eNewsletter for Summer 2007

Council Update

The last Council Meeting was held in Jackson, WY on May 30, 2007. At the meeting, several important issues were discussed. First, a new initiative was approved that will put $125,000 into the hands of people who are actively seeking innovative solutions to some of the workforce issues we face as a state today. The Council authorized the issuance of a request for proposals (RFP) for innovative workforce solutions. Up to $25,000 will be given to each of the 5 regions as defined by the Department of Workforce Services. See which region you fall into.

In other news, Wyoming entered a proposal for the Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) grant and is being considered as part of a third generation of WIRED grants. WIRED takes a critical step in providing individuals with the tools for success and businesses the human capital required for growth. If Wyoming were awarded this grant, it would be worth approximately $5 million. Read more about WIRED.

The Council's Communications Committee put out a publication, Wyoming Workforce Outlook 2007, which discusses Wyoming's Workforce. The Outlook is now available for viewing online.

Wyoming Update

On May 30th, Rocky Mountain Power issued a press release in which it described a plan to invest $4 billion-plus dollars into transmission lines originating from Wyoming. These lines will link Wyoming power generation to Idaho, Utah, and the West Coast. Rocky Mountain Power cited improving system reliability and providing green power to the west as reasons for these investments. So, what does this mean for Wyoming? This signals continued investment in wind and other renewable energy. With this new infrastructure, Wyoming will be the logical place for future investment into green energy. These new lines will also mean expansion of Wyoming's energy market: creating new high paying jobs. View the full press release now.

In Laramie, on May 11th, Rocky Mountain Forest Products (RMFP) abruptly announced that it, and its parent company had filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy and locked their doors for good. This announcement came out of the blue for most of the 150 RMFP employees who overnight were out of work. While this story is tragic, more than half of the 150 employees registered with the Department of Workforce Services under the Wyoming at Work Network and were able to find jobs in Albany County. Prior to this incident, Albany County had a low unemployment rate of 2.6% and, fortunately, was able to absorb much of the recently unemployed. Read more about this situation in the following news articles from the Laramie Boomerang:

Legislative Update

On May 25th, President Bush signed a supplemental spending bill for the Iraq War which included language that raised the national minimum wage in phases over the next two years. The minimum wage will increase to $5.85/hour by July 25th and will transition to $7.25/hour after two years.

Featured Council Members

Jon R. Conrad

Jon R. Conrad was born and raised in Findlay Ohio. At the age of 17 he enlisted in the USAF beginning 21 years of military service throughout the United States, Europe, Korea, Japan, Thailand, Africa, Australia, Denmark and Morocco. He is veteran of Desert Shield/Desert Storm. After serving ten years in active duty he joined the USAF Reserves (1991) and continued another 11 years, retiring after 21 years of military service as a Master Sergeant (2002). Jon's entire military was spent as an F-16 Avionic Specialist taking care of all components and systems in the F-16 cockpit including communication, navigation, flight controls, electronic countermeasures to name a few. He has degrees in Aircraft Avionic Systems, Mechanical Engineering and a Masters of Business Administration. Jon also serves on the Uinta County School District No. 4 Board of Trustees. He is employed at FMC as the Green River Distribution Manager. He resides in Mountain View with his wife Lorie and children, Chase and Lindsey. Jon is honored and extremely thankful for the opportunity to serve on the Wyoming Workforce Development Council and looks forward to the future.

Bryan Monteith

Born and raised in South Dakota, Bryan Monteith graduated from a great public school system in Watertown. Early in his college career he had an opportunity to travel to and through Wyoming and determined he wanted to reside in the state. Following Bryan's Bachelors degree in education and a Masters degree in history/government/political science he was able to wiggle his way into Wyoming public schools as a teacher. His first teaching experience was in Chugwater - three years. There he taught all social science in grades 7-12. His first principalship was in Shoshoni and he worked at about every function that an administrator can be held responsible for in a small school setting - no assistants there; one year he remembers supervising 77 basketball games. After twelve years in that professional assignment, Bryan returned to Watertown, South Dakota and became the assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and personnel and worked in the district for eleven years. Watertown is a K-14 district that serves not only K-12 students but post high school students in a vocational-technical. For Bryan, post-graduate work continued and most of it was taken at the University of Wyoming during the time he was in Shoshoni and Watertown. In 1997 Bryan returned to Wyoming and became the Superintendent for Park County School District #6, Cody, Wyoming. Bryan entered the public school systems when he was five and is still there. He loves the job and the work and is making a difference for the students of Wyoming.