Meet the DC Team: Linda

Name: Linda Anderson-Biella

Number of years at DC:  Started in January 1993; 16 years.

Title: Administrative Associate – overall office management; proposals/marketing; bookkeeping; some aspects of human resources.

Where are you from? Colorado Native - Born in Boulder; never lived anywhere but Colorado – why would I?  It’s a great, beautiful state.

Where did you got to school? Fairview High School, graduated 1988.

Do you have any pets? What are they like? Currently “petless” except for 35 head of angus cattle my husband and I own (photo: one of the older cows in the herd).

What's one thing you can't live without? Family and friends; connection to country living and values.

Where is the farthest you have traveled? Sweden, 1988 (only place outside of US I’ve traveled).  Went to Alaska in 2006, will definitely go back.

What's your favorite food? Steak; chips & salsa!  Least favorite - sushi.

What's your favorite part of working at Design Concepts?  People; location; the types of projects.

What would you do with $1 million?  Pay off debts; buy a cabin in the mountains; donate to a cause I believe in; travel; quit my job!

If you could be a professional athlete, what sport would you play? Hockey.

Meet the DC Team: Dave

Dave Peterson has worked at DC since August 2004. Lately he has been serving as a Jack-of-all-trades aiding with city submittals and the logistics of getting projects underway and seeing that they are completed.

Now, however, he is transitioning into working with GRASP (Geo-Referenced Amenities Standard Program) which works with GreenPlay and Geowest, Inc. on the master planning for future park and recreation systems, which includes assessment of needs and level of service analysis. The first GRASP project to which Dave is contributing is in Tulsa, Oklahoma where he, Rob, and Amanda are working initially to create Geographical Information Systems showing Tulsa’s existing parks and rec inventory. The inventory is then given ratings related to how the different elements are functioning in the community so that DC and others working on the project can give recommendations for overall improvements. This information is then given to city officials who use it to decide how best to advance the overall parks and recreation system in their city.

Recently Dave was able to take a break from all he does at Design Concepts to return to Cancun for a week, where he enjoyed the limited crowds, ocean views, and a chance for some rest and relaxation.

KaBoom!: Encouraging Play

As a company which often finds itself in the business of creating places for children to play, we love KaBoom!'s dedication to play and playspaces in America. The organization initiates building, maintaining, and renovating playgrounds across the country; as well as motivating children to go back outside and play. According to Kaboom!'s website, "Through the Playmaker Network and the Playful City USA Campaign, the Kaboom! National Campaign for Play seeks to make play a priority in communities across the nation".

KaBoom.org's find a playspace feature allows people to search for playgrounds close to a certain address or to search for a playspace by name. Website visitors can also add playspaces they know about to the KaBoom! playspace collection. Design Concepts' Sandstone Ranch in Longmont is among the sites KaBoom! has registered.

Plenty of America's playgrounds do not yet appear on KaBoom!, so be sure to visit and add your f

avorite playspace today!

Image courtesy of KaBoom!

Innovative Idea: Safe Spot Skate Spot

“Give me a corner of your existing spot and I’ll build a replicated urban environment that I call a ‘Skate Spot.’” --Rob Dyrdek on his Safe Spot Skate Spot project (Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory).

World-famous skateboarding icon Rob Dyrdek has co-created a foundation with DC Shoes that they’re calling the Skate Plaza Foundation, a part of which is dedicated to the Safe Spot Skate Spot project. Dyrdek is teaming up with communities around the US to create areas where urban kids can access legal "street terrain" to skate. Working with cities—firstly Los Angeles—and designers, Dyrdek is creating replicas of authentic, urban-skating terrain in existing community parks and other open areas. In so doing, the skating public—who currently have few legal venues—are given alternatives to ramps, stairs, and rails on private property. Even better, new space isn’t being dedicated to the singular usage of skaters, but instead public spaces are being enhanced with skateable structures that are incorporated into existing terrain and landscaping.

Dyrdek’s first Safe Spot Skate Spot was unveiled Febuary 24th this year at Lafayette Park in Los Angeles’ Westlake neighborhood. LA “is the mecca of skateboarding and there are zero places to skate there!” said Dyrdek. In fact, there are 13 million street skateboarders in the US, many in urban areas without access to legal venues.

Watch the Fantasy Factory episode that visit’s the first Safe Spot Skate Spot site pre-development.

Photos courtesy of www.mtv.com/photos, www.skateplaza.com

Other Sources: espn.go.com, skate.dcshoes.com , www.skateplaza.com