Brief by Central Staff
Geography – June 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine
Has Chaffee County joined Club 20? Or merged with Gunnison County?
Look closely at the above logo for Club 20, which has outlines of member counties. Working down on the right, there’s Jackson County, then Grand, Summit, and Lake.
Below Lake, where Chaffee normally abides, there’s an expanded Gunnison County, and no Chaffee at all.
Based in Grand Junction, Club 20 began about 45 years ago as an organization of 21 Western Slope counties which banded together to lobby the state for more highway funds. (They called it “Club 20” instead of “Club 21” because the latter sounded too much like a nightclub.)
Club 20 has since grown into a sort of chamber of commerce for the Western Slope. Its members are individuals, businesses, and governmental entitites, and its semi-annual meetings offer some lively discussions of issues affecting rural Colorado.
The group has also expanded into two Eastern Slope counties: Jackson and Lake.
Chaffee would fit well in Club 20, since its concerns and issues are generally the same as those of member counties as regards tourism, transportation, public lands, etc.
However, we figure Chaffee ought to formally join, rather than get lumped in with Gunnison on the Club 20 logo.
Greg Walcher, the Club 20 honcho, grimaced when we asked about Chaffee. “We just got new logos from a graphic-arts shop,” he explained, “and we should have proofed them.”
We know the feeling.