Wendy Corr:
Well, hey there, folks. Welcome to the Roundup! We're a Cowboy State Daily podcast, and our focus is on interesting people in the Cowboy State.
And we've had so many wonderful guests over the past over a year now, whether their interests are history or Wyoming, cowboys or just so many different aspects of life here in the Cowboy State. And our guest today, he pulls them all together. He is Gene Bryan.
And Gene was, for years, the head of the Wyoming tourism office. He has been involved in Cheyenne Frontier Days and was the head of Frontier Days for many years. He has had his fingers in all of those pies and knows all of the characters. And so I am so proud to call Gene my friend. Hello, Gene! We're so glad to have you on The Roundup today.
Gene Bryan:
Well, Wendy, it's my pleasure to be here. I'm not sure how interesting I am, but it's good to be with you.
Wendy Corr:
This is the problem. Every time I would ask Gene to be a guest he would say, ‘Oh, I'm not that interesting.’ Let me tell you, folks, Gene has had such an interesting career. I mean, Gene, you were the head of the tourism office when the 1988 fires in Yellowstone were going on. You've been instrumental in getting Team Wyoming, you have just had so many amazing interests.
And I first met Gene when he was the chamber director in Cody, and that was back in the early 2000s. Gene, you have lived all over the state. You've known people in all parts of the state. We're so glad to have you here with us today.
Gene Bryan:
It's my pleasure. My pleasure.
Wendy Corr:
Gene, you are a Wyoming native, and not everybody that we talk to has that ability to say that. Tell us about growing up Wyoming, Casper, Wyoming and Cheyenne, Wyoming, of your youth.
Gene Bryan:
Well, born in Casper, my dad was in the trucking business, and so we lived in Casper and Wheatland, and ended up in Cheyenne and went to went through the fifth grade in Cheyenne. And then my dad got the wild hair that he was going to set the world on fire up in Idaho. So we moved to Pocatello, and I ended up in three schools that year, in the sixth grade, Burley and then back to Casper.
And then a tragedy hit our family. We lost an uncle in a tank explosion in 1953, and so that brought us back to Cheyenne. And so I went through junior high and was one of the last graduates of Cheyenne High School, when it was still a single high school.
So then on to the University of Wyoming, where I majored in journalism. And the last two years, well, first off, one of the things I was proud of was I was Bill Young's first assistant, in the Sports Information Office at the university.
And then the last two years I was there, I was sports editor of the Boomerang, so I was going to school full time and working 50 plus hours at the Boomerang and thinking I had the world by the tail. So it was, it was a fun time.
Wendy Corr:
At that age, you probably did have the world by the tail.
Gene Bryan:
That was just what you did.
Wendy Corr:
That's what you did, yeah, oh my gosh. So I love the fact that you've got this journalism background, and that was your love. And you took that journalism background and you took those skills, and you left Laramie and went on to do some other journalism work. Tell us about leaving the state and coming back.
Gene Bryan:
Spent two years with uncle, military intelligence, the oxymoron division, as George Carlin was fond of saying. Got to spend time in Georgia and then up in Baltimore and then stationed for a year and a half in the Seattle area.
Went to work for the Portland Oregonian right out of, right out of the army, and they had just come out of a five year strike to defeat the newspaper guild. So when I went down there, I was low man on the totem pole. But it was a good experience for the brief time I was there.
One day, I was sitting on the city desk answering the phone, and I pick it up and say, Portland Oregonian and, ‘Gene?’ ‘Russ Albaugh. What are you calling me about?’ Russ Albaugh was the publisher of the Boomerang. He said, ‘I need a managing editor.’ And I didn't say it to him, but I thought, ‘Would tomorrow be too soon?’
So anyway, Sharon, my first wife, and I, picked up and we moved back to Laramie, and we spent several years as the managing editor of the Boomerang. And then I had worked with Tony Bevanetto. Tony had been the classified advertising manager, and then he had gone on and joined the Frank Norris team at the Wyoming travel commission.
And in 1967 the legislature authorized a fourth professional position, and Tony called me one day and said, Are you going to apply for this job? And I saw it come across, and said, ‘I don't think I qualify.’ He said, ‘You will qualify. You will apply for this job.’ So I did, went over, interviewed, and ended up getting the job, and spent the next seven years as news and information director, and then ultimately as the assistant director to Frank Norris, when Tony left to go with the Park Service.
So then my brother and I got the wild hair that we could be an advertising agency, so we left the travel commission for the first time and started up an ad agency that lasted about 10 years. And one of our first clients was Cheyenne Frontier Days. And so that's about 1977.
Duane Von Krosigk was the general chairman of Frontier Days, and he had decided that it was time for a change at the executive director position, and so he asked me to come out and be the executive director. And so I visited with my brother, Mike, and wife Sharon, about leaving the agency and going to work for Frontier Days.
