February Newsletter

2021

FEBRUARY

NEWSLETTER

Photo by Kelsey Ball

POINTS TO PONDER

From the Executive Director

A

re you looking for ways to contribute your time and talent to the Chamber? Consider yourself invited to apply for membership on one of our committees.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Jonathan Tonkowich, President

Why Committees?

Wyoming Catholic College Although the Chamber employs professional staff, the majority of the work of a chamber of commerce is performed Eric Andrews, Vice President by volunteer committees. In essence, committees or task Fagnant, Lewis & Brinda P.C. forces are groups of chamber members engaged in the work of community leadership.

The Chamber currently has openings on three of our committees, which are structured around our program of work.

In 2021, our Business Retention & Workforce Development Committee will be working together with our Programs & Events Committee to better align our event offerings more closely with our efforts to support and develop our members’ businesses. We want to provides tools and resources for your businesses to stay, grow, and thrive in Lander.

Our Destination Lander Committee focuses on our area’s robust tourism and hospitality sector. Members work to develop Lander as a destination and administer Tourism Asset Development (TAD) funds provided by the lodging tax, including the oversight of TAD grantmaking.

John Ferrelli, Treasurer

SageWest Healthcare

Michelle Mazur, Past President Elevate Rehab

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Ann Espinosa Home Source Realty Inc. Inter Mountain Builders

Dave Fehringer WH Smith & Associates, Inc.

Suzanne Norris

Our Government Affairs Committee seeks to adopt public policy positions that speak, where feasible, with the unified voice of our business community.

Wyoming Life Resource Center

Rick Bestul NAPA Auto Parts

If you would like to serve the community in this way, please send a letter of interest to Carol King at carol@landerchamber. org.

Reminders - Annual Community Awards and TAD Grants Be on the lookout for our 2021 Community Awards Nomination Form, which we’ll soon be posting to our website and sending out via email. Also, we are currently accepting applications for TAD Grants. This grant is available to tourism-related non-profit and civic organizations to develop assets, activities, programs, and events that will attract tourist dollars to Lander.

James Whiting Whiting Law PC

Chris VonHoltum Central Bank & Trust

Alyssa Lozier Edward Jones

PROFESSIONAL STAFF Owen Sweeney Executive Director

Owen Sweeney Executive Director Lander Chamber of Commerce

Carol King Associate Director

If you attended last year’s Community Awards Luncheon, you heard Dr. Kevin Courville’s inspiring keynote address and riveting Q&A that promised to bring world-class cardiovascular and outpatient surgical services right here to Lander. Nearly a year later, Dr. Courville and his colleagues at Western Wyoming Medical are delivering on that promise.

Wyoming’s Most Advanced Cath Lab - Right Here in Lander Operating in a surgery center that boasts the most technologically sophisticated catheterization laboratory (cath lab) in the entire state, Dr. Courville and his teammate Dr. Claude Minor, have performed more than 60 surgical procedures since October 1 and have seen hundreds of patients, and very satisfied ones at that.

Patient surveys have been overwhelmingly positive, with more than 94% respondents giving their experience a perfect score. And with the new addition of Dr. Maria Kidner, a nurse practitioner who specializes in adult cardiology and cardiovascular disease in women, Western Wyoming Medical is keeping its promise to prioritize patient empathy by taking the time to sit, talk, and listen to every patient. The team likes to call this delivering “personal precision care,” but they also call it practicing “hometown medicine.”

Job Creation, Technological Innovation, and Building a Rural Economy In addition to recruiting world-class medical talent to Lander, Western Wyoming Medical CEO Alan Daugherty is drawing on his nationwide network of healthcare professionals to provide advanced medical training -- and attractive jobs -- for Lander and Fremont County residents. And it’s not just about medical advancements; already employing the Pulsario remote heart management system invented by Dr. Courville, Western Wyoming Medical is committed to driving technological advancements as well and serving as a catalyst to build an advanced rural economy in Fremont County and all of western Wyoming.

