Elected Officials Celebrate Economic Diversity in Park County

As the economic development organization Forward Cody celebrates ten years, visitors from the southern part of the state decided to travel to Cody to commemorate the event with the community.
Four of the state’s five elected officials made the trip to Park County this week as part of what State Treasurer Mark Gordon called “Capitol for a Day”. Gordon, along with Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow, stopped into the offices at the Big Horn Radio Network yesterday afternoon to talk about the importance of being connected to the entire state.
Gordon and Balow each commented on the importance of economic diversity, and how organizations like Forward Cody are building a robust economy around the state. From her position, Balow doesn’t see economic development as separate from her role in ensuring that students get the best education – she said the two are closely linked.

Forward Cody’s annual banquet was held yesterday evening. Just in the last year, CEO James Klessens says the organization has helped 41 businesses, including large projects such as Cody Labs expansion, the launching of Wyoming Legacy Meats and Wyoming Authentic Products, along with partnering with the ENDOW council to promote economic diversity in Northwest Wyoming.