November 2018 Newsletter

Lander

Chamber of Commerce

THINK LANDER FIRST

SHOP LOCAL 2018

NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER

INTRODUCTION

From the Executive Director

W

e believe in the power of free markets and capitalism.

It is one of the things that makes America a place that is truly free. As such, consumers “vote with their dollars” and decide which businesses thrive and which ones die.

However, deep within our remote and peaceful location, lies a dangerous paradox. Businesses in small rural towns, like Lander, must continue to evolve to maintain competitive advantage or they will no longer offer a compelling value proposition to free-market consumers.

At the Lander Chamber of Commerce, we want to help. That’s why this November we are rolling out our #ShopLander: Holiday Photo Sweepstakes. Through this month-long consumer-driven social media campaign, we will help drive traffic to your business by incentivizing customers to post photos of “All I Want For Christmas” on Facebook and Instagram, reinforcing Think Lander First/Shop Local. As always, let us know and we will deliver buttons and stickers to your business so you can participate to the fullest (see insert poster for more information)!

The result: A more vibrant economy. Lander’s economy is both precious and invaluable. It produces the jobs and wages that fuel our families. It creates the tax base for essential services like emergency response, law enforcement, and firefighters. Our economy is the catalyst for Lander’s quality of life, producing pathways, recreation, and the reason to reside. Every time our business community donates to a charitable cause it’s because of our economy, through which their generosity is possible. From our economy, all things come.

And speaking of voting, remember to get out and vote on November 6. Lander has many important candidate races that will decide our new leadership, so be sure to think about who will support your quality of life and our pro-business environment.

Additionally, the 4 percent lodging tax is up for renewal, and those funds are used to implement regional and local tourism efforts.

Just since 2000, Fremont County has experienced a 71 percent increase in visitor spending. In 2017, Fremont County saw a 6.3 percent increase in visitor spending. Last year, tourists spent a total of $131.6 million in Fremont County. That spending supports local businesses and 1,420 local jobs. As for Lander, tourism continues to be a main driver of primary dollars into our economy.

Brian Fabel Executive Director Lander Chamber of Commerce

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Susan Weideman, President Lander Vision Center

Michelle Mazur, Vice-Pres.

Elevate Rehab

Joanne Slingerland, Treasurer Central Wyoming College

Mika Baker, Past President Central Bank and Trust

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

Dave Fehringer WH Smith & Associates, Inc.

Suzanne Norris Wyoming Life Resource Center

Jonathan Tonkowich Wyoming Catholic College

Rick Bestul NAPA Auto Parts

Eric Andrews Fagnant, Lewis, Brinda P.C.

Mark Schatza Black Hills Energy

James Whiting Whiting Law PC

PROFESSIONAL STAFF Brian Fabel Executive Director

Carol King Associate Director

Kelsey Ball Operations Assistant

ROBERT CONDIE, SOUTHWEST REGIONAL DIRECTOR WYOMING SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER NETWORK Should you spend money on an accounting system to keep track of your finances, or should you use a free option that may require more work on your part? This is a question that is almost always asked of me as small businesses are about to start. There are many options ranging from costly software with an abundance of features to simple spreadsheets. Finding out which route is right for your business can save you a lot of stress, especially when tax time comes.

From my time spent working with accounting software and knowledge of spreadsheets, I‘ve heard arguments both ways as to what is best for your business. But at the end of the day, I believe accounting software can be beneficial to every small business owner. Here’s why: - Digital spreadsheets, like

Excel, require knowledge of complex formulas which can make your records prone to errors. The right accounting software handles all the calculations for you, and does it properly.

Simple spreadsheets are easy to alter, which can make you susceptible to fraud. Most accounting software keeps track of all changes and maintains an audit trail.

Each income stream needs to be tracked separately. This means that as you start offering more services, the number of spreadsheets you have to maintain will increase, while accounting software usually does this for you automatically.

One of my favorite things about an accounting system is the ability to call a multitude of reports at any given time to see your business from many different angles. Most software options have built-in reports for income state-

ONGOING EDUCATION

SMALL BUSINESS BOOKKEEPING OPTIONS

ments, balance sheets, specific vendors, sales item, and much more.

Fundamentally, accounting software is built to ensure that you record your accounting data effectively with minimal mistakes and good auditing.

You still need to use your data properly and many accountants can better help you with your finances if you use a program they are familiar with. The Wyoming Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network also offers no-cost, confidential assistance with bookkeeping and more.