MEMBER HIGHLIGHT

Western Wyoming Medical brings world-class, ‘hometown medicine’ to Fremont County

Dr. Kevin Courville, MD, FACC, FHFSA is a board-certified physician in Advanced Heart Failure and Transplantation, Interventional Cardiology, Cardiovascular Diseases, and Nuclear Cardiology. He is also the inventor of the Pulsario remote heart management system and the founder of Prevail Heart Clinics of America, located in Louisiana and Wyoming. A peer reviewer and publisher of medical literature, there are only just more than 1,000 physicians worldwide with Dr. Courville’s credentials.

Dr. Claude Minor, MD, General Surgeon is a board-certified General/Vascular surgeon with a Trauma Fellowship (one of only 50 in the U.S.) with more than 30 years of experience in surgical care — including endovascular surgery, trauma and critical care, cancer care surgery, and general surgery. He joins Western Wyoming Medical following a career at SageWest Healthcare, and previously at Ochsner University Health Medical Center in Monroe, Louisiana, and as a professor of surgery at Louisiana State University School of Medicine, also in Monroe.

NEW BOARD MEMBERS

Chris VonHoltum Chris VonHoltum is President of Central Bank & Trust. He was born and raised in Lander, and has been part of the local business community for the past 4 years. Chris graduated from the University of Wyoming in 2009 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Geology. When not working, Chris spends most of his time chasing trout with a fly rod and powder days in the mountains.

Alyssa Lozier Alyssa Lozier is an Edward Jones financial advisor and has called Lander home for the past 16 years. A Wyoming native having multiple family generations that homesteaded in Fremont and Sublette counties, Alyssa understands the courage, optimism, and hard work that is important to our state. She invests her time understanding what’s important to her clients and creates appropriate strategies to help them achieve their financial investment goals. Alyssa enjoys spending time in the Winds with her husband and helping her family with their livestock. She is active in organizing the annual Pioneer Days 4th of July Parade, volunteering with the Museum of the American West, and supporting our local community and charity events.

John Ferrelli John Ferrelli currently serves as the Market CEO for SageWest Health Care. He brings over 30 years of health care experience to his role in Fremont County, including work in private hospitals, academic medical centers, physician practice management and ambulatory clinics. He enjoys hiking, fishing, hunting, biking, and other outdoor activities. In addition to his work with the Chamber, he serves on the Fremont County Planning Commission and is a member of Rotary International. John and his wife, Sharon, reside in Lander.

EVERY 1ST & 3RD MONDAY Shoshoni Local Foods Market 5-7pm, Shoshoni Fire Hall, 104 E. 2nd St. THIRD THURSDAY Foot Care Clinic, 8-noon, Lander Senior Center

2-3 Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race in Lander Due to COVID, no Meet the Mushers event this year. Leaving Louis Lake Trailhead parking lot Feb. 3 at 9am. If you plan to watch along the trail, do not bring dogs.

23 Wyoming Rural Development webinar OneRD Guarantee Loan Initiative (B&I, REAP and Community Facilities), 10 am, register online

9 Wyoming Rural EVERY SATURDAY Development Webinar Rural Winter Local Foods Market Energy for America Program (REAP) 1 pm, register online 1-3 pm, Lander VFW, 11 Tweed Lane 11, 18, 25 WY Small Business Development Riverton Local Foods Center Profit Mastery Course Market 9-11 am, 1010 2-3 pm, register online Fairgrounds Drive 1-6 Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race

CALENDAR

February Calendar of Events

PUBLIC ADVOCACY

Chamber advocates for One Shot Hunt and CWC’s Rocky Mountain Complex The Chamber is voicing its strong support for two initiatives -- one old and one new -- critical to the ongoing vitality and future growth of the local and regional economy.

Lander One Shot Threatened The storied and beloved Lander One Shot Antelope Hunt is being threatened by activists who are encouraging the Wyoming Game & Fish Commission to not issue the traditional annual allotment of 80 antelope tags to the Hunt.

In our January 4 letter to the Commission, the Chamber voiced our opposition to this effort, stressing the considerable negative impact such a decision would have on the Lander and Fremont County economy and also wildlife conservation projects throughout all of Wyoming and several western states.

