A R C H I V E

We start off the new year with an exciting Member Monday discussion on the subject of Humanism, a philosophical and ethical stance focused on doing good and living well in the here and now, rather than following the dictates of a religious order or a supernatural force. The focus article features an interview with Gordon Gamm, Boulder’s noted philanthropist and Humanist raised in the Jewish tradition.

At City Club we do not see a conflict between the two views since Moses knew he could not take slaves to the Promised Land, hence the 40-years of wandering in the desert till they came up with Ten Commandments and 613 laws on how to become free humans, instead of slaves, before dealing with higher concepts like a single God. BTW, not a single slave who left Egypt entered the Promised land, including Moses himself, who lived long enough to peek, but not enter!

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The end of a year, and a decade, is a good time to stop, rest, reflect and be thankful for all we have.

Personally I want to express gratitude for my good health, great kids, my good fortune to live in America at a time of relative peace and abundance, have hundreds of close good friends like you, the chance to give back more than I got, and to continue the virtuous cycle I am on.

In the past decade, with your trust, moral and financial help, we turned a crazy idea, to create a Securus Locus, into reality. In the next decade, we will strive to turn Highland City Club into Highland Institute, whatever that turns out to be.

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Utopia is not real, but an ideal we strive toward. Utopia is "an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its citizens.” Since City Club aspires to build an ideal community, a Securus Locus if you will, year-end is a good time to slow down and ask ourselves “How are we doing? Are we on track? Are we growing in the right direction? Are we willing to re-commit, or is it time to opt-out?

Personally, I am pleased with where we are headed. We already have so many wonderful offerings such as Steve Smith’s weekly Member Monday deep-dive discussions into so many diverse topics, and Kevin Townley's monthly sessions on topics such as Masonry and Alchemy. I get so much pleasure watching our many young entrepreneurs start and grow families and businesses, and, instead of getting a Christmas card in the mail, Mo Siegel personally handing me the most beautiful book, printed with over 100 color plates of Jesus that he has been working on for over ten years. Such an amazingly diverse community!

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Like New York and San Francisco, a spare bedroom in Boulder is a rare commodity, and even if one has a large house with a guest room, do we really want to let the parents or the in-laws spend a week underfoot?!

With 300+ members and growing, we constantly get asked if we have a spare townhouse, condo or guesthouse to put up a visiting colleague, an adult child + spouse, parents, and/or in-laws. With 24/7 on-site management, access to food and co-working, this is an ideal place to house visitors at a lower cost than Boulderado and St. Julian hotels. 

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After a tour of Highland, a potential member asked how can we justify our prices when our “competition,” meaning Galvanize and WeWork, just cut their prices in half?!

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If you have not visited the new Rosetta Hall, you are in for a great surprise. Located at 1109 Walnut in the heart of Boulder, Rosetta Hall is "an iconic, jaw-droppingly gorgeous food hall featuring 10 restaurants  & 2 bars.” 

One of our goals for the new year is to have more social gatherings in the evening, including movie nights, music nights and Happy Hours. In order to mix it up a bit, we are encouraging our members to meet next Friday 12/6 at 5:30 at Rosetta Hall to eat, drink and mingle with other members and general public.

See you then and there,

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Helen Keller, the deaf and blind activist was asked by a journalist what she thought would be worse than being born blind? Without missing a beat, she replied “to have sight and no vision.”

Nearly fifteen years after its inception, Highland City Club is finally a social and business success. Every lunch is so packed and the dining room’s energy level so high, the excitement is palpable. So is it time to rest on our laurels and call it good, or should we strive to go from good too great? Should we continue to eat, drink and make more money, or is there more to our original and idealistic vision of making a small dent in the universe?

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They say the only constant is change, and that if we don’t initiate and embrace change, then change happens to us, making us feel like a victim.

Building a community is a journey, not a destination, hence the work is never done, and progress and change never stops.

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"Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use." -Emily Post, author and columnist (27 Oct 1872-1960)

It takes more than Rules & Regs, Policies & Procedures to have 300+ smart people on-the-go work, eat, drink, socialize and get along in a 128-year old historic landmark.

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Until recently, a luxury office building was defined as a clean and safe work environment with running water and electricity. Today’s tenant’s needs are more complex, requiring crazy-fast fiber optic WiFi, sustainable food at affordable prices, and great-tasting free coffee, the lack of which forces a tenant to spend at least 20 minutes and nearly $5 to secure one, often more than once a day.

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Whether we like it or not, we are engaged in politics and are affected by it, like fish swimming in water or humans breathing air; so while we always encourage our members to participate in our local and national politics, we seldom make recommendations.

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I recently walked 165 miles through two countries in three weeks hoping for an epiphany, an insight or an Aha moment.

Though a great vacation and a physical verification that I am not dead yet, I could have just stayed home, watched The Wizard of Oz again, and repeated three times after Dorothy:

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The reptilian brain strives to survive. We want food, shelter and sex so our body and DNA can survive.  

To achieve this goal, we make a Faustian deal with the devil inside by trading thriving for surviving. In a way, we all have a bit of Dorian Gray in us, tradings our soul to the devil in exchange for eternal life. In short, we are so busy staying alive, we’re not fully living.

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Forty years into the design of the gardens at Highland, and after the installation of the wrought iron fence, construction of the amphitheater, gazebo, entry bridge and fountains, we were finally ready to buy art for the garden, but were at a loss as to the theme for the outdoor art.

A garden can be Zen by simplicity placing a few rocks in a certain way; it can be contemplative by installing a Rodin-like sculpture, or it can be cutting edge by placing modern art. After much thinking and soul searching, we came to the conclusion we want the Highland gardens to be “whimsical.

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Over forty years ago I spent the summer traveling in Europe trying to figure out what to do with my life. Though I had succeeded academically and had plenty of family money in the bank, I was lonely, confused and had no idea what to do with the rest of my life, which country to live in, what to do for a career, or where to find my soulmate.

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We love movies. Directors spend years, and Financiers spend millions making a great movie, and we get to watch it for free. How cool is that?!

City Club is fortunate to have a theater with a 10’ screen, Blu-Ray projector, surround sound, and a member like Scott Garen who has dedicated his life to making great films.

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In 2003, when we first started to plan and envision building a “community," we had no idea what we were doing, but backed with an MBA in Organizational Behavior, I was certain the cornerstone of this community had to be a Securus Locus, or a Safe Place our members could relax and feel comfortable in.

Today we get a lot of compliments about Highland, its gardens, food, wine, art and people, but the most common thing we hear is “I feel good when I am at Highland.”

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The heat of the summer finally got to the gardens, and the early morning chill is a reminder Fall can’t be far behind. This is a great time of the year for reflection, and throughout the ages, there has been no better way to think and reflect than by going on a Pilgrimage.

Since I have no idea what a pilgrimage is, I looked it up and learned "A pilgrimage is a journey or search of moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith, although sometimes it can be a metaphorical journey into one's own beliefs.”

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