A while ago, a couple of our guests suggested that I highlight some of our staff on the blog. I’ve been gathering info on the key players to get the Spotlight series started. I was going to take bribes on who I showcased first, but after getting some fabulous pictures of Kelli recently, I couldn’t resist to showcase her!
Kelli King grew up in Ohio and completed her undergraduate degree in Exercise Physiology at Kent State University. While working as a fitness specialist for a corporate wellness facility she met Steve and they were married in 1994 in Breckenridge, Colorado. They had moved there just a few years before on a whim to explore the West based on a recommendation from a couple who they met camping in Alaska while traveling the country. After 7 years in Breckenridge, and a brand new baby, Steve and Kelli picked up and moved to the Steamboat Springs area when Steve began running our ski program in the winter of 1999. Kelli stayed at home with their daughter Maddie until she realized that she needed some more social stimulation and started job sharing as a guide with her husband.
It didn’t take us long to recognize Kelli’s talents, and as Maddie began pre-school, there was more of an opportunity for both Steve and Kelli to work full time at the ranch. Kelli took over our kid’s program and brought to it the understanding of children that only a mom can offer. She spent that past 8 years guiding ski tours in the winter and molding the kids program to her vision the rest of the time and has now handed off the day to day oversight to others in order to pursue her passion for guiding full time. As she is also a Yoga Fit instructor you can always twist Kelli’s arm to lead a ranch yoga class as well.
When Kelli isn’t at the ranch, she can be found practicing yoga, spending time with her parents and brother who all now live in Colorado, camping with Steve and Maddie and working on their home near the ranch.
I’ll finish each spotlight with a direct quote. I asked Kelli what working at Vista Verde means to her.
“Having the opportunity to work with my husband and getting to bring my daughter to work and have her interact with not only the high quality of young staff that work here but get to meet people form all over the world, as well as learn from passionate individuals like Terry (Horses) and Dace (Hospitality). She gets a rare opportunity to really understand what her parents “do for a living” as well as participate in the amazing activities on the Ranch. I get an opportunity to work with passionate people doing what they love and for owners who really do care about you, as a person and your family. They not only want you to succeed at your job but they want you to success, period. Personally, I get the opportunity to be the conduit for connecting people to nature and to that 14 year old inside all of us. I get to work at what I love to do (playing in nature) and I get to meet very interesting people and share and connect with them.”