2019
SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER
INTRODUCTION
From the Lander Chamber of Commerce
A
s I write this, the final Lander LIVE concert of 2019 is right around the corner. Many thanks to all of our sponsors, volunteers and attendees who have helped make this an awesome season. We truly appreciate your support. Big events coming up include the One Shot Antelope Hunt and Lander Striker’s Soccer Tournament. These two events alone will bring in hundreds of visitors to Lander. Be ready to welcome them to Lander and into your business. Happy Autumn, everyone!
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Susan Weideman, President Lander Vision Center
Michelle Mazur, Vice-Pres. Elevate Rehab
Joanne Slingerland, Treasurer Central Wyoming College
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Mika Baker, Past President Central Bank and Trust
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 Carol King Interim Executive Director
Kelsey Ball Operations Assistant
Carol King Interim Executive Director Lander Chamber of Commerce
Audrey Quest Events Coordinator
by Sarah Hamlin, Regional Director Wyoming Small Business Development Center Network More than 8.5 million people visited Wyoming as overnight guests last year, resulting in $3.5 billion being spent in our local communities. As we head into the summer, it is time to take stock of your local online presence. Google reports that well over half of their online search results originate with a mobile device. Furthermore, 72% of these searches are visited by folks that are within five miles of your location and within 24 hours of the search. Having no, little or incorrect information about your business online makes it very difficult for visitors to stop and shop with you. So here are five ways you can boost your business’ online presence. Get listed Head over to Google My Business and check to see how Google has your business listed. If your business information is not correct (or not there) then you should claim or create your listing. Get Your Business Online is a free directory listing with Google that will get your physical location on the map (with a red dot). Additionally, Google can do things like add pictures, ask for reviews and correct the map if your location has changed. Make sure to include your hours of operation — Google likes this and so do your customers! Other online search engines and websites (like Bing, Yahoo, Yelp!, etc.) also have similar processes to claim your business. Make sure your website is mobile friendly If you aren’t sure about your website’s mobile friendliness, Google also offers an online tool that will check it for you. The Wyoming Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network can also provide you with a nocost website analysis. Google and other search engines are giving preference to websites that are easy to view on a mobile device, so this is important! Additionally, make sure your phone number is listed on every page of your website as 61% of the people who are searching for your business on a mobile device are trying to call you. Make it easy! Capture customers who “search online, buy in store” Purchase behavior is interesting these days. We are finding that more and more customers are doing research online before they make their local purchase decision. As such, make sure you have your products or services listed on your website. This doesn’t have to be everything you offer. What are your 10 most popular or most asked for items? List them. Are you a restaurant or cafe? Make sure to include your menu on allmenus.com or singleplatform.com so they are searchable too!
TIPS FOR YOUR SPACE
Five Ways to Improve Your Local Online Search Results BUSINESS AFTER
Ask for reviews It seems that Google is using reviews as a way to better understand your business and rank their online search results. The best way to get good reviews, is to ask for them! Remember, the happiest your customer is going to be with you is when they are paying for your goods or services. Don’t forget to ask for that review. Don’t worry about getting a less than positive review (three stars or less). The best way to deal with these reviews is to acknowledge them and then ask that person to call or email you to talk more. Your prospective customer knows that not everyone will like your business all of the time. That’s okay! They want to see how you respond to complaints. Join your local Chamber of Commerce That’s right. Don’t underestimate the value of your local chamber. Not only do they provide great community networking opportunities for our business communities, it seems like Google is valuing chambers as being non-biased places to find out if you are a real business. Even better than being a chamber member, make sure that your website is hyperlinked from the chamber website to your website! Assistance with Improving Your Online Search Results If you need assistance with any of these steps, contact your local Wyoming SBDC Network advisor today for no-cost, confidential advising by clicking here. In addition to expediting your Google listing approval, we can also review your business’ website and social media profiles.
