DENVER, CO— On January 31, 2019, Colorado Lending Source (CLS) held its Annual Meeting, a celebration of small business ownership, entrepreneurship, and the incredible community of resources that support those business owners and entrepreneurs across the state of Colorado. At the Annual Meeting, Colorado Lending Source elected its 2019 Board of Directors, described its economic impact in 2018, and revealed the recipients of their Small Business Excellence awards.
Colorado Lending Source presented five Small Business Excellence Awards that included Minturn based Vail Mountain Coffee & Tea Co (VMCT) . Co-Founders Chris Chantler and Craig Arseneau were present to receive the award. “ It’s a great honor to be selected from several hundred other Colorado business.” Said Chantler. Colorado Lending source shared that Vail Mountain Coffee & Tea has a had an amazing economic impact on their community. Chris and Craig created a strong relationship with their lender, Larry Cavanaugh of Citywide banks. Who worked with CLS to secure financing for VMCT. Larry Cavanaugh was also recognized as lender of the year for his support of small business in Colorado.
VMCT recently expanded their operation adding a full service Roastery Cafe inside their roasting facility. Highlighting 35 coffees brewed 5 different ways and 60 whole leaf teas. There is also a full espresso bar and an assortment of sweet and savory treats. The funding from CLS gave VMCT the opportunity to purchase another unit in Meadow Mountain Business Park giving the company room to continue to expand.
This year, Colorado Lending Source’s Annual Meeting celebrated and acknowledged Colorado’s unparalleled small business community. Colorado Lending Source is truly a critical component of that small business community. In 2018, the non-profit economic development company facilitated the funding of 221 loans totaling $331,674,205.97 while helping business owners create 1,747 jobs across the state. Of those 221 loans, 83.2% went to underserved business owners including $15,361,000 in rural communities.
