Wild Rose Jefferson has a new leader at the helm.

Travis Dvorak is the new general manager. He grew up on a small family farm in Clutier. The 42 year-old first got into the casino business at age 22, after serving in the United States Marine Corps, as a blackjack dealer at Meskwaki Bingo Casino & Hotel. He then went to Lakeside Casino in Osceola where he worked with Tom Timmons, who is the Chief Operating Officer and President of Wild Rose. When Timmons went to work for Wild Rose, he recruited Dvorak in 2006 to be the casino manager at their Emmetsburg location. He then moved to the Clinton location where he was promoted to general manager in 2014.

Dvorak tells Raccoon Valley Radio that there were several factors that led him to the decision to take the general manager’s position in Jefferson. He is familiar with Wild Rose, likes to be in a rural setting and was impressed with the community.

“When you guys were developing and trying to get this thing going (with the casino) I got to meet a lot of people and I thought this was a great town and great people. Then I was here to help them open it up and I think I hit every restaurant while I was here. As an added bonus, my wife’s family is from western and southern Iowa, so now we’re close to family.”

His wife Kelley is the new human resources manager at Wild Rose Jefferson. She has also worked for Wild Rose since 2007.

Timmons says they found the right individual to be the leader of their Jefferson facility.

“I couldn’t be happier that we got Travis coming over here (from Clinton). I’ve told people, it’s not like someone coming in from a different company or from a different state. I mean Travis has been in Iowa his whole life. He’s been with Wild Rose for ten years and he knows what we expect.”

He has four children and one still lives at home. They plan to move to Jefferson later this summer.