What's New? 

Business Council board reviews grant applications at Casper meeting

The Business Council Board of Directors held a community reception, heard updates from four of its operational divisions as well as reviewed applications for Business Ready Community (BRC) and Community Facilities grants at its March 14 meeting. Grants were requested from communities throughout the state, including a Business Committed grant for Sweetwater County to upgrade a 12-mile section of county road to allow Ur-Energy and other companies access to the first in-situ recovery uranium mine in the Great Divide Basin. Other requests include a BRC Feasibility Study Planning grant for the Cody Gunsmithing School, a BRC Tourism Planing grant for Goshen County, and a Community Facilities Program grant for Evanston to renovate the former Strand Theater. For a detailed list of all grant requests presented at the meeting, visit the Business Council Board Reviews page on the Business Council website.

Study: Important opportunities exist for Wyoming's energy future

A study of Wyoming's energy resources spearheaded by the state last year found that opportunities exist to add value to and improve markets for Wyoming's energy resources. This important study evaluated the viability of transforming the state's raw energy resources into higher value products such as synthetic transportation fuels and commodity chemicals. Read more.

New website allows realtors and  economic developers to list commercial properties

The Business Council is rolling out a new website that showcases information about available commercial properties around the state. The new website uses Geographic Information System (GIS) programming and will help economic developers better match the needs of site selectors. Read more. Visit the new website at www.wyomingsites.com. For more information contact Brandon Marshall at 307-777-2820 or brandon.marshall@wyo.gov.

Governor Matt Mead has appointed Paul "Cactus" Covello and Pete Illoway to the Wyoming Business Council board of directors. Read more.  

Paul "Cactus" Covello

Peter "Pete" Illoway

Wyoming First Program    

The Wyoming First Program assists Wyoming companies with the identification and promotion of their Wyoming-Made products and services. To learn more about this program or to become a member visit Wyoming Made. Contact Terri Barr at 307-777-2807 or terri.barr@wyo.gov. 

FEATURED WYOMING BUSINESS:

Queen Bee Gardens 

Business & Industry 

The Business & Industry Division of the Business Council offers a wide range of services, including consulting, developing a business plan, and marketing assistance to help businesses start, grow and expand. Read more.

Wyoming Businesses Represented at
SHOT Show 2013

The Business & Industry Division promotes Wyoming businesses in a variety of trade show events. One of the Business Council's most important national marketing events is the National Shooting Sports  Foundation Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show (SHOT) that takes place every year in Las Vegas, Nev. This premier show represents shooting sports, hunting and law enforcement industries, and provides networking opportunities for Wyoming businesses to reach buyers from all 50 states and 100 countries. 

The Wyoming businesses that featured their products this year at the Business Council booth included:

• LUCID from Riverton - gear for the shooting sports.
   
• Shady Lady Shooting from Green River - gun cases designed specifically for women.

• The Best of the West from Cody - manufactures and builds precision shooting systems.
   
• Brunton from Riverton - gear for outdoor and hunting enthusiasts.

For more information about how the Business Council can assist you in promoting your business at national marketing events, contact Heather Tupper at 307-777-2804 or heather.tupper@wyo.gov.

Wyoming business climate magazine now available

The fifth issue of the Wyoming Business Images magazine is now available, showcasing the best of Wyoming's people, places and progressive business climate. Sponsored by the Business Council, the magazine reinforces the state's favorable qualities while also targeting prospective residents, employees, businesses and visitors. The magazine will be distributed by the Business Council and through key local businesses, trade shows, conferences and events throughout the year. In addition to the print version, the magazine is also available online at Wyoming Business Images.  

Business Resource Network

The Wyoming Business Council and University of Wyoming Business Resource Network provide all levels of assistance for Wyoming businesses. For more information, visit the Wyoming Business Resource Network. 

FEATURED PARTNER:

Wyoming Economic Development Association 

The Wyoming Economic Development Association (WEDA) is a nonprofit professional association representing nearly 200 economic development members and organizations. WEDA partners with the Business Council by keeping its members informed of programs created by or supported by the Business Council, including Business Prospects and Distribution, Real Estate Site Listing, participation in trade shows and cooperative advertising opportunities. For more information about WEDA visit wyomingeda.org.

Wyoming Rural Development Council News  

The mission of the Wyoming Rural Development Council (WRDC) is to enhance partnerships that strengthen the vitality of rural Wyoming. Read more.  

Grant Writing Workshop  

Developing successful grant proposals requires a range of technical, organizational, and interpersonal skills. The comprehensive Community Systems workshop, "Get That Grant: Grant Writing from Conception to Completion" includes invaluable grant writing resources, a comprehensive training/resource manual, plus extensive individual consultation during the workshop. This four-day workshop is sponsored by the WRDC and will be held April 29-May 2, 2013, in Cheyenne, Wyo., at the Historic Plains Hotel and will be presented by Dr. Barbara Bader and Steven Carr of Community Systems of Bozeman, Mont. For more information contact Jo Ferguson at 307-777-5812 or jo.ferguson@wyo.gov.  

