COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Mayor John Suthers will present the Spirit of the Springs Lifetime Achievement Award to Katherine (Kathy) Loo after his state of the City address on Sept. 12. Loo, 80, was born in Montana and moved to Colorado Springs in 1961 after she married Dusty Loo. Kathy Loo immediately became involved in the community, serving on Colorado Springs City Council for six years and investing her time and money in various organizations, including The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, and The Nature Conservancy. She is also the co-developer of Blue Dot Place, the first downtown apartment complex in 50 years.

“What an honor to shine a light on Kathy’s tremendous contributions to our community,” said Mayor John Suthers. “She has dedicated her time, talent and treasure to countless organizations and is still making a significant impact today, with an emphasis on the arts and the environment.”

Kathy Loo was married to Dusty Loo, co-founder of Loo Art and Current until his passing in 2001. She has been married to Jim Raughton for more than 10 years. They both enjoy civic and philanthropic work, traveling and spending time with their children and grandchildren.

Video Tribute to Kathy Loo

Mayor Suthers' Comments

I’m excited to turn now to one of my favorite parts of my job as Mayor, the presentation of the Spirit of the Springs’ Lifetime Achievement Award. Previous winners of this prestigious award are Nancy Lewis, Harry Hoth, George Fellows, Mary Ellen McNally and Chuck Murphy.

All of our past recipients have been extraordinary community leaders. And this community leadership has taken on many forms. The same thing can be said about this year’s recipient. 

There are so many labels we could use to describe her, philanthropist, public servant, artist, community advocate, loyal friend. But the problem with labels is they never do the person justice, as is the case here. They don’t allow you to fully describe the individual.

I know many of you know, or are aware of, Kathy Loo and her tremendous influence on our community, but we want to share a few important observations about Kathy from those who know her well and who have witnessed her impact in Colorado Springs. Please turn your attention to the screens.

VIDEO

Here’s a fun fact, when Kathy’s mother-in-law, Miriam Loo, started Current all those years ago, her very first part-time employee was her good friend and my mother, Pat Suthers.  And when I was a teenager, I mowed Kathy and Dusty’s lawn as well as Gary and Jane’s and Miriam and Orin’s. 

I feel very fortunate to have those personal connections to Kathy and the Loo family and am truly honored to present Kathy Loo with the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award.