The LCF Advisory Board
The Advisory Board consists of volunteer community members who serve 3-year terms
Gil Sparks Co-Chair Fundraising Committee Chair Board member since 2021 Gil Sparks moved to Lyons with his wife, Kay in October 2020 so as to be closer to family. He grew up in Prescott, Az, attended the University of Arizona, took a break to join the Army and did a tour in Viet Nam.
In 1978, Gil moved to Butte, Montana where he worked for six years for one of the two magneto-hydrodynamic facilities in the US as a Human Services Manager. In 1985, he moved to Tacoma, Washington, where he went to law school. Upon graduation he moved to Wenatchee,Washington where he practiced employment, labor and municipal law. While in Wenatchee, he served on the Community Foundation of North Central Washington board for 14 years (Board Chair for 2 years). He also served on the boards of the Pybus Market Charitable Foundation, Pybus Public Market, Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center, the Performing Arts Center, the Chamber of Commerce (President-2 years), the YMCA, Rotary (President-1 year) and co-founded the Apple Valley Human Resource Association (President-2 years). Gil looks forward to serving on the LCF advisory board for the benefit of the Lyons area non-profit community. 
Kathy Hoyt Co-Treasurer Board member since 2023 Kathy moved to Lyons with her husband Michael in the summer of 2018 to be with 3 of her 4 children and her beloved granddaughter. She grew up in southern California and moved to Seattle in 1978, where she worked for a plumbing contractor doing books by hand until the computers made life a lot easier. In 1991, she started working with her husband for a marine engine company in downtown Seattle, serving the Alaska commercial fishing industry with standby generator sets to refrigerate their catch. She retired in 2009 with her husband to start traveling. Her oldest son and daughter in law would bring her traveling back and forth from Seattle to Lyons in 2014, where she would spend winters, until 2018 when she would move to Lyons full time. She decided to start doing the books for the family business “Green Goo,” here in Lyons until 2019, when she retired again to spend more time with her granddaughters. After volunteering for Planet Bluegrass for several years and meeting so many wonderful people in this beautiful community, she decided she would love to help the community by serving on the advisory board of LCF. 
David Hatchimonji Board member since 2022 As a resident of Lyons, Dave is thrilled to contribute to the community as a member of the Lyons Community Foundation. A member and former chair of Lyons Sustainable Futures Commission, and Lyons Flood Recovery Housing Taskforce, Dave and his wife Kim feel blessed to live in Lyons surrounded by good friends, the sandstone ridgeline, and the waters of the St. Vrain. In his “day job” Dave works in Boulder County’s Office of Sustainability, Climate Action and Resilience supporting the residents and businesses of Lyons and throughout the county to address the changing climate in a manner that is equitable for all. He has an undergraduate degree (Environmental Studies) from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a graduate degree (Business Administration) from the University of Colorado, Denver. Prior to moving to Lyons, among other jobs Dave has washed dishes, worked in a soda pop canning facility, cleaned hotel rooms, built concrete foundations and framed houses, taught for the Colorado Outward Bound School and was a professional ski patroller in Steamboat Springs. 
Zach Tucker Board member since 2023 Zach Tucker was born in Lyons and grew up attending both Lyons Elementary and Lyons Middle Senior High School. He headed north to Fort Collins to attend Colorado State University, obtaining a degree in Business Management and Computer Information Systems. Zach has spent most of his life working in events, working at Planet Bluegrass in the summer growing up, and as the Production Manager for the Lory Student Center at Colorado State University after graduating. He was drawn back to Lyons, however, and when the opportunity for a full time position at Planet Bluegrass came available, he couldn’t pass it up. Zach has been the Director of Operations at Planet Bluegrass since 2019 and now lives in Longmont with his wife Emily and his cats, Cat Stevens and Cat Benatar. When Zach isn’t working, he enjoys mountain biking, skiing, running, camping, or pretty much anything outdoors. He is excited to be a part of the Lyons Community Foundation and give back to the community that gave him so much! 
