Lori Gama interviews Greeley Lifestyle Magazine Publisher Tara Rasmuson
Lori Gama interviews Greeley Lifestyle Magazine Publisher Tara Rasmuson on The Path Finder’s Podcast with Lori Gama. Find out how Tara Rasmuson’s business career progressed from the Oil and Gas industry into the publishing industry. Tara shares intriguing insights into what makes Greeley tick. Find out why Greeley is a great community and very generous community to live, work and play in. This is another insightful interview with a smart and kind Greeley business owner: Tara Rasmuson. Both Tara Rasmuson and Lori Gama are big cheerleaders of Greeley, Colorado. Watch the video: Greeley Lifestyle Magazine Publisher Tara Rasmuson with Lori Gama to learn what two of Greeley’s biggest cheerleaders have to say about Greeley. Lori Gama’s YouTube Podcast: The Path Finder’s Podcast is dedicated to helping 10,000 heart-centered, purpose-driven people to go full-time with their passion or take their business to the next level by using the magical tools of technology, AI marketing and video. Lori Gama interviews Greeley Lifestyle Magazine Publisher Tara Rasmuson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNOGzpIvF54 Transcript: (00:00) (Lori) What what do you think… after your time spent publishing stories about the people that live here from all walks of life… what do you think really makes Greeley, our community, tick.. what is it? (Tara) oh I love that question. That is something I figured out probably my first year of the magazine and it was other people that helped me that came to me and asked me that and all of a sudden it was like a light bulb [Music/Intro] (Lori)Welcome to the Pathfinder podcast my friends here’s where we inspire you to go full-time with your passion or if (00:38) you’re already in your business to break through to the next level and today I am so excited to welcome my guest here Tara Rasmason, the publisher of Greeley Lifestyle magazine. Thank you so much for coming (Tara) Thank you for having me Lori. I’m very excited to be here and very excited for your new show. (Lori) Oh thank you! I’m so excited! Tara you are the publisher of the Greeley lifestyle magazine and you also, before that, had a career in oil and gas industry and I love your degree because I think it’s basically what (01:07) you’re doing now… you have a bachelor of Applied social science degree from Colorado State University… um I looked up what applied social science is and I’m going to read the definition… it’s all about–and it’s quite–you know it’s really intriguing… it’s about applied social sciences, are those academic social science disciplines professions and occupations which seek to use basic social science knowledge to make impact on the daily life of communities organizations and persons and it sounds (01:35) exactly like what you’re doing now… and so I wanted to ask you, as our first question, tell me about the journey from that degree to the oil and gas industry to now as the publisher of the Greeley lifestyle magazine, about my favorite subject: living and playing in Greeley! (Tara) Great question… so if we go back in time when I was going to school I had no idea what I really wanted to study um I went to my counselor and I said you know help I don’t know what I want to do I’m a stay home mom I’m trying to finish my degree I have four tiny babies and uh no (02:10) idea what to do and he said well what do you do for fun and I said well I read social science books for fun it’s kind of nerdy but that’s what I love and he said great study that so I did and um I remember getting to close to graduation and realizing that I had to get a job because I had all this student debt and had to be an adult and so I called my dad and I said said dad what am I going to do I have this really generic degree and I I can’t I don’t know what kind of job to look for I’m going to have to get (02:37) a master’s degree right and he said well have you ever thought about doing oil and gas there’s a lot of ladies that do a lot of land work and you don’t have to have a very specific degree for that and my dad’s a geologist in the oil and gas industry and he never encouraged me to do oil and gas before I think because it’s been a very male-dominated industry and he’s seen a lot of women that weren’t treated great but it’s really shifted in the last um 20 years and so he finally said why don’t you look into (03:06) that and so I said okay and um so I graduated with my degree and went right into oil and gas and I had a great career um still dabble in it a little bit um but I you know I I kind of got a little bit burned out in the oil and gas industry and so I was looking for something new to do and um I had just moved to Greeley and I was very open you know I just kind of said you know what I’m going to be very open and something’s going to come along and it’s going to be and I’m just going to know it’s the (03:37) right thing and I saw a advertisement on LinkedIn jobs page for um the Greeley market to start a magazine through a franchise and all of a sudden I just had this vision of what a perfect opportunity to number one tell the great stories of Greeley because there’s a lot of misconceptions about the Greeley community and I would have the perfect platform to be able to share all the wonderful things and then number two it was actually right in the middle of the pandemic and people were feeling so disconnected right and so isolated