And my brother said it best - he said, ‘You would hate yourself forever if you didn't do that.’ So he said, Go with for it.
Wendy Corr:
Had you already developed a love for rodeo at this point?
Gene Bryan:
Oh, yeah. I mean, when you grow up in Cheyenne, you either love it or hate it there. You know, there's this very little in between. But yeah, I had loved it as a kid. I mean, I go back to the days when they used to have the old potato races out on the track and kids rode calves and we had the chuck wagon races. And, yeah, it was part of your DNA, if you loved rodeo. And so it was a natural.
And then my dad was on the committee, okay, night show Chairman one year. And then he was appointed the Indians committee chairman. And then we had to move to Casper for the trucking business. So he had to resign. So he only spent one year. So I had a connection to Frontier Days.
Wendy Corr:
Okay, so you have been, now at the boomerang. You've been at the Wyoming Office of Tourism, which was still called the Wyoming travel commission, at that point, right? So then you'd said, You know what, I'm going to take a leap. I'm going to go ahead and go to Frontier Days, and I'm going to hitch my, hitch myself to their wagon. And how long? What was your position there? You were the Executive Director?
Gene Bryan:
I did all of the marketing. I brought that with me from the agency, and did all of that. Did a lot of typesetting and the whole bit. I mean, it was fun, it was a lot of work, but it was fun.
And then in about 19, what, 1984, the PRCA votes to move the National Finals Rodeo from Oklahoma City after a very successful 20 year run to Las Vegas.
I was approached by one of the members of the Winston rodeo team, they were the major sponsor, about becoming the general manager of promotion for the national finals in Las Vegas when it moved.
Wendy Corr:
No way.
Gene Bryan:
And so I again, had to make a decision, and it was to leave something I loved, Cheyenne Frontier Days, but moved to that next level of rodeo marketing. And so on April, 1 April Fool's Day. I don't know if that's appropriate. I started work with Las Vegas events in 1985, and spent the first three years with the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.
And I think that that really is one of the exciting things for me, is that when we got there, Las Vegas had no clue what they had. They just knew they wanted it. And about performance two or three, it suddenly dawned on them that they had a tiger by the tail, and to see where it has come from, when it first got there to where it is now, I mean, that is a monumental success story.
And to have been in on the ground floor of that.
Wendy Corr:
That's exactly what I was going to say, the fact that you were on the ground floor of the NFR in Las Vegas when it first moved to Las Vegas. That was a huge feather in your cap, my goodness.
Gene Bryan:
Well, it was. And I look back on that very fondly. On the other hand, I finally ran into somebody that I couldn't work for. And it was, I think it was a situation where dementia began, had taken hold, and nobody really recognized it, but I knew that I had to get out of there. They were just trying to lead, and I I had no clue where I was going.
But just before we moved our office from our regular Las Vegas events office over to the Thomas and Mack, I get a call from Paul Smith, who was chairman of the Wyoming travel commission. He said, Would you be willing to come back and talk to the board about becoming the director of the travel commission, because Randy Wagner has just resigned?
Wendy Corr:
Oh, my goodness.
Gene Bryan:
Paul, I said, here's the situation. He says, Okay, well, what about this? I'll FedEx you a ticket. You fly out here on Saturday. We'll meet with the governor on Sunday morning. You meet with the board Sunday night. Fly back Sunday night to Las Vegas and you start work on Monday morning. Well, if we can make all of that happen, I'll do it. So I did.
Met with the Governor, Mike Sullivan, who was a personal friend as well as a fraternity brother, and then met with the board that afternoon, and I'm sitting up there at the airport getting ready to head back, and somebody slips in beside me, and it was Paul. He said, We want you to be the director of the travel commission.
And I said, well, I need to visit with Sharon, my wife and but I said, right now, tentatively, yes.
Wendy Corr:
So Sharon said, Yes.
Gene Bryan:
Well, she knew I wanted it. She did not come back with me, unfortunately, but I came back in January of 1988.
And, you know, my first chore was to go in front of the Appropriations Committee and defend the budget that I had no clue about.
Wendy Corr:
Somebody else had created it.
Gene Bryan:
Yes, got through that all right, because the legislature, you know, literally from the days of Frank Norris, the legislature has always been very kind to the travel commission, and they recognize the value that the travel commission brought to the table and the tourism industry brought to the table.
You know, it was never going to be the number one industry. That's just not, in an energy state like Wyoming, that's not going to happen, but it's always very stable, and it's a heck of a number two industry in the state - and you don't have to educate the tourist kids. You don't have to care for them on welfare. They spend their money and they go home. So it's that kind of an industry.
Wendy Corr:
So how long did you stay there at the Wyoming travel commission? Well, the first time I stayed seven years, right, left came back. And I got there in January, and then, of course, in June, that was the June of ‘88. A very good reminder to anybody in the state, it was the years of the fires.
