As we launch the Steamboat Locals app and and media platform today, July 1,2024, it is time to answer the final of the “Five W’s”. We’ve already told you WHO we are, WHAT we’re doing, WHERE you will find us, and WHEN you will use Steamboat Locals. The final “W” to answer is WHY. Big or small, we are true believers that one should understand the “why” of everything they are doing in life. Here is our why…
Let’s start by answering WHY most of us wanted to become Steamboat Locals in the first place?
The old saying is “Come for the winter. Stay for the summer.” In general, the phrase refers to the people who moved here for the skiing, but soon realized the summer months offer just as much, if not more, of an opportunity to play in the great outdoors. So, it is likely that the foremost thing that put the Steamboat area on a shortlist of places we all wanted to reside had to do with the yearound mountainous playground. Still, there are a lot of resort towns in Colorado, and across the Rocky Mountains that boast the ease of access to outdoor recreation. What else was it that drew you to Steamboat?
For as long as I’ve lived here, I’ve always said that the community is why I live in Steamboat. The spirit of the Steamboat community was developed long before I first came to the Yampa Valley as a young child, and long before there was a ski resort on Mt. Werner.
When you look at the history of most ski towns in Colorado, they were originally founded as mining towns. Miners were opportunists focused on immediate personal gain, which meant they lacked a sense of permanence. As the boom of the current yield started to bust, miners wouldn’t hesitate to chase the next opportunity elsewhere.
Steamboat, on the other hand, has a long, deep rooted history in ranching and agriculture. The success of ranching towns was often determined by neighbors helping neighbors, leading to tight-knit communities with strong local ties and traditions. The ranching heritage of our area has instilled a sense of family within the community that is unique to what is found in most resort towns.
WHY did we feel a need to create a Steamboat Locals media hub for entertainment and information?
Even with a deeply rooted sense of community, there has been a growing sense that some of that has slowly been stripping away lately. We live in a day-and-age where people are divided in almost every aspect of life. As much as we’d like to think we are immune to that at a local level, a variety of controversial topics have created a similar divide where tearing down the the side you oppose has become a more useful tactic than a constructive conversation based on the commonalities we all may share. In a community built on working together towards communal prosperity despite personal differences, seeing things that divide us in this way is foreign.
What does any of this have to do with why we built the Steamboat Locals media hub? Simply put, we wanted to build a place where the community could come together for light-hearted entertainment and information, whether that be through music, podcasts or written stories. Within that, we are sticking to our guiding principles of celebrating our local community. We are highlighting local musicians. We are talking to the influential community members who have had a positive impact on our area. We are keeping the legends and the lore from yesteryear alive. We are, and will always be, celebrating our community and considering the local audience with the content we provide!
The Mission
At its core, Steamboat Locals is driven by a mission to:
- Strengthen Community Bonds: Listening to music bonds people. Learning more about your neighbors helps you understand them more. Hearing from the people that helped build the community into what it was that drew you here provides an appreciation for keeping it what we fell in love with. Steamboat Locals aims to build a sense of belonging and support among residents through mutual consumption of locally produced content.
- Support Local Businesses: The initiative encourages locals and visitors alike to shop, dine, and play locally, like we do. Just as all of our content creators are locally based, we are committed to using local vendors when possible. We also intend to highlight local businesses on our platform, ensuring that the town’s economy thrives and small businesses flourish.
- Celebrate Local Culture: Steamboat Springs has a rich cultural heritage, from its ranching roots to outdoor recreation scene. Steamboat Locals highlights these cultural aspects through storytelling.
We hope you enjoy listening to our music or podcasts and reading the stories from members of our local community. Everything we produce or program is both created by and inspired by the amazing community found in the Yampa Valley. More than anything, we hope that you
We welcome any and all input, whether it’s a song suggestion, a thought on a story you’d like us to share, an inquiry about how you can help create content for us, or even constructive criticism. Don’t be shy. Email us at steamboatlocals@localsmediagroup.com.
Eli Campbell | Steamboat Local since 1999 & Founder of Steamboat Locals – July 1, 2024