Creative People of Greeley
Yesterday I found out the Greeley Chamber of Commerce’s After Hours event was thoughtfully postponed due to snow and more snow. That’s not exactly what this post is about, though it does say a lot about Greeley folks: considerate, supportive, thoughtful, generous and kind. Putting safety first before everything else was a thoughtful decision. While I was on their lovely new website, I registered for the December 15th event. I also checked out the membership directory. Just like Greeley: it’s grown quite a bit. Of course, I went to my category first: Advertising and Media. There used to be only around five or six of us, including the great Bonnie Dean & Associates (now retired). Now there are 31 companies in the category of Advertising and Media. The number and depth of the creative people of Greeley is astounding. I don’t mean that there are only 31 creative companies who can assist you with advertising and media in Greeley. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. We have artists: world-famous, obscure, local; the published and unpublished; the produced off-off broadway and those still trying. Writers, painters, mixed media, filmmakers, poets, musicians, singers, dancers, actors, actresses. Greeley is thriving with these types of Creatives. In fact, Greeley is one of 23 Creative Districts in Colorado. We have business people who are creative at doing their thing, too. Do you know how much vision and imagination it takes to start a business, sustain it and keep it growing? Check out the ever-growing Greeley Chamber of Commerce for fun and educational events and networking opportunities. Builders are in that group of creative people of Greeley, too. Yes, technically I could have lumped them into business people. But the builders are literally building physical structures that house people in affordable ways (and luxurious ways). Or they have constructed long overdue new schools that were literally crumbling before the school bond passed.I’d put the talented remodelers in that group of creative people of Greeley, too. An astounding number of creative people of Greeley thrive here and support each other. Greeley is like life: it’s what you make it be. What about the nonprofits? Talk about creativity. The paid teams and the volunteers of our community are probably THE most creative of all of us, stretching their budgets to sustain their initiatives, which sustain our neighbors experiencing homelessness, medical issues, hunger, and many other issues. They just need a helping hand from their neighbors. Which leads me to this point… Greeley is populated with many, many generous people who have succeeded and reached a point in their lives that allows them to give back to our community (myself included, I am grateful to say) with donations of money, big and small; and by volunteering in a variety of ways. From volunteering on boards–making thoughtful and far reaching decisions to serving or delivering a hot meal to someone or holding a coat drive at their companies to gather warm coats for winter… the donors and volunteers of Greeley are generous and hard-working. For example: check out the new Housing Navigation Center. The property was donated by a local, family-owned company (that’s how Greeley rolls). Many people assisted in many ways to remodel it and get it ready for those experiencing homelessness or those at risk of experiencing homelessness. But its main purpose is to provide resources and guide these folks toward permanent housing. Food, water and shelter are the first necessities of life. Without those in place, one cannot begin to thrive. Can you see the mountains from Greeley? Yes! It’s one of the few places in Colorado you can see the entire front range of the Rocky Mountains on a clear day from certain spots on the west ridge of Greeley. Other cool things I love about living in Greeley: The Poudre River Trail Friendly, locally owned and unique coffee Variety of events throughout the year The University of Northern Colorado and Aims Community College The Colorado Model Railroad Museum The Moxi Theatre Glenmere Park The eclectic neighborhoods of Greeley The Diversity (it’s growing) So many things too numerous to list here Sure it’s not perfect here. Is it perfect anywhere? What is perfection anyway? There is give and take in life. Good times and not-so-good times. There are safe places in every city and places you want to be extra cautious in. If you live here, you know what a great community it is. If you’re thinking of living here, that’s wonderful! You’ll find your experience living in Greeley to be a positive one –especially when you volunteer. And if you need a helping hand, there are numerous solutions for numerous situations. Living in Greeley is just like life…life is what you make it be.