TORRINGTON – Even when it’s time to celebrate the Goshen County Economic Development Corporation, they’re still trying to help local businesses get exposure and get more eyes on the county’s assets.  

Governor Mark Gordon proclaimed May 5-11 as Economic Development Week in Wyoming Monday morning. He wrote on social media, the week is to “remind individuals of the importance of this community celebration which supports the expansion of career opportunities and improving quality of life.”

All this week, the GCEDC will be visiting locations in the county’s population centers. The winning photographs from the GCEDC Photography Contest will be on display and there will be a demonstration of the Travel Storys app.

But keeping with the GCEDC’s theme of promoting local businesses and assets, business owners can get help with tools to help their efforts, according to Sandy Hoehn, GCEDC Community Development Director. 

“It is a cool way to get the community out to those areas,” Hoehn said. “This year, we chose to do it in actual tourist attractions, in the museums for the different communities and the historic spots. 

“We’ll present our Travel Storys app in each community. There’s a story and we’re going to reintroduce that. We’re also going to help any business that comes in get on Google. If they’re not already on Google, we’ll help them figure that out.”

Locally, the Goshen County Commission proclaimed this week Economic Development Week at its meeting earlier this month, and Torrington Mayor Randy Adams was on hand to help the GCEDC kickoff a weeklong series of events all around the county Monday morning at the Homesteaders’ Museum. 

“I think the Goshen County Economic Development Corporation has done great things for this county,” Adams said. “I think this county to begin with was very ready to have such an organization when we passed the 1/4-cent tax to fund the corporation. We’ve had the benefit of having very good people on the economic development staff and very good people on the economic development board. Together, they have produced a lot of good things in Goshen County.”

Economic Development Week began Monday, May 6, in Torrington at the Homesteaders Museum. Tuesday’s event took place in Lingle at the Western History Center, and today’s will be in LaGrange at the LaGrange Heritage Center. Thursday will be at the Yoder Community Center, and the week will wrap up Friday at Fort Laramie National Historical Site.

The mayors of the respective townships will be at each event, while local business will provide refreshments. All of the events start at 8 a.m.

Sondra Dent, Marketing Coordinator for GCEDC, said the events are intended to help people become aware of what the GCEDC does with the tax money it receives. 

“We just want to bring the awareness of what we do to our community,” Dent said. “We wanted to see how our residents see Goshen County and really promote that. “

“We love being in each of the communities. We don’t get to go out there very often, so making our presence known and saying that they are important to us, that we are here for them, is important to us.”

Adams said the GCEDC has been important to the city, and will be vital to both the city and county’s futures. 

“I think it’s going be very important,” Adams said. “They have an inside look and an inside take when things are happening. When businesses are thinking about coming to Torrington, they go straight to economic development. They get advice, they get direction, they get recommendations about where to go. It makes things a lot simpler and sure speeds
up the process.”