Left Hand Laurel Terry Larsen

The Niwot community and many of its events are made possible only through the efforts of community volunteers, people who dedicate their personal, unpaid time to make this town fun, eventful, and engaging. One such volunteer is Terry Larsen, treasurer and board member of the Niwot Community Association (NCA), an organization whose board is made up entirely of volunteers. For her volunteer efforts, Larsen is this month's Left Hand Laurel.

Larsen has been a Niwot resident since December of 1999. She moved here because her husband, Bruce Larsen, was employed by Amgen managing industrial and commercial construction. Her children were eight and 12 years old at the time.

In 1976, Larsen wanted to become a science teacher after getting her undergraduate degree in biology with a minor in business. She attended San Jose State University and Santa Clara University. Due to California's Proposition 13, an initiative that cut property taxes, schools' funding was severely cut, many teachers were laid off, and teaching jobs were unavailable.

Larsen spent seven years working for International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT) as an accountant and seven years with Apple as an accountant. For the past seven years she has been working with TurboTax as a lead expert.

"I never imagined we would be here for twenty-five years," she said. Prior to working at Amgen, her husband's job caused them to move about every four years. She found that the best way to get involved in the community, make friends, and establish roots wherever they were was to volunteer.

When Larsen moved to Niwot, her children started school at Niwot Elementary School (NES) and Sunset Middle School (SMS), then both graduated from Niwot High School (NHS). Larsen found herself quickly becoming involved with the PTA (now PTAC) at all 3 schools as her children progressed through the feeder system. After her first year on the PTA, she became treasurer and would continue in that role throughout the years at the different schools.

Larsen became involved with the NCA in 2002 after someone from her book club asked her to take over as the Area Two representative. As was Larsen's pattern, it did not take long for her to become treasurer a couple of years later after taking over for Gary Zarlengo.

About five years ago, Sheila Ray from Gunbarrel, brought forward the idea for the niwot.org/veterans" target="_blank">Veteran's Banner Project in Niwot. Ray had a similar program in her hometown but could not find an organization in Boulder willing to headline the project.

Now the NCA hosts the project every year and Larsen has been the head of the project since its inception. She took it on as both her father and father-in-law served in World War II, both of whom have banners that hang every year from October 15 through November 15. See more information about the project by visiting the NCA's website at niwot.org/veterans.

Her dedication to financial management does not end there, however. In 2019, Pat Murphy recognized how skilled and qualified Larsen was at handling finances and brought her on to join the Niwot Historical Society (NHS) as treasurer.

Larsen plans to continue with TurboTax, but after seven years, plans to cut back on her time to focus more on her volunteer opportunities. "It gets me more connected in the community and make personal connections," she said.

In her free time, she tends to her vegetable garden that took the place of her kids' old wooden swing set. There she grows tomatoes and peppers in one row, she has a row called "roots and chutes" for carrots, beets, lettuce, and onions, a row dedicated to squash and cucumbers, and a fourth row of beans and peas.

Larson recently started playing canasta with a group of women at the Emporium on 2nd Avenue to socialize since many of her friends have moved away to downsize after their children graduated. She also enjoys river cruises with friends.