An entrepreneur who helped build Denver’s reputation as a major corporate energy center has been named the 2007 Citizen of the West by the National Western Stock show.
Cortlandt S. Dietler was chosen by a committee of community leaders for embodying the spirit and determination of the Western pioneer and perpetuating Western ethics.
Dietler, 84, was born in Denver and has created or purchased more than 30 companies in his long career in the energy industry.
He began working for the Trans-Arabian Pipeline Co. in Beirut in 1947 and in 1950 invested in the Williams Copeland Drilling Co. in Tulsa, Okla. That began a series of acquisitions and startups, including Western Crude Oil Inc. and Associated Natural Gas Corp. His most recent startup was TransMontaigne Inc. in 1995. He currently serves as chairman of the board of that company, which specializes in storage and transportation of petroleum products.
Dietler has also been an active philanthropist and served on many boards, including the Denver Art Museum, El Palmar Foundation, The Denver Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, The Denver Museum of Nature & Science and the National Western Stock Show.
“Cort’s not an actual cattleman, as such,” said National Western president and CEO Pat Grant, “but he has had extensive investments and exemplifies the Western qualities and this that are critical to being named Citizen of the West – he’s candid, honest and hard-working.”
Dietler will receive his award at a banquet on Jan. 10.
