GOODFELLOWS
a glimpse at the other side of telluride's business leaders' lives

The Working Relationship
Locals know Ron Allred, Jim Wells and Dave Flatt as the primary visionaries behind the Telluride Ski & Golf Resort, Mountain Village , the gondola and many other real estate dealings that were instrumental in making the Telluride community a world-class resort destination. Their high-end business endeavors have placed their names in local newspapers at a regular cadence for over two decades. In 1978, Allred, Wells and Benchmark Company from Avon , Colorado , purchased Telluride Ski Resort from Joe Zoline. Before the Avon business venture, Allred was a dentist in Colorado Springs, Colorado, who aspired to get involved in the more creative and challenging side of America's free enterprise system. Hence, Allred sought-out his childhood friend, Jim Wells, who had a proven record of accomplishment for putting large financial deals together. As a CPA with Arthur Andersen & Co., Wells was completing the four-year process of overseeing the merger of Getty Oil Company with Tidewater Oil Company. Allred's pitch to Wells seemingly happened at the right time. The Getty deal was ending, and Wells was tired of working seven-days-a-week in California . He yearned to get back to Colorado , where he was born and raised.

First, Allred and Wells began their business ventures in Colorado Springs with the development of six dental/professional buildings and two apartment complexes. "We pooled what little money we had together, borrowed the rest and developed a shopping center in Colorado Springs as well," said Wells. Within six months, Ron was out of dentistry altogether and the two decided to bring their business savvy to the I-70 corridor. The Vail area badly needed a masterfully crafted commercial community. So, they bought interests in land at Avon , west of Vail, in 1973 and orchestrated a community rich in service-oriented amenities. The great success they had in Avon , inspired them to "create the top resort in North America ." They knew few places on earth as beautiful as Telluride, so they decided to make their vision a reality. After purchasing the ski area and embracing all the locals' environmental concerns and aspirations, the Allred/Wells duo broadened their network by seeking out the development and financial expertise of another lifetime friend, Dave Flatt.

Prior to moving to Telluride, Flatt spent 20 years as a commercial banker in California and Colorado. As early as the late 1970s, Flatt was privy to Allred's and Wells' business dealings in Telluride and he acted as their banking consultant. Most all of his life, he had "played" in Telluride and agreed with his friends that Telluride was a magical place that deserved the utmost in quality infrastructure, ambiance and excellence. By 1984, Flatt took his friends' visions, grabbed the bull by the horn and surged ahead toward the launch of a town called Mountain Village (MV). Twelve million dollars was needed to get going. Wells worked on getting an investment group and bankers together, while Allred compiled the conveniences that would set the tone for MV, along with a myriad of other amenities, and Flatt completed the first residential project in MV.

Dave Flatt said, "Obviously, an investment in a dream, a promise, and a ground-floor venture is risky, but we had a long-term track record, the synergy and finally the outside capital to make it work." It obviously has worked as MV and the Telluride resort community as a whole is considered by the national press as one of America's most unique and unparalleled places to stay and play.