FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 22, 2011

CONTACT:
Mary Hogarty, Building the Wyoming We Want Project Coordinator
Phone: 307-286-2622 E-mail: mary@buildingwyoming.org

CHEYENNE - Building the Wyoming We Want today announced that Dan Kirkbride and Rich Fairservis have joined the its board of directors effective April 1.

Building the Wyoming We Want (BW3) is a nonprofit organization that encourages Wyoming residents to have a community conversation on how to handle growth and still protect our land water, outdoor way of life and the sense of community that makes Wyoming so special. BW3 is currently assisting Goshen and Platte counties with the High Plains Initiative.

BW3 is governed by a board of directors whose members now include: Dick McGinity (Chair), Bill Daniels Chair of Business Ethics, University of Wyoming; Wendy Curran, Policy Advisor, Office of Governor Matt Mead; Jeff Fuller, Principal, DOWL HKM Consulting Engineers; Dan Kirkbride, Partner, Harding & Kirkbride Livestock Co.; and Rich Fairservis, Principal, Granite Peak Development LLC.

"Building the Wyoming We Want is an admirable project and I am pleased that two such qualified and respected leaders have joined its board," said Governor Matt Mead. "I look forward to completion of the High Plains Initiative and hearing about the lessons learned from this initiative in Goshen and Platte Counties."

"With the growth of BW3, we felt that it was important to bring additional expertise and perspectives to the board to help us better serve Wyoming," said Dick McGinity, chair of the board for Building the Wyoming We Want. "Dan brings to the table his extensive background as a rancher and landowner and his service as a county commissioner. Rich rounds out the board by giving us a business perspective and day-to-day experience in guiding commercial growth and economic development."

"I appreciate the opportunity to serve on the board," Kirkbride said. "I hope we can promote discussion about the future of Wyoming that will help avoid pitfalls while preserving the wonderful aspects of life in the state."

"I am looking forward to working with the many wonderful folks in Wyoming to help Build the Wyoming We Want to leave for our children and grandchildren," Fairservis said.

Kirkbride has ranched for nearly 30 years near Chugwater as a partner in Harding & Kirkbride Livestock Co. The company, in continuous operation since 1924, has tended some of its lands dating back to territorial days. Kirkbride previously served two terms as Platte County Commissioner which included two years as the vice president of the Wyoming County Commissioners Association. His background includes work experience in both journalism and broadcasting with appearances in a variety of publications. He is past president of Wyoming Writers Inc, the Laramie Peak Stock Growers and the Wyoming FFA. A 2001 graduate of Platte County Leadership, he has nearly three decades of participation in Chugwater community, school and church activities. Kirkbride graduated from the University of Wyoming in 1975 with a B.S. in journalism. He remains a life member of the University of Wyoming Alumni Association. Kirkbride did graduate studies in theology at Regent College in Vancouver, B.C. in 1981-82. He and his wife Lynn have five children.

Fairservis is a principal in Granite Peak Development LLC, a Wyoming based developer of residential, retail, commercial, light industrial and industrial property in Wyoming, North Dakota and Arizona. He is the president and co-founder of WN McMurry Construction Co., a Wyoming-based general contractor. Fairservis was recently appointed by Gov. Matt Mead to the Wyoming Environmental Quality Council Board of Directors, and currently serves on the Natrona County Planning & Zoning Commission. He has served on the Make A Wish of Wyoming Board, Crime stoppers of Central Wyoming, DARE, Child Development Center of Natrona County, Casper Urban Renewal Association. Fairservis has resided in Wyoming for the past 55 years, including, Jeffrey City, Lander and Casper. He is an avid motorcycle rider, grandfather of six, and married for the past 34 years.

ABOUT BUILDING THE WYOMING WE WANT

Building the Wyoming We Want has grown from the seeds of ideas planted by Wyoming residents during the 2008 and 2009 conferences into a budding nonprofit organization led by a board and an advisory committee. BW3 offers an inclusive visioning process and planning resources that enable residents to decide for themselves what they want their communities to look like and how to preserve what they value about living there for their children and grandchildren. The process reflects the public priorities, including a strong value on private property rights, the voice of the public and the vision of the public.

Currently, BW3 is providing support to residents of Goshen and Platte counties through the High Plains Initiative, BW3's first project. Led by a local steering committee, the High Plains Initiative is asking Goshen and Platte residents what they want the region to look like in 2040 when the population is estimated to increase by 24 percent, as well as what qualities about their communities they want to protect for future generations to enjoy.

The growing list of sponsors of BW3 include: BP, DOWL HKM, John P. Ellbogen Foundation, Laramie Area Chamber of Commerce, Rocky Mountain Power Foundation, Anschutz Foundation, Wyoming Business Council, Wyoming Community Development Authority, Missouri Basin Power Project and Wyoming Governor's Office.

For more information, visit www.buildingwyoming.org.

-30-