Mona Murch grew up in Minnesota but moved to Black Forest 35 years ago.She owns a business called RAI Services. ìIt stands for take responsibility, make amends, live with integrity,î Murch said. She provides polygraph exams for people on probation and parole, and travels all over the state.ìMy job is to give people a chance, but also to hold them accountable as needed, so they can become a contributing member of society,î Murch said. ìI believe it is better to help them manage their behaviors, while insuring public safety and giving them a chance to rehabilitate.îAs a student at St. Cloud State in Minnesota, Murch was involved in CAASA, Campus Advocates Against Sexual Abuse, where she worked with victims of sexual abuse and also sex offenders. She graduated with a degree in psychology and recreation. After moving to Colorado, her first job was at Cedarwood Health Care Center as a recreational therapist.Later, Murch received a masterís degree in counseling at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs and became a therapist at The Family Center of Colorado Springs, where she worked for 17 years. Murch then worked for the El Paso County Department of Human Resources as a caseworker; she worked with victims of sexual abuse and sex offenders.She met her husband while working at the county.Murch and her husband married in 1995, and decided to look for a house in Black Forest. ìWe wanted space; we had dogs and they needed a place to run plus we knew we wanted children,î she said. ìWe wanted an open, clean place for them to play, plus it was in District 20, which is a good school district.îShe has two grown sons: Both went to First Step Preschool in Black Forest and then Edith Wolford Elementary. Her youngest son was in the first kindergarten class to go to the newly remodeled Edith Wolford Elementary School. Her sons attended Challenger Middle School and graduated from Pine Creek High School. She said now that they are both grown, she and her husband would like to travel as often as they can.Murch said she is active with the Black Forest Community Church. She also heads up the restoration project for The Old Log Church, which was the first church in Black Forest ó the church will celebrate 80 years in 2020. Murch has helped with donations for the restoration and has also applied for grants. So far, the outside logs have been restored and preserved, and the next grant will allow them to incorporate stain glass windows ó which the church originally had ó plus a new front door.As a member of her high school choir and an all-state choir in college, Murch has a long musical history. She played the clarinet and saxophone in band. She and her husband sing in the choir at church, and the whole family used to sing together when the kids were growing up. Murch said her husband and two sons know how to play the ukulele; one son also plays the drums and the other plays the guitar. Murch was in the Forest Chorus for 10 years under the direction of Ruth Ann Steele; she said she has great memories from that experience.Murch talked about their early days as residents of Black Forest, when Dominoís Pizza would deliver to the convenience store at Woodman and Black Forest roads ó and customers would meet them at the store, which is no longer there. During the 2013 fire in Black Forest, Murch said they had to evacuate but their home escaped damage.With water issues a big concern in the area, Murch said she is concerned about the over-development in Black Forest and hopes it can be resolved or the county finds a compromise to preserve the beauty of the Forest. She said on the day of the fire, she was out of town and her husband had to grab their belongings, including some clothes for her. ìHe packed two turtlenecks, five pajama tops and two pairs of spandex workout pants; a few days later he was able to go back and rescue his pigeons and grabbed me more clothes Ö 10 skirts; what a guy, I love him,î Murch said, laughing.Murch said Black Forest reminds her of the town where she grew up in Minnesota. ìIt has a small town feel, people are friendly and itís away from the crowd and traffic; itís so quiet and peaceful,î she said. ìEven now when my son comes home for a weekend from Denver, he will say how nice it is without all the noise of city traffic, which is one of the reasons we love it.î
