In our last newsletter, we highlighted the new members of the Commerce City Chamber Board of Directors. This month, we want you to learn more about our Chamber staff. The Chamber staff is here to help you be a successful member of the Commerce City business community.
Rene' Bullock
Rene’ Bullock is a 39-year resident of Commerce City. Born
and raised in Denver and the 2nd oldest of 7 siblings. He is
currently the Executive Director for the Commerce City Chamber
of Commerce. Rene’ is the former Mayor Pro Tem, finishing his
16-year career in city government due to being term-limited in
November 2017. He served a total of 16 years for city council,
ten (10) years as Council Member and six (6) years as Mayor ProTem. Rene' retired from United Airlines in 2005 after 37 years. Rene’ is an Army Veteran serving in Germany as an MP during the Vietnam era. He spent over a decade as the community co-chair for the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Restoration Advisory Board. He is a founding member of the Sand Creek Regional Greenway Board and a founding member of the Commerce City Historical Society where he volunteers every Monday. He is a past President of the Commerce City Rotary organization. Rene’ currently serves on the following boards: South Adams County Water & Sanitation, President of the Senior Hub, President for the Friends of the Front Range Wildlife Refuges, Sand
Creek Regional Greenway, Commerce City Youth Commission, and a Trustee and Usher for his church (Shorter Community AME Church, Denver). Two of his passions are living an active lifestyle and community engagement. Before City Council, Rene’ worked for Commerce City teaching exercise classes (1985-1998) even before the recreation center was built. Rene' is married to his wife Debra for 36 years and they have one grown daughter, Dami and two granddaughters.
June Younger
June has lived in Commerce City all her life. She went to Adams 14 schools and at Adams City High School she discovered her passion for journalism and community involvement, which led her to receiving a Communications Multi-Major degree with an emphasis in Broadcasting from Metropolitan State College. Throughout her 30-year media career in print, cable television and radio, June has worked to help different residents and organizations learn the pulse of their community and industry, documenting history as it was being made. For 11 years, June used her expertise to help metro north residents learn more about their community through community newspapers. In Commerce City, she was the editor of the Commerce City Sentinel-Express for eight years. June also worked for Metro North Newspapers covering the cities of Westminster, Federal Heights, Northglenn and Thornton as well as two counties, Adams and Jefferson. She reported on everything from city government to school districts to high school sports. On several occasions she wrote special editions for holidays such as Veterans Day and Memorial Day as well as when the city of Westminster celebrated their 100th Anniversary. She has received several Colorado Press Association awards for her work. Whether working as an editor or in the non-profit industry, she has built positive relationships with city council members, city administrators, staff, legislators, residents and business owners to gain their unique perspective on issues. City governments have valued her input on community matters so much that in 2007 the mayor and city council of Commerce City asked her to accompany them and their Youth in Government students to visit U.S. Senators and Representatives during their lobby day in Washington D.C. In 2011, she represented the City of Westminster, Colo., as the lone envoy to the Lord Mayor’s Office in Westminster, England. She also has participated with the City of Commerce City in developing a Historic Preservation Plan for the community and has served on several city and school district committees over the years. She is committed to helping preserve the rich history of her hometown so that others will know what a special community it is. She is part of a group of residents that founded the Commerce City Historical Society. She served as its Membership Director for the first two years after its incorporation. She helped grow the Historical Society from a dozen members to over 100 in one year. She also served as Historian for three years, heading the preservation of key historical items from local sites being ready to be demolished or sold such as the Mile High Greyhound Park, Hi Lo Market and the former Union High/Adams City High School site. She coordinated all communication efforts for the Historical Society for five years, including the website, newsletters, video and social media (such as Facebook and Twitter), documenting history as it was made. She also co-sponsored the Adams City High School History Club, which taught high school students the history of the school and community. In 2012, she led an effort to create a History of Commerce City coloring book which is still being distributed to all Commerce City second graders. She helped open the Commerce City’s first historical museum where many of the items she was able to save are displayed to this day. In 2015, she was approached by the Westminster Historical Society for her help in running the organization’s History Center. There she continued her work with teaching local history to young and old. She coordinated the day-to-day operations and created and implemented K-12 and adult educational programs and exhibits. The educational programs encompassed all subject areas—math, science, social studies and language arts—but offered them with a local history twist. She met with teachers beforehand to find out exactly what Colorado educational standards and needs the teachers had and then customized the center’s programs’ lessons to fit their needs. In addition to historic walking tours, coffee talks, workshops and history talks on various topics pertaining to Westminster history, she also brought together a series of interactive trunk shows that included a Patriot’s Trunk, which helped participants experience what it was like to be a soldier and child during the American Revolution; Revolutions in Sounds Trunk Show, which taught how science plays a role in forming modern-day entertainment from the phonograph to today’s IPods; and, Grandmother’s Trunk that brought to life how Grandma Em would have lived back in the 1900s. She also created a Memories Writing Group for adults to share their memories of growing up, living, working or playing in Westminster. The group published their stories in a book that is still available at the History Center. She also was in charge of key permanent exhibits at the History Center that included the History of Westminster Timeline, a Salute to Veterans exhibit, and Back to the Future Transportation Exhibit, which was featured during RTD’s Grand Opening of the B Light Rail Line. She also began the planning for a new exhibit on water use and rights in the region. June joined the Commerce City Chamber in 2019 as the Chamber Coordinator. She enjoys working with local businesses and helping them succeed in the community. She has been married to her husband, Troy, for 38 years. They have three children – Stephen, Amy and Joshua. Both of their families have been in Commerce City for four generations.
Debra Bullock
Debra Bullock is a Colorado native, born in Boulder and moving to Commerce City when she was 5 years old. She attended schools in
Adams 14, graduating from Adams City High School. Debra is married to Rene’ Bullock. They have one daughter who lives and works in Longmont and 2 granddaughters. She and her husband Rene’ are founders of the Commerce City Historical Society and they both serve on many boards throughout the
city. In addition to the Commerce City Historical Society, Debra is a board member for the
South Adams County Fire District and works with the Commerce City Chamber of Commerce as
the business coordinator. Debra worked in the Hospitality industry for over 40 years. working at Stapleton Plaza Hotel,
the Brown Palace Hotel and Starkey International School of Household Management.
Debra currently owns her own business (BEST-Bullock Estate Services Training). She travels
around the country helping high-net-worth families with their staff training needs. She calls it
the business of Private Service.
She is the author of Images of America-Commerce City, published by Arcadia Publishing in 2010 and is currently working on her 2nd book – Past and Present Commerce City. In her spare time, she loves to write about Commerce City history, work on history displays at
the museum, watch movies, exercise, and spend time with her family.
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