In 1968, the Ford family first came to Vail, purchasing their first property in Eagle County in 1970. Their influence was soon felt throughout the growing community, through varied projects including the Jerry Ford Invitational Golf Tournament (which endowed the Eagle River Scholarship Fund), the World Forum, the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens, the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, the Vail International Dance Festival, the Vail and Beaver Creek Interfaith Chapels, the Vail Valley Foundation, and much more. On August 15, 1975, President Ford addressed the fifth Vail Symposium in what would become a major energy policy speech (and he would go on to headline a number of other Vail Symposium seasons). Their contributions and memory live on in the very fabric of our community.
Join Susan Ford Bales as we celebrate their legacy and share the story of the Fords in Vail.
Recommended reading available at The Bookworm in Edwards:
“Betty Ford: First Lady, Women’s Advocate, Survivor, Trailblazer” by Lisa McCubbin