About the Wyoming SBDC Network: The Wyoming SBDC Network offers a large amount of business expertise to help Wyoming residents think about, launch, grow, reinvent or exit their business. The Wyoming SBDC Network is hosted by the University of Wyoming with state funds from the Wyoming Business Council. Funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
EVENTS
BUSINESS September Calendar ofAFTER Events EVERY MONDAY Book sale at the Book Nook, 4-7 pm, Carnegie Room, Lander Library EVERY TUESDAY Stamp Mill & Arrastra Demos & Trail Open House, 1-3 pm, South Pass City Native American Song & Dance, 6-7 pm, Wind River Hotel & Casino EVERY SATURDAY Lander Valley Farmers Market, 9-11:30 am, Lander City Park Stamp Mill & Arrastra Demos, 1-3 pm, South Pass City English Tunnel Mine Tour, 11am-1pm, South Pass City EVERY SUNDAY Swing Dancing at the Coalter Loft, 6-9 pm, Coalter Loft 1 South Pass City Carissa Gold Mine Mill Tour, 2-4 pm, South Pass City 1-3 Fremont County Good Samaritan Center Annual No Show Picnic, Labor Day Weekend, visit website 3-7 38th Annual Red Desert Audubon Art Show, T-T 10-6, F-Sa 10-4, Lander Art Center
6 First Friday: Art & Live Music, 5-9 pm, The Middle Fork 7 3rd Annual WYO 131, starts and ends in Lander, see website 7 Lander Fly In/Wings & Wheels, 8am-4pm, Lander Hunt Field Airport 7 Historic Wagons program, 7 pm, Pioneer Museum 8 Journal-Making Workshop “Vacation Memories”, 1-5 pm, Snow Deep Designs 9 Brain Injury Support Group, 5-6 pm, Soldier’s House of Fremont County 12-15 Plein Air in the Parks: Painting Competition at Sinks Canyon, 8 am-1 pm, Sinks Canyon State Park 13-14 Wild Horse & Burro Adoption, 12-4 pm, Wyoming Honor Farm 14 Apple City Festival, 1-3 pm, Pioneer Museum 14 Lander Community Concerts Association Free Outreach Program, 3-4 pm, Lander Valley High School Auditorium 14 Kid’s Tin Candle Lanterns, 2-4 pm, Riverton Museum
18-21 One Shot Antelope Hunt, various times and locations, see next page for some details 19 Uranium in Fremont County History, 6:30-8 pm, Riverton Museum 20 Live Music, 8-10 pm, Lander Bar 21 Run Like a Bighorn 10k trail run, 6 am, Sinks Canyon State Park 27-29 Rustler Roundup Rodeo, various starting times, Fremont Co. Fair & Rodeo Grounds, Riverton 28 CWC Apple Orchard Trek, 10 am-noon, Pioneer Museum 28 Red Desert Run The Red trail run, 9am, must register online
Photo: Brad Christensen
New Member Welcome:
Wings and Wheels September 7, Wings & Wheels is a high quality Airshow, FlyIn, and Car Show featuring top notch aerobatic performers and classic rides. Held at Lander’s Hunt Field, this is Fremont County’s premier air and auto event. Keep your eye on the sky, you will see astounding air shows
followed by a car show with an impressive collection of muscle cars and vintage vehicles. Bring the whole family to Lander; this is a family friendly event and is not to be missed! New coordinator of Wings & Wheels Chris Eleanor Chase aims to grow the event to appeal to more people than ever and bring visitors from Fremont County and beyond. The Air Show Starts Saturday, September 7 at 8 am and wraps up at
2 pm at the Hunt Field Airport, 1540 Rodeo Drive, Lander. Don’t forget the Kiwanis pancake breakfast beginning at 8 am. Email us at: gsandwheelslanderwy@ gmail.com Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ landerairshow
MEMBER HIGHLIGHT
WINGS AND WHEELS
COMMUNITY EVENT
Lander LIVE August 1:
opener Lost Springs Band, headliner: Southern Avenue
August 15: opener Low Water String Band, headliner: The Wood Brothers
The final Lander LIVE concert on Aug. 29 was held after printing of this newsletter. Watch next newsletter for photos! Photos by Brad Christensen
ONE SHOT ANTELOPE HUNT
COMMUNITY EVENTS
Lander LIVE
Wednesday, Sept. 18: Teams/guides selected Thursday, Sept. 19: Past Shooters Banquet Friday, Sept. 20: Western BBQ Saturday, Sept. 21: The Hunt and Victory Banquet The Lander one shot antelope hunt is one of the most unique sporting events in the world today. The event was born around a campfire, high in the Rocky Mountains in 1939. Seated around that fire were two hunters—Harold Evans of Lander and Hank Dahl of Golden, CO. The first “One Shot Antelope Hunt” took place on Labor Day weekend, 1940, in the Lander area and consisted of only two teams, Wyoming and Colorado. In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, the Past Shooters Club
of the One Shot Antelope Hunt focused their energies and efforts on establishing a separate organization to assist the wildlife they enjoyed hunting over the years. On May 1, 1975, the Water for Wildlife Foundation was incorporated. By 2015, the Water For Wildlife program had completed a total of 435 water projects; 24 in Arizona, 4 in California, 64 in Colorado, 22 in Idaho, 34 in Kansas, 4 in Nevada, 7 in New Mexico, 32 in Oklahoma, 1 in South Dakota, 8 in Texas, 59 in Utah and 174 projects in Wyoming.
WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBER!
Sundance Properties (Dillon Vista Apartments), 105 Dillon Dr., Lander
Maverick RV Park Polly Jones 1104 N 2nd St., Lander
Covenant Presbyterian Church, Scott MacNaughton, Pastor, 875 Fremont, Lander
U.S. Bank, Christopher Drewiske, 505 Main St., Lander
Cynthia Stevens, MD, 172 Rosewood Ave., Lander
Whiting Law, PC, James Whiting, 315 Main St., Suite 1, Lander
David A Pope, CPA, Carmen Milbury, manager, 320 S Federal Blvd., Riverton
X-Pert Automotive Center, Inc., Brant Walper, 402 Main St., Lander
RENEWING MEMBERS
City Plumbing, Mike & Lynne McRann, 340 Main St., Lander
Lander Rotary Club, PO Box 502, Lander
RENEWING MEMBERS
Central Bank & Trust, Chris VanHoltum, 285 Main St., Lander
Lander Kiwanis Club, PO Box 803, Lander
PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. Postage Paid LANDER, WY PERMIT NO. 78
This issue of the chamber newsletter is printed by Western Printing