Kim KeeleyKim Keeley

Kim's connection to public service began long before she ever sat in a county office. Kim grew up near Boulder, Colorado, where the mountains were not scenery in the background. They were part of everyday life. She hiked, rode horses, and spent as much time as she could outside. In the summers, she went to her grandparents’ cattle ranch in northeastern Wyoming, where she learned to fish, hunt, and understand the rhythm of rural life. Those experiences shaped her, and taught her to respect land, water, work, weather, animals, and the people who depend on all of it. After graduating from Colorado College with a degree in biology, Kim followed that pull north. She planned to spend one year in Jackson, Wyoming. One year turned into five. She guided fly fishing trips across Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. She led destination trips in the Bahamas, Mexico, and Belize. She taught fly fishing schools across the country and competed at a national level, including in ESPN’s Great Outdoor Games. That life taught her how to read water, how to listen carefully, how to solve problems in real time, and how to work with people from all walks of life. In 1993, Kim chose Teton Valley as home. She built her house along Fox Creek, where she still lives today. A few years later, Kim bought the historic Victor Emporium. For 26 years, she co-owned and operated that business. She and her partner served more than a million shakes, weathered two recessions, and employed hundreds of local teenagers, many of them in their first job. Running the Emporium taught her what small business owners already know: every dollar matters, every employee matters, and every decision has consequences. Later, she brought that same work ethic into county government. For the last eight years, Kim has served as Clerk to the Board of County Commissioners. She has worked through elections, county budgets, court responsibilities, personnel issues, public meetings, and the daily realities of local government. She has seen county government at its best. She has also seen where it falls short. That is why Kim is running for County Commissioner. Teton County deserves leadership that understands this place, understands county government, and is willing to do the work. She has spent the last eight years inside county government, paying attention to what works, what does not, and what needs to change. Kim is running because she believes Teton County can grow while still protecting the character, land, and community values that make this place worth calling home.