FOR RELEASE:
October 14, 2005
For more information contact:

Tom Lacock, Wyoming Business Council
Office: 307.777.2834

Karim Kahn, Editor in Chief, Business Facilities
44 Apple Street, Suite 3
Tinton Falls, NJ 07724
Web site: www.BusinessFacilities.com
Phone: 1-800-524-0337 x290

Business Ready Community program honored by Business Facilities Magazine

CHEYENNE – The Business Ready Community Grant and Loan (BRC) program, administered by the Wyoming Business Council, will be honored by Business Facilities Magazine with an Economic Development Award in its December issue.

Business Facilities’ Economic Development Awards (EDa) program brings national recognition to state and local economic development organizations, utility companies, corporations, and individuals whose leadership and ability to partner in new and creative ways are paramount towards meeting economic challenges. Three tiers of awards (Gold, Silver, and Bronze) will be given in the “Best Program” division of the Economic Development Awards, plus honorable mentions. The overall winner will be distinguished with The Platinum Award and one award is given in each tier.

This year’s Platinum winner was The North Dakota Department of Commerce’s Ambassador Program. The campaign was a relationship-based program using the University of North Dakota’s alumni base for business leads and solutions, as well as helping fund a venture capital account.

The Wyoming Business Council was awarded the silver tier with its Business Ready Community program. The Business Ready Community Grant & Loan Program (BRC) provides financing for publicly owned infrastructure that serves the needs of businesses and promotes economic development within Wyoming communities.

“Business leaders rarely choose states - they choose communities," said Gov. Dave Freudenthal. "I'm proud of the state's efforts in giving our communities an advantage in that process, and I'm pleased that they have been recognized outside of the state, too. This is a program that we can and should continue well into the future; I believe we will be more than paid back by a diverse economy in the long run.”

That infrastructure served by the Business-Ready Community Grant and Loan Program includes water, sewer, streets, telecommunications, airports, right of way, land, spec buildings, or amenities within a business park, industrial park, industrial site or business district or other appropriate physical projects in support of primary economic development. Educational development infrastructure, such as workforce training facilities are eligible. Recreation facilities, landscaping and convention centers are also eligible.
Cities, towns, counties, joint powers boards are primary applicants for the Business Ready Community program.

To date, 45 awards have been given to cities and counties in Wyoming for over $43 million. An estimated 1,140 jobs have been created or retained thanks to the BRC program.

For a complete list of BRC projects throughout the state, see the Wyoming Business Council BRC Page. A 12-judge panel, all of whom are also part of Business Facilities’ editorial advisory board, made the Economic Development Award selections for Business Facilities Magazine. According to Business Facilities Editor-in-Chief Karim Kahn, the judges are asked to grade the programs on three categories: innovation, effectiveness and pro-business impact.

“This is the 13th year of our awards, which we write up in our December issue,” Kahn said. “This year we asked our judges to consider the innovation – how new or original the approach is. For the effectiveness score, we were looking for numbers that really backed up and showed results. The pro-business impact is an attempt to measure if this is going to have a lasting positive effect on the community that the organization serves.”

The BRC program caught the eyes of the judges including Frank Sherwood, the vice president of Staubach Corporate Services, who said, “Creating 1,140-plus jobs in the least populated state is a fabulous achievement. The BRC grant and loan program is an innovative way to overcome the infrastructure limitations of the state of Wyoming.”

“Wyoming has taken certified sites and shovel-ready sites a step further to attract a business base. The BRC grant and loan program is unique in the country as far as I know. It certainly re-enforces the image that Wyoming is a pro-business state,” added Jan Dickinson, President and CEO of the Dickinson Consulting Group.

Established in 1968 as a national site selection magazine, Business Facilities provides monthly news and resource information for more than 40,000+ corporate executives responsible for the expansion or relocation of their companies.

The mission of the Wyoming Business Council is to facilitate the economic growth of Wyoming. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.wyomingbusiness.org.

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