NEWSLETTER

Chamber of Commerce

Volume 22 Issue 6 June 2016

YOUR BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY ADVOCATE

1155 W. Flaming Gorge Way Green River, WY 82935

307-875-5711 FL-GORGE www.grchamber.com

Published monthly to serve members in business

and community needs

Clean Up and Green Up!

2016 R.E.A.C.H Awards– Congratulations Lisa!

Trevor Jeffs

L to R: Theanna Kalivas, Destiny Barrett, Jennifer Poll,

Harmony Fullmer, Angela Shutran, Mike

Shutran, Kimberly Flores Julia, Suzy, Lydia, and Jared Westenskow

Clean Up Day was Saturday, May 14th this year! Similar to past annual events, City of Green River citizens were encouraged to help beautify the city by picking up trash and debris that had collected over the past year. Areas of focus included the business corridors and education and recreation areas within the city limits. We had such a wonderful turn out, even though the weather was chilly and windy. We had 500 volunteers sign up and pick up trash all around the City of Green River throughout the week and on Saturday! The Green River Chamber of Commerce provided bags and gloves for school aged children to assist in picking up trash during Clean up Week. We had four schools participate Jackson Elementary, Harrison Elementary, Monroe Middle School and Expedition Academy. Thank you to School District #2 for your efforts! We also want to give a big THANK YOU to all the wonderful volunteers! Our city is looking beautiful for the summer tourist season. We couldn’t hold such an awesome event without our many sponsors! All of these businesses donated money or supplies to help support the efforts of Clean up Day. Thank you to the City of Green River, Sweetwater County School District #2, Green River URA/Main Street, SMBA, Sweetwater County Sheriff's Department, Fastenal, McDonalds, Union Pacific Railroad, WYDOT, Solvay, Tronox, TATA, Arctic Circle, Taco Time, Castle Rock Medical Center, Smiths, Gorge Rock, and Colorado Document Shredders.

The Ninth Annual R.E.A.C.H. (Rare and Exceptional Achievement for Customer service in Hospitality) Awards were held May 5th and recognized employees and businesses throughout Sweetwater County that excel at customer service in the tourism industry. While honoring the “backbone” of the tourism industry, the event also honored Sweet-water County Pride. Nominees are recommended by general managers of hotels, directors of the Chambers and the Events Complex, as well as other individuals in the indus-try in the following categories Guest Services, Housekeeping, SWC Tourism ‘Cheerleader”, REACH Award for Employee of the Year and REACH Award for Business of the Year. The Sweetwater County Travel and Tourism Board is pleased to announce the Ninth Annual R.E.A.C.H. Award winners:

BEST RESERVATION/GUEST SERVICES PERSONNEL - Cindy Moore – Quality Inn”

BEST HOTEL HOUSEKEEPING PERSONNEL – Olivia Corral – The Holiday Inn

BEST HOTEL MAINTANENCE PERSONNEL – Martin Chavez – Hampton Inn in Rock Springs

BEST HOTEL COMMENT CARD – Samantha Hughes – My Place Hotel & Gail Blasi – Hampton Inn

& Suites in Green River

CHEERLEADER AWARD - Lisa Herrera – Green River Chamber of Commerce

EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR – Dave Mead – Sweetwater County Historical Museum

BUSINESS OF THE YEAR – The Holiday Inn in Rock Springs

The R.E.A.C.H. awards take place during National Tourism Week and salute outstanding customer ser-vice provided by employees in tourism and hospitality industries who celebrate and enhance Sweetwater County’s reputation as a first-class visitor destination. Tourism is Wyoming’s second largest industry supporting more than 1,500 jobs in Sweetwater County alone. We want to congratulate our very own Lisa Herrera for winning the Cheerleader of the Year Award!

L to R: Lisa Herrera, Dave Mead, Samantha Hughes,

Stacy Colvin

Page 2 ~ Green River Chamber Newsletter ~ June 2016

Chamber Board

of Directors

and Staff

Don’t tell me you got nothing to do!

