Routt County Spotlight: Joel Rae
Age: 37
Occupation: Police Captain
Place of birth: Greeley
Q. When did you move to Routt County, and what brought you here?
A. June 1996. My wife and I wanted to escape the metro area and raise our children in a small, close-knit community.
Q. What’s the biggest risk you’ve taken recently?
A. Selling my house and not having a plan of where I am going to live.
Q. Describe your morning routine.
A. Wake up, shower, coffee, blow snow (usually), car pool with my family to town, in the office around 0730 and get briefed on the night’s events.
Q. Have you ever had a book change your life? What was it and why?
A. “It Doesn’t Take a Hero,” by General H. Norman Schwarzkopf. It didn’t really change my life, but I try to apply many of his principles in my life.
Q. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
A. Try to make sure every decision you make is necessary, justified and appropriate.
Q. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A. To follow in my grandpa’s footsteps and be a pilot in the Air Force
Q. If you could invite any four people over for dinner, who would they be, what would you talk about and what would you serve?
A. President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice; I would just listen and serve anything they wanted.
Q. Do you collect anything?
A. The date each year when the last bit of snow melts off my lawn in North Routt (In case you’re interested, it’s always been between May 12 and 19 since 1998)
Q. In the Meatloaf song, “I would do anything for love, but I won’t do that.” What is that?
A. I don’t know, but I do know it wasn’t not letting your girlfriend have your Diet Dr. Pepper.
Q. What was your first job?
A. Farm-hand
Q. What brought you the most pleasure in the last year?
A. My wife, Amy, and my kids, Megan and Austin; on numerous occasions.
Favorites
Book: “Seabiscuit”
Song: “Free Fallin'” by Tom Petty
Color: Blue
Food: Mexican
Sport to watch: Football, Football and more Football (GO BRONCOS!)
Recreational activity: Camping, Hiking, Fishing
Movie: “A River Runs Through It”
Magazine: Sports Illustrated
Do you know someone interesting who you would like to see profiled? Call Brent Boyer at 871-4233 or e-mail him at bboyer@steamboatpilot.com
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