Left Hand Laurel – Alyson Bell

Niwot has the good fortune of being Alyson Bell’s family. And, as it is with the best of kin, Bell’s positive impacts are deep and immeasurable.

“I like to keep a full plate and keep it rolling” Bell said. And that truly is the Alyson Bell effect. Her personal touch on Niwot’s signature events such as Let’s Wine About Winter, Rock & Rails, and The Great Pumpkin Party, through her organizing and hands-on effort and by ensuring that graphics, printed materials and online presences are emblematic, are essential to their success.

Bell and her husband, Charles Bell, have owned Niwot-based Tool Studios, a branding, marketing, and web design business, for over 15 years. Utilizing their company, Alyson has been able to drive forward critical projects for the Niwot Cultural Arts Association (NCAA). Bell is a member of the board of directors for the NCAA, a non-profit organization that brings everything from performance arts to visual arts to the public in Niwot.

While Bell’s day-to-day work for their business primarily revolves around finances and bookkeeping, her creative side is working overtime on conceptualizing graphics and website design (Niwot Children’s Park recently), and coming up with ideas for events (the haunted house this year at Niwot’s Great Pumpkin Party, for instance). Her love for the arts and her penchant for creativity shine through in all of her work.

Alyson and Charles have three children; son Dustin, who lives in Boston and is also a creative force in online marketing for a jewelry company and in theatre production, son Julian, a freshman at Niwot High School, and daughter Hudson, a third grader at Niwot Elementary School.

For most of Bell’s time living in Niwot, she has volunteered in the school system. Every week she can be found in NES classrooms and in the school library, giving her time as a parent volunteer. Under Bell’s supervision, NES’s annual sock hop has been entirely revamped and has grown into an event that now draws over 750 people. And Bell is one of the volunteers who are instrumental in producing the NES’s annual directory, an essential resource and fundraising tool for the school.

At NHS, she’s active in making sure the football team, on which Julian plays, is fed a hearty meal pre-game through the Touchdown Club, a group of NHS football team supporters.

Charles Bell said of his wife, “The most beautiful thing she does is teaching our family you don’t have to be paid -- giving is just part of being in a community.” He said he sees her as humble, very creative, and the textbook description of a mother. “She even makes the kids’ lunches every day.”

From cheering on the high school football team in her green Niwot sweatshirt to recruiting high school students to help create a haunted house, Bell radiates a dedication to pulling people together. “This town is her family,” Charles Bell explained, “She’s always there for someone else and is one of the most loyal human beings I’ve met.”

Kind words of praise for Bell as a community hero are abundant. Pat Murphy of Niwot Real Estate has worked with Bell in many capacities. Murphy observed, “She quietly gets things done and gets other people involved, especially young people.”

Holly Saia, owner of Nourish & Company and also an NCAA board member, said, “Alyson Bell is one of the most generous people I know. Her dedication to the Niwot community is endless.” Linda Herring, who knows Bell through many events over the years added her praise, saying Bell “is always there with a big smile on her face and she’s a great cheerleader for the community.”

Bell wasn’t joking about thriving on being busy. In addition to Tool Studios and her volunteer work, Bell also has an event/party, handmade invitation/card business called TS Next Door (www.tsnextdoor.com), and she works for singer-songwriter Rebecca Folsom on her events, media and marketing.

With such a deep history of participation, it’s easy to note a continuous seasonality to Bell’s community commitment. One event ends and planning for the next one begins, with little time in between. “My favorite part is feeling like I’m helping through my service, it’s very fulfilling” Bell said.