Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame Announces Class of 2023

The Wyoming Hall of Fame (WCHF) has announced the 25 inductees of the 2023 class. The nominees were voted on by the WCHF Board of Directors during their annual meeting on April 29th in Casper.

There are ten different regional committees in areas of Wyoming that researched and scored over 50 nominations and submitted the top selections to the WCHF Board of Directors, along with the State Board selecting several nominees.

The Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame Class of 2023 is as follows:

Region 1

Campbell County – Marion Scott, Gillette

Crook County – Wallace Canfield and Jeff Garman both from Sundance

Weston County – Julius Frederick Bock, Osage

Region 2

Platte County – Larry D. Cundall, Glendo

Region 3

Albany County – Shirley Dawn Wright Lilley, Laramie

Region 4

None

Region 5

Johnson County – George K. Fraker, and  Carl Knudson both from Buffalo

Sheridan County – Woodrow Wilson Moreland, Big Horn

Region 6

Bighorn County – Stan and Mary Flitner, Greybull

Park County – Lewis Clifton “Sonny” Bennion Sr., Meeteetse and

Simeon Leon Thayer, Cody

Washakie County – Gary Vernon Rice, Tensleep

Region 7

Carbon County – Charles L. Vyvey, Encampment

Sweetwater County – Gary Zakotnik, Eden

William J. “Bill” Thoman, Green River

Region 8

Hot Springs County – Ross Rhodes, Thermopolis

Fremont County – Donald Sheer, Dubois

Region 9

Lincoln County – Ray C. Fritz., LaBarge

Uinta County  – C. B. Hamilton and Richard Henry Hamilton (family nomination), Fort Bridger

Region 10

Sublette County – William Patrick Dew, Pinedale,

Carl and Bud Jorgensen, Pinedale

Dru and Tawny Roberts, Daniel

Teton County – Tom Breen, Jackson

Mike Taylor, Wilson

According to the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame website, the purposes of the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame are exclusively historical, cultural, literary and educational.  WCHF’s chief goal is:  “To preserve, promote, perpetuate, publish and document Wyoming’s working cowboy and ranching history through researching, profiling and honoring individuals who broke the first trails and introduced that culture to this state.  WCHF plans to collect, display and preserve the stories, and photos of such individuals and anything else that will honor and highlight their contributions to our history.”

The induction ceremony will be held on September 15th and 16th at the Ramkota Hotel in Casper, Wyoming and is open to the public. This annual event is apart of the Wyoming Cowboy & Cowgirl Legacy Week, which was established in 2019 by the Wyoming State Legislature.