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All In Adams Podcast – Featuring New Adams County Commissioner Kathy Henson
27 Plays27 days ago
In this episode of All In Adams, we sit down with newly elected Adams County Commissioner Kathy Henson to discuss her vision for the community. From tackling key local issues to fostering growth and opportunity, Commissioner Henson shares her priorities, challenges, and hopes for the future of Adams County. Tune in for an insightful conversation about leadership, policy, and making a difference at the county level!
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Transcript
Podcast Introduction
00:00:04
Speaker
Welcome to All In Adams, the official podcast of Adams County government, where we're all in for our residents, our employees, and our community. So whether you live here, work here, or you just want to know more about what makes Adams County a great place to be, thanks for tuning in.
00:00:20
Speaker
We're all in, Adams. Welcome back to another episode of All in Adams.
Episode Theme: Meeting County Commissioners
00:00:25
Speaker
I'm Nikki Kimballton, the Communications Director for Adams County. We continue to introduce you to our Board of County
Meet Commissioner Kathy Henson
00:00:31
Speaker
Commissioners. And today, we have another new board member, Commissioner Kathy Henson joining us. Thank you. Thank you. It's my pleasure to be here. We're so excited to get to know you a little bit better.
00:00:39
Speaker
and I know you've been serving for, well you've been serving the community in public service for quite some time, but tell us a little bit about your background. Well, my background is in the performing arts. So I did not start out in public service ah by by a long shot. I was a voice major in college and I've done musical theater, acting, singing, dancing my whole life. That was my very lifelong goal, very serious lifelong goal for many years. And I pursued that. And I had a lot of success success in the performing arts, um which which doesn't always translate to um financial of success, but but a lot a lot of great success. And I started choreographing musicals
00:01:16
Speaker
I transitioned from performing into to choreographing musicals, oh, about 20, about 2000, started doing doing that some more.
Henson's Artistic Background
00:01:24
Speaker
And I will also tell people, as much as I love being a commissioner, and I do already love it, that the best job in the world is being a professional Christmas caroler.
00:01:32
Speaker
Okay, i was just I was going to ask, do you have a favorite role or something? that What is a professional Christmas? are you Are you just paid to go door-to-door? No, it's not door-to-door, although if if that's what the client wants, then that's what we do. So um I worked for about 20 years with the original Dickens Carolers, which is – there There are a lot of Dickens out there, so I'm going to be clear. It's the original Dickens Carolers.
00:01:53
Speaker
ah That is the name of the company. And we sang four-part acapella Christmas carols. We also were characters. We spoke with an English accent. we And we also told stories. We acted out stories like Twas the Night Before Christmas and things like that.
00:02:05
Speaker
And we also interacted a lot with the audience. And so when you're out on the street, say in Larimer Square, um sometimes people just walk by and look at you, and sometimes people stop, and they make requests, and you start joking around with them, and that...
00:02:17
Speaker
But obviously that job is only valid for one month out of the year from about Thanksgiving to Christmas. Well, Christmas in July. Well, yeah. I think somebody out there should do that. They'd probably get a lot of boost to their business if they had some carolers there.
00:02:32
Speaker
but um i So that was i did love that
Journey to Civic Advocacy
00:02:35
Speaker
job dearly. ah But – And and um I have two sons who are 18 and 20. And so I was raising them, working in the performing arts as much as I could.
00:02:45
Speaker
And then I started volunteering in the schools when they were going through the Adams 12 public school system. And I began advocating, and in addition to being a room parent and helping with field trips, I started advocating ah for them to get supports in the classroom that would help them because they have...
00:03:00
Speaker
they They needed that. And I also knew there were other students who needed that. So I became very active in promoting that. And I joined the Adams 12 Finance and Audit Committee, where I served for five years, which was sort of the beginning of of civic service for me.
00:03:13
Speaker
And at the same time, my community in South Thornton had a lot of blight remediation that was not being addressed. And I realized that I could use my voice to try to make some change there. And so there were already residents working on that. I sort of just joined, jumped on the bandwagon,
00:03:28
Speaker
And started going to city council meetings very regularly, long before I really decided I would run probably about 2017 or so. And then I decided that I could keep using my voice from the council seat if I could win. And so I ran for council in 2021. So then I, that was kind of how I transitioned into,
00:03:46
Speaker
ah public service from the performing arts. and This, um ah this handset many of the things that you just said, but what are some of the passions that really encouraged you to run for office?
Passion for Public Speaking
00:03:56
Speaker
Cause I mean, it's a, you know, it's, it's, it's a big thing. It's a big sacrifice.
00:03:59
Speaker
Well, the through line for me has always been, using my voice. um it does Even though I did study music and I studied voice, I was also always somebody who was comfortable speaking up, raising my hand in class, working in groups, both in school and beyond that into the professional world.