EACH MONTH WE WELCOME NEW CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MEMBER BUSINESSES BY PRESENTING THEM WITH A PLAQUE WHISKEY CUTS BAR-BER Shane Archambault has

opened Lander’s newest sports bar and barber shop. Relax in

style in the new bar and watch your favorite game on one of the FIVE big screens! The barber shop offers many styles of cuts for everyone in age from kids to seniors. Guys can also enjoy a straight blade shave with hot towel treatment and beard shape ups and trims. Call (307) 438-4348 to schedule your appointment. The bar is open Monday-Friday 11am-10pm and Saturday-Sunday 9am-10pm.

NEW MEMBERS

New Members Welcome (cont) at Meridian Trust Bank , 873 Main St., Lander, WY, 82520, or P.O. Box 44, Lander, WY, 82520.

Please make checks out to Almost Home Wyoming.

FIRST STOP HELP CENTER The First Stop Help Center is a compassionate resource for families and individuals in crisis. We can provide PURE QUILL Jason Keen and Justin Wilson are the main artists at Pure Quill. Both men are Navy veterans, each serving 14 years. The original Pure Quill studio has been open and operating in Riverton since 2014. The Lander studio opened in 2017, and is located at 592 Main Street, Suite G. Pure Quill customers can choose any style of tattooing or commissioned artwork. Guest artists are also available periodically.

Jason and Justin are licensed in multiple states, and provide quality customer service. To make an

appointment, please stop by the studio at 592 Main Street, Suite G, or call (909) 292-5226 or (858) 209-8390.

ALMOST HOME WYOMING The mission of Almost Home Wyoming is to provide safe and secure housing for persons who are homeless and desire to work towards their own home.

Donations will be happily accepted

Almost Home Wyoming

First Stop Help Center

emergency funds to prevent homelessness. If you are experiencing a short-term financial crisis due to unexpected expenses - such as medical bills, loss of income, auto repair etc - we may be able to help you with rent so you are able to stay in your home. When a family is in danger of losing its home, First Stop Help Center may be able to help prevent eviction.

Preventing homelessness costs at least five times less than helping a family regain stable housing after it is lost. First Stop Help Center is located at 860 S 3rd St, 307-332-2877.

New Members Welcome (cont) SMARTT INSURANCE AGENCY INC. Smartt Insurance Agency is a locally owned company selling insurance for auto, home, life, commercial, bonds, and farm/ranch. We are an independent company representing numerous nationally known companies.

owners policy, general liability, commercial auto, bonds and group health insurance. Call today for your free quote, (307) 206-1280. We are located at 702 Main St., Lander.

THE HITCHING RACK/HAYS FAMILY FOOD TRUCK Hays Family Food Truck

favorite Hitching Rack menu, a couple new items will be offered! Smoked prime and brisket and brick oven pizza will be made right on site. Watch for an outside expanded bar and patio in the spring! The Hitching Rack is in the same location, 785 E. Main St., Lander.

Maximize Your Membership Luncheon

The Hitching Rack / Hays Family Food Truck

Each one of our clients are given a dedicated team of experts that work together to proficiently address all your concerns. Give us a call to also save money on your business insurance. Some of our Commercial insurance coverages include business The Hitching Rack/Hays Family Food Truck

provides fresh foods, serving local meats and produce grown right here in Lander.

They offer field to fork Keto and paleo foods. Call (970) 215-0438 for current location.

The Hitching Rack has been purchased by Karen Hays, and is currently undergoing remodeling. Along with the

A big thank you to our new members who showed up to learn how to take take advantage of over 20 benefits to help with Promotion, Business Support, Professional Developement, and Networking! Also, thank you to Mr. D’s Food Center for providing lunch!

LUNCH SPONSOR

BUSINESS AFTER Business After Hours NOV 15, 5:30-7:30PM NEW YORK LIFE AND WHISKEY CUTS BAR-BER 592 MAIN ST, LANDER

OCT BUSINESS AFTER HOURS @ ELEVATE REHAB

BY U.S. SENATOR MIKE ENZI It has been nearly 10 months since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed into law. The full benefits have not been fully realized yet, but the initial results are promising. The economy is expanding at its second-fastest pace in 13 years, and 1.7 million jobs have been added since Congress passed the historic tax reform legislation. Workers saw their disposable incomes grow 3.5 percent over the last year, helping families keep more of their hard-earned money. And, importantly, it has provided certainty for the small business community and lowered employers’ tax burden so they can expand their businesses, create jobs and keep money in their pockets.

