FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
December 28, 2006

For more information contact:
Cindy Garretson-Weibel, Director, Agribusiness Division
Wyoming Business Council
Office: 307.777.6589

Wyoming L.E.A.D. sponsors raffle to benefit Food Bank of the Rockies

CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Leadership Education and Development Program (Wyoming L.E.A.D.) will sponsor a 50:50 raffle to benefit the Food Bank of the Rockies from now until March 2007.

The winner of the raffle will receive 50 percent of the raffle proceeds and the other 50 percent will be donated to the food bank. The drawing for the raffle will take place at the Wyoming L.E.A.D. graduation on March 30, 2007 in Saratoga.

“One of the requirements for each Wyoming L.E.A.D. class is to have a group project that serves a community need,” said Cindy Garretson-Weibel, Wyoming Business Council Agribusiness Director, and director of the L.E.A.D. program

L.E.A.D. Class member Curt Aschenbrenner, Cheyenne, adds, “An estimated 50,000 Wyoming residents struggle to meet their basic food needs. Our L.E.A.D. class would like to help fill the void. Our goal is to raise $3,000, half of which would go to the Food Bank of the Rockies.”

Wyoming residents can purchase raffle tickets by contacting Wyoming L.E.A.D. Class Member Curt Aschenbrenner in Cheyenne at 307-638-8983. Each ticket is $1 and the drawing winner will receive half the proceeds.

The Food Bank of the Rockies was founded in Denver in 1978. The non-profit agency expanded its reach to Wyoming 20 years ago and in 2004, it opened the Wyoming Food Bank of the Rockies (WFBR) warehouse in Casper. From this facility, WFBR makes deliveries to 34 agencies across the state every month. Last year, WFBR distributed 2.4 million pounds of food and essential items in Wyoming.

Currently, the WFBR works with 170 nonprofit hunger-relief programs that provide food and meals for the sick, needy, or ill across the state. From small church pantries to large organizations with national support, WFBR partners with programs to provide food and essential items to Wyoming's less fortunate individuals.

For more information on Food Bank of the Rockies, visit www.foodbankrockies.org or contact the Casper office at 877-265-2172.

The Wyoming L.E.A.D. Program works to develop highly motivated, well-informed rural leaders who will act forcefully, serve effectively, and speak articulately for agriculture and Wyoming communities. For more information on L.E.A.D., visit www.wylead.org.

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.

###