Chamber Newsletter May 2023

Thank you, CATALYST Level Members!

Photo by Rose Vowles

From the CEO POINTS TO PONDER

Overall, competition is a healthy thing. Whether on the sports field or in the business world, competition encourages us constantly to develop our skills, improve our execution, and strive to achieve the best result possible, whether that be designing the perfect offensive scheme to achieve victory on the football field or creating the exquisitely balanced blend of ambience, food preparation, and customer service that results in the perfect evening out. Competition pushes us to be the best we can be: the best team, the best restaurant, the best you name it. Striving against a worthy opponent, especially one we know well and respect, makes victory all the sweeter. But sometimes friendly rivalries can go too far.

A colleague of mine has worked as a consultant for hundreds of chambers of commerce in the United States and Canada, and he describes a common mindset that all too frequently prevents neighboring businesses and municipalities from working together to solve common problems to achieve common successes. He calls this “The Texas High School Football Problem.” So wrapped up are some people in decades long competitions between nearby schools or towns or teams that they turn what should be friendly rivalries that live and die on the football field or basketball court into do-or-die battles off the field and in the real world. They seem incapable of feeling anything but resentment and envy when they hear of the other team’s successes or glee and smug satisfaction at its failures.

I’m not spilling any secrets when I say that some people — too many people — in Lander and Riverton simply cannot abide anything good to be said about the other place. In my roles as Lander Chamber CEO and Vice President of the Wind River Visitors Council, I travel regularly throughout Fremont County. “The Texas High School Football Problem” is a real thing here. Recently, the Lander Chamber was criticized publicly for promoting a member business because that business is located in Riverton. This is the kind of mindset we need to eliminate here in Fremont County, especially between our two cities. We can succeed together.

So many of us travel back-and-forth on a daily basis working in each other’s businesses, school systems, colleges, medical facilities, and more. Every week Lander residents travel to shop in Riverton and vice versa. We are a regional economy, especially when you consider the number of people who now commute regularly between our two cities and Dubois. We work together, and we play together. We are not identical — and that is to our benefit! We complement each other. Let’s leave the rivalries on the football field and the basketball court and work together to build a thriving economy in Fremont County.

Owen Sweeney CEO

Lander Chamber of Commerce

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

President

Ann Espinosa

Home Source Realty

Vice President

Dave Fehringer

Fremont Engineering & Surveying Services

Treasurer

Chris VonHoltum

Central Bank & Trust

Past President

Eric Andrews

Summit West CPA Group

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Tom Davis

Fremont Therapy Group

Jennifer Hamilton

SageWest Healthcare

Jenna Ackerman

Associate Real Estate Broker

Justin Hegwer

Farm Bureau Financial Services

Brian Rohrbacher

Atlantic City Fed. Credit Union

Joseph Susanka

Wyoming Catholic College

PROFESSIONAL STAFF

Owen Sweeney CEO

Carol King

Associate Director

Carlos Solis

Brewfest Coordinator

Murray Ritland

Membership Coordinator

Get Connected ~ Stay Connected!

May 18: Benessere Clinic

April Business After Hours was hosted by Melissahof Hatchery

EVERY TUESDAY

Carnegie Book Nook at the Lander Library 1-5 pm

EVERY TUESDAY & THURSDAY

The Rock Church Life Center

10 am-5:30 pm, climbing: 4-5:30 pm

EVERY WEDNESDAY

Rotary Club noon, Oxbow Restaurant

Power Punch Parkinson’s classes, noon-1 pm, Teton Therapy Lander

FIRST THURSDAY

Parkinson’s Support Group, Lander Senior Cntr 2-3 pm (no meeting in March)

EVERY THURSDAY

Kiwanis Club, noon, Mamaw’s Kitchen @ Inn at Lander (formerly Summit)

EVERY FRIDAY

Carnegie Book Nook at the Lander Library noon-4 pm

EVERY SATURDAY

Improv Acoustic Music Jams Lander Art Center 10 am-noon

May Events

1-13 Student Select Show Lander Art Center, Tu-Th 10-6, Fr-Sa 10-4

2 Wildlife On Tap Coalter Loft, 7-8:30 pm

4-5 Grant Writing Online Workshop

7:30am-2:30pm MDT, reservations required: https://web.cvent.com/ event/32eddd1b-acf2-4711-a4846a4e4bcb71fd/summary

5 First Friday Fremont County Museums, Lander, Dubois, Riverton, 9-5

5 First Friday Participating Lander businesses, 6-8 pm

5-7 Women’s Mountain Bike Clinic CWC’s Alpine Science Institute, Fri. 5-7, Sat. & Sun. 9-5

6 Lander Pet Connection Rummage Sale Fundraiser Livery Stable at Pioneer Museum, drop off items May 5, 8-5; sale May 6, 8-5

11 Optimize your Google online presence 10 am, CWC Riverton

12 Kids Corner: Aquatic Insects Dubois Museum, 10 am

13 Lander Area Petroglyphs meet at the Pioneer Museum, 10am-1pm, reservations required, 332-3339

13 International Migratory Bird Day Sinks Canyon State Park visitors center, 10 am-noon

17 Gold Fever in the Atomic Age: Wyoming’s Uranium Riverton Museum, 6 pm

18 Business After Hours Benessere Clinic, 5:30-7

19-20 Wyoming Outdoor Weekend and Expo Lander Community Center, Fri. 4-8, Sat. all day

20 Met Opera “Die Zauber ote” Lander Library, 10:55 am

25 Lander 100 Years Ago - 1923 Pioneer Museum, 7 pm

27 Free Veterans Service Fair National Museum of Military Vehicles, 7:45 am ag raising

Promote Your Business on the Lander Biz Show!