00:04:19
Speaker
ah They would say, well, we need somebody to say this or who's going to report out on what we talked about. And I was always happy to do it. And people were usually happy to let me do it because a lot of people don't like public speaking or speaking up that way.
00:04:31
Speaker
So that's been a through line in my life. And then when I needed to be a voice for my kids and other kids, that was very empowering for me and very satisfying, um, and made me want to do more.
Love for Adams County
00:04:44
Speaker
And so when I started working in the community on specifically this Thornton shopping center at 88th and Washington, that was a big a shopping center that needs to be redeveloped, which has now been torn down and is going to be redeveloped. But um that was a big commitment and very near and dear to my heart. And so I just, that's, that's always the through line for me is how can I use my voice to make change?
00:05:04
Speaker
And you've really fallen in love with Adams County. I love the story about how you moved here. Yes. Thought, you know, it might be temporary. and Oh, yes. You are. Yes. Yes. my mother So i grew up in Green Mountain, and I love Green Mountain. I love that area. My husband and I actually moved back to Green Mountain when we came back to the state after being gone for a while.
00:05:22
Speaker
He didn't know that's where I had grown up. He came out here to do some job searching and just said, I'll get us an apartment wallet. And I said, okay. This was the late 90s. And he said the address, and I said,
00:05:33
Speaker
That's Green Mountain. And he said, yeah, it's great. They call it Green Mountain. I said, yeah, I know that I went to Green Mountain Elementary. So ah but we so we but we were able to buy a home in Adams County, which is another reason that I love the county is it gave us an opportunity that couldn't that we were having trouble finding in in Jefferson County at the time.
00:05:51
Speaker
And. So i that really started my love affair with it. And then I said, oh, but told my mom, well, we're we'll probably move back to Green Mountain in a few years. And she said, oh, I think you're going to be in this house a lot longer than you think.
00:06:05
Speaker
And? And she was right. and mother my mother was right. 21 years later, only house our kids have ever known. It's our home. Yeah. I love it. And there's so much to love about this county, which brings me to my
Exploring Adams County's Landscape
00:06:15
Speaker
next question. What are some of the hidden gems, places that you love to go, like whether with it's with the boys, with the family?
00:06:22
Speaker
Well, I have to tell you, my husband was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. And actually, there are the the amazing thing about Adams County is you can look to the west and have the most fantastic views of the Front Range and Long's Peak. And you know you just and you just want to get there as fast as you can.
00:06:39
Speaker
But when you look to the east and or a little bit to the north, it looks a lot like Nebraska. It's rural. You've got a lot of cottonwoods and streams running through the area. Yeah. and I really love ah driving in the eastern part of of Adams County and getting that that rural fix. I did live in Omaha for a while as well um in high school when I was growing up, and so and my dad grew up on a farm, so I really like the mix of things that you can get here. And where I live in South Thornton, it's semi-urban. I mean, we're right there. We're just north of Denver. We have light rail right there, so you can...
00:07:11
Speaker
go down to the, go to downtown and have a downtown experience very easily, as well as, like I said, you can have a rural experience, you know, out in your splendid Valley and you're a world away from the city. So it's, we have a lot to offer in that way. It's a ton to offer. When we moved here a little over two years ago, it's, I'm sure I'm, I'm, you know, two miles from shopping, like 15 minutes from mountains and 20 minutes from the airport, which, just also ah you know and i've heard yes I've gone to some comedy shows here and heard the comedians talk make a joke about how the airport's in the middle of nowhere, but not if you live in Adams County. Oh, no.
00:07:43
Speaker
No, in fact, I'm going to go back to my days of caroling. we had For several years, we had a contract out there, and I was like i always said, oh, I will absolutely go to the to the airport and sing there. And it was really great.
00:07:54
Speaker
um seeing a whole mix of people all coming through a lot of local people and international fly. It was just amazing. It's, it's it is a real gem and and it's not in the middle of nowhere. And I don't have to tell you how fast the County's growing. It's not going to be in the middle of nowhere um as, as some people say for long at all. Yeah, absolutely.
Community Improvement Vision
00:08:10
Speaker
So I want to ask you a few, um a few serious questions just about, you know, the, your vision future of Adams County, yeah the work that I know that you're, you're already doing and going to continue to do, but then we go to lightning round and we ask some fun ones.
00:08:20
Speaker
So, um okay. So the first one is, is there any specific event or piece of advice that you've received that you really think helped shape your career? um And I know, you know, kids are an inspiration, making sure that you're taking care of your community, but is there any one story that comes to mind that really made that shift for you?
