Wyoming Business Council visits Greybull and Lovell during tour

In an effort to better understand the state of the local economy, members of the Wyoming Business Council recently toured select cities across Wyoming. Last Thursday, they held a morning listening session at Wyld Sage Coffeehouse in Greybull and a luncheon at the Mustang Cafe in Lovell. 

Turnout numbers for the events, including WBC staff, saw 20 in attendance in Lovell and 40 attending in Greybull. 

At both gatherings Josh Dorrell, CEO for the WBC, introduced the event and his team. Participants were asked to describe the state of the economy in Wyoming with one word. 

Using notecards on a corkboard, residents of Greybull and Lovell wrote words including mirage, potential, bipolar, desperate, creative, stagnant, aging, insular, good, poverty, fossilized, lagging, missed opportunities, and hopefully optimistic. Another person wrote: good for some, tough for some. 

In Greybull, the discussion was social focused with no major presentations. A large paper on an easel was used to gather additional feedback. People wrote statements such as: ‘open for business’ is not working, communicate business success around the state, and employers need to be more future-focused. 

Concerns about affordable housing were listed including comments: someone needs to regulate rent, enforce current ordinances, Airbnbs (vacation homes) in Shell are pushing out local families. Someone asked, how do we inspire builders to build attainable housing. 

In response to a question from Lovell Chronicle editor David Peck at the Lovell luncheon, Dorrell explained how the WBC was cut out of the budget by the Freedom Caucus, then restored for just one year of the biennium. Dorrell noted that the WBC is traveling the state to reinvent the business council. He added the enabling legislation is really antiquated and needs to be revamped. Also saying the statute needs to be shrunk to “focus on what matters.” According to Dorrell, the WBC statute is 98 pages.

Present at the Greybull, Lovell, Powell and Cody events was Devan Costa-Cargill, the regional director for the Wyoming Small Business Development Center Network. She said, “It was fantastic to see such great engagement across the region.” 

Powell’s session for the ‘one word to describe Wyoming’s economy’ produced the following: boom or bust, stable, uncertain, flat, underdeveloped, stagnant, visionless, siloed, untapped, and emergent. 

Cody’s session for the ‘one word’ prompt produced: diverse, aging, cyclical, untapped, balanced, sluggish, volatile, abused, diverse, fragmented, agriculture, bold, and asleep. 

Amy Quick, who works in strategic communications at the WBC, shared additional feedback. In an email to the Big Horn County Newspapers , Quick expanded on what she saw during the recent WBC tour, “Thank you for spending time with us last week. Whether we saw you in Cody, Powell, Greybull, Lovell, Worland, Riverton, or Lander, you gave us something valuable – an honest look at Wyoming’s economy from where you actually stand.”

She shared a few themes that came through loud and clear across both regions:

Housing is foundational. Again and again – from Worland to Greybull to Lander – you connected it directly to workforce: if people can’t find a place to live, businesses can’t find people to hire. Several of you named short-term rentals pushing starter homes out of reach for working families.

Small communities need real support, not one-size-fits-all. We heard a strong call to regionalize economic development, invest in communities of 10,000 or fewer, and be mindful that criteria favoring the biggest projects can leave smaller towns behind.

Visibility matters. Many of you told us plainly that there›s a gap between what WBC does and what people think we do. As one of you put it: “If you want people to back you, they have to know what you do.” Message received – and we’re grateful for the honesty.

Everyone deserves a seat. In Fremont County especially, we heard a powerful call to make sure the Wind River Reservation and every community in the region are part of – not left out of – the conversation about Wyoming’s future.

“These are exactly the kinds of insights that make our work sharper and more honest. And they’re heading somewhere: into the priorities we carry into policy conversations with state lawmakers later this month,” said Quick. 

For those who missed the sessions and want to share their feedback, they can contact the WBC or attend today’s virtual huddle. 

“This Thursday, August 13, from noon to 1 p.m., we’re bringing it all together at the Team Wyoming Huddle — a statewide virtual gathering with a goal of 1,000+ Wyoming voices in one room. In one focused hour, we’ll share what we’re hearing across the whole state this summer.  Then open the floor through live polling so you can see your input land in real time, right alongside everyone else’s.” said Quick.

According to the huddle website, “Wyoming doesn’t need another voice adding to the noise. It needs a place where a thousand people can say what they see – and know someone will do something with it. The insights from August 13 will directly inform policy conversations later this summer with the Joint Minerals and Joint Appropriations committees. Showing up now means your voice is part of that conversation.”

Registration is open at: wbc.pub/WBC_Huddle