A long-time resident of Grand County, Debra Brynoff is the CEO of the Grand County Board of REALTORS®. Deb is a true outdoor enthusiast and enjoys hiking, biking, and Nordic skiing. She has been blessed to raise her family here and wants to stay in the county as long as her health allows.

Questions:

Q: Are you a Grand County native? If not where you from and what brought you to Grand County?

A: I am not a Grand County native, I was born in Patterson, New Jersey and lived there until I was 14, then I moved to Upstate New York in the Catskill Mountains. I came out to Colorado when I was 20, so, I am giving away my age now, I’ve been here for 43 years! I was relocating at that time because I wanted to come out and go back to school here.  I had studied for 2 years at an ag and tech school in Upstate New York. I wanted to go back to college but first wanted to travel. I come out with my boyfriend and we traveled around Colorado, got our residency and then I went back to college at CSU.

Q: What inspired you or led you to your current career?

A: I am the Chief Executive Officer at the Grand County Board of REALTORS® and I chose the job because of convenience. The office was located just a block away from my house and I thought, “That’s a job I could do.” I wanted to be close to my kids and knew it would offer flexibility, but I had no idea what I was getting into at all! I did have some background knowledge in real estate because I worked for the county assessor for 8 years. I was the chief appraiser and deputy assessor back then. Through that job I had contact with the local real estate agents, so I wasn’t walking into it completely blind. Between the assessor’s office and this job, I was able to be at home for five years with my kids when they were young. I really cherish those times. I started this job in November of 1999 and recently received my RCE designation, which stands for REALTOR® Certified Executive. It’s a pretty rigorous course specifically geared towards operating a REALTOR® association.

Q: What is your favorite restaurant in Grand County, and what do you love there?

A: The one that I go to the most is Randi’s Grill and Pub. I just think it’s really good, and they have all kinds of gluten-free items and they do them very well. You can get a really good gluten-free Shepherd’s pie.

Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in Grand County? And why?

A: I’m going to say it was Punk Murphy. When I was going to school at CSU, I had a great opportunity to get a job with the Forest Service. The only requirement was knowing how to ride a horse. I was a Range Technician and I went out on the ranches that had cattle allotments on Forest Service land. My job was to count the cows and ride the allotments to make sure that it wasn’t being over-grazed and maintain public relations with the local ranchers. So through that, Punk Murphy was one of the ranchers that had an allotment. They owned all that land now where Young Life is. So, I had the opportunity to ride with her and she was just the coolest, feistiest lady. She was probably in her 70’s at that time. I was twenty-something and would jump off the horse to try to open a gate. When I couldn’t get it open, Punk would just roll her eyes, get down and just open it! I found her so interesting as her family was original homesteaders. She was just one of the coolest ladies!

Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be? And why?

A: Traveling to Switzerland is on my bucket list. First, it’s so beautiful and also, my grandparents are from the little area of Switzerland called Trins where they speak Romanish. So I would just love to see the people there and connect. I think I still have relatives there. I would like to go in the summer to do some hiking.

Q: What is your favorite movie OR what is the first movie you remember seeing in a theatre?

A: The first movie that I actually remember seeing, and we were all so excited to see, was Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid–which could qualify as a favorite because it was really quite good. I think if I just pick one on top of my head it would be Home Alone. It’s fun to watch it every year with my family and I love that house!

Q: What advice would you give someone moving to Grand County?

A: They better love the outdoors. I don’t even really understand how you could live here if you don’t love the outdoors, because you pay a price, I think, to live here. It’s not the most convenient place, so if you don’t just love all the outdoor activities I don’t know why you would want to be here, really.

Q: What is something on your bucket list?

A: Other than Switzerland, my bucket list would be a bike ride through Europe. I better get it done before I get any older!

Q: What is your favorite music/ 3 bands you would like to see (dead or alive)?

A: I love Poco, The Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Q: Choosing anyone alive and a non-relative with whom would you love to have lunch? Why and where would you have lunch?

A: I thought about this one and it would be the author Philippa Gregory.  She writes historical novels, most of them are about the Tudor era in Europe. I’m just a huge fan of English history, the Tudors, the War of the Roses and all of that. Her books are novels, but they are historically based. I chose her because I am just in awe of how she does it and how she researched those books and put them together. I’m just amazed by people who can write books. I would take her to either The Grand Lake Lodge or Dean Public House because both are cool and historic places in the county.

Q: What is your favorite thing to do in your free time?

A: Well, outdoor activities, every chance I get! I love to hike with my dog, or bike or go cross country skiing, depending on the season. I’ve done Ride the Rockies a number of times, but haven’t done one in a while, so, I guess I need to do one more before I get too old! I also did a RAGBRAI, which stands for the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, which is a non-competitive bicycle ride organized by The Des Moines Register. It’s a cool ride, because, surprisingly, Iowa is not flat and it’s like a rolling state fair. You stop in all these little towns that are about ten or fifteen miles apart, and the farmers come in with their tractors and the women make all these fruit pies. You can literally gain weight as you bike across the state!

Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about Grand County?

A: For me, the best thing is the Alpine high country. Hiking up to the tundra–and you have to really work to get there–that’s just absolutely God’s country. It literally brings tears to my eyes!  I recently did one of these hikes in the Indian Peaks with my kids and it was such a blessing. I’m so blessed to be able and to have the health and the strength to get up there.

Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years?

A: Definitely retired. This has been a great job so it’s a little hard for me to think about that because I want to stay connected. I would love to stay connected to the industry but on a part-time basis. I’m thinking of ways to do that, we will see how it goes. I’m getting to that stage in life where I would like more free time and, ultimately, I would like to take at least one summer where my husband and I could get an RV and just travel across the country. After that, I would be very happy just to take mini-vacations and stay connected with the community. I want to stay in Grand County as long as my health allows.

Q: What is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?

A: I think what most people wouldn’t know about me is that I want to write a book. I would do it in retirement and will start with a children’s book. I have a little seed of an idea for the story. I would also like to illustrate it, so I could combine my interests in art and painting. That would be cool.

Q: What 3 words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?

A: I want my home to be welcoming, and I want my house to be cozy, comfortable and just a place where love is.

Q: If you were cast into a major motion picture and had your choice of anyone to be your co-star, who would you choose?

A: I thought about this for a long time and I would want Robin Williams. The main reason is that he’s just such an awesome guy and he would take all the attention off me. I really don’t want to be in a movie, so I would just be laughing and feeding off him.

Q: If you had a full-time staff member that was fully paid for, who would you choose? Chef, Housekeeper, Driver, Coach, Physical Fitness Trainer, or Nanny?

A: While I’m having all that fun and welcome-ness in my house, I want a housekeeper to keep the house clean. I love to entertain, but keeping the house clean is just drudgery. If I had a housekeeper it would free me to do all those other things I like to do.

Q: What is that one business that you would like to see in grand County that currently isn’t here?

A: There are a number of things, but I am thinking about a craft store like a Hobby Lobby, or an Ulta where I can buy high quality make up.

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