The YAK is a beloved Leadville and Lake County tradition, revived through the One Community Project to celebrate the stories, voices, and creative spirit that shape our community. The storytelling contest and community event, hosted April 25th, 2025, invited community members to share personal stories, poems, photography, art, and reflections that paint a rich and authentic portrait of who we are. Together, these stories help ground the future vision for Leadville and Lake County in the real hopes, challenges, and connections that define our community today.
Thank you to all of you who attended The YAK: Stories That Root Us! And a big thank you to all of our local storytellers who shared their vulnerability and creativity in the form of stories, poems, photography, and multimedia pieces.
*Awards were based on presentations made at the live YAK event—but whether or not a story was shared on stage, we are grateful for and inspired by every single submission.
Izabella Aranda – My Life & Community (Best youth award)
Stacy Contreras – Rooted in the Rocky Soil (Best use of multimedia award)
Melissa Earley – Teaching the Moose Call at Cooper (Most interactive award)
Makayla Garza – finding the way home (Most creative award)
Mel Wiggin – Leadville’s Lake County Limericks (Most clever award)
Sonja Nicolaisen – A Candid Canid View (Most interesting perspective award)
David Jurich – The Carlton Tunnel (Most educational award)
Claire Hathaway – Small Things (Most vulnerable award)
David Rasch – Tree Photography Exhibit (Most aesthetically beautiful award)
Padriac Smith and Grace Smith-Sodic – Reading on Doc Smith from “Leadville: The Struggle to Revive an American Town” (Most legacy-minded award)
Melissa Kendrick – A Dumb Kid from Leadville (Most intergenerational award)
Devyn Sterkel – A Leadville Life
Maritza Perez – We Love Leadville
Gina Valadez – What Brings Us Back to One Another
Cash Cottrell – Stories that Root us