WYOMING RURAL DEVELOPMENT CALENDAR

April 4-5 Follow-up community assessment in Hartville

April 29 Community assessment training in Casper

April 29-May 2 "Get That Grant: Grant Writing from Conception to Completion" in Cheyenne, Wyo. Contact Jo Ferguson at 307-777-5812 or jo.ferguson@wyo.gov.

May 7-8 WRDC Board Meeting in Star Valley Ranch

June 4-5 Community assessment in Story

June 12-14 Wyoming Association of Municipalities (WAM) Summer Conference in Riverton

Wyoming Main Street News

The Main Street Program provides Wyoming communities wit opportunities to revitalize historic downtown districts. Read more.

Reinvestment Statistics Highlights

Each Wyoming Main Street community is required to submit monthly or quarterly (depending on designation) reports to Wyoming Main Street. These reports include information on physical improvements, economic impacts, and their program's financial performance. Wyoming Main Street will be highlighting a community that showed higher than average statistics with each Council Connection.

Featured Community: 

Laramie Main Street Alliance

Before renovation:

After renovation:

WYOMING MAIN STREET CALENDAR

April 11-13 Annual Wyoming Best Practices Workshop - Louisiana and Mississippi

April 14-16 Main Street Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. 

April 22-23 Main Street Training Workshop - Idaho

May 20-22 Reconnaissance Visit - Cheyenne Downtown Development Association

May 28 Annual Program Review - Laramie Main Street Alliance

June 13 Wyoming Main Street Advisory Board Meeting in Riverton 

Drafts of all applications due to regional directors before deadlines

Remember that a draft of all applications are due to regional director at least two weeks prior to the final application submission deadline to Business Council staff in Cheyenne. This is required for an application to move forward through the review process. The regional director plays an important role in the application development process and their input is invaluable. This means that for the June 1, 2013 deadline, a draft must be submitted to the appropriate regional director by May 15, 2013. For more information contact Molly Spangler at 307-777-2811 or molly.spangler@wyo.gov. 

Energy News  

The Wyoming Business Council administers the State Energy Office funded through the U.S. Department of Energy. The office works to expand opportunities for alternative or renewable energy use in Wyoming. Read more.   

Request for Proposal 

Beginning April 1, 2013, the State Energy Office will be releasing a Request for Proposal (RFP) to prequalify Energy Service Companies for the Wyoming Energy Conservation Improvement Program. RFP's will be accepted until April 29, 2013.

Building Energy Code Seminar in Cheyenne

The City of Cheyenne Building Safety Department, Laramie County Planning and Development, State Energy Office and Wyoming Conference of Building Officials will be offering a course concerning the fundamentals and provisions of the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) as they relate to Wyoming. These courses are designed to give builders, subcontractors, design professionals and code enforcement offices a more thorough understanding of the IECC and the changes between the 2006 and 2009 editions of the IECC. For more information about the seminar visit the Energy Code Training Seminar page. 

Agribusiness News

• Casper Glass from Casper - wine accessories and jewelry from re-purposed glass

• A Leigh Designs from Cheyenne - jewelry and other items made from hand-crafted glass beads

• NM Works from Cheyenne - handcrafted jewelry using metal-smithing techniques

• Sandy K. Designs from Cheyenne - handcrafted jewelry using metals, stones and gems

• D-n-J Creations in Metal from Cheyenne - unique metal art

• Queen Bee Gardens from Lovell - gourmet honey candies

• Mary Ann's Beans from Glenrock - bean soups and dip mixes

• Teton Metalworks from Jackson Hole - aluminum furniture, home decor, signs and more 

Regional Offices

The Business Council has seven regional directors that live and work in their regions. They help businesses, local governments and organizations overcome their economic development challenges. 

Economic Development Building Blocks - Who is Responsible?  

In the last edition of the Council Connection, we recommended reviewing the Economic Development Building Blocks to see where your community needs to focus some effort. With this work, a question often comes up: who is responsible for carrying out the work in each building block? For each of the blocks the answer is that many people are responsible.

The base, "Leadership/Civic Development and the Role of Public Policy," requires broad-based leadership: the local economic development organization, local, county, state and federal government and many community organizations create and influence the business and life climate that lead to future investment.

The pinnacle, "Recruiting New Business," is also the responsibility of many: obviously the local economic development organization, but also the State, the local businesses, developers and others. We all have a hand in mining for, and courting, business from out of state.

It is a similar story for each of the Building Blocks. No one person or organization is solely responsible. It is helpful if everyone communicates and collaborates. One thing is clear, economic development takes a village.

Regional Directors contact information:

East Central - kim.rightmer@wyo.gov 307-577-6012

Northeast - dave.spencer@wyo.gov 307-689-1320

South Central - pat.robbins@wyo.gov 307-382-3163

Southeast - thomas.johnson@wyo.gov 307-766-5357

Southwest - elaina.zempel@wyo.gov 307-877-2203

West Central - roger.bower@wyo.gov 307-857-1155