Following approval by the Cortez City Council Tuesday night, Cortez became the first "Character City" within Colorado.

The program, organized by the International Association of Character Cities, is designed to help build and develop character within different sectors of a city, including government, business and education.

"We saw this as a way of positively stressing character values," said Cortez Mayor Joe Keck.

As part of the process of becoming a character city, department heads, managers and supervisors employed by the city will receive materials and training on how to implement character development.

"Training for Cortez city employees and directors will be July 19 and 20," said Keck.

The training for Cortez city employees will be done by Dr. E.C. Gaffney of Denver.

Gaffney said that throughout the training he will try to help employees make the distinction between character and achievement.

"Achievement can come without character, but character rarely comes without achievement," Gaffney said, adding that Ted Kaczynski (the Unabomber) had achieved many things but was probably lacking in character.

Gaffney said that following the seven-hour training session, the city will begin monthly meetings to promote a specific character trait and will also utilize character-trait bulletins.

Each bulletin focuses on a specific trait, such as enthusiasm or honesty, and gives the definition of that trait, which will be added to pay checks, news clips and letterheads.

The goal is not just to teach character to a few people, but to teach those people how to create a culture of character, Gaffney said.

Keck said that the idea of adopting such a program in Cortez was suggested by a group of local residents.

Cortez resident Shelly Hancock said, "I heard about the program through friends and thought that it was a great idea. Later I became friends with Dr. Gaffney.

"I am looking forward to seeing the benefits of our community working together toward such positive goals," said Hancock, adding that county officials, school employees and business owners are also welcome to participate in the program. However, there is a fee to participate, she said.

Hancock said that in Colorado the cities of Aurora, Fort Collins and Fort Morgan are also considering becoming Character Cities.

According to the character-city association, character programs exist in 34 cities, 42 states and 16 countries, and involve city employees, school teachers and administrators, business employees and families.