Update: Watch the recorded discussion on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/333451774
Wyoming Rising to Present Program on Non-Citizen Employees of Park County.
March 27 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
The public is invited to an informative presentation and community conversation about the vital role non-citizens play in the economic well-being of Park County. The program will take place on Wednesday, March 27, at 7 p.m. at Heart Mountain Interpretive Center on Road 19 between Powell and Cody. The program is free to attend.
Many businesses around the country depend on an international labor force to fill jobs not sought or coveted by American workers. These positions can be seasonal or year round positions. Park County relies on many of these non-citizen workers to support tourism, agriculture, food service, and other industries.
The program, titled “Non-Citizens: Essential Employees of Park County?”, will feature speakers from the local hospitality industry, farm and ranch enterprises, and more. Wyoming State Representative David Northrup will also share his own experiences with these issues.
Panelists will address such questions as: “Who are these workers?”; “Where do they come from?”; and, “What needs do they fill?” The challenges that businesses face in hiring non-citizens will also be discussed, as will the economic, social, and cultural contributions these workers make to Park County.
Wyoming Rising is co-sponsoring the program with the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation. Dakota Russell, the foundation’s executive director, said the interpretive center is pleased to host programs like this one. “As a country, we are still struggling with many of the issues around immigration and labor that Japanese Americans faced when they first arrived here at the turn of the 20th century,” Russell said. “Open and respectful dialogue at the local level is key, and I think this program will encourage that conversation.”
For more information about this program, contact Mary Ellen Ibarra-Robinson at maryellen.ibarrarobinson@gmail.com. If your group is interested in hosting a community conversation about issues of race, immigration, or civil rights at Heart Mountain Interpretive Center, contact Dakota Russell at dakota@heartmountain.org.