Evergreen Rotarian, Bruce Anderson, was interviewed by Marcia Walsh on May 16, 2018
Q: Where did you grow up?
I grew up in southern California. I was the middle of three children. My older brother is a brilliant software writer who has his own business. He lives in California and has three grown children. My sister, who is three years younger than me, now lives in Aurora with her four children. My father was a great, hard-working guy who had two careers. He passed in 2007. My mother was a nurse and stay at home mom. She passed away in 2001.
Q: Tell us about your education.
After graduating high school in Southern California, I attended college at Cal State Fullerton. During college, I worked at Nordstrom which launched my career in retail.
Q: Tell me about your work experience.
The bulk of my early career was with high-end luxury retail companies. I started my career at Nordstrom in Southern California, worked with Neiman Marcus for six years as a buyer in Texas and went through their executive training program. I also worked at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City for three-plus years. My career really blossomed at Cole Haan, the dress shoe division of Nike, headquartered in Maine. I had been hired by them to repair their relationship with a large account and grow that business. After successfully fulfilling that goal and managing a sales team to successful results top management chose to make me Vice President of Production putting me in charge of more than 17 factories. I developed production and factory capacity business plans for our factories around the world traveling to Italy, Brazil, India, Mexico, and China as well as in the U.S. I stayed there for 17 years but took a severance package when my job was being moved from Maine to NYC. I consulted for a few years, but the traveling was excessive. I had an opportunity to acquire a Farmers Insurance agency in Evergreen. The agency is successful, and I really enjoy helping people as an insurance agent.
Q: Tell us about your family
My wife of 22 years, Roxane, is a very creative person and worked in product design. We met at Cole Haan. After my first marriage dissolved, I felt like a failure and began do some soul searching. I read many books about more new-age spirituality, including books about near death experiences and reincarnation. I believe that we have all been put on this earth to accomplish something and I feel that God has designed a path for all of us. In my view, nothing in life is a coincidence.
Our son Brock is a gifted young man. He was a ski racer early in life when we lived in Maine. His passion turned to soccer we moved to Colorado. He played varsity soccer his freshman year and was a key player on the State Championship team at Evergreen High School his junior year. He attended Bergen Valley and Evergreen Middle School before EHS. He currently attends Indiana University in Bloomington. He has a very developed aptitude for math and is majoring in Finance at the Kelly School of Business there.
Q: What drew you to Evergreen?
We wanted a place that could provide a quality of life and chose Colorado. I tried working with the retail stores of Vail Resorts as I hoped a job with an outdoor business would provide that life, but that turned out to be a bad fit. After consulting again for several years, I purchased the Farmers Evergreen agency in 2015. Farmers offers training and licensing and after spending 8 months learning the ropes from my seller, I was on my own.
Q: What do you do in your spare time?
I watch sports on TV. I love being outdoors whether playing golf, walking my dog, or riding my road bike. I love to cook (with my wife who is a neatnik doing the cleanup), but I also enjoy fine dining and fine wines.
Q: Share your core values with us.
Honesty, integrity, respect, faith, family, and a strong work ethic.
Q: What led you to Rotary?
I really want to give back to my community. I know my business has done well and want to share my good fortune and expertise. In addition to Rotary, I am an active member of the Evergreen Chamber of Commerce, associate member of the Mountain Metro Association of Realtors, serve on the Board of Directors for the Hiwan Homeowners Association. I am a voting member of the Community Service Committee and passionate about the 100 Holes of Golf.
Q: Describe yourself as a shoe.
I would be a versatile enough to wear to both to the beach and with a tuxedo!
Q: What words of wisdom do you have?
Hard work creates good luck. Life is a continuous journey. You will be successful if you have a strong set of core values, follow the Golden Rule and have a work ethic second to none.