You could almost forgive Pueblo’s Andrea Aragon if an early morning interview request was just too much. And she’d have a legitimate excuse, too. She did, after all, just return from Hawaii. But it’s just not in Aragon’s nature to put things off. She likes to get things done and move on to the next.
Aragon is the Executive Director of the Robert Hoag Rawlings Foundation, so named for the late publisher of southern Colorado’s largest newspaper, The Pueblo Chieftain. Of course, that’s just one of the many things the Rocky Ford native does in her adopted city.
Keeping busy, not only with her job, but with the many boards and organizations she’s part of, is just who she is. It is only a slight exaggeration to suggest the number of Aragon’s ‘irons in the fire’ across the city is too long to list. But a partial list includes board memberships at Caring for Colorado, College Invest, US Bank Community Advisory Board, CSU- Pueblo President’s Advisory Board, Pueblo City/County Library Foundation. Yes. Too many to count.
Her ’Energizer Bunny’ community involvement is just one reason for the Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce naming her the 2023 recipient of the Rod Slyhoff Citizen of the Year Award.
Her position at the Foundation was preceded by 17 years as president of United Way of Pueblo County. Aragon was also the first Executive Director of the city’s Latino Chamber of Commerce and worked for several years in Alumni Development at CSU-Pueblo.
Her indefatigable work ethic was learned from her childhood in Rocky Ford. “I think I just had a desire to help people,” she said. But the path she took was anything but planned.
In college at CSU-Pueblo, her goal was finding an on- camera job in television news. But that got sidetracked when she “needed to fulfill some political science classes.” She took an intern position working for a Colorado congressman. But Washington, she said, wasn’t for her. Besides that, a real-time nightmare hastened her move back to Pueblo. Her father was killed in an automobile accident and, as an only child, thought she needed to be closer to home for her mother. But through the darkness, a light shone.
She’d heard that the fledgling Latino Chamber was looking for leadership. “I interviewed over the phone, and I got it!” she said. Through the Latino Chamber, the networking, the relationships, she became known as someone who could get things done. She left it on firm footing and moved on.
Her current position at the Foundation allows her to extend its reach into towns well east of Pueblo and across the vast San Luis Valley; in all, 18 counties.
“We fund a lot of different areas,” Aragon said. The Foundation funnels money into smaller towns who don’t always have the budget to pay for things that might be considered superfluous. Things like small arts projects or even skate parks. The Foundation recently made a major contribution to the far southeastern town of Bristol to repurpose an older building into a community center.
But Aragon said one of the biggest rewards from her work at the Foundation is giving money for things called operating grants. “It’s money for things like daycare and daycare providers,” she said.
The Foundation made the decision to award grants that would help communities with salaries for people running and working in things like day care centers. “Salaries are not a bad thing to provide…you’ve got to have someone who does the work.”
One of Aragon’s proudest achievements was having a hand in the planning of Pueblo’s River Walk. The community, she remembered, wasn’t investing in the aesthetics of the city as she and others thought it should. “We were able to sell the idea,” and the city’s voters went along. She calls it one of Pueblo’s “quality of life” investments.
With a day often overflowing with appointments, Aragon is effusive in her gratitude to both her mother and husband. “I feel so blessed,” she said.
“We’ve been able to raise a great family.” One of her sons attends college in Pueblo and plays on the golf team, the other is in medical school in Iowa.
Aragon said that her marathon civic engagement is not only for herself and family. It’s for Pueblo, too. Too many outsiders, she said, have a preconceived idea of her town that doesn’t fit with the Pueblo she knows and loves.
“I wish I had a better comeback when people say negative things about Pueblo,” she sighed. But the positive of the city far outweighs the bad. “We have challenges,” she said. But Pueblo’s challenges are not unlike those of other cities. Pueblo, Aragon says, is a great place to call home with a great quality of life. “People who care (about Pueblo) are really giving their all to make it a better place for everyone.”
The Citizen of the Year fete is scheduled for January 26th at the Pueblo Convention Center. While the award will have her name on it, Aragon is modest, almost embarrassed about the honor. “I feel very unworthy,” she said. “There are so many peo- ple, teachers, nurses, people who give so much of themselves.”
While Aragon’s path began with the dream of one day becoming a working journalist, things turned out fine for her and her family. She may not have become a staple on nightly television, but the reward was even better. In Pueblo she became a star.
