Board of Directors

Hello I am Candy Machuga. I grew up in Commerce City and graduated from Adams City High School. Since then, I have acquired lots of experience in my careers, between being a Bank Teller for 8 years, and my part-time gigs of a Mutual Clerk for 4 years at our own Mile High Kennel Club, and a Cashier for Checkers. To the last 23 ½ years working for the State of Colorado, 1 ½ for the Treasury and my current position for 22 years at Colorado Parks and Wildlife. I joined the Historical Society to see if I can help make a difference in my home town and preserve the history for the future generations. I have been married for 27 years to my wonderful husband Craig. I enjoy gardening, crafts, photography, ancestry, DIY projects, and site seeing.

Debra has lived in Commerce City since 1959, when her parents moved to Irondale from Minnesota. She was five years old and attended Irondale Elementary, Adams City Junior High and Adams City High School, graduating in 1973. Debra worked in the hospitality profession for 33 years. First at Stapleton Plaza Hotel located next to Stapleton International Airport and then worked at the Brown Palace Hotel for 20 years as the Director of Housekeeping. She joined Starkey International a private school as the Director of Education in July 2007. Debra also travels around the country and internationally training staff in high net worth homes. She is also co-owner of Bullseye Dry-cleaning. Debra is married to Rene’ Bullock. They have been married for 29 years. They have one grown daughter (Dami) and 2 granddaughters. Debra is very involved in her community. She is the Secretary/Treasurer of the Commerce City Historical, a member of the Commerce City Cultural Council, a founding member of the Commerce City Chamber of Commerce, a board member for the Union/ACHS Reunion Alumni Association and serves on the Church Council at Our Saviour Lutheran Church, where she has been attending since she was five years old. Debra and her husband, Rene Bullock founded URCC (United Residents of Commerce City), which led to the establishment of the Commerce City Historical Society. Debra is the author of the Images of America, Commerce City, which was published in March, 2010, and which was the first book written about the history of Commerce City. Debra is passionate and dedicated to collecting and preserving the history of Commerce City. She stays very busy keeping all the records for the Historical Society.

Barb is a collector and began keeping too much stuff so she bought a house in Commerce City that had been a pig farm and had a 6-car garage. It is still filled with stuff and no room for my car.

She began buying real estate in Victor, Colorado and started an antique shop traveling every weekend to and from to keep the store open. She built a small cabin and she still has it today. She sold the antique shop and building in 2021.

In 2022, she purchased the Dottie Bakke Victorian House with her friend Jim Kinghorn and they are working with the Commerce City Historical Society to preserve the property.

Barbara was born in western Kansas. Her parents moved to Commerce City in 1948. They purchased property along Highway 85 and Brighton Blvd. They had 5 children (Janet, Robert, Barbara, Carol, and Walter. They lived in a very small house. Her Mom kept adding little houses for rentals for their living that are still family owned to this day.

She attended Adams City Elementary, Central and Dupont. She attended Adams City Junior High and Adams City High School, graduating in 1963. She attended as many school activities as she could to include Girls Athletic Association, Track and Field, Girls State, Student Council, Distributive Education, and National AAA Junior Olympics in Dayton, Ohio.

She attended Colorado State College, which is now called University of Northern Colorado, graduating with a degree in Education in 1967. She taught elementary physical education and substituting in Denver Public Schools for 7 years.

She loved to travel and spent a summer with 2 friends in Honolulu. She decided teaching wasn’t her thing and started buying rental houses and went to school to get her real estate license. She married twice along the way and divorced twice along the way.

In 1975, she became a flight attendant, travel guide for a Denver based private travel club, PORTS OF CALL. She was flight attendant on the plane and travel guide upon arrival. She has travelled to Africa for a safari, Greece, Germany, India, Vietnam, China, most of Mexico, the Bahamas, Central America, and Peru.

Her next challenge was running Best Yet Bar and Grille with her brother Walter from 1984-1988. Next, she went back to school for a new real estate license. She and her sister-in-law Mary Swank Gomez opened Classic Realty in Commerce City and sold houses. The market was bad at the time, so we began buying, fixing, and flipping.

Sheila is a lifetime resident of Commerce City. She was Born in 1968 to Hester and Cecil Bonnell. Sheila has three siblings Lester, Rodger and a twin sister, Shelly.

She attended Monaco Elementary School, followed by Adams City Middle School and finally Adams City High School where she graduated in 1987. Sheila is the proud mother of three great children. Gerrald, known as Jake (26), Donna (24) and Leah who is soon to be 14. She also has two grandchildren Sarah (5) and Abigail (1).

Sheila has been a school bus driver for 25 years with the first 15 at Denver Public Schools where she met and married Sidney Harris. For the last 10 years she has been driving for Adams 12 Five Star Schools.

In her spare time, she loves to go camping and fishing. Sheila likes to do pretty much anything outdoors where she can include the children and grandchildren.

Former Council Woman Ward Three/Mayor Pro Tem

Reba, a native of Commerce City, has extensive knowledge of its history and is, therefore, the Historian for the Historical Society. Reba is a past business owner of the Blue Rose Restaurant and Catering Company. For 9 years Reba also served her community as a Councilwoman on the Commerce City City Council. Reba also served on numerous boards and commissions, including the regional boards for: E470, Tri County Health, Rocky Mountain Arsenal RAB. Local board memberships include: General Improvement District, Cultural Council, and many others. Reba was “Rotarian of the Year” in 2005, the Commerce City Business and Professional Organization’s “Business and Professional Citizen of the Year”, the recipient of the “Commerce City Senior Citizens Triple C award”, and the recipient of the Exempla Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation’s “Good Samaritan of the Year Award” in 2008. Reba also received the leadership “Gold Certification” from the National League of Cities in Washington D.C. in 2009. Reba has 40 years of experience working with students of all ages, working with Adams County School District 14 as a volunteer and as an employee, which she is currently working as a Community Resource Specialist. Reba was the visionary of the School District 14 Resource Center, and she instrumental in petitioning Congress and the EPA for the release of the Arsenal land for the Prairie Gateway and the continued cleanup of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal. Reba was also the only carrier of the petition to keep the current name of the high school and the only petition carrier for the naming of the Hope Resource Center for School District 14. Reba’s number one love is her husband Gary, and her family. Reba has been devoted to the well-being of people of Commerce City and the preservation of their stories and history.

Diane was raised in Commerce City and attended elementary, junior high and high school in Adams 14 schools. She received a degree for design and has a successful design business for over thirty years. She has one son, two grandchildren and is married to Ian Musick. They live in Commerce City. She is honored to be a board member of the historical society, and she is looking forward to serving on the board.