Edward James “Jim” Dyer is a man who has always served the public. He has done this in a variety of ways throughout his career and life.
Public Service
Most recently Jim served as a Colorado Public Utilities Commissioner. Governor Bill Owens nominated and the full Senate confirmed Jim as the 45 th Commissioner on May 10, 2001. He served the citizens of Colorado as a Commissioner until he retired in 2004. In 1988 Jim was elected to the Colorado Senate, District 6, and in 2001 became chairman of the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, which responded to critical water issues. Earlier, Jim was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives, District 59 in 1986. He was r eelected to five two-year terms and served on various committees. Jim's most significant legislative accomplishments, and the ones that mean the most to him, include the creation of the Colorado Children's Basic Health Plan that helps working families with the cost and availability of health care; legislation that provided for the clean-up of abandoned and leaking oil wells; land conservation legislation; and legislation that cut state capital gains taxes. He also served on a Conference Committee that dramatically improved Colorado 's Workers' compensation system. Jim was also selected for the Council of State Governments' Toll Fellowship and received numerous legislative awards throughout his public career .
After completing military service in 1979, Jim worked in the Heavy-Equipment industry. For seven years he worked closely with the budgeting, financing, and operational needs of local construction, mining, and logging firms, as well as with individual owner-operators and governmental bodies.
During his military service, Jim attended Navy Officer Candidate School in Newport , RI . After being commissioned, he was assigned to the USS Wedderburn (DD-684) operating in the Far East . He later served as an advisor in Vietnam , sailing armed junks to interdict enemy supplies. He received the Bronze Star Medal for “courage under fire”. What initially started as a military obligation became Jim's first career when Jim made an inter-service transfer to the U.S. Marine Corps. As a Marine he again saw combat in Vietnam . He received two more Bronze Stars and was cited for “heroic actions” when he jumped from a hovering helicopter into the South China Sea to rescue a downed Army pilot by pulling him to safety through the surf. He received the Soldier's Medal for this life saving action. Jim attended the U.S. Naval War College in Newport , RI , graduating with “Highest Distinction” and was class president. Jim held posts of increasing leadership, managerial and budgetary responsibilities, culminating in command of 600 Marines that he led on a NATO deployment to Europe in 1976.
Education
Jim earned a degree in Career Counseling at Fort Lewis College in Durango , CO. , while finding time to portray Major General Stanley in the college's Gilbert and Sullivan production “The Pirates of Penzance.” Jim is a 1959 graduate of Benedictine College , Atchison , Kansas , where he was a class president, editor of the Raven Yearbook, and was selected to “Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities.” He worked summers as a heavy construction laborer.
Family is important to Jim. He and his wife Shari, along with their sons Jim, Andy, and Matt settled in Southwest Colorado in 1979 and made their permanent home near Durango . Jim was born in St. Joseph , Missouri on December 9, 1937. His father was a telephone man; together with his mother, Eleanor, and younger sister, Mary, the family lived in several small towns before moving to Topeka , Kansas . In Topeka , Jim attended Hayden High School where he was president of the Student Council and was an all-league center in football. Jim and Shari Dyer recently celebrated their 38 th Wedding Anniversary on December 10, 2004. The former Miss Sharon Ferguson was born in Indiana to Glenn and Mary Ferguson. Glen was a U.S. Marine for 32 years rising from Private to Lieutenant Colonel. Shari has been on the staff of the District Attorney in Durango 's 6 th Judicial District since 1986. She heads the Victim/Witness Unit and was named Colorado Victim Advocate for 2000. She is an avid reader and Bronco fan. Jim does the daily New York Times crossword puzzle and reads historical biographies. Two border collies, Faatzie and Jake insure that there is a little down time to be enjoyed and many walks are to be taken.
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