Looking back on photos from this summer it seems so long ago that we opened the doors for the season in early June. But, then again, the time just flew by too fast. Here we are in our final week of the season, and with that we prepare for sad goodbyes as some of our great staff head off for new adventures in life. Notably, we have two folks heading off who we’d like to recognize as they have been instrumental in the VVR family for a long time.
Brandon was being recruited to come work at the ranch long before he even realized we had our sights set on him. As Ben’s nephew and based in Colorado Springs for his military service he came up to visit often. After completing his tours in Afghanistan, we finally were able to get Brandon and Rachelle to come join us at the ranch in 2012. With high expectations for his competence and performance, the poor guy was getting signed up for responsibilities before he even arrived. Well, he rose to the challenge, and even took on more. Over the past 5 years Brandon has been a critical player in helping us fulfill the mission of the ranch. He took on running the fly fishing program, led the charge for the ranch hand crew, launched the snowmobiling program as well as was the lead rock star of the Farwell Mountain Boys. The number of man-crushes that have been had for Brandon are countless, but nonetheless we can all agree that we wish we we could be like Brandon.
After starting their family while here at the ranch, Brandon and Rachelle fulfilled their promise to move back home to Pennsylvania to be closer to their families. Wyatt (Wy-Guy), Scotlyn, and Coulton will never know how lucky they were to start their lives in the mountains of Colorado, but we’re rooting for them to be applying to work here sometime around 2027. Until then, we’re pretty sure we’ll still get the chance to see this great family from time to time, as the pull of VVR is pretty strong. Thanks to Brandon for being such a great part of our team, and thanks to Rachelle for supporting him being gone on those late nights playing bass guitar and those early morning grooming ski trails. We have loved having them and their sweet family here, and will miss all of them dearly!
Right on Brandon’s heels is another great person, but one who had a more quiet role in the operation. Trish first came to the ranch to cover some massage work for our therapist at the time. It only took us a short while to know she belonged here as part of our team. Over the years, she grew the massage therapy program, and then, because every massage therapist is a perfect fit for accounting, she added bookkeeper to her role at the ranch. We all knew when Trish was here in the office, as there was always a zen vibe that arrived as soon as she walked in the door. She heads out this fall to move closer to her folks in Rhode Island, unfortunately further away than her arms can reach to continue to provide our guests relief through massage therapy!
As Brandon and Trish, and the many younger staff head down the drive for the last time this week we give our most sincere thanks for their contributions to making the ranch a better place. Happy trails, until we meet again!!