Bob Schultz   Bob arrived in the critical third year, led the transition to the new school and is still working on his punch list.   One night in 1996, virtually every parent and supporter of the Aspen Waldorf School attended a workshop in the basement of the Yellow Brick building. It was a vision and action-setting meeting and people came prepared to make big plans and commitments. After that meeting, we had our arms around what needed to be done for the next seven years. My life work and personal economy were shaped by the vision of a campus of our own in the mid-valley. Even though for most of the participants the move was going to make things less convenient and more expensive, we were thinking way beyond ourselves and our children. It was the right thing to do.   We looked at more than a hundred sites before finding the right one, but we had already begun to think about the campus design ethic and straw-bale construction. Stephen Kanipe had been working on a new building code and had met a friend of mine, architect Jeff Dickinson. Jeff had done pioneering design work with biodomes, using Buckminster Fuller's ideas to make communities more sustainable and was now working with straw-bale construction. We knew Jeff was the right person for the Waldorf campus. His commitment to inclusion resulted in buildings that were reflective of the best of all our thinking and ideals.   We broke ground on the first building with eighteen weeks and four days until school started. No one in the valley thought we could pull it off, but we had a mission. Every time we hit a roadblock, someone or something would appear to make it dissolve.   Billy Engelman, an owner of Rocky Mountain Construction and a founding parent, offered up his best construction manager, Matt Flink. Matt worked tirelessly, side-by-side with our volunteers and hired help. He made a name for himself and now has his own successful construction business, as well as a beautiful family.

When the buildings were nearly complete, our lack of plans and funds to deal with the piles of dirt and disturbed land became a problem. As Cat Stevens asked, "Where would the children play?" Parents Jim Fox, Billy Engelman, Stephen Kanipe and Tim Fortier wanted to see a play field sooner rather than later. First, they put up the money to purchase an acre of sod and then the pipes for a future irrigation system. We called them "The Sodfathers." I called John Cerise at Grand Junction Pipe and he took measurements for the future irrigation system. He said their designer could design it in three weeks and have everything to us in a month. I explained that we were starting school in two weeks and wanted the pipes in a few days so that the sod could be laid before school started. He answered, "Everyone in the valley has been watching you build this school and no one can believe you're doing it. GJ Pipe is not going to be the ones to mess it up. I'll stay late tonight, design the system myself and have the parts here in two days." John also found a distributor to donate a $2,000 pump for the irrigation system. Jim, Tim and Billy laid the sod.

The final story is about the Waldorf School Community Hall. It was conceived as a 3,000 square foot common area that could also serve as a small performance space. During programming with the performance faculty, I was frustrated to see the building grow to more than 6,000 square foot – a very different and better plan than the original – but Doug Sheffer asked that instead of quibbling, we all design the building we really wanted. We had an artist make a rendering. Doug and Barbi led the effort to make that building possible. It would not have been built without them. My observation is that the community hall is the ultimate manifestation of the building efforts. Our traditions, stories, artistic expression and community-building efforts now have a home. It is our connection to the larger community and a place to share our children's gifts.

The next phase of the school's life will be the effect our children have in the world and the growth of our academic programs. All of our focus is now on the students and teachers. I trust that it will be even more rewarding than the building phase that we just completed. Even though I am no longer a parent there, I look forward to supporting the growth of this important work. I see the benefits of this school every day as my children go through Aspen High School.