Dr. Michelle Skaggs
Holding out a hand to help . . .
Even as a child, Michelle was always kind of heart and generous of spirit. As an adult, she is the most phenomenal and remarkable woman I’ve ever known, and I am incredibly blessed and proud to call her My Daughter.
Running a 40-acre ranch and animal rescue is enough for most people, but she also homeschools my 4th-grade grandson, works as a Business Professor at the Community College of Denver, and is the Online Program Coordinator for Business for Colorado Community Colleges. Holding academic degrees as a Doctorate, Master of Education, and Master of Business, she began college courses at the age of 15 and in the ensuing years, acquired a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, and Associate degrees in Economics, Psychology, and Business.
Michelle has owned her company, Results Brand Marketing, for a number of years, and in 2020, she became the owner of Tuff’s Ranch and Tuff’s Animal Rescue 501c(3) in Bennett, Colorado – both of which are named for her son, who is a very active part of their ranch life.
Not one to sit still very long, her volunteer work includes being a 4-H volunteer, a volunteer for Junior Achievement, Secretary of the East Adams/Arapahoe Counties for the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union and she is the 2022 Rocky Mountain Farmers Union Fellow. Fighting for water rights for the Colorado east corridor community is a passion.
She and her Ranch have quickly become the go-to place for help in the Bennett area. They participate in a program that distributes free turkey dinners at Thanksgiving and free ham dinners at Christmas for veterans, hard-working ranchers and farmers, seniors, and anyone who needs an extra hand. Last year their clothing drive supplied winter hats, gloves, coats, mufflers, boots, slippers, various sundries, and even new toys as they opened their large barn doors for anyone who was in need.
Michelle’s summer Ranch Hand for the Day Program introduced city kids to rural life. Kids of all ages got close to the animals by brushing, feeding, and learning about them. Other ranch activities were included in the process, and these city kids left with new experiences and knowledge of how ranchers and farmers keep our economy going and growing.
The Ranch owns its own cows, chickens, goats, emus, and pigs, but the Rescue has welcomed and they care for emus, goats, pigs, sheep, horses, turkeys, and peacocks - their doors and gates are open to one and all, no matter what species!
Michelle experiences a gamut of emotions from the work she does, from helping critters birth their little babies, to caring for sick animals, dealing with predators, and eventually taking cattle to process. Meanwhile, she is teaching her son the 4th-grade curriculum and involves the 9-year-old in classes for welding, forging, leatherwork, pottery, beekeeping, engine rebuilds, and anything else he may have an interest in.
Michelle truly moves mountains – she is quite a remarkable woman and is definitely a standout in Women’s Entrepreneurship.