The National Federation of Independent Business recently released survey results showing that the majority of small businesses are optimistic about the effects of tax reform. Specifically, it found that 87 percent of member businesses believe the new tax law will have a positive effect on the economy, 76 percent believe it will positively affect business and 70 percent of owners anticipate it will positively affect their personal tax situation. I’ve always had a strong focus on helping small

businesses – that was an especially important part for me when I was working on the tax reform legislation – so I am happy to see these positive findings.

In early October, I attended a hearing with my fellow members of the Senate Small Business Committee to examine the impact of the tax reform law. At the hearing, we heard from experts about an economic development tool included in the tax reform bill called opportunity zones. The opportunity zone program allows states to designate struggling communities as opportunity zones and is designed to spur economic growth in these areas. In Wyoming, we have 25 opportunity zones.

One expert at the hearing, John Lettieri, the president and CEO of a research and advocacy organization called the Economic Innovation Group, discussed how these opportunity zones were designed to benefit small businesses. He said the main purpose was “to drive investment into operating

PROFESSIONAL DEV

TAX REFORM HELPS SMALL BUSINESSES

businesses in underserved areas – particularly new ventures and existing small- to medium-sized businesses poised for growth.” Lettieri stressed that his hope for opportunity zones is that it will provide a lifeline to entrepreneurs in underserved and overlooked areas of our country.

I am hopeful that opportunity zones will help revitalize some of our communities across Wyoming.

Small businesses serve as an engine of economic growth in our country, and I believe the tax reform law has a lot of positive components for small businesses – some we have already seen and some we will see in the coming years. I will continue my efforts to promote small businesses and look after their interests.

Covenant Presbyterian Church, Pastor Scott MacNaughton, 875 Fremont, Lander Elevate Rehab, Michelle Mazur, 388 Main St., Suite A, Lander Ethete Store and Paintbrush Grill, Danelle Thunder, 693 Hwy 132, Ethete Holiday Inn Express and Suites, Krista Lobera, manager, 1102 11th St., Lander Hudson’s Funeral Home, Dominick Weigel, 680 Mount Hope Dr., Lander Inberg Miller Engineers, 124 E. Main St., Riverton Kusel’s Furniture and Appliance, Larry Kusel, 326 E. Main St., Riverton Lander Art Center, Stacy Stebner, 224 Main St., Lander

Lander

Chamber of Commerce

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

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

3 Bighorn Bash Annual Fundraiser, 5:30 pm, National Bighorn Sheep Center, Dubois

Mr. D’s Food Center, Bonnie and Michelle Motherway, 725 Main St., Lander Shopko Hometown Store, Michael Batory, 1255 W. Main St., Lander Snow Deep Designs, Dannine Donaho, 326 B Main St. Alley Entry, Lander Whiting Law PC, James Whiting, 315 Main St., Suite 1, Lander

2 Ladies Night at Wild Iris, 5-8 pm, Wild Iris Mountain Sports

3 “Walking On Ice,” 3-4 pm, Riverton Museum 3 Help for Health Hospice Denim and Diamonds Ball, 6 pm, St. Margaret’s gym, Riverton 9 ALCHEMY 3rd anniversary celebration, 4-8 pm, ALCHEMY, an artists’ cooperative 9 Hacking CPA open house, 5-8 pm, 704 Main St.

Wild Iris Mountain Sports, 166 Main St., Lander

10 Book Sale at the Book Nook, 10-4, Lander Library, upstairs Bank of the West

Wyoming Community Foundation, Sarah Chapman, 933 Main St, Suite 7, Lander

10 Lander Children’s Museum Monte Carlo Affair, 6 pm, Lander Community & Convention Center

Wyoming Community Gas, 315 W. 27th St., Cheyenne

15 Business After Hours, 5:307:30 pm, New York Life/ Whiskey Cuts Bar-Ber, 592 Main St.

Wyoming SBDC Network, Sarah Hamlin, Business Advisor, 213 W. Main St., Suite C, Riverton 2 First Friday: Art & Live Music, 5-9 pm, The Middle Fork