Flaming Gorge Days, Festival in the Park– June 24th & 25th,

Evers Park 10 am- 4 pm

Overland Stage Stampede Rodeo– June 3rd & 4th, Green River Gates open at 6 pm

Quilting on The Green– Expedition Island Pavillion,

June 3rd 10 am - 5 pm & June 4th 10 am - 4 pm

Trails Day June 4th– South FMC Park by Red Barn, 8 am

Relay for Life– June 11th, 11 am at Bunning Park, Rock Springs.

Flaming Gorge Days Concert Tickets Friday Saturday June 24 & Saturday June 25

Friday night tickets are $15.00 children 12 and under are Free and do not need a ticket. This is for Friday only.

Saturday night tickets are $30.00 Tickets are all general admission. They are accepting cash,

check and credit cards

Boys and Girls Club of Sweetwater County 5th annual benefit Concert

Sawyer Brown-Friday September 9th, 2016. Gates open at 6, concert starts at 7. Sweetwater Events Complex. $40 before the event, $45 at the gate. They are accepting Cash, Check

and credit card.

Tickets for Sale

Board of Directors: Tom Arnold, Arnold Family Chiropractic Center ~ President & Hole in the Wall Gang President Angela Shutran, US Bank ~ Vice President Misty Springer, City of Green River ~ 1st Vice President Jeremy Gibson, Trona Valley FCU ~ Treasurer Joanna Nara-Kloepper, BLM ~ Secretary Jason Bartlett, Solvay Curg Murray, Gorge Rock Products Kelli Lennon, Green River Import Plus, Hitching Post Restaurant & Saloon Allan Wilson, City Council Liaison

Tammy Vaught, Radio Network Linda Martin, SWC School District #2 Amber Zmolek, Farm Bureau Financial Services Dan Perusich, WWCC Ken Johnson, White Mountain Lumber Staff: -Rebecca Eusek, Executive Director -Lisa Herrera, Finance and Membership Man-ager -Kyla Magrath, Public Relations and Marketing Specialist

Chamber Mission Statement: The Chamber enhances the community through advocacy and partnerships.

May 2016 Renewals Wyoming’s Big Show!

Waddell & Reed– James Chavez www.waddell.com 1575 Dewar Drive Rock Springs, WY 82901 307-382-2944 Founded in 1937, Waddell & Reed is among the most enduring as-set management and financial planning firms in the nation, providing proven investment and planning services to individuals and institu-tional investors.

New Members—Welcome!

Wyoming’s Big Show

Tuesday, August 2nd—Josh Turner, 8:30 pm Wednesday, August 3rd—A Thousand Horses, 8:30 pm

Thursday, August 4th—The Used, 8:30 pm Friday, August 5th—All That Remains, 8:30 pm Saturday, August 6th—Chris Jansen, 8:30 pm

Wyoming’s Big Show tickets are available online through

their Online Store at www.sweetwaterevents.com. Tickets available online are: Carnival Ride Pass $20; Fair Admission Booklet—Adult $40; Fair Admission Booklet—Child/Senior $25; Horse Stall $5; Livestock Fee $5; RV

Space $75.

*Tickets are only available online at this time.

May Renewals 2016 Sweetwater County Snowpokes 5 Rouse Properties/White Mountain Mall 17 Hitching Post Restaurant & Saloon 2 The Radio Network 30 Quilting on the Green 4 Green River Pond Tour 3 School District No. 2 29 Strata Networks 14 Bank of the West 29 Red Canyon Lodge 25 Wells Fargo 30 Wyoming Registered Service Agents 2

Thank you to all renewing members!!