Huge Economic Impact Established in 1940, the iconic Hunt has been a major event in Lander for almost 80 years, and the economic boost it provides is second only to our famous Pioneer Days Rodeo and Parade. On average, each Hunt attendee spends at least $3,000 per person/couple, meaning the 80-tag allocation (which has no affect on the general draw) brings to our community a minimum of $240,000 each year.

Supporting Wildlife Conservation In addition to the Hunt’s positive economic impact, the One Shot Past Shooters Club and Water for Wildlife Foundation contribute regularly to the community by supporting local projects such as the remodeling of the old and the construction of the new Community & Convention Center, the opening of a new wildlife conservation and education

museum on Main Street, and the funding of $2.3 million in wildlife habitat projects, $1.1 million going to projects in Wyoming.

CWC’s New Ag & Equine Science Complex Looking to the future of our region’s economy, the Chamber is encouraging the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration to approve funding for Central Wyoming College’s Rocky Mountain Complex for Ag & Equine Sciences (RMC).

The vision of the RMC is to be an agriculture innovation center and exchange, sharing the generations of knowledge on Wyoming’s farms and ranches. Researching and teaching the best of traditional practices alongside new livestock production and health methods and technologies, the RMC will explore new techniques in farmto-table, food production, agribusiness, and entrepreneurship.

Building a Robust Agricultural Economy By leveraging local resources and the RMC, CWC aims to educate and equip the agriculture workforce; train the leaders essential for building a robust agriculture economy for the region; attract regional events to enhance existing agriculture and equine operations; and be a catalyst for opportunities within our tourism corridor for local food, culinary, agriculture, and equine economic development and advancement.

Strengthening the Local & Regional Economy Would your business or industry like the voice of the Chamber behind your initiative? Contact us to discuss how we can help.

Live WYld is an online magazine that finds and shares the best kept secrets and top picks of Wyoming. Fueled by a passion for all that is Wyoming and the desire to showcase the many people who create things and experiences for us all to enjoy, Live WYld has adopted the tagline: An insider’s guide to Wyoming. It’s not a magazine, it’s a lifestyle.

This is no small feat! Wyoming’s many amazing rural mountain towns with hidden gems, history, wildlife, and outdoor opportunities and adventures are spread pretty far apart. How could we possibly cover them all you ask? That is where you, the readers, come in!

Our vision is to be a reader driven publication about all of the ways we can enjoy this entire gorgeous state. We want to leave no stone unturned, no trail un-blazed, no river un-fished, no bison street taco untried, no micro brew un-sipped; you get our point. Realistically we can’t do that fully without each other.

We want to hear all about the big and little joys you come across whether daily or while vacationing. We want to see your pictures, hear your real feedback and stories, and take you up on your recommendations.

By collaborating and sharing, our goal is to bring our rural Wyoming communities closer together and enrich us all in the process. Please visit us https://www.livewyldmag.com/

Thanks, Renewing and New Members!

A&P Pawn Bob Hede 1470 Main St., Lander

Lander Vision Center Mike Weideman, O.D. 556 Main St., Lander

ALCHEMY: an artists’ cooperative 258 Main St., Lander

Wind River Hotel & Casino LiveWYldMag.com 180 Red Wolf Place, Riverton Stephanie Weed 1708 Alger Ave, Cody Wyoming Community Gas Natalie Flood, Manager Maralyne Middour 315 W 27th St., Cheyenne 8365 Hwy 789, Lander

Broken Anvil Ranch Francie Mortenson PO Box 1837, Lander Central Bank & Trust Chris VonHoltum, President 285 Main St., Lander

WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERS!

YAO Company/YAO Clinic Margaret Jacobson PO Box 1399, Lander

NEW & RENEWING MEMBERS

Welcome to Our New Member!

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Convener Investors

________________________________________________________________________________________ Collaborator Investors

Special thanks to Western Printing for printing the monthly newsletter.

PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. Postage Paid LANDER, WY PERMIT NO. 78

RENEWING MEMBERS

Catalyst Investor

NEWSLETTER SPONSORS

Thanks to our annual newsletter sponsors!