GO WEST FILM FESTIVAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS
David Caldwell, Co-President
Originally from the Midwest, David followed the western rainbow toward purple mountain majesties and enjoyed a long career of university teaching and research, including courses on film reception and history. After attending numerous film festivals in the US and Germany, David jumped at the opportunity to become a founding board member of the Go West Film Festival in 2014. Like Greeley’s spectacular vista of sunsets over the peaks, every Go West festival is a unique and inspiring celebration of the frontier on film. Move over, Berlinale. Go West is here!
Ron Edgerton, Co-President
Responding to Horace Greeley’s call to “Go West Young Man,” Ron and his family settled down in Greeley where he taught History, directed the Honors Program, and administered the International Film Series at the University of Northern Colorado. He is an avid reader of Western fiction. He and his wife Thelma are proud members of the gang that pioneered the Go West Film Fest.
Stephen Story, Treasurer
Steve grew up in southwest Colorado during the height of the great cowboy movie era and every week went to the Saturday matinee with its cowboy movie and weekly serial. He and his wife moved to Greeley to attend UNC and decided to stay and raise a family here. Steve was the controller for a commercial cattle feedlot for 20 years and then an accountant. Volunteering several years with GWFF combined two of his favorite pastimes – westerns and helping. Steve joined the Board in August 2019.
Thelma Bear Edgerton
Growing up in the mountains of Kentucky inspired a longing in Thelma that never went away during many years in Florida. Her love of mountains inspired her to climb the tallest peaks in most of the western states. She moved to Colorado to get her doctorate in psychology. She and Ron enjoy discussing films and being a part of the group who created the Film Festival. They look forward to sharing western films each fall with their many friends and acquaintances.
Khristine Gamer
Inspired by fond childhood memories of first seeingThe Good the Bad and the Ugly from the back seat of her parents’ Thunderbird at a Denver drive-in the late1960s to watching TV westerns and movies with her grandparents, Khris co-founded the Go West Film Festival with her trail partner, Victoria Boone. Together, these two gals formed a posse of wonderful, like-minded folks to elevate the status of western films and launch the only film festival in Colorado devoted exclusively to westerns. And who says librarians are a meek bunch? Wild, maybe, but never meek. Yep, Khris and Victoria started the film festival as librarians with the High Plains Library District and were mighty proud to have the library district support us in our early days.
Now retired and following a brief hiatus from the Go West Film Festival, Khris has dusted off her chaps, climbed back into the saddle and is thrilled to rejoin the board of directors. Her hope is to wrangle up yet more western tropes and cliches with an eye to also changing the way you think about westerns---whether classic, contemporary or fringe, the Go West Film Festival has something for everyone.
Ryan Green
Ryan assists in marketing efforts for the festival. As the Marketing Director for Yoder Family of Companies, he brings a wealth of experience in brand and audience development. A fourth-generation Colorado native, although he’s certainly no cowboy, Ryan feels a strong connection to the American West. He first attended Go West with his father-in-law, a lifelong actor with a deep love for western films. The experience fostered a strong personal connection to the festival, inspiring him to join the board in 2022 after his father-in-law’s passing. Ryan lives in Greeley with his wife and two daughters.
Jeff Reebie
Jeff was raised in New York but fell in love with cowboys and the West after watching episodes of Spin and Marty on the Mickey Mouse Club TV program. He moved to Colorado in 1971 to attend The Colorado College and earned a degree in English Literature. He is a writer and author who has published stories about rodeo and wild horses and is currently working on screenplays. For twelve years, Jeff was a contestant in rodeos from Cheyenne to Pendleton.
David E. Sharp
David E. Sharp grew up in Amarillo, Texas against a backdrop of tumbleweeds, glorious sunsets and the Palo Duro Canyon. Naturally, he heard that George Strait song more times than you could say, “Up from San Anton,” if you had a whole day with nothing better to do. David eventually moved to Greeley, Colorado to see the other side of the High Plains. Here, he discovered mountains. They’re kind of like canyons, but inverted so they stick up out of the ground instead of digging in. He is now a librarian at the High Plains Library District, where he loves to help people discover new interests in books, movies or even a George Strait song. His short story “Pine Cone” appeared in a 2020 Colorado Book Award winning anthology. David has also published two novels, Lost on a Page, re-released in 2021, and Lost on a Page: Character Developments (2022).