Tom Clark is retiring, and the Denver area is losing a real power and wonderfully human representative who be difficult to replace.
We’ve long admired Clark’s leadership with the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation and service on the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, and we’ve also relied often on his wisdom and expertise. So have many others. He’s helped civic leaders and countless business executives in our fair city and all along the Front Range.
Clark that he would step down in March. He will be hugely missed.
As noted by Denver Post reporter Emilie Rusch, Clark has served as a key player in almost every major business relocation and expansion you could think of, and some you’ve probably forgotten. From helping Denver outgrow its reliance on the oil and gas industry that left the area subject to boom-bust cycles, he’s helped guide construction of the Denver International Airport and the venues that showcase the Colorado Rockies and Denver Bronocs.
In announcing his retirement, Clark was characteristically more about the mission than himself.
“Its been an incredibly wonderful life at least to be witness to all the stuff we have done as a community to bring it back from where it was in the mid-1980s when I came here,” Clark told Rusch. “We should all feel blessed that we’ve held together as a region first, individuals agendas second. Itap not easy to do, but we have incredible things to be proud of.”
Part of Clark’s philosophy meshed well with leaders like Gov. John Hickenlooper, who preached a more inclusive approach to gaining business over a selfish focus on the capital city. As Norm Franke, co-chair of the Denver Metro EDC executive committee and regional president of Alpine Bank, put it, Clark urged, “if we want them on the Front Range, if they want to go to Aurora, letap support them going to Aurora. If they want to go to Colorado Springs, letap help them get to Colorado Springs.”
Clark started with the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce in 1985 and serves it now as executive vice president. We’ve seen his work there firsthand, as our publisher, Mac Tully, sits on that board.
Chamber president and CEO Kelly Brough summed up the moment perfectly: “Itap hard to talk about the rise of our economy without talking about Tom Clark. He has been instrumental in establishing how we do business in our region and his respect for others, his honesty and his ability to collaborate and compromise have shaped our organization and the broader business community.”
In discussing his time in economic development, Clark admits he leaves challenges behind. “We had a lot of opportunities to increase taxes on gas, and our roads got gummed up and people are not happy about congestion right now,” he said.
True enough, and the missed opportunity no doubt came, as Clark notes, in not recognizing just how successful Denver would become.
We owe a lot of that success to Tom Clark, and join the many others who wish him well as he now takes time to be a grandfather of four and enjoy some needed leisure, as well as continue some work with the chamber.
Godspeed, Sir, and please come visit anytime.
To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit or check out our for how to submit by e-mail or mail.
