Biff Warren inducted into the Boulder County Business Hall of Fame

Niwot attorney, co-founder of the Left Hand Valley Courier, longtime Niwot resident and (extremely) active community member, Bruce "Biff" Warren, received yet another honor this week. Partner and founding attorney at Warren, Carson & Moore LLP, Warren was inducted into the Boulder County Business Hall of Fame.

"A couple of people showed up in my office one morning, without an appointment," Warren said. "It was Dennis Paul, who is president of the Boulder County Business Hall of Fame, and Jeff Nading, of Golden Triangle Construction, who knew me back in the 1980s. Usually, if someone comes in like that, my paralegal comes back to tell me and, if I"m busy, I ask her to set up an appointment for them to come back. This time, I came out of my office to the news that I was being inducted into the Hall of Fame. It was a real shock."

Warren shared that while he wasn't expecting the news, others in his office, Warren's son Michael Warren, and fellow Niwot hall-of-famer Cotton Burden, were better prepared. They'd been working on the nomination for some time and were thrilled it was accepted.

The son of a Nebraska judge and a teacher, Warren has been an integral part of the Niwot community since he moved to Colorado in 1975 after earning a law degree at the University of Nebraska. He raised three children and a "bonus son" here with his wife, Susan. His law practice is known for professionalism and its community focus. It's also the kind of place where people like to work for years. Paralegal and Office Manager Vicki Maurer has worked there since she was hired as a high school student-intern in 1980.

However, Warren is known for more than his law practice. In addition to his leadership at the Courier, he's been an integral part of at least 15 community organizations over 47 years. These include Niwot Baseball, Inc., the Niwot Business Association, Niwot Youth Sports, the Niwot Community Association, the Niwot High School Education Foundation, The Niwot Cultural Arts Association and the Niwot Community Semi-Marching Free Grange Band. He has also served on the Boulder County Planning Commission and the Niwot Local Improvement District Advisory Committee.

Warren said many people ask him how he was able to be so involved, and if he ever sleeps. He responds with a laugh, "I've just managed to pull it all together and still have a life for so long."

Then he settles down to a more serious answer. "I try to only do the things I'm interested in. So if someone is trying to build up an accounting practice, or some other professional practice, I suggest they don't join the Rotary because they think it will get them clients. Join it because they're interested in the educational things they do. When people see someone volunteering in a role they're passionate about, and they later need a professional service, they'll think of you."

Warren easily admitted to a love of sports that inspired him to volunteer for several sports-related organizations. "I think sports teach a lot of great life lessons and, for me, it has just been a really good outlet. Sports have always been a part of my life," he said.

When asked about his passion for another volunteer role, that in Niwot's beloved Semi-Marching Free Grange Marching Band, he explained that it was formed in 2005 to play a role in dedicating the bandstand at Whistle Stop Park. Band members, who were recruited through the high school and a newspaper ad, enjoyed the experience of their first performance, and then they just kept playing. Warren's daughter Katie Warren, who still plays in the band, recruited several friends, and many of Warren's neighbors also play in the band. "They had to put up with us or join us since we practiced in my garage," he said.

Warren added that they were named to reflect Niwot's "semi-rural" status as described in the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan and the fact that a few have to walk in parades because they don't all fit on the flatbed trailer. He recalled their early free concerts at the Left Hand Grange, and that the name includes a play on words with free range chickens. He commented, "No musicians were harmed in the making of this music."

Warren talked about how Niwot has changed since he first arrived. "There was a cornfield across the street from my office when I first moved here, which was comforting because I grew up in Creighton,Nebraska, a town of about 1400. When I moved here, I was looking for a small town, but wanted to be close to a college town and close to a metropolitan area. And it's worked really well for me. It's a great place to raise a family and for kids to be involved in."

This isn't Warren's first recognition - not by a longshot. His contributions through the years have been so appreciated that he received Boulder County's first Public Service Award from the Colorado Bar Association, and the 2009 John Marshall Award from Boulder County Legal Services. The Colorado Press Association presented him with the Best Sports Column Writing Award in 2009, and the Niwot Youth Sports baseball fields on Nimbus Road were renamed in his honor in 2002.

But, through all his work and all of the volunteering, there's one piece Warren seems to cherish the most – the people he's met through the years. "Volunteering gives you the opportunity to work with the best people, who are in it for the right reasons. If they're not in it for the right reasons, they don't last very long. So all of those people I've had the chance to work with, they are amazing. That's the real benefit of doing volunteer work in the first place."