Wishing Susan A Fond Farewell

Susan LaHoda, who has been the Executive Director of the Imagine! Foundation since its inception, is retiring on August 1, 2014. Under Susan’s tutelage, the Imagine! Foundation has raised more than $6,000,000 to date.

Mark Emery, Imagine!’s CEO, wrote, “My congratulations to Susan. I want you to know what an absolute pleasure it is has been working with her. She is one of the few people I know who can light up a room without ever casting a shadow. On behalf of all of us at Imagine!, we will be wishing her well every day to come.”

Bob Charles, the Founder of the Imagine! Foundation, said, “There’d be no Imagine! Foundation without Susan. It has been said that Reggie Jackson (Hall of Fame baseball player)was the straw that stirred the drink. Well, Susan is the cup, the drink, AND the straw. 

“One of the most brilliant moves John Taylor (former Imagine! CEO)made was hiring Susan. She was the right person at the right time. When the Foundation was starting, she coordinated all the meetings and had all the facts. I relied on her for everything. I can’t imagine what we’d have done without Susan. I did whatever she asked me to do. She’s the kind of person you would never want to disappoint or let down. When it comes to her job, she’s got her heart in it. She was the shepherd and I was one of the sheep in the flock. Some people of great value are referred to as another person’s right arm. Well, Susan is the right arm, left arm, right leg, left leg, everything. She’s a copy machine and computer all rolled into one. 

“Whenever there’s an event, she always runs to the back of the room because she has never wanted any recognition or accolades, but she certainly deserves it.” 

To those who know Susan, it comes as no surprise that she has politely declined that there be a gathering to celebrate her 14 years of dedication and service to Imagine!. However, we encourage anyone who would like share with her some words of gratitude to send her an email at slahoda@imaginecolorado.org or to mail a note to her at: Susan LaHoda, Imagine!, 1400 Dixon Avenue, Lafayette, CO 80026.