Patrick Heisler was a military kid, so he moved frequently throughout his childhood. That need for change stuck with him for the majority of his life, leading him to nearly all 50 states and to destinations around the globe.
His birth certificate shows he was born at Ellsworth Airforce Base in South Dakota. Though he’s not actually 100% sure that is correct, he did live in South Dakota until second grade. From there, Heisler spent time living in Whitesburg, Georgia and Thornton and Brighton, Colorado. He has also been a resident of Kansas, Texas and Florida.
Over the years, Heisler worked a variety of random jobs. He worked at a car wash, Pizza Hut, Home Depot and for multiple satellite internet providers.
He ended up taking a job as a cement operator and started working on land in Brighton for a company called BJ Services, which now sits under the umbrella of Baker Hughes, an oil industry company. After about a year and a half, Heisler had interviewed for a new position at the same company, and because he took the time to be at the interview in person, he was hired for the offshore position.
He spent the next few years (2013-2016) based in Louisiana, but lived on boats mainly off the coast of Central and South America for two weeks at a time. On small boats, he was one of only five employees, but on larger boats, he was one of 45. As the only cement operator on board, he designed and pumped slurries of cement into casings for platforms, barges and ships and was able to mix everything he designed on site. He also did a lot of recreational fishing in the Gulf of Mexico in his spare time.
Through that offshore job, the Baker Hughes company was able to pay for Heisler to pursue a degree in engineering in order to make him a more valuable employee. He was able to attend Texas Tech University, and though he only spent one semester in physical classes, he was able to gain class credits for his on-the-job experience and graduated with a degree in petroleum engineering.
During his off weeks back on land, he was able to choose anywhere in the United States to visit for the duration of his break, often choosing one of Florida’s beaches to entertain his love of the water. Also on those breaks, Heisler pursued his long-time interest in racecar driving, even participating in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. At one point, he was even sponsored by Hyundai.
Heisler eventually found his way back to Colorado, landing in Denver where he began working for an erosion control company and managing information for branches all across the U.S.
He met his wife Mickayla at The Grizzy Rose in Denver in July 2018 and proposed that same year. They were married on Sept. 14, 2019 and ended up moving to Fort Morgan, his wife’s hometown.
Heisler has a wide range of business ventures in northeast Colorado, ranging from an auto restoration service to serving as a landlord for local commercial and residential properties to running The Hall Event Center with his wife. His advice to aspiring business owners is, “Persevere. Keep moving forward with your ideas even if they’re not popular. If it was easy, everyone would own a business.”
He also serves as the Special Projects Manager for the City of Brush!
Though he is managing special projects Monday through Friday, Heisler has a lot of variety in his everyday life. Sometimes he is writing grants for the city and other times he is handed a half-completed project to finish. Recently, he’s also been collaborating with the new director of the Brush Chamber of Commerce, Matt Gordon.
“I have never had the same day twice,” said Heisler. “It’s a different challenge each day, learning more about each individual department than being able to master one.”
His weekends often include time spent at The Hall, either helping hold an event there or working on another renovation project inside the building. A couple of weekends ago, Heisler was able to debut the beginning stages of an arcade room at an event, which was an idea inspired by his three kids, Veronica (9), Iris (6) and Dante (4), who also occasionally like to help their dad out with projects at The Hall.
“Some of my best ideas came from them and what they need in the building,” said Heisler. “(The arcade) is super basic right now. I haven’t gotten everything done I want (to get done). I have an air hockey table, one machine and Mario Kart set up on the back wall. Nothing over the top fancy, but it’s something to get started. Unfortunately, there’s not much for kids to do around (Fort) Morgan, so I’m looking for new arcade machines to put in the place to be able to serve more people.”
When he’s not busy with his favorite hobbies of “working too much” and building cars, Heisler can be found dreaming up new business ideas and spending time with his family. Despite his love for change and spontaneity, Heisler thinks he will be staying in Morgan County for the foreseeable future.
“I’ve done all of my eccentric-ness. I got it out. I’m finally at a point in my life where I actually want to be home. I want to see my kids, do activities with them, go to their school events… And I really enjoy Brush. It is more of a laid-back town. I want to see it grow and be part of its growth,” said Heisler, who hopes to continue pursuing new business ideas and maybe someday move into the role of Head of Utilities or something similar for the City of Brush!