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<br />Respondents to Keynote Address
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<br />DON AMENT
<br />Commissioner of Agriculture, State of Colorado (Denver)
<br />
<br />Don Ament was appointed Commissioner of Agriculture January 12, 1999, by incoming Governor
<br />Bill Owens. Don just completed twelve distinguished years in the Colorado General Assembly, four
<br />years in the House of Representatives and eight years in the Senate. He served as Chairman of the
<br />Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Energy Committee; Chairman of the C~pital Development
<br />Committee; and as a member on the State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee, and the
<br />Transportation Committee.
<br />Nationally, Ament chaired the American Legislative Exchange Council's Task Force on
<br />Agriculture, and is considered and expert in areas of water and property rights.
<br />At the conclusion of his first term in the House, Ament was named the "Most Promising
<br />Legislator." He has been named four times as "Legislator of the Year" by the National Federation of Independent Businesses, and
<br />has received "Legislator of the Year" awards from twenty associations including the Colorado Association of Commerce and
<br />Industry, Ducks Unlimited, the Consulting Engineers of Colorado, thc Colorado Cattlefeedcrs Association, thc Univcrsity of
<br />Colorado, and the Colorado Green Industries.
<br />Ament served five years on the State Board of Education, four of them as chairman. He also served fourteen years on the
<br />RE-I Val1ey School Board in Sterling, Colorado, and is a former prcsident of the Colorado Association of School Boards.
<br />Ament is a farmer and rancher in Northeast Colorado. He and his wife, Patly, have three grown children.
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<br />
<br />POLLY PAGE
<br />Arapahoe County (Colorado) Commissioner
<br />
<br />Born a coal miner's daughter in Fainnont, West Virginia, Polly grew up in the small mining town
<br />of Barrackville, West Virginia and attended Fairmont State College. After marrying, she lived in
<br />Tombstone, Arizona and Enid, Oklahoma before moving to Colorado in 1971.
<br />Polly has a broad base of experience in politics and government. She has been the Arapahoe
<br />County Commissioner for District 4 since 1995, and was Aurora City Council Member from 1987 to
<br />1995. She has also been Chair of the Arapahoe County Public Airport Authority, the Denver
<br />Regional Council of Govcrnments, and Vice-Chair of thc Aurora Economic Development Council,
<br />where she has also served as a Board Member.
<br />In addition, Pol1y has served on the Board of Directors for the E-470 Public Highway Authority,
<br />the Metro Wastewater Reclamation District and on the Board of Trustees of the Southeast Business Partnership. She has been a
<br />member of the Southeast Corridor Coalition, the Southeast Transportation Management Organization, and an auxiliary member of
<br />the Salvation Army.
<br />Polly has been active as a volunteer for numerous community organizations, as well - and still found time to start a diesel repair
<br />business.
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<br />
<br />PETER BINNEY
<br />Vice President, CH2M Hill (Denver)
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<br />Peter Binney is a registered professional engineer and a Vice President and Office Manager for
<br />CH2M HILL's Denver office. He has graduate degrees in Civil Engineering and Watcr Rcsources
<br />Engineering from the University of Colorado and University of Canterbury, Ncw Zealand. He is
<br />responsible for al1 water supply and treatmcnt projects that CH2M HILL deli vcrs in the Southwest
<br />United States. With 25 years expericnce, hc has overseen the development of long-range water
<br />resource projects in major metropolitan areas in Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Oregon and
<br />California. He has also provided consulting in China, Taiwan, England, Hungary and in Southeast
<br />Asia. He is currently working with the south metropolitan Denver area to assist them in identifying
<br />how long-range water supplies will be acquired to meet the needs of this rapidly developing area.
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