center.

“El Pomar paid for the Broncos to come here. We didn’t have to spend any additional money out of pocket except for employee time and food for our fundraiser,” said staff member Kathryn Trujillo.

There were roughly 20 volunteers for the event that included several members of HVCC staff. Local officials came to support the community and the town of Del Norte as well as HVCC.

El Pomar Representative Theo Gregory took a moment to honor a local resident who has dedicated hours of volunteer time and funding to the community and HVCC. Nancy Schrader was nominated as a community hero and received an autographed football award for her efforts in the Del Norte community.

After the award presentation, Parks and Nelson presented the Del Norte Chamber of Commerce with a flag classifying Del Norte as Bronco Country. After the flag was presented, Broncos fans waited patiently in line to receive autographs and photographs with the players and cheerleaders. As participants exited the HVCC building they were greeted by Miles, the official Bronco mascot, who posed for one last photo opportunity.

HVCC also held a small fundraiser selling hotdogs and hamburgers to the waiting crowd and were able to raise just over $500 for the center.    

Captions: Denver Bronco Mascot Miles and El Pomar representative Theo Gregory present Community Hero Nancy Schrader with an autographed football for her service to the Del Norte community.

Del Norte Chamber Director William Kreutzer accepts a flag from Denver Bronco Corey Nelson during the Salute the Fans event on Saturday. Photos by Lyndsie Ferrell