Do you know what a Chamber of Commerce is? Ours is a clearing house for Niobrara County information. We offer member referrals to thousands of inquiries a year and distribute information about our community in many ways including mailed packets, “Welcome to Lusk” bags, social media, local website, telephone, and walk-in customers. Last year we had over 42,363 contacts via a variety of channels. Our Chamber of Commerce also serves as our visitor information center with a budget under $70,000 for Chamber of Commerce and Lodging Tax Board combined. These dollars are used to pay for advertising and promotions of our community, special projects, telephone, internet, director’s salary and all other expenses. While our taxable total sales were down for the county by 1.5% at $600,000, our revenue dollars for traveling was up by 2% compared to 2016, (the year 2017 was a record high due to the eclipse) at 10.3 million dollars spent in Niobrara County for the travel industry. The average stay per visitor was 2.5 days and the travel industry accounts for the equivalent of 110 jobs in Niobrara County.

We advertise our community in AAA, Billboards, Tristate Traveler, Wyoming Official Tourist Magazine, and we are currently working on ad for the TravelStorys.com app. We are members of the Wyoming State Chamber of Commerce, The Wyoming Economic Development, and The Wyoming Travel and Restaurant Industry Coalition.

Members benefit from all the advertising and promotions we take part in, but we also offer more; i.e., weekly calendar on the radio, a link on our website, listing in the Visit Lusk directory, Chamber bucks program, notary services, bulk mailing, a fuzzy warm feeling from being part of the community, and so much more. For more information about the Niobrara Chamber of Commerce, give us a call at 334-2950.

The Legend of Rawhide and related events will be happening this weekend and we encourage everyone to attend. The board of the Legend of Rawhide does an excellent job throughout the year to present a great weekend for locals and visitors. Were you also aware that there is a car show downtown on that Saturday, located by Body Builders Body Shop? Be sure to stop by and see some classic cars, trucks and motorcycles.

The Moving Wall will also be here during Legend weekend and will be available to view it 24/7 from Thursday evening, July 11th through early Sunday morning, the 14th. “The Moving Wall” is the half-size replica of the Washington D.C. Vietnam Veterans Memorial and has been touring the county for 30 plus years. Thank you to Ed Rapp for bringing this to our community. Please take some time and stop by the Niobrara County High School football practice field to see this monumental display.