Articles
8 February 2012

Myles Rademan

Energizing Park City

by Janine Creager

08 February 2012—

 Myles Rademan believes in people: in who they are, what they bring to the table and in what they can accomplish together. It is this passion that motivates Rademan in his quest to bring out the best in everyone he meets.

“I hold out myself as an energizer,” says Rademan, who is a popular public speaker in addition to being the public affairs and leadership specialist under contract with the city of Park City.

Rademan grew up on the East Coast, born and raised in Philadelphia, and graduated from New York University’s Law School. He came West in 1971 to work as a city planer in Denver. While working in Colorado, Rademan fell in love with the small mountain towns of the Western United States.

“I loved the whole idea of small towns, isolated, where people have to fall back on each other,” he says. “I really enjoy the most in working with people, trying to help them discover and facilitate the things they want to do … Small mountain towns are a great crucible for that. If you’re going to survive, you have to survive together.”

While planning a road trip to California a year after arriving in Colorado, a friend suggested he visit Park City. “It’s kind of a ghost town,” the friend told him. Rademan decided to make the stop, and 14 years later, made the move to Park City.

Although the population of the town has increased dramatically since his arrival in 1986, Rademan feels that the lessons learned in its early beginnings can be a metaphor for many life lessons as well.

“Mountain towns are by nature intentional towns (where people made a conscious decision to move there). So the energy level is very high. I think I’ve been able to bring that learning experience to my groups … to help them discover their inner energy,” he says. “There is this idea of digging deep into your own resources that we don’t always have to turn toward experts or others to accomplish our goals. That’s what happens in these places. We had to create from very little, new economies.”

While Myles Rademan may sound like a great pitchman, he maintains that he is no good at “sales talks.” But he does know a good philosophy when he sees one. Another arena where he lent this enthusiasm and experience was the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. He worked with the Olympic committee for 13 years, from its early beginnings to the very end.

“We made a very conscious effort here in Park City. We listened to people [and saw this as] our opportunity to dance and recognize our own strengths,” he says. As the committee traveled to five previous Olympic sites, Rademan and others came to the conclusion: “We can do this ourselves, and we turned it into a great party. We’ve really taken this lesson to heart.”

Rademan not only shares his passion for life with others, he truly lives it. He believes in this sentiment of famed anthropologist Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” 

“I find that that really works,” says Rademan. “I’m in awe of people who make things work. I think it’s wonderful.”    

 


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