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Local insurer honored, expands offices

Andy Bockelman

After receiving accolades for a job well done, it’s easy for business owners to just rest on their laurels for a while.

Even after bringing home multiple prestigious awards, one Craig firm still keeps looking to get better.

Mountain West Insurance & Financial Services, LLC, 100 E. Victory Way, was recently selected as a Colorado Company to Watch.



The Colorado Companies to Watch program, hosted by the Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade, acknowledges companies within the state “that develop valuable products and services, create quality jobs, enrich communities and create new industries throughout Colorado,” according to its mission statement.

Sue Voloshin, operations manager for Mountain West, said the selection process is extensive.



“Out of 400 applicants, there are 100 finalists, and then there are 50 companies chosen for the list, so it’s kind of an elite group to be included in,” she said.

Voloshin said companies chosen for 2012 include mywedding.com, of Castle Rock; Boulder Ice Cream, of Boulder; Elite Brands, of Denver; Rocky Mountain Popcorn, of Centennial; and Versi-Panel Enclosures/Companion Habitats, of Colorado Springs.

“Versi-Panel is one of our clients, so that’s kind of exciting as well,” Voloshin said. “There’s a lot of diversity in these companies, because they cover all kinds of industries.”

In addition to the Colorado Company to Watch nod, Mountain West also recently received the “Circle of Excellence” award for the second consecutive year from Bituminous Insurance Companies.

“We’ve only been with them for a few years, and there’s a lot of marks you have to get to qualify for it, so I think it’s pretty impressive to get it two years,” Voloshin said.

The company has expanded greatly this year. Besides the acquisition of Grand Junction’s Valley Financial Services, Inc., in April, Mountain West also added the offices of The Insurance Center to its purview at the beginning of July.

Mountain West’s offices in Craig, Steamboat Springs, Meeker and more are now joined by locations in Montrose, Delta, Gunnison, Crested Butte, Lake City and Monte Vista.

“With those six offices, we now have 11 total on the Western Slope,” Voloshin said.

Laundromat adds pet-bathing feature

When you need your clothes or automobile scrubbed up, it helps to only make one trip for multiple chores.

Now a Craig business that has made the act of cleaning accessible available in one convenient locale is bringing yet component to the table.

Starting Monday, A-1 Dry Cleaners, Laundromat, Car-Wash & Showers, 829 E. Victory Way, will offer a pet-washing station.

Owner Twila White likened the new feature to a car wash rigging.

“It’s self-service, and you bring your animal in, put them in the tub and you can pick however you want to do it,” she said.

White said the mechanism contains different kinds of soaps and rinses, such as those formulated for fleas or shampoos specially made to “de-skunk” animals who may have been sprayed with a foul odor.

“There’s also a blow-dryer,” she said. “It’s all in its own room, and it’s got a ramp about waist-high since some animals are a little heavier.

“It’s not just dogs, either. You can bring your cat or your rabbit, or something like that. Horses would probably be a little too big.”

White said adding pet services seemed like a natural fit with what A-1 already has.

“We thought that since people already shower here, we should have something for dogs too,” she said. “What we like to stress is that there’s no more washing out a tub, no more dealing with the sand or the hair, just let us do that cleaning.”

Business hours for the pet-washing are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and by appointment on the weekend.

For more information, call 824-5766.

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