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DENVER INC.: Voice of O'Meara Ford draws fans of her own

Published September 22, 2007 at midnight

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Bonnie Murray has been the voice - the very distinctive voice - for O'Meara Ford for the past 30 years, appearing in ads and TV commercials.

Murray, who serves as the company's marketing director and advertising manager, draws attention with her throaty, sped-up Southern drawl. She's got her own link on the dealership's Web site, where there are video clips of past commercials she's starred in and glamour shots, circa 1978, that can be downloaded. In one 1982 commercial, she's pitching what was then a very low interest rate of 6 percent. (omeara ford.com/OLD_STUFF/bonnie.html)

These days, Murray can be seen in print advertisements wearing a cut-out, quite revealing black dress, pitching customized muscle cars.

We tried calling her this week to talk about her three decades in both the car and advertising business, but her (throaty) voice mail was full - an apt testament to her longevity.

Ikard-Ritter connection

At the 123rd annual membership meeting Friday for the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, John Ikard was introduced as the group's chairman for the next year. The president and CEO of FirstBank Holding Co., Ikard enjoys another distinction: He roomed with Gov. Bill Ritter for two years when both were students at Colorado State University.

Furthermore, when Ikard got his start in Denver banking as a loan officer, he spent six months sleeping on Ritter's couch - alone, as he was quick to point out.

Jail design criticized

Ken Schroeppel recently posted some online drawings of the Justice Center and new jail under construction at the former Rocky Mountain News site along West Colfax Avenue on his Denverinfill.com blog.

Most of the people who responded found the design by the klipp architectural firm lacking. One wag wrote: "They should have gotten Libeskind to design the jail . . . can you imagine how hard it would be for prisoners to figure out how to escape from that?"

Daniel Libeskind, of course, designed the new Hamilton Wing of the Denver Art Museum a few blocks away.

Revelstoke lots for sale

Can't afford Aspen? Too late for Telluride? Go north, young vacation home buyer - way north.

Denver-based Simpson Housing has a $1 billion plan in the works to develop Revelstoke Mountain Resort in British Columbia - a popular destination for heli and snowcat skiers. The new resort will include 6,000 feet of terrain, 20 lifts and more than 100 ski and snowboard runs.

Worried about how to get there? The 25 single-family lots are going for $650,000 to $1.5 million and can accommodate private helicopter pads.

So far, the company reports that some 56 percent of the buyers are Coloradans.

Assistant Business Editor Jane Hoback and Deputy Business Editor Gil Rudawsky write about local business news that doesn't necessarily end up in quarterly reports. They can be reached at .