OUR HISTORY
On Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023, the Eagle River Foundation honored two of its own at the Creekside Grill at the Gypsum Creek Golf Course. Jerry Fedrizzi and Roxie Deane were founders of the organization in 2001, using the approximately $250,000 from the sale of the medical clinic in Eagle to Valley View Hospital as the base for providing grants.
Jerry Fedrizzi started working as a dentist at the clinic in 1968. Before moving to Eagle, Fedrizzi attended high school in Glenwood Springs, where he met his wife, Jan. Following dental school, Jerry and Jan moved to Virginia, where Jerry provided his dental expertise to the local U.S. Army base. The couple returned to the mountains from there, settling in Eagle with Jerry becoming the staple dentist at the local clinic.
Roxie Deane started working as a nurse at the clinic in 1974. She was born in Glenwood Springs and attended Eagle Valley High School, where she met her husband, Rich. A devoted public servant, Deane was the first woman elected mayor of the town of Eagle and has served as president of the clinic board, on the Eagle River Foundation board, and on the Greater Eagle Fire Board.
By the community, for the community
“Eagle Valley Needs a Doctor” read the banner that hung across U.S. Route 6 in the town of Eagle in July 1970. Dennie Eaton, then the chair of the clinic board, painted the black block letters onto a sheet of canvas herself after several attempts to hire a doctor for the brand-new clinic failed.
In 1960, the total population of Eagle County hovered around 4,700 people. By 1970, that number had grown to 7,500. In 1955, Valley View Hospital was built in Glenwood Springs, and in 1965, Vail Clinic was established in the Mill Creek Court building. At the same time, the people of Eagle and Gypsum decided to build a clinic for the residents of Western Eagle County.
“Eagle Valley Needs a Doctor” read the sign suspended above U.S. Route 6 in Eagle in July 1970, as the community searched for a doctor to staff its community clinic.The Eagle County Enterprise archive
“That clinic was built by community funds, by donations, that’s why nobody really owned it,” said Kathy Heicher, the president of the Eagle County Historical Society. “Eagle couldn’t keep a doctor in the 1960s. They thought they could attract one — it was like in the ‘Field of Dreams’ — if we build them a clinic, we’ll get a doctor.”
In March 1964, Eagle community members began raising funds for a local medical clinic, at that point called the “Eagle Valley Medical Center,” with a goal of reaching $30,000. The Eagle Valley Jaycees, based in Eagle and Gypsum, organized in March 1963 and led the fundraising effort for the clinic in 1964. Funds came from everywhere: A dance fundraiser at the Eagle gym, memorial fund contributions, the sale of a donated lamb, donations from local community members and organizations — everywhere except the government.
“The clinic was not owned by the town or the county, it was nonprofit,” Fedrizzi said.
Ground was broken for the Eagle Valley Medical Center by July 30, 1964, according to the Eagle Valley Enterprise. While the original goal was to raise $30,000 for the construction of the clinic, due to the donation of labor and materials by contractors and others, the total price tag was lower than expected. As of April 22, 1964, the community had raised $16,782.37 in total pledges of cash and materials, and the Eagle Valley Enterprise reported the building was “nearing completion.”
The clinic has gone by many names, including the Eagle Valley Medical Center, the Eagle Clinic, the EagleCare Clinic, and the Eagle Medical Clinic. The clinic was located where the Eagle Library is now, on three lots purchased as part of the Mayer addition to Eagle, and one lot donated by Chester Mayer.
Several doctors cycled through the clinic’s doors — Dr. C.R. Athey, Dr. Mary Jo Jacobs, Dr. Bruce Storrs, Dr. Tom Steinberg, and Dr. Jack Eck, among others. Dr. Jacobs started work at the clinic in September 1971, becoming the first doctor at the clinic in three years, following Dr. Athey’s departure in 1969. Dr. Storrs joined the clinic in 1975, a year after Dr. Jacobs departed.
“We had a few interesting doctors go through (the clinic). We had a new one every day,” Deane said. “When it really pulled together was Vail (Health) came to the clinic and they said they’d staff it three days a week.”
“We had those three days and then we wanted more services, and Vail couldn’t do it, so Valley View said, ‘we’ll cover the other days,’ so then it was Vail one day, and Valley View one day,” Deane said.
Though Fedrizzi was a dentist by trade, he often served as a pinch hitter in medical cases when the clinic did not have an on-site doctor. “I was the so-called ‘medical guy,’” Fedrizzi said.
