Building the Wyoming We Want

The High Plains Initiative
A Joint Effort of the Platte and Goshen County Economic Development Corporations

CONTACT
Anja Bendel, High Plains Economic District Executive Director  307-331-0012, anja.bendel@gmail.com
Dan Brecht, Platte Co. Economic Development Corp. Director 307-322-4232, info@pcedwyo.org
Lisa Johnson, Goshen Co. Economic Development Corp. Executive Director 307-532-5162, progress@gcedc.com

CHEYENNE  – Gov. Dave Freudenthal has sent a letter offering congratulations to residents of Goshen and Platte counties for their selection as a pilot project of Building the Wyoming We Want (BW3).

• 2010_0301_Governor_High_Plains_Letter
• 2010_0301_Governor_audio_High_Plains
• High Plains Intiative web page

At the conclusion of the second Building the Wyoming We Want conference in June of last year, Freudenthal issued a challenge to communities, counties and regions across the state to help BW3 initiate a long-range visioning project to help guide growth and development.

“I was pleasantly surprised at the responses to that challenge, and am particularly delighted that Goshen and Platte counties have stepped forward to be the first regional project for Building the Wyoming We Want,” Freudenthal said in his letter.

“I will continue to offer my support and encouragement as your regional initiative moves forward,” Freudenthal said. “This is important work, not only for your communities, but for the rest of the state as they watch to see how it’s done, and learn from your results.”

The High Plains Initiative of Platte and Goshen counties is sponsored by the Platte County Economic Development Corp., the Goshen County Economic Development Corp. and the High Plains Economic Development District. Leaders from those groups are working with county commissioners, elected officials and residents of local communities in both counties who are eager to participate in designing the future for the next generation of residents.

According to Terry Cleveland, chairman of the BW3 Advisory Committee, the effort will be led by a steering committee of local residents. “Building the Wyoming We Want will serve in a support role by providing staffing, facilitation, guidance and financial support,” Cleveland said “but it’s the residents who will come together and think about what they want this region to be like in the future.”

 The High Plains Initiative process will focus on four broad goals: to engage citizens and stakeholders in activities that explore growth issues and choices; to develop a range of scenarios based on public preferences; to explore consequences and implementation options for each scenario; and to create a vision and a strategy for Platte and Goshen counties based on the values of the residents.

“Broad public participation is the key to the High Plains Initiative’s success in helping us preserve the best aspects of how we, our children, and our grandchildren will live in this region,” said Lisa Johnson, Executive Director of the Goshen County Economic Development Corp. “and we hope everyone will participate in a series of workshops throughout both counties to talk about growth and gather ideas for our future.”

Dave Freudenthal: “Congratulations to Goshen and to Platte County for stepping up and being the pilot project for Building the Wyoming We Want. It’s a regional effort, guided by the local communities and the counties and the people involved. We look forward to supporting it.”

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This entry was posted on Monday, March 1st, 2010 at 10:54 am and is filed under Press Room. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.