Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce Business Journal Q3 2014 | Page 38

When the National Association of Field
Training Officers was looking for a location
for their 2014 conference, Bob Smith of the
Wyoming Department of Corrections stepped
up and offered Cheyenne as a host. Bob’s
next phone call was to Visit Cheyenne to see
how they could help him with planning and
bringing the conference to Wyoming.
“When Bob came to us, he was very excited
about bringing his colleagues to Cheyenne”,
said Jim Walter, Director of Convention
Sales at Visit
Cheyenne.
“His biggest
hesitation was
that he had
never planned
a meeting
like this
before and
he needed
help putting
together a
proposal for
his board,
that’s where
we came in”.
Visit Cheyenne helped NAFTO by putting
together a proposal that included three
different hotel and meeting space options,
several off-site dining ideas, a free “Live

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Development & Growth

the Legend”
welcome reception,
assistance at
registration, printing
of name badges and
lanyards and on the
ground assistance
in planning the
conference. All
of these services
were provided at
no charge to Bob’s
group.
A group such as NAFTO,
which planned for around
250 room nights over four
days, has the potential
to bring $55,000 in
direct economic benefit
to Cheyenne including
more than $5,800 in
local taxes. “That’s the
beauty of meetings and
conventions,” Walter
says, “a business or
association, or fraternal
organization brings in
100-200 people, they stay in a hotel for 2 or 3
nights, eat in our restaurants, use our caterers
and visit our attractions. They leave behind an
enormous economic impact in the community.”