RENEWING MEMBERS

Basecamp 307, Reid Schell, PO Box 1092, Lander

Lander Community Concert Association, PO Box 647, Lander

RENEWING MEMBERS

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

17 Lander Community Concert Max Hatt/Edda Glass Jazz, 7 pm, LVHS auditorium

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

This issue of the chamber newsletter is printed by Western Printing

Lander

Chamber of Commerce

THINK LANDER FIRST

SHOP LOCAL

HOLIDAY PHOTO

SWEEPSTAKES

#ShopLander

THEME: “ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS” PRIZE INCLUDES $250 IN LANDER BUCKS AND OVER $500 IN LOCALLY DONATED PRIZES

EXAMPLE: HOW-TO PLAY

kelseyball

SHOP LOCAL TO WIN OVER $750 IN PRIZES! WHEN

NOV 24 - DEC 19

TO PLAY

1. ENTER A LOCAL BUSINESS TO OBTAIN BUTTON. 2. ENTER LOCAL BUSINESSES, FIND AN ITEM YOU WANT FOR CHRISTMAS. 3. TAKE A PHOTO WITH THE ITEM AND YOUR THINK LANDER FIRST/SHOP LOCAL BUTTON.

ITEM YOU WANT FOR SHOP LOCAL CHRISTMAS Lander

Chamber of Commerce

THINK LANDER FIRST

4. POST PHOTO ON INSTAGRAM AND/OR FACEBOOK, TAGGING THE BUSINESS AND USING #SHOPLANDER.

SHOP LOCAL BUTTON/STICKER kelseyball All I want for Christmas is a set of snowshoes @gannettpeaksports #shoplander

#SHOPLANDER

TAG BUSINESS

RULES

PARTICIPATE AS MANY TIMES AS POSSIBLE TO INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.

TO WIN

ONE WINNER WILL BE SELECTED AT RANDOM FROM ALL #SHOPLANDER ENTRIES.

INFO@LANDERCHAMBER.ORG | (307) 332-3892

Fremont County Lodging Tax Facts The Lodging Tax is Paid by Visitors - Overnight visitors who stay at hotels, motels, campgrounds, RV parks, guest cabins, dude ranches, AirBnBs and bed & breakfasts in Fremont County pay the 4% lodging tax.

How We Benefit - In 2017, travelers spent over $131 million in Fremont County or an average of $360,500 per day.

- Tourism directly supports 1,420 tourism jobs in Fremont County, paying $43 million in wages.

- In 2017 travelers to Fremont County paid $6.8 million in local and state tax receipts.

This is Not a New Tax - Fremont County’s Lodging Tax is up for renewal on the November ballot, as required by state statute.

- The lodging tax has been renewed by Fremont County voters every 4 years since 1990. In 2014, 80% voted to renew it.

- The lodging tax is a local control tax. County citizens vote for it, and 10 city and county appointed volunteers serve on the Wind River Visitors Council board.

Travelers Spent $131.6 Million in Fremont County Businesses and Organizations in 2017 $27.3 million Restaurants $16 million Shopping $20.6 million Lodging $8.7 million Grocery & Food Stores $20.2 million Arts, Entertainment, Recreation & $ 1.2 million Air Travel $22.9 million Other Travel Museums $14.7 million Gas & Car Rental How The Lodging Tax Is Spent - The Wind River Visitors Council invests in tourism promotion and community events for the entire county.

- In 2018, the Wind River Visitors Council will invest about $700,000 in “Wind River Country” tourism promotion.

• 70% will be spent on Wind River Country marketing and advertising programs such as digital marketing, websites, print advertising, calendar of events, social media, press relations, brochures, vacation packets, and postage. This includes $20,000 for Air Service Marketing for FlyRiverton.com.

• 25% ($175,000) will be given back to Riverton, Lander, Dubois, Hudson and Shoshoni, members of the Joint Powers Agreement, to provide community visitor center services and financially support local events through the Tourism Asset Development Fund (TAD.) • 5% will be spent on board and administrative expenses, accounting and office services.

- The Council has no employees, and pays no benefits or office rent. It contracts with a Fremont County marketing business that hires local talent and uses local services when possible.

25% OF OUR LODGING TAX IS GIVEN TO OUR TOWNS TO PROMOTE COMMUNITY EVENTS AND SUPPORT VISITOR SERVICES. Sources: WY Office of Tourism and Wind River Visitors Council research Wind River Visitors Council, info@windriver.org windriver.org 307-332-5546

10-16-18