Prowers Economic Development says goodbye to Cheryl Sanchez – welcomes Tallie Harmon as her replacement

Cheryl Sanchez, retiring Prowers Economic Prosperity Executive Director

A surprise retirement party  was held on December 6th at Tavern 1301 for Cheryl Sanchez, who has retired as Executive Director of Prowers Economic Prosperity, a position she has held since 2020.  Before taking the helm at PEP, Cheryl was working in a similar community development capacity for Baca County.  The PEP Board members knew Cheryl and felt she was exactly who they needed and, fortunately for Prowers County, they were able to lure her to Lamar. She told them when she accepted the offer that she would only do so if they would at some point hire an assistant for her – someone she could train to transition into the Director role when she decided to retire.  In 2022, she decided that the time had come to start planning for that retirement and asked that they find her an assistant so she could begin what she anticipated would be a 5-year mentoring/training period. That replacement turned out to be Tallie Harmon, who I recently spoke with about both herself and Cheryl.

Cheryl is a Baca County native who has led a very interesting life both personally and professionally.  She grew up as one of five children in a farming family, which explains why she has such a strong work ethic. “She never rests”, Tallie said. “The woman is ALWAYS here….all she does is work.  I can drive by at night or on a weekend and I see her in the office working”.  At the young age of 9 or 10, Cheryl’s father had her driving a truck on the farm.  It was an old crank truck that he would have to start for her.  She would then drive to the grain elevator, where someone would again have to start the truck for her to enable her to drive back to the farm.  She was the oldest of 4 girls in the family with one older brother, and because she was the oldest girl, she helped a lot with the family caretaking.  “She still takes care of everybody – that’s what she does” said Tallie.

Cheryl attended business school in Denver after high school graduation. She had heard a presentation about the school while in high school and although she knew attending it would be hard, she made it happen.  After graduation, she worked for many years in a bank in Denver, becoming their first woman bank officer and among the first to install ATM machines in banks. She also worked for the Colorado Rockies for a time. She then returned to Springfield to raise her family (later as a single mom) and also ran a 24-hour restaurant there for several years. Cheryl earned her Masters Degree in Organizational Management in 2003.  She served as both the Southeast Colorado Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Director and as part of Lamar Community College’s Business Faculty from 2000-2001 before becoming a full-time faculty member at LCC.  She retired from LCC as the Vice President of Academic Services and Student Services in December of 2017 but continued to teach.  In 2018, she returned to SBDC part time as a Consultant for Prowers, Baca and Kiowa Counties. At that time, she was quoted as saying “I’m excited to be a part of SBDC once again.  As a lifelong resident of Southeast Colorado, I look forward to helping area residents achieve their business goals and dreams and be a part of encouraging economic growth”. In 2023, she was selected as one of only two Economic Developers to represent Colorado at the SelectUSA Investment Summit in Maryland. She still teaches two business classes at LCC each semester, something she will continue doing, even after stepping down from PEP.  Cheryl has also served as a part-time Southern Colorado Economic Development District (SCEDD) staffer.  As you can see, Tallie’s summation of “she never rests” is quite accurate.

Tallie Harmon, new Executive Director for Prowers Economic Prosperity

Tallie Harmon feels she was in the right place at the right time when she was hired by PEP.  Tallie is a lifelong resident of Prowers County, graduating from Granada High School and then attending Lamar Community College, graduating from there in 2016.  While at LCC, Tallie did work study in the President’s office, where she got to know Cheryl well.  Tallie worked at Colorado East Bank, which later became TBK Bank, from 2015 until 2022 when PEP hired her. She has also been a board member on the Lamar Chamber of Commerce for several years.  In 2022, Tallie represented the Chamber at a ribbon cutting for the Colorado Drink Company which Cheryl was also attending, representing PEP.  After the ceremony as the two waited for their drinks, Cheryl asked Tallie “Have you seen the job opening we have posted?  You’d be perfect for it”.  Tallie saw the ad on a Tuesday and realized the deadline was Friday of the same week.  She got her application in “at the last minute” and after learning she’d been selected, was told by Cheryl, “See?  I knew what I was doing”.  Tallie started in her position as Project Coordinator at PEP on October 3, 2022 and “the rest is history” she said.

As to that originally planned 5-year training/mentoring timeline Cheryl gave PEP when Tallie was hired?  After two years, she felt fully confident that Tallie was ready to take the reins and told the Board this past August that she was ready to step down, a tribute to Tallie’s own work ethic and ability to learn quickly.  Tallie surprisingly learned she would be taking over at the end of the year at the same time that it was announced to the Board. “That’s how I found out” she said with a laugh and a smile. She took the news in stride because she knew it would happen sooner rather than later and is also confident that she’s ready.  As for Cheryl, she is anxious to slow down a bit (if she can learn how) and spend more time with her children, grandchildren and two recent great-grandchildren who were born this year.  They all live in southeast Colorado, so she will have plenty of time to enjoy them.

Although Cheryl wasn’t in her role at PEP for a lengthy time period, she accomplished a great deal during that time due to that great work ethic and tireless energy she has. She has been a constant fixture throughout the county visiting new businesses, leading and attending meetings and dinners and participating in ribbon cuttings for the many new businesses she has helped along the way as they see their dreams come to fruition in the county.  She has been working diligently on attracting even more new businesses, utilizing her vast business network.  She will most definitely be missed.  Fortunately for Prowers County, she chose her replacement well, has complete confidence in Tallie’s abilities and has trained her well. Tallie said that one of Cheryl’s last pieces of advice to her was to make sure she maintains a healthy work/life balance, something she admits she was never able to do. Thank you, Cheryl, for the countless hours you’ve spent making PEP and our business community grow and thrive. Welcome, Tallie – we know that while you have big footsteps to fill, you will do so and do it well.  Prowers Economic Prosperity is in good hands!

By Barbara Crimond