He recalled removing a bean from the ear of an elementary schooler and stitching up a number of community members at the clinic, including providing late-night stitches to his own son, after his brother split his head open with a punch.
$250,000 could have gone nowhere, but it didn’t
In 2001, Valley View Hospital bought the clinic for approximately $250,000. Because the clinic was constructed through crowdfunding nearly 40 years earlier, it had no owner. For their longtime commitment, Fedrizzi and Deane became the clinic’s representatives, and therefore, the recipients of the money.
“We looked at each other — they just handed us this $250,000 check — it goes nowhere, nobody is accountable for it, nobody is responsible for it,” Deane said.
“Seriously, we could’ve split it up, had a great party, and nobody in Eagle County would have known the difference,” Fedrizzi said.
“They formed the Eagle River Foundation, and, not as a surprise, they took this money and they put it back into the community,” said Jon Lengel, the current president of the Eagle River Foundation.
Alongside four others, Fedrizzi and Deane founded the Eagle River Foundation using the $250,000 from the sale of the clinic to support nonprofit organizations in the Western Eagle River Valley. Of the original group of six that helped form the Eagle River Foundation, Fedrizzi and Deane are the only ones still living in Eagle County.
The Eagle River Foundation’s mission is to “cooperatively work with the communities of Western Eagle County by initiating or financially supporting nonprofit projects which promote safety, wellbeing, and environmental integrity of the western Eagle River Valley,” said Steve Smith, the Eagle River Foundation’s current secretary. The foundation provides grants to organizations focused on Wolcott, Highway 131 to McCoy, Eagle, Gypsum, Dotsero, and Colorado River Road to Burns.
The Eagle River Foundation has maintained its funds through investments in stocks and by receiving donations. Since 2001, the Eagle River Foundation has provided nearly half a million dollars of small grants to nonprofit organizations in western Eagle County. Grant recipients have focused on the education, environment, events, physical & mental health, recreation, or services. Grants usually range from $500 to $5,000.
Founding board members were Jerry Fedrizzi, Roxie Deane, Laurene Knupp, Shirley Shelton, Ron Foss, and Pam Schultz, then subsequently Mary Hoza and Nick Nicolich. Current ERF board members are Jon Lengel, Laurie Slaughter, Debbie Comerford, Steve Smith, Sonja Beasley, and Jessie Steinmetz.
Nonprofit organizations based in Western Eagle County can apply for grants from the Eagle River Foundations twice per year. Grant applications are due June 1 and Nov. 1 yearly, and the application can be found at EagleRiverFoundation.org.
Summary
1963: Community efforts led by the Eagle Valley Jaycees raised donations for a medical facility. Three lots were purchased from and one lot was donated by Chet Mayer.
1964: The Eagle Valley Medical Clinic was built in the summer and opened in the fall.
1964 to 1974: A series of physicians came and went. Eagle struggled to find a physician long term.
1968: Dr. Jerry Fedrizzi opened a dental practice in the clinic.
1974: Roxie Deane joined the clinic staff.
1974 to 1995: Valley View Hospital (VVH) and Vail Hospital collaborated in scheduling doctors to come to the Eagle clinic.
1995: Valley View Hospital (VVH) bought the Eagle Valley Medical Clinic for $250,000.
1997: VVH sold the property to the Eagle County Library District, and the current Eagle Library was built on the site of the original Eagle Valley Medical Clinic. (In 2001, VVH built a new clinic on Chambers Rd. Then, in 2007 VVH and Vail Hospital collaboratively built a clinic in Eagle Ranch.)
2000: The Eagle River Foundation was formed using the money from the sale of the clinic. The first board was selected from the trustees and staff of the EVMC.
2026: The ERF mission was slightly revised to “…financially support small non-profit organizations which promote education, the environment, events, physical and mental health, recreation, and services in the communities of western Eagle County, Colorado.”
2001 to Present: The Eagle River Foundation awards small grants to non-profit organizations serving western Eagle County. From 2001 to 2013, grants were given once a year in December. From 2014 to present, grants are given twice a year, in July and December. The application can be found at EagleRiverFoundation.org.
This story was written by Zoe Goldstein for the Vail Daily published on September 13, 2023. The article is reprinted with permission. Some information in the final 3 paragraphs, the timeline, and the photo of the finished clinic were added later by the ERF. Read more from the Vail Daily.
