Lisa Reid is a 2010 Boettcher Scholar, who co-founded The Showtimes, a national livestock magazine, alongside her siblings. Lisa shares insights on the leadership challenges facing Brighton today, her journey with The Showtimes from its humble beginnings to a nationwide publication, and more.
Tell us a little bit about your childhood growing up in Brighton, and how it impacted your relationship with ranching and the agricultural way of life?
I was blessed to grow up about 10 miles outside of Brighton on a small acreage where my brother, sister and I had the opportunity to own livestock (mainly cattle, hogs, sheep, and goats). I spent my entire childhood exhibiting in 4-H at the state and national level. Over the years, I was fortunate to have exhibited the Grand Champion Steer at the Colorado State Fair in 2007 and 2010 and the Grand Champion Goat at the Colorado State Fair in 2003. It was actually at the Colorado State Fair where I met Tim Schultz (former president of the Boettcher Foundation). It was my upbringing in Brighton, an ag rich environment, that is the foundation for what I do today with The Showtimes.
The north metro area of Denver has grown so much over the last 20 years. What do you see as the core issues impacting Brighton and your community today?
While there are many advantages and conveniences tied to growth, one of the core issues impacting Brighton and my community is the lack of knowledge regarding agriculture. Brighton has some of the best farmland in the country, yet many of the local farmers are having to sell their land or lose it to eminent domain to make room for the growth. It’s vital for people to know where their food comes from.
Today, The Showtimes is an industry leader and known across Colorado and other states. It was first published when you were 15 and even then you were playing a prominent reporting and photography role. Share a little about the story of how it came to be and how it’s grown.
My brother, Brian, sister, Laurie and I started The Showtimes in 2007 as a way to highlight the agricultural youth and companies in our region. We had a love for graphic design, journalism and business and used our upbringing and passion for the livestock industry to start our company. It quickly grew to be nationwide after our third issue with the support of a cattle operation in Iowa. Our very first issue was 32 pages and our largest issue to date was 674 pages. Over the years, we have expanded from being just a livestock publication to additionally being a marketing, graphic design, and photography company. We currently publish six issues of The Showtimes each year, travel to multiple livestock shows across the country, host the state’s largest cattle jackpot The Blackout Jackpot and work on the marketing for major brands such as Sunglo (a subsidiary of Cargill) and numerous top livestock producers nationwide. Our family also owns a sign and banner company.
We were recently honored to be the official photographers and videographers at the Wyoming ProStart Invitational in Cheyenne that was hosted by their Governor Mark Gordon. While our core is in the livestock industry, the connections we have made over the last 17 years have allowed us to branch out to numerous industries – wedding videography, logo design, catalog design and much more!
What life lessons have you learned from publishing The Showtimes?
Where do I start?! Perseverance easily tops this list, but it is not alone. Through trial and error, rejection, and setbacks, I have learned that some of the best things in life happen when you don’t give up. I also have learned the value of loyalty. I have never put being successful ahead of trying my best to be a good person that others can depend on.
Education has played an important role in your life. It was a major focus for you growing up as you earned an associate’s degree prior to graduating from high school. How do education and learning remain priorities for you today?
In life, you never stop learning, you just change the setting in which you gain your knowledge. My goal has always been to be better today than I was yesterday. Whether that is learning new design programs to make my work better or studying others who are accomplishing things that I would like to accomplish – I’m always trying to educate myself, because you can never have too much knowledge. On the flip side, The Showtimes has been able to award almost $50,000 in scholarships to agricultural youth and interns that have worked for our company.
You have seen a side of ranching that not everyone does, starting with your childhood as someone who raised, fed, and trained livestock not to mention exhibiting them at shows across the country. What do you wish more people knew or understood about Colorado’s agricultural way of life and communities?
Agriculture is the second largest industry in Colorado. There are so many facets to it that most people don’t even realize. Whether it’s livestock and ranching to produce farming almost everything we do in life is tied to agriculture. Footballs, shampoos, makeup, and shoes are all byproducts of ag. If more people took the time to educate themselves on its strong and diverse impact on their day-to-day life, it would be very instrumental in keeping Colorado’s agriculture flourishing for generations to come.
What is one of your favorite hobbies outside of your day-to-day work?
I absolutely love to bake! My sister and I spend a lot of time baking croissants, Danish pastries, bread and cakes. If we aren’t making it ourselves, we are traveling the state looking for the best coffee shops and bakeries. We are self-acclaimed coffee experts.
What is your favorite Colorado experience?
I’m a big time Colorado Avalanche fan! I love whenever I can go to a game!
What is your favorite Colorado landmark?
This one is tough! I am a sucker for Colorado mountain sunsets! From a historic standpoint, the Brown Palace Hotel is hard to beat. When I was showing cattle, I was able to bring my Division Champion Steer from the National Western Stock Show downtown to be on display in the hotel lobby. To date, it is one of the coolest things I have ever had the opportunity to do!
What’s one piece of advice you would give high school age students who are growing up today and thinking about their post-high school and career goals?
I would advise them to think outside of the box! The world has a way of forcing people into one way of thinking and doing things. If you look at all of the great people in history, they were independent thinkers who colored outside of the lines.
