Shelly Duncan Helping Hands

Floyd L. Brandt
Posted 8/15/18

Shelly Duncan gets emotional, talking about the numbers of homeless young people in Torrington.

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Shelly Duncan Helping Hands

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TORRINGTON – Shelly Duncan gets emotional, talking about the numbers of homeless young people in Torrington. Some are couch jumping hopping to have shelter for the night while others sleep where ever they can. 

Duncan, running for House District 5, wants to find a way to help them finish school and become part of the community.

Duncan was born in Winnie, Texas. Her father worked for a South American oil company and moved the family to Brazil when Duncan was three years old. She went to school in Brazil from kindergarten through the third grade, where she learned to speak fluent Portuguese.  

After Brazil, the family moved to Casper during the oil boom. Duncan had a hard time in Casper Junior High and asked her father to move the family to Jackson.

Graduating high school and attending some college in Jackson, Duncan met her husband, Eric. 

After Eric was discharged from the Navy, the couple moved to Laramie to attend the University of Wyoming. Graduating from UW, Duncan’s husband went to work for Union Pacific Railroad, living in Casper for five years. With a degree in interior design, Duncan taught art in Casper before being hired to create a student enrichment program for the gifted and talented. 

After moving to Torrington in 2003, Duncan wanted to be involved with the community and helped with the children’s theatre, helping design costumes.

In 2005 Duncan earned a real-estate license and in 2015, became partners with Judy Daily Their business has doubled in size every year since, Duncan said. 

In 2017 Duncan was named president of the Wyoming Association of Realtors and became very active at the national level. 

“As I traveled across the state and nationally and I was able to get to know the other association and boards,” Duncan said. “I noticed they didn’t seem to have the camaraderie that we do (In Wyoming). We are very lucky to have a special relationship in our association here and get along so well.”

She was having second thoughts about running for the District 5 seat because of her fear about the roughness in campaigning. While issues have arisen during the campaign, she said her determination has over taken the fear and she is giving the election her all. 

If elected, Duncan has a list of projects she wants to work on. She’s making promises to no one but herself, she said, vowing to give it her complete attention and fulfill it with her greatest efforts.

“I have this notebook,” Duncan said. “As I have come across people and talked to them, I have written down their concerns, thoughts and issues in the notebook. “This is primary to me about what the issues are, what things that people are concerned about.”

Duncan has one main concern: The community of Torrington. 

She sees a problem with property rights and will fight for those rights. Duncan wants to write a Constitutional amendment to ban the passage of any property transfer tax the Wyoming legislature is thinking of passing. The tax could cause problems in the sale of housing in Wyoming.

Duncan second passion is education and the loss of vocational classes. Believing not all students are college bound, Duncan said the next generation still needs the skills to be able to get a good job. She said the cutting of vocational classes has been a “great error and disservice to our youth,” including the state’s young homeless population.

Duncan believes, with hard work and determination, she can overcome these problems for the people of Torrington and the state of Wyoming.