Ranch Operations

Vista Verde Ranch Staff is the Best! Colorado Vacation Luxury Ranch

Ben Martin

General Manager
Wilderness First Responder
Hometown: Terre Hill, PA
School: Messiah College/ Denver Seminary

Ben was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where he was one of 49 grandchildren in his family. He went on to college and received a Marketing degree from Messiah College in 1988. There, he participated in soccer and track. He then went on to play professional indoor soccer for two years. Ben went back to college to pursue his Master’s degree in Youth and Family Studies at Denver Seminary. He proceeded to then use that degree to work with high school students until getting into the guest ranching industry; he has worked with guest ranches for the past 15 years. In Ben’s free time, he enjoys watching sports and spending quality time with his family. At home, this includes his wife, Holly, and his son, Jack. Chelsea is living in Denver and Amanda is living happily with her husband, David Gillie. Their daughter Annie is now living and attending school in Boston. Fun Fact: Many will say that Ben’s golden retriever, Finn, is his best accessory.

Charlie Cammer

Director of Ranch Operations
CPR Certified
Hometown: Windham, NY
Previous Job: Round Mountain Ranch, Manager

Charlie has been in Colorado since he was 24 years old and gradually worked his way up to Clark. Charlie has been a part of the VVR team since the late-90′s and quietly keeps the ranch running as the master organizer of our team. He and his wife Barb enjoy spending time with their grand kids, as well as road biking. Charlie rides a brown 1974 Motobécane and his wife rides a silver 1975 Motobécane. He also enjoys barbecues outside on the patio of their timber frame house he built looking out on Farwell Mountain.

Stephanie Wilson

Director of Hospitality
Hometown: Woodside, CA
School: UC Davis

Steph has been at Vista Verde since 1997, where she takes care of all things related to getting you here, and then making your experience as wonderful as possible at the ranch. Steph is a California native who came to Colorado with plans to stay a season or two, and has never left. She found the perfect combination of her background in the horse world along with an agricultural business degree in the dude ranch industry. As a mother of two, Steph loves to spend time with her daughters, as well as riding horses, mountain biking, practicing yoga, and skiing. Steph’s husband, Todd, is a former Olympic skier and now coaches ski jumpers in Steamboat Springs.

Bill Backer

Properties Manager
Hometown: Clark, CO
School: Southwest Minnesota State University

Bill has been around Vista Verde for upwards of 25 years now! In his free time, Bill enjoys fixing up old, damaged cars and is also very skilled at making furniture. Much of the furniture located in the ranch’s accommodations was created by Bill. If you want to make friends with Bill, make him a pie. His favorite is rhubarb pie, and you should see the rhubarb he grows in the ranch gardens!

Nate Margason

Safety Manager
CMC EMT Program
Hometown: Elgin, TX

Nate is officially our Safety Manager, but that is just the start of what he does at the ranch! When not fixing things or overseeing our fleet of 14 hot tubs, or guiding, or wrangling, he finds time to pursue his hobbies that include hiking, playing softball, dancing, and horseback riding. Nate really enjoys playing on Vista Verde’s intramural softball team during the summer and volleyball during the winter. For his first job, Nate was involved in restoring a 1939 Cadillac LaSalle. He is a volunteer with North Routt Fire Department as an EMT and Firefighter type 2. Finally, Nate married our own lovely Melissa in October 2016 in VVR’s Great Room!

Zach Wingo

Human Resource Manager
Wilderness First Responder, USCG Certified Captain, CPR, AED
Hometown: Annapolis, MD
School: University of South Carolina

Zach is a dedicated outdoorsman who has been chasing anything with a set of gills or pair of antlers since he was 2 years old. Growing up on a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay, he enjoys fishing for striped bass and sailing during the summer months. In the fall, he can be found bowhunting for whitetails and sika deer. Zach is also a proud USC Gamecock and looking forward to an awesome summer at VVR! Fun Fact: Before joining us at VVR, Zach sailed 1,900 nautical miles from Annapolis, MD to the Bahamas with his father.

Devyn Cordes

Reservations & Front Office Manager, Yoga Instructor
Hometown: Louisville, CO
School: Boston Conservatory

This is Devyn’s 11th season at VVR! In grade school she was constantly reprimanded for too much chit chat and now she gets paid to talk to people! Devyn is a certified RYT 200 hour Baptiste Yoga instructor. She is also a Colorado native who spends her winters skiing and summers hiking and fishing. Devyn is a singer too and loves to sing the Star Spangled Banner.