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

June/July

June 2016 ~ Green River Chamber Newsletter ~ Page 3

Hotdoggers 4H Meeting, 7pm (EC)

HIWG, 7 pm

Quarterly Trona

meeting 7 am (VC)

Quilting on the Green, Expedition

Island 10 am

Overland Stage Rodeo, GR 6 pm

Quilting on the

Green, Expedition Island 10 am

Trails Day, FMC

Park 8:30 am

Overland Stage Rodeo, GR 6 pm

Ride em high, 6 pm (EC)

Southwest Wyoming BMX practice 6pm

GR City Council Meeting, 7pm

Business Develop-ment & Retention

8am

Southwest Wyoming BMX races 6pm

Stock car races 7 pm, EC

Spring Series Barrel Race, 8 am

Ride em high, 6 pm (EC)

GR Chamber Board

Meeting, 7:30am (VC)

Hotdoggers 4H

Meeting, 7pm (EC)

Southwest Wyoming BMX practice 6pm

Lunch and Learn 12 pm

Hampton Inn

Sagehoppers 4H meeting, 6:30pm

(EC)

Southwest Wyoming BMX races 6pm

Ride em high, 6 pm

(EC)

Sweetwater County Fair Board mtg 7pm

(EC)

Southwest Wyoming BMX practice 6pm

GR City Council Meeting, 7pm

Hotdoggers 4H

Meeting, 7pm (EC)

Southwest Wyoming BMX races 6pm

Flaming Gorge Days

Expedition Island

3 pm Up in Arms Gunshow ( EC)

Flaming Gorge Days,

Expedition Island 10am

Stock Car Racing, 7

pm (EC)

9 am Up in Arms Gunshow ( EC)

Flaming Gorge Days Expedition Island 10

am

All Breed Trails series, Kinnear, WY

9 am Up in Arms Gunshow ( EC)

Ride em high, 6 pm

(EC)

Southwest Wyoming BMX practice 6pm

Hotdoggers 4H

Meeting, 7pm (EC)

Southwest Wyoming BMX races 6pm

Flaming Gorge Days June 23rd– June 25th 2016

Concert Line-Up: Friday, June 24th—Chancey Williams & the Younger Brother Band

Saturday, June 25th—Night Ranger & Saliva Vendor booths will be on sale at the Chamber as of April 1st at 8:30 AM.

*Make sure you come pick your booth space as soon as you can, they go very fast! First come first serve. 14X14 space is $100 14X28 space is $200

Page 4 ~ Green River Chamber Newsletter ~ June 2016

The Green River Chamber of Commerce welcomed Rock Springs Realty to their new location on May 12, 2016.

Rock Springs Realty is dedicated to fulfilling your real estate needs in Rock Springs, Green River and Southwest Wyoming in a professional, courteous and pleasant manner. Please feel free to contact us for all your real estate needs. Margie Smith has

been a realtor in Sweetwater County for 30 years and owned her own business for 20 years, serving South-west Wyoming. Margie is past President of the Sweet-water County Board of realtors having served the term in 1999. Margie is also the 1999 Sweetwater County Realtor of the Year. She is one of the pioneers of Inter-net Real Estate Marketing. Visit Rock Springs Realty at their new location: 2820 Foothill blvd Suite 4, Call them at (307) 382-2995, or visit their website, www.realestatewyoming.com Pictured (L-R): Jamie Higby, McKenzie Bertagnoli, Judy Lopez, Kale Smith, Margie Smith, Brian Smith, Annika Smith, Mark Baker, Camie Paumer, Mayor of Rock Springs Carl Demshar

Rock Springs Realty Ribbon Cutting!

Trails Day 2016 Sweetwater County Photo Contest

June 2016 ~ Green River Chamber Newsletter ~ Page 5

Business Profile– Western Wyoming Community College

Western Wyoming Community College’s Green River Center has had many incarnations

over the past 30 years. Today, the Green River Center is a multi-faceted facility, serving a

variety of needs for residents throughout Sweetwater County.

Located inside of the Green River Center, the Workforce Development department offers a

variety of opportunities for professionals in the area. Opportunities include Mine Safety &

Health Administration (MSHA)

classes, computer courses, medical

programs and professional develop-

ment training in areas such as cus-

tomer service and grant writing.

