A stakeholder committee in Campbell County and Gillette is recommending a marketing firm to advertise the area as the Carbon Valley.
The Carbon Valley initiative is aimed at creating an environment that attracts carbon-based researchers and businesses to the area. The idea is to market the county's coal resources with the hope it brings economic diversification.
Ivy McGowan Castleberry with Campbell County said the committee, made up of community stakeholders like the travel and tourism industry and local governments, has been working to select the right firm. They have decided to recommend Violet PR to the local governments to hire.
The firm's experience with similar mountain west communities, like Great Falls, MT, will be useful, McGowan Castleberry said.
"When we visited with them, they had a quite aggressive timeline for us to get things moving. This isn't going to be something where we spend a lot of time trying to figure out. They had some really great ideas to get started right off the bat. And some deliverables we can get in place within the year," she said.
McGowan Castleberry said the company will get to work as soon as the contract is settled.
Campbell County Commissioner Del Shelstad said this move means the project is finally getting off the ground.
"I'm personally ready to get on with it. It's time that action speaks louder than words. I think it's time to get something started, get some jobs created and some revenue. So I'm excited. I'm ready to get rolling," he said.
McGowan Castleberry said the company will get to work as soon as the contract is settled.
The city has its own process for handling the contract.
Have a question about this story? Contact the reporter, Catherine Wheeler, at cwheel11@uwyo.edu.