Last year, your Lander Chamber of Commerce struck out into new territory by starting its own radio show and podcast -- the Lander Biz Show -- for you, our members!

Let us put your business in the spotlight!

Chamber CEO Owen Sweeney and County 10’s

Charene Herrera interview a Lander Chamber member every week, airing the conversation on local radio and on County 10’s and the Chamber’s websites and social media channels to make sure thousands of Fremont County residents learn about your business!

Most memberships include one appearance each year

If you are a member of the Lander Chamber at the Cultivator Level or above, your benefits include an annual appearance on the Lander Biz Show! (A discounted fee is available for our Classic Level members.) Recordings are scheduled every other Wednesday between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Contact us today to schedule your appearance on the award-winning Lander Biz Show!

Thank You, Renewing Members!

Academy of the Winds

780 Von Bieker, Lander

Benessere Clinic LLC

195 Capital St., Lander

Bernard Plumbing, LLC

PO Box 545, Lander

Family Chiropractic

8135 Hwy 789, Lander

Fremont Communications 925 Lincoln St., Lander

HDR Engineering Inc. 325 Main St., Lander

High Country Hearing Centers 1460 W. Main St., Lander

Labyrinth Productions

514 Northridge Dr., Riverton Lander Economic Development Association

PO Box 1306, Lander

New, John and Retha 28 Madison Rd., Lander

Ron’s Flooring LLC 343 Main St., Lander

Whiting Law PC

277 Main St., Suite 3, Lander

Wyoming.com 937 W Main St., Riverton

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

Jaffa Enterprises

Jonathan Rensch

670 N 9th St., Lander

WyoGlass LLC

Tony and Misty Larvie 905 Main St., Lander

Book Your Next Meeting at the Chamber!

Looking for a brighter, roomier, more professional and technologically advanced place to host a meeting? The Chamber’s got you covered!

Full Zoom Room Functionality

Our two DTEN video conferencing boards provide our members with a simplified professional meeting experience. The dual setup provides a multi-touch video display alongside a digital whiteboard that allows live onscreen annotation of documents and content sharing.

Contact Us to Reserve Your Meeting Today!

You don’t need a Zoom account to take advantage of this benefit. Chamber members without their own Zoom license can use ours to host meetings with unlimited minutes for up to 100 participants. Member-only rental pricing makes this an affordable benefit for your business, and conference room is included in some memberships. Contact us today to schedule your meeting!

Advantage Accounting Services

Jordan found a passion in helping others in the process of starting and operating her own small business and after helping a local business get started in 2012.

She found that there was more to tracking the income and expenses than people realize and there are many complexities to proper bookkeeping required for tax preparation. She went back to graduate school in 2015, earning a CPA Bridge Certi cate from the University of Phoenix, then joining a CPA rm in Colorado in 2016. She earned her Enrolled Agent designation during her time in Colorado, an IRS designation allowing her to represent and assist clients in the event of an IRS audit. After moving back to Lander, she decided to start her own practice in 2019.

She took a position as business manager with a local school district in 2021, but recently decided to step down from that to focus on her own business. She is excited to assist clients with any business startup, bookkeeping, payroll, and tax preparation needs.

WyoGlass LLC

Wyoglass is a locally owned full-service glass shop in Lander. Owners Tony and Misty Larvie, raised in the Lander and surrounding area, have a deep appreciation for the local community. They are proud to offer an affordable, local option to Fremont County residents for glass needs. Wyoglass services include: auto glass replacement, recalibration of vehicles with advanced safety systems, both residential & commercial window repair & replacement, custom cut glass and mirrors, shower doors, and garage door installation!

Contact Wyoglass at 307-335-5334, or stop in at 905 Main Street.

Tony and Misty Larvie

WYOGLASS LLC

307-349-9586 (Cell-Tony)

Lander Recycle

Lander Recycle offers convenient recycling pickup service for residential and commercial customers. The business is owned and operated by Chase McFadden.

Items accepted by the Fremont County Solid Waste Disposal District recycling program are eligible for pickup. These include: corrugated cardboard, mixed papers, Type 1 plastic bottles/jugs, Type 2 plastic bottles/jugs, aluminum cans, tin cans and foil, electronics No presorting is required. Pickup schedules include weekly, biweekly and monthly options. Onetime and as-needed pickups are also available.

For recycling made easy, contact Chase at Lander Recycle. Call/text (307) 751-1002 or email landerrecycle@gmail.com.

COLLABORATOR Investors