Eastern Wyoming College students and faculty attend Governor’s Business Forum

From left to right: Abby Moore, Torrington, WY; Megan Crenshaw, Gilbert, AZ; Governor Matt Mead; Jennifer Minks, EWC instructor of Business/Accounting; Rick Vonburg, EWC instructor and, Division Chair of Business and Technology and EWC student Taylor Cooper from Lingle, WY. Also attending but not in the photo was Nathan Pieper, EWC student from Casper, WY.

Several EWC instructors and students recently attended Governor Matt Mead’s Business Forum in Cheyenne. The Forum included local, regional, and national speakers that shared business success stories, opinions on national events, and panels that discussed a variety of issues that Wyoming will face in its future. Some of the featured speakers were Governors Mead of Wyoming and Daugaard of South Dakota; David McCullough, Pulitzer Prize winning author known as our national historian; Kevin Parker, Columbine survivor and Washington state Representative; and Herb Meyer, retired Vice Chair of the National Intelligence Council.

Throughout the Forum successful Wyoming businesspersons presented their stories, including Patrick Zimmerer of Table Mountain Vineyards in Huntley. Other notable presenters were C.J. Box, the New York Times best-selling author from Cheyenne; Wyoming Chief Justice Marilyn Kite; Wyoming Speaker of the House, Tom Lubnau from Gillette; and Wyoming legislators Eli Bebout of Riverton, Tom Lockhart of Casper, and Tim Stubson of Cheyenne.

EWC students were impressed with the program presentations. Abby Moore of Torrington said, “It really opened my eyes to what is going on in Wyoming right now, and all the business that is booming and coming out of this great state.” Megan Crenshaw of Gilbert, AZ, stated, “At this Forum I encountered some of the wisest people I’ve ever heard speak. The lessons I learned and took away I will try to implement into the rest of my life.” Nathan Pieper of Casper shared, “It was a true honor to have this rare opportunity as a college student to meet with and listen to so many of the people that keep this state running. The perspective about my future changed.” Taylor Cooper of Lingle mentioned, “In addition to listening to Wyoming business men and women, we also listened to an economist speak on world difficulties and shed a new light on problems such as wars, population, and diversity. He was so interesting and by far my favorite speaker” added Ms. Cooper.

EWC instructors Jennifer Minks and Rick Vonburg indicated it was a great experience for them as well as a unique opportunity for the EWC students attending. Vonburg noted that the Forum was sponsored jointly by the Wyoming Business Alliance and the Wyoming Heritage Foundation, which brought an interesting blend of speakers covering civility, social issues, and business aspects to the program.

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