Heidi Sherratt passes torch to Lana Athey

After 11 years, Heidi Sherratt is stepping down from the executive director position at Gunnison Tough and passing the torch to Lana Athey. Sherratt has been involved with the organization since its inception two decades ago and has molded it into the community staple that it’s become since she was hired as the first director 11 years ago.

“When I was hired, there weren’t a lot of programs in place,” Sheratt said. “They had been really successful in their fundraising efforts, but then after that there wasn’t really anybody creating the programs in the community. There’s only so much volunteers have the time or capacity to do. I sort of got handed an empty slate. It was cool to go out in the community and find out what people needed and then build programs based upon those conversations, and that’s really how we built the whole organization.”

Sherratt’s community-oriented approach and direction lead to the creation of programs such as the vehicle rental program. What started as two Gunnison women taking buses and hitchhiking to their Denver and Montrose treatments grew into Sherratt finding funding to purchase a car for community members to rent out to access their treatments. The program now has a fleet of five cars, four of which were donated.

“It’s incredible to see how many people utilize it,” she said. “I don’t think there’s any other program like it in the country.”

Sherratt, with the support of the Gunnison Tough board, has also helped purchase over $2 million worth of radiation equipment, strictly from donations, to help Gunnison Valley Health become one of the best rural hospitals in the country.

“It’s been one of the most magical parts of my life for the past 11 years,” she said “I’ve been so honored to lead the organization to where it is now. It’s been fun to build it and grow it and bring more people in. Lana’s been a big part of that, working along with me for eight years. She was the first person I hired. That’s how I know it’s in great hands. She’s been a part of building it for all these years. She’s one of the most amazing people I know and has a huge heart. I know she’ll carry on and make it even better than it is today.”

Sherratt has known that Athey, a Gunnison native, was the only person for the job, and after years of convincing, Athey is finally ready to take it on.

“I’ve known Heidi since I was 17 years old, so for the last 20 years,” Athey said. “My husband, then boyfriend, was working with her husband when we first met. We have remained in touch and close since then. She’s been a great teacher. I’ve learned so much from her. She’s a really loved community member. She pushes to get things done and she has a really huge heart and wants the best for this community and the people in it. I feel like I’ve really learned a lot from her leadership.”

Athey has been volunteering with Gunnison Tough since 2018 while working full time for the Gunnison County’s Health Coalition as the early childhood services supervisor for Gunnison and Hinsdale counties.

“This is a pretty great, grassroots organization, and we have a really innovative board that I’m excited to work with,” she said. “We’re building strong community partnerships and thinking of innovative approaches to community issues as far as access to health care and treatment here locally.”

As a lifelong local, Athey’s number one priority is the people around her, and what she can do to serve them.

“I think one of my main goals is just to listen and learn more from our community, our volunteers and donors, and our clients to see where there might be opportunities for growth into the future,” she said. “And then continue to grow the organization, increasing access to other cancer screenings in the community and community education around prevention efforts.”

Sherratt knows that Athey is the right person to help continue her legacy.

“She’s a beloved person in our valley. She’s a Gunni girl through and through,” Sherratt said. “I’m excited to see what she does, I think it’s going to be incredible. I just want everyone to support her and embrace her like they did to me, and I know they will.”

Sherratt said she will continue to volunteer for Gunnison Tough, and work as hard as ever to make sure it remains successful, while also allowing herself time to focus on her other passions and her family.