Ron’s great-grandfather came to Wyoming to work in the coal mines of Southwest Wyoming. He came with only the shirt on his back looking for an opportunity to improve his life and for a place to raise his family. For six generations now, the Micheli family has called Wyoming home.
Ron was born in Ft. Bridger to Joe G. Micheli and Rebecca Micheli. Ron and his wife Patty (Smith) Micheli met at the University of Wyoming and, together, they have raised eight children and have 21 grandchildren.
Ron is a fourth generation rancher in Ft. Bridger where he runs and operates a ranch in partnership with his father Joe G. Micheli and his brother Dale Micheli. Because Ron has spent his entire life as the owner of a small family business, he understands the difficulties associated with making a payroll, paying taxes, providing health insurance, and trying to grow a small business while raising a family.
As a community volunteer, a legislator, and an administrator, Ron has spent his life serving Wyoming.
Education and Wyoming’s public education system have played an important part in Ron’s life. Ron graduated from Mountain View High School in 1966 and received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Wyoming in 1970 with a degree in Animal Science. After graduation, Ron continued his ties with the University of Wyoming by serving on College of Agriculture Advisory Board. The Wyoming College of Agriculture has named Ron as an outstanding alumnus.
Patty Micheli is a 1967 graduate of Hot Springs County High School in Thermopolis, Wyoming and a 1971 graduate of the University of Wyoming. All of Ron’s children have attended Wyoming public schools and have attended the University of Wyoming. Five have received degrees from the University of Wyoming. Patty and three of Ron’s children have taught, or are now teaching, in Wyoming schools.
» Legislative and Political Experience
Ron served for 16 years in the Wyoming House of Representatives. During this time, he held various leadership positions including Majority Floor Leader, Speaker Pro Tempore, and Majority Whip. Ron also was the Chairman of the House Revenue Committee for 6 years where he became known as a tax expert in the House. In addition, he has sponsored and carried many far-reaching and important legislative initiatives, including sweeping protections for victims of crimes, protections for children, and a constitutional amendment to protect taxpayers.
Ron has dedicated his life to service of Wyoming and grassroots political activity. Ron has served as a Republican Precinct Committeeman for over 20 years and has served on the Republican State Central Committee, including service on the State Central Committee Executive Committee as the Treasurer. Ron was the Chairman of the Wyoming State Republican Convention in 1994. He has also been the chairman of the Resolution Committee and the Platform Committee.
After his service in the legislature, Ron served in the cabinet of Governor Jim Geringer as the Director of the Wyoming Department of Agriculture from 1995-2003. While leading this state agency, Ron also served in the Governor’s natural resource sub-cabinet where he became an expert on Wyoming’s natural resource issues including oil and gas development, use of public lands, and the impact of state and federal regulation on small and large business owners. Ron has also worked with many national and regional organizations that direct policy to protect and assist Wyoming businesses.
From sponsoring a team for the local Relay for Life to officiating high-school football and basketball games to volunteering for the County Fair Boards, Ron has always been involved in his community. Ron has been active in his church and charity related service and has seen first hand how community involvement impacts individual lives and brings people together.
Ron is a fourth generation rancher in Ft. Bridger, Wyoming where he runs and operates a ranch in partnership with his father and his brother. The ranch maintains a purebred Hereford and Angus operation with an annual bull sale each year in October. Ron has received numerous awards and recognitions for his ranching activities including the Guardian of the Grassland Award, the highest honor awarded by the Stock Growers Association, and was named Wyoming’s Outstanding Agriculturalist by Gamma Sigma Delta. The Wyoming Livestock Roundup gave Ron its Outstanding Agriculture Citizen for the State of Wyoming award in 1997. The Wyoming Wool Growers awarded Ron the “Compadre Award,” which recognizes outstanding achievement or effort on behalf of the Wyoming sheep industry and the Wyoming Association of Conservation Districts awarded Micheli their Presidential Award, the highest honor given by that organization.
