TRU Beginnings
What can be done to help people who are dying?
This question, posed by Dr. Darvin Smith, sparked something profound in Beau Bohart Rezendes—then completing her Ph.D. dissertation on death and dying. His response became the catalyst for action. Soon, Beau was speaking with anyone who would listen about the need to bring hospice care to Boulder County.
In those early days, a small but determined group gathered in living rooms. Donations were kept in a cigar box. They paid their own way to attend hospice conferences. Despite these humble beginnings, their commitment never wavered. By early 1977, Boulder County Hospice was officially incorporated as a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization.
Led by Beau Bohart Rezendes as executive director, the all-volunteer leadership team—now recognized as our founders—brought hospice care to the community. In June 1977, the first patient received care. From one powerful question and a group of passionate visionaries, what is now TRU Community Care was born.
The Beau Award
In the early 1990s, the Board of Directors established the “Beau Award” to honor a patient/family volunteer whose service is truly extraordinary.
TRU’s volunteers provide meaningful support to hospice and palliative care patients and families—offering companionship, respite, specialized Comfort Touch™, and more. They sit vigil, run errands, provide pet therapy, share music, and meet families where they are during some of life’s most difficult moments. Their presence brings emotional, spiritual, and practical comfort when it is needed most.
Early recipients of the Beau Award include Cicely Kane (1992), Nancy Sisson (1993), Fred Schulerud (1994), Sharon Lee (1995), Barbara Mullen (1996), Mary Kay Jones (1997), Mary Liebler (1998), and Ruth Posehl (1999).
We were honored to reintroduce the Beau Award in 2022, continuing this meaningful tradition of recognizing compassionate service.
About Beau Rezendes
Beau Bohart Rezendes is a visionary leader whose work spans corporate, academic, and nonprofit sectors. She founded and guided the development of one of the first hospice programs in the United States—now known as TRU Hospice, a division of TRU Community Care.
Her career includes senior leadership roles across energy, healthcare, manufacturing, and data processing industries, along with academic positions at the University of Colorado and Regis University. She built deep expertise in leadership development, organizational effectiveness, and executive coaching—focusing on interpersonal communication, change management, and team performance.
Beau later served with British Petroleum (formerly Amoco Corporation), where she played a key role in designing and implementing a 360-degree competency feedback and leadership development system for senior executives.
A pioneer in the hospice movement, Beau was a founding member of the National Hospice Organization Board of Directors and its first National Director of Education and Training. She also served as Director of the Society for Human Resource Management for the State of Colorado.
Her commitment to community has remained constant. Beau has contributed to numerous boards and initiatives, including the Grillo Health and Information Center, Frasier Board of Trustees, the Boulder County Conversation Project, and TRU’s Landmark Memory Care Strategic Advisory Committee. She is also a co-founder of The Planet Project, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing social justice and environmental stewardship, with a special focus on youth engagement.
Beau’s passion for making a difference extends globally. Alongside her late husband, Dennis, she volunteered internationally through the Global Volunteer Program, teaching conversational English in Ghana, China, and Portugal. She has also contributed to published works including If Not For The Perfect Stranger and Barack Obama Quotations 2004–2017.
Originally from Peoria, Illinois, Beau has called Colorado home since 1964. She earned her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Colorado, along with a Master of Arts in College Student Personnel Administration and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology.
Her greatest pride is her family—three children and seven grandchildren living across Australia, Colorado, and Massachusetts.
Thank you, Beau, for your decades of leadership, vision, and compassion. Your legacy continues to inspire everything we do.