Also, located inside of the Green

River Center, the Community Educa-

tion department provides a robust

collection of classes each semester; parent and child cooking, painting, ballet, photog-

raphy and exercise courses are only a small sample of the diverse offerings. Starting

in summer 2016, the Community Education department will partner with Sweetwater

BOCES to begin offering a variety of summer programs at the Green River Center for

kids of all ages in Green River.

The Green River Center also offers its space for a variety of events and activities. In

the fall, college faculty will host a foreign film festival in the Center’s theater. With the extensive room selection, the Center is also available

for rental by the public for birthday, graduation parties as well as community meetings.

For more information on the many opportunities the Green River Center offers, contact the main office at 872-1301.

Voter Information How do I register to vote?

Leadership Project

The 2016 class of the Sweetwater County Leadership Institute would like to share the results of their Local Drive to collect rarely donated & personal hygiene items. It is tradition for each new class of the Leadership Institute to collaborate on and initiate a special project that will benefit a given facet of our local community. During the first few sessions of the 2016 season our class had the good fortune of visiting with Kathy Siler of the Sweetwater County Food Bank. During our visit with Kathy we learned the integral role that the local Food Banks play in both of our communities, especially in times of economic downturn. The Food Bank Statistics which were relayed to the class for the month of January, 2016 were sobering to say the least. Kathy also mentioned the extreme need for rarely donated items such as salt, pepper, cereal, powdered milk, instant potatoes, olives, flour, sugar, oil, mush-rooms, and baby food. She also mentioned that personal hygiene items like soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant and shampoo were seldom among the items donated to the Food Bank. During a class discussion over lunch it was decided that a drive to help collect these items would be a worthwhile focus for the 2016 Class Project.

At the conclusion of the drive the 2016 Sweetwater County Leadership Class was able to collect 270# for the Green River Food Bank and 500# for the Rock Springs Food Bank. A check in the amount $500.00 donated by Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County was also presented to Kathy Siler at the Rock Springs Food Bank.

Once again the extreme generosity of the citizens of Green River and Rock Springs has made the annual Leadership Institute Class Project a success. The 2016 Leadership Class would like to sincerely thank everyone who donated to help make the lives of those in need a little more tolerable. We would

like to offer a special thanks to Dr. Castillion, Dr. Tanner, Pink Sink Luxuries, Smiths and Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County for their generous donations.

The Sweetwater County Leader-ship Institute is facilitated jointly by the Green River and Rock Springs Chambers of Commerce and Western Wyoming Community College. The 2016 class members include Jennifer Baker, Erika Ko-shar, Ruthann Wolfe, Daniel Peru-sich, Rina Martinez, Shelly Richno, Ronee Warne, Amy Votruba, Sue Lozier, Mandy Cam-phouse, Amber Zmolek, Michael Hollin, Angela Shutran, Mike Shut-ran and Kim George.

L to R: Mike Shutran, Dan Perusich, Amy Votruba, Ruthann Wolfe, Ronnee Warren, Amber Zmolek, Erika Koshar, Sue Lozier, Kim

George, Mandy Camphouse, Brittany Ogden, Shelly Richno, Kathy Siler, Jennifer Baker, Rina Martinez, Angela Shutran

Hampton Inn River Festival

Board Chair, Brenda Roosa, summed up the new track and field project at Green River High School, “I’m so excited for this im-

provement to our recreational athletic fields for our teams as well as for the community to use. This is the perfect use for the money collected

through the rec mill!”

The new artificial surface for the field and track at Green River High School has been planned for the past two years and funds from the Rec-

reation Mill levy have been saved during this time for the construction project. Additionally, Major Maintenance funds from the Wyoming

School Facilities Division are committed for the upgraded field. No funding from the general education budget for student instruction will be

used for the field project. Since the new field will not need watering, mowing or striping, the District will also save significantly on mainte-

nance expenses.

