Community leaders recognized, honored as part of Navigator awards ceremony in Steamboat Springs

John F. Russell/Steamboat Pilot & Today
The outdoor patio was crowded at the Mythology Distillery for the 2025 Navigator awards party as members of the Steamboat Springs community came together Wednesday afternoon to honor five inspirational local leaders.
“I think that’s what all the leaders were recognized for today, was creating those third spaces,” said Dagny McKinley, who was named Nonprofit Leader of the Year. “How do we keep the community, the Steamboat community? That’s what we’re all trying to do.”
The list of Navigator Awards was first announced in July, including: Off the Beaten Path bookstore owner, Danielle Skov, who was named Business Leader of the Year; Routt County Commissioner Angelica Salinas, Young Professional of the Year; and the leadership of Town Hall Outdoor Co., which was named Business of the Year.
Restaurateur Collin Kelley — owner of Primrose, Cypress, Los Locos and Slopeside — was honored as Changemaker of the Year.
McKinley is the executive director of Undiscovered Earth, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering creativity and ensuring that artists can live, work and thrive in Northwest Colorado.
In 2024 she spearheaded an effort by Undiscovered Earth to raise the money needed to purchase The Chief Theater with a goal to create a downtown arts hub that would provide the local arts community with a place to perform and grow.
When that effort fell short later in the year, McKinley refused to let the dream die and worked out a deal to create the Wildhorse Cinema + Arts complex which continues to provide first-run movies in Steamboat Springs while offering a space that showcases local art shows on its walls and uses previously underutilized theaters for performance art.
“I’m terrified,” McKinley said after being presented her award Wednesday. “Now I feel that responsibility, and understand that this work is important, so I’ve really got to keep doing it and take it to the next level.”

It’s a feeling shared by Skov who has lived in Steamboat Springs for 27 years and purchased Off the Beaten Path in 2022. She said she was humbled when she learned that she had been named the Business Leader of the Year.
“(This award) really shows me that our community supports a bookstore, the community supports the gathering place we have created, and the community supports us and those are the things that make me super-happy and grateful,” Skov said. “Because I love our community.”
That sense of community was shared by Salinas who was elected to be Routt County commissioner in 2024. She said she welcomed the work to strengthen local services, tackle community challenges and support the people and organizations that make Routt County thrive.

“I’m very grateful to be recognized by a community I love and respect and alongside many people I admire. It’s an honor to be part of a generation stepping into leadership, and to have the chance at this stage in my life to help shape the future we are building together,” Salinas said.
Kelley is also working to shape a better future for those who work in the restaurant business.
He first arrived on the Steamboat Springs restaurant scene in 2011 when he opened Carl’s Tavern. He sold the business in 2017 but returned with his ownership of Primrose in downtown and Los Locos and Slopeside Grill on the mountain.
When the new ownership of Carl’s closed their doors in 2024, Kelley jumped back into the space and reopened it as Cypress.
But the recognition Kelley received this week has less to do with his success as a businessman and more about the vision he has for the restaurant industry.
He expressed that vision when he addressed the Leadership Steamboat class earlier this year in a question-and-answer session about the state of the restaurant industry.

“They had a Q and A session, and it was supposed to be 10 to 15 minutes — at 45 minutes they finally stopped me,” Kelley said. “There was so much engagement, so many questions about the restaurant business and they caught me on a day where I was just open, raw, honest and transparent. We talked about this vision to create an employee ownership model for our staff to take ownership of the company once we’ve paid off the mortgages and create the pathway to ownership for our people from servers and dishwashers all the way up to management.”
Kelley said he was humbled to be named the Changemaker of the Year, a new category for the Navigators.
“It tells me that where our compass is pointed is in the right direction,” Kelley said. “We still have a long way to go, and we have miles to go before we before we sleep, but we’re on the right path. That’s what this means to me — it’s affirmation that we’re doing the right thing.”

The final award of the night went to the Town Hall Outdoor Company, which is a B Corp Certified outdoor apparel brand making purpose-built, durable gear for adventurous kids and their families that was created by Robin Hall, Jay Lambert and Joe Solomon.
“It’s acknowledgement that we’re part of this community, and we’re giving back, and we’re helping and contributing, and it’s gratifying for us, honestly,” said Robin Hall, co-founder and CEO at Town Hall Outdoor Co. “As a little business that’s trying their darndest in really tough times. It feels really good to be rewarded, awarded and recognized — We’re incredibly honored to be alongside all these other award winners.”
• Robin Hall, Jam Lambart, Joe Solomon/Town Hall Outdoor Co. — Business of the Year
• Colin Kelley/Cypress, Primrose — Changemaker of the Year
• Dagny McKinley/Undiscovered Earth — Nonprofit Leader of the Year
• Angelica Salinas/Routt County Commissioner — Young Professional of the Year
• Danielle Skov/Off the Beaten Path — Business Leader of the Year
John F. Russell is the business reporter at the Steamboat Pilot & Today. To reach him, call 970-871-4209, email jrussell@SteamboatPilot.com or follow him on Twitter @Framp1966.

Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism
Readers around Steamboat and Routt County make the Steamboat Pilot & Today’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.
Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.
Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.