00:08:40
Speaker
Well, I think it really all comes back to the the Thornton Shopping Center and Well, there were two things. It was, it was the blight remediation along South Washington.
00:08:51
Speaker
I had a building had burned down. It was a freaky store and it was, it's actually, there's still one very close to Thornton high school, but the previous building burned down and was left as is for what I felt was an unacceptable amount of time. And I just said, is this the message we want to send to our kids? Yeah.
00:09:12
Speaker
And so for me, it was very personal to my community, my part of Thornton, where I where i live and where I've served. But I feel that that's what we need to look, that's the lens we need to look through all the time. What is the message we want to send? How do we want to stand up for the people in our community?
00:09:27
Speaker
How can we make things better for them ah right here where they are in the place that we all call home? No, I love that very much. um And, and it's, and like I said, you know, it, it, it's tough to make that.
00:09:42
Speaker
yeah You make a lot of sacrifices, but um it's very much appreciated when you're, you know, when you're making changes for other people, you know, when you're really doing stuff to serve your community, making it a better place. And I know sometimes it starts with our own kids, but you know, it of course extends to all the other families that are here as well. Yes.
00:09:59
Speaker
um Is there any, let's see. So it, is there a I know I asked you about a piece of advice, but is there is there a quote? or any And I know there's been another time um serving in the communications role that I do here.
00:10:13
Speaker
um We get to ask our commissioners to share different quotes and and and different um thoughts from time to time. And I know I've asked you before about your favorite quotes. Is there a quote that really inspires you day to day? Day to day.
00:10:26
Speaker
Well, when I'm feeling... feisty and I want to get things done. I go back to, um it's attributed to George Patton, but which is lead, follow, or get out of the way.
00:10:39
Speaker
And I kind of say that to myself. and not ah That's really not something I carry to other people. And it sounds a little bit harsh, but what is my role? Am I leading? Am I supporting? Am I getting in the way? How can I, you know, do I need to get in the way?
00:10:53
Speaker
Am I trying to promote something or stop something? And so that's just a little tiny litmus test. um And there's another quote that I don't have memorized, but ah but by Rosa Parks, that is about realizing that once you just let go of the fear, you just do what needs to be done.
00:11:08
Speaker
And that's ah that's not a very fair para paraphrase to that wonderful woman, but but so look it up. but if you google If you Google those, if you search those words, it'll pop up. I think it's fantastic because that you know gives an indication to the folks that are listening and watching um about how you lead.
00:11:22
Speaker
Because, you know, I mean, when you say lead, follow, or get out of the way, it's okay to follow sometimes. You know, it really is. um It's also perfectly great to lead. And sometimes you need to lead. way it's's It's so true. Or or clear the path.
00:11:35
Speaker
Yes, exactly. Exactly. Okay. Last serious question. Okay. um You have several years in front of you. Only been here a few months. Congratulations, by the way. Yes. Thank What would you like to see happen? What's the vision that you have for Adams County over over the next few years while you're in office?
00:11:52
Speaker
Well, I think I feel very strongly that we are at, and people say this a lot, a crossroads. I don't know if it's
Growth and Leadership Plans
00:12:00
Speaker
as much a crossroads, but it's a new era, I think, for Adams County in that we are one of the counties in the area that's continuing to grow and one of the fastest growing. We're a young county, median age is about 35. So between our growth and our youth,
00:12:16
Speaker
and all of the assets we have proximity to the airport agricultural history some great businesses coming in we have a strong business community all the roads and rails go through Adams County we're really poised to I think take a next step into being a regional leader in both in business and hopefully in housing that's ah that's going to be a tough nut to crack but I really think that With the team we have, the current commissioners and the staff we have in place, and the excitement of looking for a new county manager to really pull the team together, we're going to be able to make some good progress for people. And we have ah the growth is very exciting because it's so much more fun to manage growth than decline. And I think that's a real asset for us.
00:12:58
Speaker
Yeah. And for those of you at home um are or driving or wherever you are, um we are in the middle of having an interim county manager and we have a new county manager. ah That process, that search process is going to be going on over the next few months. And it certainly is exciting to have that.
Fun Q&A with Henson
00:13:10
Speaker
All right. Let's get into the lightning round and ask some fun things. Okay. I'm more nervous about the lightning round than I was for the fun questions. There's no no wrong answers. All right. So um if your life had a theme song, what would it be?
00:13:28
Speaker
ah Don't Rain on My Parade. Oh, that's a good one. I like that. I like that. Did you ever get to perform that? I did. not Not the role, not the role, but the song. I chose, I sang it one of my, I think it was my senior voice recital in college.
