Cortlandt Dietler is a pioneer in Denver, having spent his life building oil companies from the ground up. Now, he has a title to prove it.
Dietler has been named the 2007 Citizen of the West by the National Western Stock Show & Rodeo, an award given to a person embodying the spirit and determination of a Western pioneer.
Dietler is praised in his industry for helping build Denver’s reputation as a major corporate energy hub.
“Cort’s not an actual cattleman, as such,” said National Western president and CEO Pat Grant, “but he has had extensive ranch investments and exemplifies the Western qualities and ethics that are critical to being named Citizen of the West – he’s candid, honest and hardworking.”
Dietler, 85, is a Colorado native who has created or purchased more than 30 companies, including Williams-Copeland Drilling Co., Western Crude Oil Inc. and Associated Natural Gas Corp.
Dietler founded TransMontaigne Inc., which specializes in the transportation of petroleum products to retailers, in 1995 and served as chairman, president and CEO until the company was sold in August 2006.
Dietler is widely known throughout the Rocky Mountains as a generous philanthropist who sits on boards for the Denver Art Museum, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and the Buffalo Bill Memorial Association, among others. He is also a former board member for the Western Stock Show Association.
But “Cort,” as his many friends know him, probably wouldn’t be the first to mention his numerous professional accomplishments and honors. His friends describe him as modest and intensely private.
Dietler will accept the Citizen of the West award at a dinner Jan. 10. The dinner benefits the National Western Scholarship Trust, which supports 65 scholarships for colleges in Colorado and Wyoming.