The sod from the existing field was offered to Green River residents at no charge and the turnout was great. Some have asked why the sod

was not sold to raise funds for the school. The response is that the residents of Green River paid property taxes for the construction of the

school and grounds through a bond issue and this is one way to return some of the “green” back to the taxpayers. An additional benefit for

the community is beautification of our community as the sod is used throughout Green River.

The new field will also benefit Green River by creating a venue for additional sports and recreation activities. Tony Beardsley, District Ac-

tivities Director stated, “The addition of a new Track and Turf Field at

Green River High School will prove to be a tremendous asset to

Sweetwater County School District #2 as well as the community of

Green River, Wyoming. This outdoor facility will benefit multiple

organizations and groups including: local club sports teams, school

district sponsored activities, and programs sponsored by the City of

Green River Parks and Recreation. Such an outstanding facility al-

lows our community the opportunity to host more events which ulti-

mately benefit area businesses and our community as a whole. We

are extremely proud to provide such a wonderful outreach for the citi-

zens of Green River".

Governmental Affairs– Track and Field Project at GRHS

River Festival Booth Space and Food Vendor Bids

The River Festival will be held August 19th and 20th

River Festival booth spaces are now available for $65

to Artisans with homemade, hand-crafted items Booths are $50 for loyal vendors (5+ years with us)

Booths are 14’X14’ and electricity is an additional $15

We are now accepting Food Vendor Bids for the River Festival.

Deadline is June 27th, 2016 by 5:00 PM. Please go to www.grchamber.com

for more information.

Page 6 ~ Green River Chamber Newsletter ~ June 2016

June 2016 ~ Green River Chamber Newsletter ~ Page 7

Voter Information Distributed Information

Information Distributed STARTED

April 2016 Year to Date Relocation Packets 1 19 Vacation Packets 3 17 Convention Packets 350 600 Wyoming Pins 0 0 City of Green River Pins 4 128 Gift Certificates 755 1,715 Dollar Amount $13,516.25 $44,780.38 Brochure Racks 894 2,476 Chamber Kiosk 369 1,256 Walk Ins 836 3,380 Web Site Hits 82,823 306,299 Web Site Sessions 2,173 8,318 E-Mails 799 3,818 New Facebook Likes 10 1,630 Sales Tax Disbursements–March 2016 County $1,698,187 Green River $777,610 Rock Springs $1,470,732 Lodging Tax Sweetwater County –March 2016 County $3,707 Green River $7,107 Rock Springs $52,490 Labor Force Employment Sweetwater County March 2016 21,006 February 2016 20,957 March 2015 22,211 Unemployment Sweetwater County March 2016 1,393 February 2016 1,337 March 2015 1,108 Statewide Employment March 2016 281,904 February 2016 281,825 March 2015 291,784 Statewide Unemployment March2016 17,111 February 2016 16,849 March 2015 13,685

Voter Information How do I register to vote? There are three ways to register to vote in Wyoming.

Register in person

Register by mail

Register at the polls on Election Day

Note: Wyoming is exempt from the federal “Motor Voter” law and DOES NOT offer voter registration at Wyoming Driver License Office. What are the requirements to register vote in Wyoming?

18 years of age on Election Day;

U.S. Citizen

Resident of Wyoming and the precinct in which you register;

Withdraw voter registration from any other jurisdiction, if applicable;

Present a valid Wyoming Driver License if you have one and if not; provide the las four digits of your Social Security Number. (If you have neither, please indi-cate this on the Voter Registration Application form.)

Not been convicted of a felony, or if convicted, has had civil or voting rights restored.

Do I need to re-register to vote every election? You do not need to re-register to vote in the upcoming General Election if you voted in the last General Election. You need to re-register if:

You moved to a different county;

You did not vote in the last General Election.

If you moved within the county to another precinct or changed your name, you must no-tify the county clerk. Absentee Voting In Wyoming, any qualified elector may apply for an absentee ballot at any time during calendar year in which the election is held, but not on the day of the election. Voters can vote an absentee ballot in person in the office of the county clerk or by mail 40 days before an election. Absentee ballots must be received by the county clerk no later than 7:00 p.m. on Election Day. Absentee ballots can be returned in person or my mail. When are the 2016 elections held?

