Mesa State has been able to grow over the years largely because of the support from local community residents, who have contributed to the development of the school. One of them is Herb Bacon.
Bacon joined the college committee in 1960, when Mesa State was a junior college. He decided to serve on the committee because of his personal connections to all of the board members. He joked that his initial involvement, and the subsequent 50 years of service to the school, was all due to a “weak moment” when they asked him to join.
Bacon is no longer on the college board but remains involved with the school.
“Mesa’s a very well-recognized school. I’m proud of it,” Bacon said. “This is what we hoped to obtain when we switched to a four-year school.”
Bacon is currently co-chairman of the Legacy Campaign, along with Jamie Hamilton and Dean Massey. The Legacy Campaign is a program that raises funds to support Mesa State with endowments from residents.
“The campaign will be eliciting money from Mesa County, the purpose being to get an ongoing fund locally to fund a college,” Bacon said. “The goal of the campaign is to give us the support locally that we aren’t getting from the state of Colorado.”
Since adequate state funds simply aren’t available, the Legacy Campaign is a way to get support from the local community instead.
“The Legacy concept is [for community residents] to give some money on a long-term basis. Eventually it becomes the legacy of your family,” Bacon said. “It’s a permanent way of supporting the school and maintaining a family name.”
Besides his long history of involvement with the school, Bacon is also active with St. Mary’s Hospital, Hospice, Mesa Developmental Services, the First United Methodist Church, the Wells Fargo Bank local board, and serves on the board of his parents’ Bacon Family Foundation, which he describes as a “legacy approach to donate money back to the community.”
Bacon said his extensive involvement in the community is because Grand Junction is “a great place to live.”
“I feel that there’s a responsibility to give back to the community,” Bacon said.
Bacon has a wife, four children, six grandchildren, one great-grandchild, and another great-grandchild on the way. In his free time, if he has any, he and his wife like to travel. Over the years they have explored India, China, and recently West Africa.
“I just get out of dodge,” Bacon said. “If it gets overwhelming, we take a trip.”
As for the rest of the time, Bacon is still very active in the community and at the college, and has high hopes for the school.
“I see a great future,” Bacon said. “We’re faced with challenges, but with community backing and student support, the future is unlimited. We keep moving ahead. If it continues, Mesa State can be really amazing.”

lrrussel@mesastate.edu