Organizational leaders from across Western Colorado convened at Colorado Mesa University (CMU) on September 23 for the second annual SPARK Summit, a conference aimed at providing high-level training locally. The event, held in CMU’s Meyer Ballroom, offered insights on leadership, executive finance, artificial intelligence, communication, employee development, and business growth, addressing a need that often requires companies to send staff to larger cities.
The one-day conference was organized by the C-Suite Initiative, founded by business coaches Kristin Donahue and Bob Bever. Donahue stated that the summit was created to bring Western Colorado business leaders together to foster curiosity, innovation, and new ideas, ultimately driving meaningful growth in the business community. Donahue and Bever designed the event to give attendees direct access to experienced practitioners who have worked with professional sports teams, hospitals, and Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies. Speakers engaged directly with participants, answering questions and spending time in a dedicated “Playground” area for individual conversations. Attendees were encouraged to identify “SPARK moments,” including valuable ideas and planned organizational changes.
Dr. Rick Perea, a performance and organizational psychologist who has worked with the Denver Broncos, Denver Nuggets, and Colorado Rockies, opened the summit with a presentation on improving performance by focusing on controllable factors. Perea distinguished between an organization’s immediate climate and its culture, which develops over time. He demonstrated the importance of cooperation, trust, and shared commitment using an energy stick exercise. Perea also encouraged leaders to focus on daily processes like preparation, communication, and customer contact, rather than just outcome goals such as revenue targets. In a breakout session, Perea detailed five leadership styles: transformational, transactional, referent, charismatic, and autocratic. He explained that effective leaders adapt their style based on the needs of their organizations. Perea also emphasized the relationship between leadership and followership, stating that leaders must share power and be open and vulnerable to help others develop as leaders.
Kelly Johnston, president and CEO of JFS LLC, led an executive-finance breakout session titled “Revenue Is Vanity. Cash Is Reality.” JFS provides accounting, tax planning, and financial consulting services, specializing in helping financially distressed hospitals, including 23 rural hospitals nationwide. Johnston highlighted that accounting and data can be misleading if not used correctly. She used the turnaround of St. Vincent General Hospital District in Leadville as an example, where the hospital had a significant loss and owed vendors far more than its board realized. Johnston reported that St. Vincent has since achieved a positive bottom line and increased cash on hand, rehired employees, and is preparing to relaunch surgical services.
Johnston explained that these principles apply to smaller companies too. Owners must understand the differences between revenue, margins, profit, and cash, as a positive income statement does not always mean money is available in the bank. She noted that equipment purchases, debt payments, and owner distributions can reduce cash without appearing on a profit-and-loss statement. Businesses also need to account for employee downtime, future hiring, taxes, and the cost of replacing an owner. Johnston stressed that finance and operations should not be treated as separate functions because decisions in one directly affect the other. She advised owners to classify expenses as unnecessary, profit-producing, or replaceable, and to monitor unpaid invoices and unbilled work. Johnston concluded that “money follows culture, quality and really knowing your numbers.”
The summit included three keynote presentations and three rounds of master classes, offering an artificial intelligence session during each breakout period. Dr. Elisa Janson Jones demonstrated how businesses can use AI and other tools to create documented operating procedures from spoken explanations, helping to preserve institutional knowledge. Travis Hurst and Cameron Searle of Native GTM discussed building an AI "employee" to reduce time spent on repetitive administrative tasks. Other master classes covered high-stakes communication with Denise “DT” Thomas, employee development with Carl Lubbe, and local-business marketing with Ross McDaniel of Fencepost. Craig Weber, author of “Conversational Capacity,” delivered the lunch keynote, focusing on how leaders and teams can have productive conversations during high-pressure situations or disagreements. Denise “DT” Thomas closed the summit, speaking on translating leadership insights into measurable action through intentional leadership, communication, and accountability.
