[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 13, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S1840]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           CENTENNIAL OF THE THERMOPOLIS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, today I wish to celebrate the centennial 
of the Thermopolis, WY, Chamber of Commerce.
  On March 23, the Thermopolis Chamber of Commerce celebrates their 
100th anniversary at an annual banquet. What was once called the old 
Thermopolis Commercial Club incorporated in Hot Springs County as the 
Thermopolis Chamber of Commerce on February 4, 1919.
  The future of the chamber was entrusted to elected directors: 
President Guy J. Gay, Vice President C.C. Beaver, and Directors Peter 
Sill, I.W. Wright, Harris Woods, A.W. Harrigan, and C.E. Stewart. Their 
guidance laid the foundation for a chamber that continues to foster the 
growth of business and sense of community in Thermopolis.
  In an article dated February 7, 1919, the Thermopolis Independent 
Record wrote of the intended mission of the new chamber of commerce. 
``We wish to create better business, better homes, better government, a 
better community and, in general, create a better brotherhood of man. 
We ask only what is fair. All who live here are the owners of our 
community and our community is our biggest asset.''
  This spirit has driven Wyoming's people, businesses, and communities 
since its inception and will continue for generations to come. To 
further expand the chamber's embrace of community, on November 13, 
1987, the Thermopolis Chamber of Commerce passed a resolution to change 
its name to the Thermopolis Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce. This 
combined all of Hot Spring County's corner of the Big Horn Basin into 
the chamber's mission.
  The citizens of Thermopolis and Hot Springs County are blessed to 
live in a beautiful environment. Located in northern Wyoming and 
nestled on the world's largest mineral hot spring, Thermopolis is 
bordered by the Hot Springs State Park and the Wind River Canyon. The 
Owl Creek Mountains lie to the South while the Absaroka Range is to the 
West. The hot springs have been free to the public since purchase of 
the land from Native Americans in 1896.
  The construction of the railroad had a major impact on the 
development of Hot Springs County. In 1910, the Burlington Railroad 
reached Thermopolis from the north. In 1911, the Burlington completed 
its line through Wind River Canyon to the south. This gave the entire 
Bighorn Basin much better connections with the rest of Wyoming. On 
February 9, 1911, the legislature approved establishment of Hot Springs 
County with Thermopolis as county seat. County government was organized 
in January 1913. The Thermopolis Chamber of Commerce was organized just 
a few years later in an office on South 5th Street.
  For 100 years, the hard-working people at the chamber welcomed 
visitors to the area. One of today's main attractions is the rich 
prehistoric areas of Hot Springs County. The Wyoming Dinosaur Center 
offers a professional paleontological experience for the whole family. 
The center is an impressive 16,000-square-foot complex. It includes a 
world-class museum, working dig sites, and a modern preparation 
laboratory. Interpretive dig site tours allow visitors to walk the same 
ground as ancient dinosaurs and watch as scientists recover fossils 
from burial sites.
  Hot Springs County as we know it today is vastly different from 100 
years ago. It is this shared history between today's residents and 
those of the past that creates a special bond. Under direction and 
guidance from the chamber board of directors, executive director Meri 
Ann Rush and two office assistants, Kailey Dvorak and Kymberlee Oliver, 
continue the traditions of promoting Wyoming's people, businesses, and 
communities, started by the chamber 100 years ago. chamber board 
members are president Deb Tudor, vice president Pastor Sam Needham, 
treasurer Vivian Butchart, secretary Susan Linko, past president Greg 
Willson, Phillip Scheel, Barb Heinze, Robin Griffin, Kerri Manig, 
Amanda Kraushaar, Lana Nicodemus, Shelly Burrows, and middle school 
representative Jackson Reed.
  In honor of the centennial of the Thermopolis Hot Springs County 
Chamber of Commerce, I invite my colleagues to see this wonderful place 
in person. Thermopolis is the hometown of my wife Bobbi and her brother 
Mike. Her parents, Bob and Jerry Brown, continue to live there today. 
Bob served Thermopolis as the longtime postmaster, as well as in World 
War 2 and the Korean war. Jerry owned a store downtown.
  It is a great privilege to recognize this remarkable organization 
advancing Wyoming business and tourism. Bobbi joins me in extending our 
congratulations and gratitude to the Thermopolis Hot Springs Chamber of 
Commerce on their centennial celebration.

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