◆ Councilman bring experience to SVR.
Ronald Denney and Taylor Ellis were sworn in as new members of the Star Valley Ranch Town Council Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021.
The SVR retirees bring a variety of professional, management and educational experience to the community’s governing body.
• Councilman Denney
Denney has been a property owner at Star Valley Ranch since 1989 and has been living there since 2011.
He has been following the progress of the community in recent years. “I am up to speed on the town development and everything that has happened, so I think I can help move it along,” Denney advised.
Before moving to Star Valley Ranch, he lived in Idaho Falls and worked in management at the Idaho National Lab. “I spent most of my time in management of facilities and projects for spent nuclear fuel,” he explained. “It’s still exciting to see it move forward, trying to get this county in a more energy efficient process and nuclear is major part of that.”
As Denney took a seat on the council, he encouraged residents to contact him about matters related to the community. “I ran on a platform of more community input and communications and I would like use this to get started,” he said speaking of his interview with SVI Media.
• Councilman Ellis
With his retirement to Star Valley three years earlier, Taylor Ellis, brought an extensive career in education and management to the community.
He wanted to remain active and became interested in the town council.
“We moved here from Orlando, Florida,” he explained. “I spent the last 26 years at the University of Central Florida and the last 20 years as the associate dean of the of the college of business administration.”
Referencing his move to Wyoming, Ellis said, “I came home.”
As a youth, he lived in Ogden, Utah and his parents traveled to different regional locations throughout the west every weekend, including trips to Jackson.
“Basically, I have been on every road west of Denver, from Mexico to Alberta, Canada at some point in time,” he recalled. “I even remember Jackson Hole when you could drive down the main road and the only time there was a traffic jam is when two ranchers stopped to talk to each other going in opposite directions and it only backed up two cars.”
Ellis is focusing on the future and direction of the community. “One of the main things the town of Star Valley Ranch is facing, is what it wants to be in the future,” he said.
“There are people moving in as a bedroom community and I’m not sure that is what the current residents of the town of Star Valley [Ranch] want this to become.”
Ellis invited residents to contact him on this and other matters. “I am going to be interested to see what the members of the town have to say about that,” he concluded. “If you are a resident of the Town of Star Valley Ranch and you have got some ideas, I would love to hear them.”