Catherine Crouch

Reservations Associate
CPR & First Aid Certified
Hometown: Charlotte, NC
School: University of South Carolina

Catherine graduated from University of South Carolina in 2017 with a degree in Business Marketing and Management. During college, she was a Young Life Leader at a high school in Columbia, SC. Colorado really captured her heart after spending a summer wrangling in Telluride. She is a sunshine enthusiast who loves to roller blade, snowboard and road trip with pals. Previously a wrangler and a ski guide at the ranch, Cat joins us in the office for her fifth season at VVR!

Mackenzie Muha

Guest Services/Concierge
First Aid, CPR, AED
Hometown: Lisle, IL
School: St. Norbert College

Mackenzie is joining us in the office for her fourth season at VVR! Previously a ski guide, she is stoked to be working within guest services. She spent one college summer along the Rio Grande in Colorado, and was instantly hooked! After graduating with a degree in Psychology from a small college in Wisconsin, she came back to Colorado to enjoy the mountain lifestyle. She is a hiking and skiing outdoor enthusiast and an avid traveler, most recently backpacking Guatemala. Fun fact: Mackenzie plays on the ice hockey team in town.

Holly Martin

Store Manager
Hometown: Colorado springs, CO
School: Colorado State University/ University of Arizona

Holly grew up in Colorado Springs, CO, and attended Colorado State University where she obtained a degree in social sciences and criminal justice. She went on to receive her law degree from the University of Arizona. After focusing on the kids for the past few years, Holly is enjoying working alongside her husband, Ben, at the ranch. They have four children: Amanda, Chelsea, Annie, and Jack, and a son-in-law, David, as well as two dogs, Finn and Hazel. Holly’s favorite thing is when all the kids are back home.

Jennifer Haskett

Bookkeeper
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
School: Academy of Art University: San Francisco

While Jennifer is originally from Philadelphia, she has been living in Steamboat Springs for the past ten years! Her son is currently a student at Steamboat Springs High School and her daughter is studying veterinary medicine at the University of Georgia. One of Jen’s true passions is art. She loves to draw and paint, especially the beautiful scenes around the area. Jen also loves to explore the mountains by means of hiking, horseback riding or even stand-up paddle boarding. Fun Fact: Jen was a contender on American Gladiator!

Ranch Hands

Michael Kristensen

Ranch Hand Manager
Hometown: Vesloes, Denmark
Previous Position: Danish Military

Michael is from a small town in the North of Denmark called Vesloes. He has spent much of his time working with his hands and doing various jobs in and out of the country. After his time in the military’s Royal Lifeguard he took a short education in Outdoor and Sports studies. Later he joined another branch of the Danish Military and spent a few year working in Greenland. He found his way to Clark after meeting his wife, Beka, while they were travelling in South America. This season he is heading up the ranch hand department. He likes running, camping, tele and skate skiing, travelling, and enjoying good food and wine. Most of all, he enjoys spending time with his wife and their baby girl, Clara.

Patrick Davis

Ranch Hand
CPR and first aid certified
Hometown: Eureka, Kansas
School: Kansas State University

Patrick is joining us for his second season at Vista Verde! He grew up hunting and fishing in the outdoors, and has grown to really love traveling. He has spent his past summers guiding elk hunting in northwest Montana, and knows his way around the woods as well as anyone! Patrick has been to Spain, France, Italy, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico and Mexico. Fun fact: Patrick lived in Germany for 4 years!

Logan Busch

Ranch Hand

Hometown: Inver Grove Heights, MN
School: North Dakota State University

Logan is joining us this fall at Vista Verde, and we are very excited to have him! Prior to arriving at the ranch, he was working in Minnesota and spending time with his family. While in college, Logan played baseball for North Dakota State. Aside from playing ball, Logan enjoys hunting, fishing, ping-pong, tennis, and road biking. Fun fact: Logan does the engineering for a podcast series!

Rand Irby

Ranch Hand
Hometown: Richmond, VA
School: Virginia Military Institute

Originally from Richmond Virginia, Rand enjoys fishing and duck hunting. He spent this past winter season with us at VVR trying out snow activities available near the ranch and learning some ice fishing. For summer season, he’s excited to learn more about fly fishing! Fun fact: Rand recently went on a lengthy road trip of the western USA!

Tucker Pennell

Ranch Hand
Hometown: Georgetown, TX
School: University of Arkansas

Tucker is joining us from Texas for his first season here at VVR! Prior to the ranch, he was working as a coach. He’s looking forward to a Colorado summer. Fun Fact: Tucker has played in the college world series!

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Ranch Operations

Ben Martin

Charlie Cammer

Stephanie Wilson

Bill Backer

Nate Margason

Zach Wingo

Devyn Cordes

Catherine Crouch

Mackenzie Muha

Holly Martin

Jennifer Haskett

Ranch Hands

Michael Kristensen

Patrick Davis

Logan Busch

Rand Irby

Tucker Pennell

What Are You Waiting For?

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