The Breckenridge Town Council is honored to present the Community Leader Award to Gene Dayton, recognizing his nearly 60 years of visionary leadership and his transformative impact on inclusive outdoor recreation in Breckenridge. 

Since arriving in 1965, Dayton has pioneered Nordic skiing in the community, championed adaptive recreation long before it was widely understood, and built programs that have opened the outdoors to people of all ages and abilities. His early work and mentorship helped build a grassroots movement around outdoor education and inclusion, ultimately leading to the founding of the Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center (BOEC). 

With strong partnerships, including an initial Town lease that established the BOEC Wilderness Campus, Dayton helped build one of the nation’s leading adaptive recreation programs. Today, the campus serves more than 1,159 participants annually through skiing, handcycling, rafting, kayaking, and a wheelchair-accessible ropes course. 

Dayton’s leadership is most evident in the people he has empowered. Through the BOEC internship program, he helped shape generations of outdoor leaders and foster a culture of service, inclusion, and community responsibility. 

Beyond BOEC, Dayton continued to strengthen Breckenridge through the Breckenridge Nordic Center and the longtime Breckebeiner fundraiser, while remaining an active BOEC board member and mentor. 

Gene Dayton’s vision and dedication have helped define the character of Breckenridge. The Town Council proudly presents the Community Leader Award to Gene Dayton in gratitude for the institutions he built, the partnerships he nurtured, and the countless lives he has touched.