Colorado Business Hall of Fame Laureate Ronald Moore

Since its inception in 1990, the Colorado Business Hall of Fame has honored outstanding laureates who have made impactful contributions to the business community. The laureates are chosen each year from hundreds of nominations, selection committee chair John Freyer said, noting this year’s theme: “a mosaic of Colorado character and success.”

Ronald Moore

When the children of Ronald Moore were told of their father’s posthumous honor, committee members said, “We don’t know what took us so long; your dad should have been selected a long time ago.”

The respected commercial banker and former chairman of Denver-based Guaranty Bank and Trust is remembered as an upstanding, ethical businessman who loved family, friends and golf.

Son Martin Moore, also a banker, said his dad would have been “proud that he was honored by his peers.” He tells one story that speaks volumes of his dad:

Ronald Moore and his wife, Carol, were at a local grocery store shopping on Thanksgiving Day when he went to the bakery to buy bread and struck up a conversation with the clerk. Moore asked the clerk when she would be able to go home for the holiday. She replied she needed to sell all the donuts first. Moore bought the 100 donuts and asked the clerk to donate them to a local shelter and head home to her family.

Moore believed there was more to banking than making money. He built bridges through transactions to foster lifelong relationships and was a good judge of character who recruited new employees based on their people and production skills.

"He started from humble beginnings and kept that humility his whole life", his son remembers.

Moore grew up in a small town in Nebraska and worked in his father’s corner store. He earned a golf scholarship and finance degree from the University of Denver. After serving in the U.S. Air Force, Moore worked his way up in the Denver finance and banking community. From 1986 to 1994, he served as chairman of AffiliatedBankshares of Colorado, a group of 27 banks that merged with Banc One Corp. in 1991. That union created Banc One of Colorado, then the state’s third
largest bank holding company.

Along with his wife, Moore was a noted philanthropist and strong advocate for education. He served as a DU trustee and helped revive the men’s and women’s golf teams. Moore played golf some 250 days a year until age 70 before a struggle with cancer. In tribute to his legacy, Moore’s family donated the Highlands Ranch Golf Club to DU Athletics.