The Steamboat Springs Chamber has named the winners of the 2024 Navigator Awards.

This year’s recipients include TALON Grips Inc. for Business of the Year; Stephany Traylor, the owner of Dusky Grouse Coffee, for Business Leader of the Year; Karen Schneider of the Yampa Valley Medical Center Foundation for Nonprofit Leader of the Year; and Pete Blei of Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp. for Young Professional of the Year.

New this year, the chamber is hosting a free awards ceremony from 4:30-6 p.m. July 31 at Mythology Distillery. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required at Bit.ly/3Waxbmy.

According to the chamber, Mike Morris and his wife, Gillian, are the owners of TALON Grips. They moved to Steamboat Springs more than 20 years ago for skiing and the outdoor lifestyle and fell in love with the community.

The couple has grown their business after starting TALON Grips in 2012 as a small venture in the spare bedroom of their home. Today, they have a team of employees and are being awarded for putting customers first and giving back.

“This is a great honor to be awarded a 2024 Navigator Award with so many incredible businesses here in the Yampa Valley,” Morris said in a statement. “We are so fortunate to be a small part of the amazing outdoor recreational industry that we have here in Steamboat Springs.”

Blei, the director of finance for Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp., was born and raised in Littleton and he and his wife chased their dreams to Steamboat when Blei was offered the job with SSRC.

Over the past three years, they have been growing roots in Steamboat and celebrated the birth of their first child, Bailey, while also getting involved in the community, most recently as the treasurer for the local nonprofit, Yampatika.

“I am humbled to be recognized as the Young Professional of the Year for the 2024 Navigator Awards,” Blei said. “This is an incredible community to raise our new baby and get involved.”

Originally from Seattle, Traylor moved to Steamboat 14 years ago while working in the ski industry. After she and her husband sold their ski shop in 2019, she opened Dusky Grouse to pursue a passion for coffee, community and music.

“Being nominated as Business Leader of the Year is a humbling recognition and comes at a time when I have been able to watch in awe as the community rallies around Dusky,” Traylor said. “The team at Dusky has realized that opportunities for success are not only presented in a cup of coffee or a profit margin — but they also lie within the community’s need for unwavering support and answer to the human desire for connection and love.”

Schneider has held her position as executive director of the Yampa Valley Medical Center Foundation since 2016 after working in the hospitality industry for 36 years.

She is an active community member who has served on several boards and continues to volunteer for numerous programs.

“Nonprofits are incredible organizations that work to make a difference in the lives of others,” Schneider said. “The work I am fortunate to do every day supports the patients of UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center and their families, as well as those who deliver their care.”

Sponsors for the awards are Steamboat Pilot & Today, Christy Sports, Yampa Valley Bank and UCHealth, among others.