Ranch Operations

Ben Martin

Ben Martin and his wife Holly have four kids ranging from 11 to 25 years old: Amanda, Chelsea, Annie and Jack. Originally from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Ben’s career path has taken him from playing professional soccer, to being the head wrangler, and then foreman at another Colorado ranch, to working with high school kids in Denver. With that diverse background, Ben is just the guy to chase down, wrangle and guide our management team as our General Manager.

Charlie Cammer

Charlie Cammer is our Director of Operations. That means he’s responsible for preserving and enhancing this beautiful place – meadows, pastures, forest and such – while keeping a big picture vision for this ranch. Charlie is originally from the Catskill Mountains in New York and grew up in the resort business. After obtaining a degree in hotel management and working for several large motel chains, he fled to Colorado and fell in love. After twelve years of managing a ranch down the road, Charlie joined us eleven years ago and we are still delighted to have him. Get him laughing, and you’ll know exactly why.

Stephanie Wilson

Stephanie Wilson is another year-round member of our staff and is our Director of Hospitality. She grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and early on developed a passion for the outdoors, which led to a degree in agricultural and managerial economics from the University of California at Davis. Steph came to the ranch following her passion for horses, with a background at several training and breeding farms. In additional to all she does for the ranch, she spends her time raising her daughters Maggie and Ella with her husband Todd.

Bill Backer

Bill Backer (pronounced ‘Baker’) is our properties manager and is responsible for the facilities and equipment of the ranch. (In other words – everything that squeaks, leaks or breaks.) He is a graduate of Southwest State University and holds a degree in biology. Bill gained his practical hands-on experience at Schwan’s Foods in Minnesota and YMCA Camp Eberhart in Michigan. As our resident artisan, he builds a lot of our furniture, and with his well-equipped woodshop at the ranch, he’s into authentic reproductions (or is that an oxymoron)?

Melissa Zumbuhl

If you’re a guest at Vista Verde, you’ve probably met Melissa. She is our friendly first contact, and manages all of our reservations. Melissa hails from Sequim, WA. She enjoys hiking, painting, drawing, and being outdoors. She graduated from Linfield College with a degree in Business Marketing and a minor in Studio Art. Melissa spent her first two seasons with us as a part of the fantastic housekeeping crew, and is now with us for her second season at the Front Desk. Melissa loves to travel and has spent some time in France and Peru.

Alaya Morning

Six years ago Alaya worked as a housekeeper here at Vista Verde, and met her husband, our Executive Chef, Cholly McGlynn. She calls Montpelier, Vermont home and has a degree in Ethnobotany from Connecticut College, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Mediation and Applied Conflict Studies. Some of her interests are reading, dancing, food, and personal growth & development.  This season, Alaya will be assisting Ben as he hires our incredible staff, as well as providing another friendly face at our Front Desk.

Brandon McDonald

Brandon is joining us this winter from the small town of Cheyenne Wells, Colorado where he grew up helping his family run their ranch. Brandon graduated from Front Range Community College with a degree in Natural Resource Fisheries and Wildlife and hopes to one day work helping to preserve the great outdoors that we love so much. Before joining us at Vista Verde, Brandon has split his time between working for his family, as well as working at Copper Mountain Resort. Brandon loves to snowboard and has, to say the least, an impressive movie collection that will serve us well on cold Colorado nights. Luckily for us, Brandon was introduced to Vista Verde Ranch by his girlfriend’s sister and is very excited about the upcoming season!