DeDe Brinkman reflects on the old Aspen community
DeDe Brinkman TV&Film Producer/Mom/SkiQueen (6 min) Image of Maroon Bells ©Mark Ronay Photography) Music by Felix Plante. Produced by Twist and Turn Press.
Book: Twist and Turn Press
https://www.twistandturnpress.com/
T-Shirts: Threadless
https://happytrailsanimation.threadless.com/
Happy Trails Animation
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Dede Brinkman grew up in South Lake Tahoe and was recruited to ski for the University of Colorado in 1961, the year she discovered the town of Aspen. She moved to Aspen, the day after graduation, in 1965, and ski bummed for one season until the "real world" called her to San Francisco. Dede worked in an office on Union Square during the week and was a flower child on the weekends. The lure of Aspen summoned her back in 1971, where she taught skiing and waitressed until, in 1972, she founded Aspen Production Services (a film production, casting and location management company).
In 1974, while building her home on the hill on the outskirts of town, she leased and renovated vacant lumberyard, creating The Mill Street Station. The indoor mall, in Aspen's downtown core, provided a place for local businesses losing their storefronts. Dede began volunteering with the Aspen Film Festival upon its founding in 1979, eventually being appointed to its board of directors where she served alongside its founder, Ellen Kohner Hunt through the 1990's. Dede was appointed to the Colorado Film Commission, the first government sanctioned film commission in the country, in 1986 and served for eight years under Governors Lamm and Romer. In 2001, she sold Aspen Production Services and became a "Real People" casting director, working around the country until she retired in 2006. Dede still resides in her original home, outside of Aspen, overlooking the Elk Mountain Range.
*Dede's daughter, Missy, "Grew Up Aspen" and was in the graduating class of 1985 at Aspen High School with Andy. She lives in Utah, where she founded Publik - a coffee roastery with four locations in Salt Lake City https://www.publikcoffee.com/about
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