00:13:39
Speaker
yeah So I did musical theater too. Okay. Yeah, I did. All right. you have a Okay. Do you have a favorite, just a favorite production? Oh, well, for i mean growing up, I mean, when I was 16, I got to play Maria in the sound of music and I was, and I was like, I think like, I've peaked at 16. What could be better than that? That was like, you know, ah but that was a long time ago. That's great though. Did you ever get to do a, what's, why am I blanking on um the music man?
00:14:03
Speaker
I got to choreograph it, no which which when you do that, you get to play all the roles because you're rehearsing everything. That's everything's fantastic. And I love that show. Love it. I got to be Gracie Shin. It was, yeah. I had like one singing line, I think, but you know, I did the best I could. Oh, it's a great show. Great show. Okay. The next question. If you could have dinner with any historical figure, famous or famous person, they could be deceased or with us.
00:14:24
Speaker
um Who would it be and why?
00:14:30
Speaker
No, and I think you even sent gave us a heads up that this question was going to be on there. I'm going to go with Catherine the Great. oh that's a good one. Because one time I asked my dad, I don't think this is true, but I said, how did you decide on my name? He said, oh, you we named you after Catherine the Great. so's i mean yeah But she was a leader, too. and that' was Yeah, she she was a leader in in in much more tumultuous times than than we're facing here in Adams County, I'm happy to say.
00:14:55
Speaker
Do you have anything on your bucket list that you haven't done yet? Because I do know yeah i've i you travel. Yes. Travel is a passion. I do like to travel. Yes, actually, i i think short of I don't necessarily need to go to Antarctica, but I would like to be be on every continent. I'd like to travel to every continent. That's a good call to have.
00:15:14
Speaker
I've been very fortunate in my life for various reasons. um One was with my college choir, then I got to go to Asia. and And I've been to Europe a couple of times, but I haven't been to Africa or South America. so ah That's good. yeah and then travel so try I'd say travel is my bucket list.
00:15:30
Speaker
You need to get one of those, unless you already have one, the world maps where then you put all the pins in them. I do not. that that's ah That's a good thing to get until your child pulls all the pins out and then you forget where you've been because that can happen. um So, oh, this what what are you watching right now?
00:15:46
Speaker
Well, I watch, you binging anything? yeah Well, yes. Actually, I was a little late to the party, so I recently binged Madam Secretary because I had not watched that before. I haven't seen that one yet. I don't i don't know why it wasn't on my radar when it was on, so but I really enjoyed that.
00:15:59
Speaker
And then i i do a lot of streaming because I hate commercials. I hate commercials and also and I like to choose how to how to spend my watch time. ah So I started watching um Running Point last night on Netflix, which is a comedy about a woman who sort of inherit becomes the president of a,
00:16:17
Speaker
major of a professional basketball team. The waves. Yeah. Yes. I finished it okay this weekend and I will not ruin it for you, but I will tell you, are you, how you're far in? Are you very far in? I think I watched two episodes. Okay.
00:16:27
Speaker
It's great. it's and And it's, it's great when you want to unplug, yeah you know, and just kind of get away for a minute. Yes. It's ah it's a very, it's a very good series. Okay. I know we're running out of time. um but I just wanted to ask you the, the toughest question of all.
Closing and Community Engagement
00:16:40
Speaker
Is there anything I didn't ask that you'd like to share with the viewers and listeners? Oh my goodness. Well, I mean, I'm new to this role, so I know, and I've, what I've learned since being in this role is how much I don't know, but how much there is to learn about just being a county commissioner and serving all the great people in Adams County. And I guess I want everybody to know that, you know, we are very accessible as commissioners. You know, we have...
00:17:04
Speaker
We have emails here, ah phone, you know, please call or email, contact us. We really do work for the people and it they tell us what we don't know. Really, it's the residents of the county who tell us where we need to focus our energies and our attention because they're out there living day to day in the county.
00:17:23
Speaker
um across across the cities and in the unincorporated areas. And so really just contact us because that's the best way for us to work together and fix things. And I appreciate that. That's a fantastic point. And with your background, you're going to have to come back and host one of these ah podcasts. We're going to have to get you in here with with a good with a good fun topic. That would be fun. All right. Thank you so much, Commissioner Henson. We appreciate you being here today.
00:17:42
Speaker
Oh, my pleasure. Thank you. That's a wrap for this episode of All in Adams. Thank you for joining us as we explore the people, programs, and the policies that make Adams County a great place to live, work, and thrive.
00:17:55
Speaker
If you enjoyed the show, be sure to subscribe and share with your friends, neighbors, and colleagues. Have a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know. We're all in for bringing you the stories that matter most.
00:18:06
Speaker
Until next time, take care of each other and stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, Nextdoor, and X. We're all in, Adams, and we're all in for you.