Tony Vagneur was born into the Vagneur ranching family in Woody Creek. His great-grandfather, Jeremie Vagneur arrived from Val d’Aosta, Italy, in 1882, and carved out a ranching dynasty that thus far includes five generations.
Tony grew up on the original Vagneur homestead in Woody Creek, named the Elkhorn Ranch by his grandfather, Ben. He attended all 12 grades at the Red Brick School in Aspen, graduating in 1964. He went to college to play football and ended up an English major after the gridiron lost his interest. Tony graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing and business administration from the University of Colorado.
Once back in Aspen, Tony began working for his aunt and uncle (Eileen and Vic Goodhard) at Aspen Trash Service, Inc., a relationship that would indelibly mark Tony’s business career for the next 25 years. He also did stints as a builder, a bartender, an equipment operator, a horse trainer, a ski racer, a string of Marlboro commercials and a long run at the T Lazy-7 Ranch. Tony put in seven years as an Aspen Mountain Ski Patrolman.
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