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Chaffee County Economic Development outlines 2026 priorities, highlights Ascent entrepreneurship cohort
Summary
Deborah Cameron, executive director of the Chaffee County EDC, presented 2026 priorities including business attraction, workforce housing, infrastructure and the Ascent entrepreneurship program; EDC said it selected 11 companies for the current cohort and will pursue grants to sustain the program.
Deborah Cameron, executive director of the Chaffee County Economic Development Corporation, presented the EDC’s strategic priorities for 2026 and an update on its Ascent entrepreneurial program at the county work session on Feb. 2.
Cameron summarized the EDC mission, saying the organization exists "to ensure that Chaffee County is ... open for business and to promote the creation of jobs here for our year‑round diverse resilient economy." She outlined five policy pillars: workforce housing; water and wastewater; education and talent development; childcare and early childhood education; and infrastructure (now broadened to include broadband, utilities, transportation and airports).
Ascent and Peaks Precast: Cameron used Peaks Precast, a Buena Vista manufacturer, as an example of EDC services. The EDC aided Peaks with permitting advocacy, introduced the company to local construction partners, and supported its OEDIT innovative housing funding application; Peaks Precast was among awardees. Cameron said Ascent received 29 applications and selected 11 companies for the cohort, including two high‑school teams and participants from every town and unincorporated county areas. The Ascent schedule includes a launch, a March PowderPitch event and an April demo day.
Community engagement: Cameron described monthly remote‑worker meetups and an Archangels investor network that meets bimonthly to hear pitches and support local founders and nonprofits. She said the EDC is pursuing grants (Kenneth King Foundation and others) to fund Ascent and will deliver a more detailed impact study on companies that have completed the program.
Next steps: Cameron said Eve Lieberman, executive director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade, will visit the EDC’s March meeting; she asked commissioners to consider the EDC a resource and to refer businesses and state policy issues to staff. Commissioners asked the EDC to provide follow‑up figures on Archangels giving and the Ascent program’s measurable impact.
No formal county actions were taken at the session.