Primary Elections: August 16, 2016; 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM

General Elections: November 8, 2016; 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM

For additional information and forms please visit www.sweet.wy.us and click on the Elections tab

Did you know as a chamber member

you can use our digital sign at a

discounted rate? Contact us to set up

an advertisement! 307-875-5711

Member Benefits

Page 8 ~Green River Chamber Newsletter~ June 2016

STANDARD

U.S. POSTAGE PAID

GREEN RIVER, WY

PERMIT #44

Green River Chamber of Commerce 1155 W Flaming Gorge Way Green River, WY 82935

Join us for our June Luncheon held on Wednesday the 15th at noon at the Hampton Inn in Green River. The Hampton Inn will be catering, please RSVP by Monday, June 13th by 10:00 AM. We will hear from Tina Price with Sweetwater County Concert Association. Kandi Pedleton with Sweetwater County Events Complex will also present.

Katie Kuhlman with Aspen Mountain Medical Center won the quarter page ad, Dan Perusich from WWCC won the Business Profile, Patricia Gregory with the Oak Tree Inn won the 15 Radio Network ads, Jessica White with Wyoming Financial Insurance won the 1 week digital sign. Jason Grubb with the Sweetwater County Library System won a free Papa Murphy’s Pizza, Brigida Blasi with the Sweetwater County Historical Museum won Papa Murphy’s Cheesy Bread, Judy Laughter with the Sweetwater County Historical Museum won $22 with our 50/50 raffle! Kelli Lennon with the Hitching Post won 15 radio ads from Wyoradio, Bobbi Jo Drozd with Mission Health Services won 2 Flaming Gorge Days Concert tickets! Congratulations to all our April Lunch and Learn winners! We do ask that you RSVP for each Luncheon to the Green River Chamber at 307-875-5711 or email admin@grchamber.com or office@grchamber.com by Monday, June 13th by 10:00 AM. You may also RSVP directly from our Website at www.grchamber.com/pages/LunchLearn. If you know by Monday, June 13th by 10 am that you will not be able to attend, please let us know and you will not be invoiced. Lunch will be $12 for members and $15 for non-members. We would like to thank everyone who attended our May Lunch & Learn!

Lunch and Learn - “Providing Networking Opportunities” THE HAMPTON INN

Wyoming Business Tips

May Presenter, Rob Condie

By James Drever, WSBDC regional director “I read that my business is at risk from cyber attacks. What are some things I should be doing to protect my business?” Kendra, Laramie Ideally, you develop a security plan, which is something we can help with. In the meantime, you should review your data and systems to see what is most valuable, what risks you are exposed to and how you can reasonably protect what you have. Develop a plan so that if your data and/or systems are compromised, you can make sure you are up and running, and back in business as soon as possible. An often-neglected example is having secure off-site backups for your system(s) and data. If your physical building with computers is destroyed, or maybe all your computers are taken over by ransomware, having regular backups can quickly help you recover and be back in business. Otherwise, you might have to start from scratch, meaning it might not be possible to recover all data, depending on what computers are used for in your business. Various hacking methods gain a lot of publicity, but there is a lot you can do to protect your business. Is your software up to date? Do you have a plan in place to regularly check both your software and firmware? When was the last time you checked your router or modem to see if there was a security update? We pay a lot of attention to hacking, but it is much easier to use “social engineering,” in which someone sends you an email encouraging you or your staff to click on a link or open a file that gives that person access to your computers/network. Do you have malware/virus protection in place? Do you and your employees know how to handle suspicious emails or even phone calls? Does everyone know how to create and protect passwords or use a password manager? As you look at your business, keep in mind that most breaches are caused internally and unintentionally. Don’t forget to make sure that what you have is physically protected and, if you use outside services, make sure they and your connection to those services are secure and reliable.

Finally, is your firewall turned on? If not, turn it on.