Rachel Pickarski Communications & Marketing Apart of LCF since April 2024 In 2018, Rachel moved from the east coast to Boulder and then decided to make the move to Lyons in August 2023. She was drawn to Lyons because of its strong, supportive and close knit community, along with access to the beautiful landscapes around Lyons and the surrounding area. Quite naturally, she has a vision of making Lyons her permanent home. She has a strong desire to be proactively involved in the community and has a skill set that will allow her to thrive in Lyons with LCF and positively impact our community. In addition to her part time role for LCF, she also holds a full-time position at the Colorado Press Association as the Colorado Media Partnerships Manager, focusing on creating and sustaining meaningful collaborations between media, local leaders, the education sector and local communities to support and improve Colorado journalism for the communities it serves. When not working, Rachel enjoys spending time with her friends and hanging out with her two cats, Calvin and Hobbes. |
Cory Pierce Co-Chair Board member since 2023 Cory Pierce was born in Denver, Colorado. He moved to the Lyons area in 1985. He attended Hygiene Elementary and graduated from Lyons High School. He went on to earn his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Fort Lewis College (Durango, CO) as well as his teaching license. From there, he moved to Bigfork, Montana with his wife (Darcey) and 4-month old daughter (Hailey). From 2005 - 2015, Cory enjoyed a career in public education, teaching various grade levels, holding the titles of Assistant Principal and Athletic Director, and finally Principal. In 2008, his son (Scott) was born. In 2009, he earned his Master of Arts in Education: Administration and Supervision. In 2015, he and Darcey decided it best to move back to the Lyons area in order to be closer to both of their parents. Darcey excitedly obtained a teaching position at Lyons Elementary and Cory started an entrepreneurial career by purchasing and growing Boulder Landscape and Design, which focused on outdoor living spaces including outdoor kitchens, water features, and multi-faceted patio structures. Due to its tremendous growth, Cory sold his business and turned his attention to a long standing Lyons gem, The Lyons Dairy Bar. Known as the Dairy Lite when he was a child, Cory had fond memories of going here with his grandfather to enjoy a special treat. The Lyons Dairy Bar has grown into a 4000sf business serving grilled food, ice cream, candy, and baked goods. Cory has and continues to volunteer for the good of the Lyon’s community. He served on the Parks and Rec Committee, donates to and has volunteered for LEAF, and currently serves on the LCF Board. Cory has a love for community, education, skiing, hiking, camping, and creating lifelong memories with family and friends. 
Gail Frankfort Co-Treasurer Board member since 2018 Gail Frankfort has lived in the Lyons area since 2003. She retired from Keebler Company, located in a suburb of Chicago, as the Director of Finance for the Foodservice Division. She lived in the Chicago area most of my life but when her husband Rick and her decided to retire, they looked for a place that had natural beauty, better weather (lots of sunshine), and less congestion. They found these qualities in Lyons along with many wonderful people they now count as good friends. Gail volunteers as a member of the Board of the Longmont Humane Society (2012-2018) and as a recreational activities assistant at Life Care Center of Longmont (on-going). She frequently take courses at CU through the Senior Auditors program, focusing on the social sciences which was her undergraduate major. She loves to travel internationally and spend lots of time outdoors playing golf, biking and hiking. To her, Lyons is like no other town she has ever known. It has an extraordinary sense of community that she hopes to get to know even better through LCF and to make a contribution to its on-going success. 
Ella Levy Grants Committee Chair Board member since 2021 Ella Levy has been a Boulder County resident for nearly 20 years, and is a native of Texas. She recently moved to Lyons at the beginning of 2020 in search of a tight-knit community, access to the outdoors and music. A month-long, leadership Outward Bound mountaineering course originally brought her to Colorado. Being outside daily and connected to nature is core to her value-set, and she shares in this love with her husband. Though Ella specializes now as a sales professional in the start-up Technology sector, she is equally interested in serving her community and is a former non-profit fundraising professional. She supervised a $2 million Grant Program which supported engineering projects in developing countries globally and served as Development Manager & Grants Writer for a local, Contemporary art museum. Ella is also a working artist, focusing on painting, photography and multimedia methods. She excitedly looks forward to affecting change within Lyons, and garnering support for the many vibrant non-profits that we are lucky to have in our backyard. 
Peter Hinzy Board member since 2023 My wife, Kim, and I moved to Lyons in August 2022 from the Western suburbs of Chicago. Prior to escaping the Midwest we lived in Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois before discovering the beautiful Rocky Mountain foothills and the wonderful town of Lyons. We have two adult sons, one in Colorado and the other in Ames, Iowa finishing up his degree. Kim is a psychotherapist in private practice offering mental health counseling and nature-based wellness. My background is in manufacturing and I am the president of RCI Offroad based in Loveland. After growing up on a small farm outside of Indianapolis, Indiana, I attended Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and received my bachelors in Mechanical Engineering, and later completed my MBA. I have spent most of my career in manufacturing in various capacities and most enjoy leading teams and developing talent. When not at work, I enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking, camping, and off-roading as well as traveling, reading, walking the dogs (which in the summer often involves stopping for a beer at a local establishment! We’re thrilled to call Lyons home and I look forward to serving the community as a member of the LCF Advisory Board If you are interested in becoming an advisory board member of the Lyons Community Foundation, please fill out the form below and we will contact you. |