If you have ever stood in the Grand Mesa Arts & Events Center and admired how it looks, Will Snowdon was part of the team that developed the Center’s image. Long before the concerts, the gallery shows and the crowds, Will was the architect who helped renovate and restore an old downtown building into the heart of Cedaredge.

Will was born and raised in Denver and met his wife, Nancy, at CU Boulder. After a tour in Vietnam, where he served in a combat operations center in Da Nang, and two turbulent years in Boston, the couple went looking for a quieter life. They found it in a remote, unimproved cabin in Conifer. In 1988 they moved to Cedaredge to raise their kids in a small town. The deciding moment came at the town park, where the community was holding a going-away gathering for an exchange student. "We thought, what a great community," Will remembers. "It has heart."

Will learned passive solar design from the early experts at the Solar Energy Research Institute and taught it at Red Rocks Community College for four years. Breaking into the Western Slope market took time, so for about a decade he commuted to Conifer for site visits and did his drawing at home. Eventually his work here took off: about eight banks across the region, including Bank of Colorado branches in Cedaredge, Montrose, Hotchkiss and Delta and the original Timberline Bank in Grand Junction, along with Dr. Pulsifer's office, the Surface Creek Veterinary Clinic, Dr Knutson’s office, and many local homes.

He was always clear about his priorities. He once told a bank president that he didn't work summers. Instead, after baseball season ended (Will coached), the family loaded into the van for a month-long road trip. "Those months we took off are what our kids remember," he says. "It wasn't good money, but it was a good life."

Will was part of David Starr's vision for Cedaredge from the beginning, helping build the bandstand in the town park. When David saw potential in a building on Main Street, Will drew the preliminary plans and said yes, it could work. Using old photographs of the original building, some of which still hang inside, the team restored the building's historic character. Will is especially proud that the historic placard is back on the building.

Today he calls the Art Center "the glue of the community. It's the core." His favorite part is the music, and he believes many people have moved to Cedaredge and gotten involved because of what happens inside the building he helped bring back to life. He continues to serve GMAEC on a committee that is exploring future improvements.

Thank you, Will, for designing a place where all of us gather.