“RidgeGate Up Close” is our series of interviews with people who make RidgeGate a more vibrant place. Read the unexpected stories of residents, workers and local leaders who live and work here. Know someone who has a unique perspective or life in RidgeGate? Contact us at info@ridgegate.com.
A big thank you to Sarah Neumann Photography for conducting and photographing our RidgeGate Up Close interviews!
This month: Resident of RidgeGate, Charles Schwab employee, and organizer of the inaugural Lone Tree Freedom Race, Greg Moore is planting roots and watching them grow. We met to discuss how his service in the Army helped inspire a successful new local event.
#1. Tell us about your role with Charles Schwab.
Greg: “I am a Senior Manager in the Management Reporting Group that’s part of Corporate Finance. I’ve been with the company for two and a half years now.”
#2. …and you’re also a resident of RidgeGate, where the new Charles Schwab campus is located?
Greg: “Yes. I live in a Thrive Home Builders townhome; the ones with the solar panels on the roofs. I can literally walk to work, but I know a lot of my colleagues take the light rail and use the Lone Tree Link shuttle, which has a stop on our campus. They’re adding an extension to the light rail that will stop even closer to our campus, and we’re looking forward to that.”
#3. You also spearheaded the inaugural Lone Tree Freedom Race presented by Charles Schwab. Why did you take on a leadership role with this event?
Greg: “I’m part of a committee at Charles Schwab that runs a lot of stuff in the veteran’s network and I have been part of that for the last couple of years. I’ve also been involved with a group called Team Red, White & Blue which basically organizes events and fundraisers for veterans.”
#4. So you’re also a military veteran?
Greg: “Yes, I joined the Army in 2000 out of college. I was an Army officer, and then we had 9/11 and things got really busy. I did four tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. I worked in military intelligence.”
#5. This race obviously must have held a special meaning for you, personally. Who were some of the race’s beneficiaries?
Greg: “So instead of doing a 5K, we did a 3-mile race with themed miles. We had a red mile, white mile and a blue mile, and each had a non-profit beneficiary. We raised money for the Comitis Crisis Center which is sponsored by Mile High Behavioral Health. They run a homeless shelter with mental health services, and we learned about them through the national news because they’re doing some great programs for women veterans. Another one of our miles benefitted Veterans Passport to Hope. They’re like a United Way for veterans’ organizations. Our final mile benefitted the USS Colorado. When the government buys new submarines, fundraising is needed to upgrade the crew quarters and to support a good quality of life for the crew. ”
#6. You’re an employee and a resident of RidgeGate. Tell us about the journey that brought you here.
Greg: “When I was getting out of the Army I was looking at jobs mostly in the defense industry. I interviewed for jobs in DC and some other areas, but I came out to Denver for an interview and I was like, “I’m going to work here! I don’t know what the job is yet, but it’s going to be here.” I worked for Lockheed Martin and I transitioned from being a user of intelligence software and technology to a developer of those capabilities. I got my MBA at the University of Denver and started learning about business intelligence and I thought it sounded like a great fit from my technical background and my analyst background. So I started looking for jobs where I could do business intelligence and Schwab was just opening its Lone Tree campus and they were hiring for those kinds of positions. Shortly after I started working here, I moved to RidgeGate.”
#7. And now you have an enviously short commute to work…
Greg: “I walk to work every day, now that I live here. I actually really like the walkability of this area. We have all these restaurants and shops…it feels kind of urban, but then you also have the Bluffs and all those trails right in your backyard.”
#8. You were also one of the key organizers for the inaugural Lone Tree Freedom Race, which snaked through RidgeGate. Tell us about that.
One of our goals for the race was to have an opportunity to engage more with the community around our campus. Our course was three miles. The red mile went from our campus up past Sky Ridge Hospital to Cabela’s. The white mile went from there across Crossington Way and Prairie Sky Park and then the blue mile started at the end of Prairie Sky Park and went down the path that comes Belvedere.
#9. How many participants did you have?
Greg: “We ended up with 180 participants, including people the day of the event.
#10. Are you a runner? Did you participate?
Greg: “I did, yes. I actually ran with my girlfriend. It was her first race; she’s never run a race before. She figured to support me, she needed to run!”
#11. Did you train for the race? Bluffs Regional Park is right behind RidgeGate, and an ideal spot for runners.
Greg: “A little. There’s a run club at Runner’s Roost in RidgeGate that goes there every week, and I run with them sometimes.”
#12. How does Charles Schwab support causes that are important to its employees?
Greg: “Well, I’m an Army veteran, and Schwab has a military veterans network which is an employee resource group focused on supporting vets. I think we have 200 people in Denver now that are part of that Veterans network. We actively support a variety of causes that assist veterans.”
#13. When did you get the idea to create a race that could support the veteran community?
Greg: “Actually, just this past winter we decided to do a race to raise more funds for some of the veteran’s causes. We talked to the Mayor of Lone Tree about how we might do this. Then we got in touch with the city manager. We basically learned how to put on a race in six months.”
#14. So you’re first time race planners trying to execute an event in under six months. What was that like?
Greg: “Well, it was a lot more work than we realized. There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff like managing sponsors, setting up registration websites, etc. We had quite a learning curve. We ended up bringing on board a variety of organizations who specifically work on creating events that raise funds for vets. They helped us out a lot.”
#15. You had over 180 participants in your first year, which sounds like a success. Will there be another Freedom Race in 2018?
Greg: “We haven’t picked a date yet, but yes! Soon we’ll have a new web site you can find at freedomrace.org. We’ve also got a Lone Tree Freedom Race Facebook page. We’re always looking for sponsors, and those two places are probably the best way to reach us if you’re interested.”