And I would say, probably, and I'm not avoiding your question, I'll get back to it. I know that's good. The the effort we put forth on the fires of 88 probably the thing that I'm the proudest of, one in my stint with the state of Wyoming.
The legislature again stepped up, gave us an extra appropriation because they knew we had a major challenge on our hands, because Yellowstone was the lead story in every major newspaper on every television network, not just in the United States, but worldwide.
And so we knew we had a heck of a challenge ahead of us, and we put together a public private partnership, the likes of which has never been seen before. Even the Park Service, who doesn't do marketing, they gave us money to help tell the story. We got private sector money. We got public money.
All three states stepped up, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, we really, really worked hard to overcome the perception that not only Yellowstone, but all of Wyoming had burned up. We did a trip under the old USTS, United States travel service. We did a trip to Europe to talk to the travel directing agencies over there about the importance of Yellowstone, the fact that it was still there.
So obviously, when 1989 came, we were all very nervous. We had no clue.
Wendy Corr:
Sure. What did you end up with in 1989, then?
Gene Bryan:
We got all kinds of records. And they've just been going ever since.
The interesting thing is, we figured it would all be the three surrounding states coming in out of curiosity to see what was going on. The number one state was California. Number two was Germany.
Wendy Corr:
Really? So your trip overseas really did make a difference?
Gene Bryan:
Yeah. Well, that, and the fact that John Olson, who was then director of marketing and sales for, I think they were called TW services. Now, Xanterra, they were heavily involved in the international market. The Blairs in Cody were heavily involved in the international market, and that all helped.
Wendy Corr:
And you had partners. It wasn't just your office. Tell me about that. I mean, because that's one of the things that's just so wonderful and unique about Wyoming is the partnerships that these agencies, like the tourism agency based in Cheyenne, but the the daily communication, the constant communication that's happening between Wyoming Office of Tourism and all of these tourism and travel agencies, travel commissions and boards around the state. Tell us about that, from when you were there.
Gene Bryan:
The key to that, of course, was Park County travel Council, because they were heavily involved. Rick Wilder was the chamber director at the time. Claudia Wade was the head of the Park County travel Council. They were key, key members of that team we put together. And as a result of the Blairs being involved, they brought Tauck tours into the equation. And of course, TW services, John and his crazy, wild assistant, Rick Hoeninghausen, that's where we first met, and we've been friends ever since.
But they're giving National Park Service the three states. So it was just a great public private partnership. And we got the story told.
Wendy Corr:
Yes, you did. You got the story told. And like you say, numbers have been going up ever since 1989.
Gene Bryan:
They just skyrocketed. Amazing to see what's happened, even with the, you know, we've had other fires and floods. Mother Nature has her way at times. It's Yellowstone. You know, that year really taught us all a good lesson on how to deal with natural disasters and not to panic.
One of the other fun things we did, a year after the fires, our agency at the time, suggested doing a satellite media tour, and so I went up to Yellowstone in July, and I sat outside Old Faithful Inn on a stool and did 46 live interviews, starting at six in the morning till six at night. And went from the East Coast to the West Coast.
And that was in 1989, and we finished that, and the guy that was doing the satellite came out of the truck, and he said, Where did you do your TV training? And I said, I've never been in TV. Said, Yeah, you had to have been. I said, No, I didn't. I was a newspaper guy. He said, Well, you had training somewhere. And I said, well, it had to be my speech teacher in high school.
Wendy Corr:
And that's awesome.
Gene Bryan:
He said, ‘Have you told her that?’ ‘No, I haven't, but I can guarantee you I will when I get home.’
Wendy Corr:
And did you?
Gene Bryan:
Callie Milstead was her name, and she treasured that letter to the day she died. So, that was quite the period. And then we did another 10 years later with John Varley, who was the naturalist, and who had been vilified by the media and the politicians - and everything John said would happen, happened.
And so the two of us got to tell the story again a decade later. And of course, of the recovery at that time was fully underway.
Wendy Corr:
That is so great. I love that, and my heart! And the speech teacher, that is - I credit so much of my career and my abilities and skills to forensics in high school.
Gene Bryan:
Yeah, there you go.
Wendy Corr:
Absolutely, that is, that is so great. Now, how long were you there for this stint? So you started in - so this was 1988 obviously, right?
Gene Bryan:
Then we had the centennial. Oh, that was a banner year. We celebrated the centennial in 90 and and that was when the travel, recreation and Wildlife Committee was headed up by, oh, boy. I just lost her name. I didn't think I'd ever forget it. She was from Cody. I'm sorry.
Anyway, Governor Sullivan and the Centennial Commission hired the fourth and last Centennial director, and her name was Jeanne Rapp, and we were thrown together in these legislative meetings. And the legislature, in its infinite wisdom, had given the Centennial Commission all kinds of program money to do lasting legacy projects all over the state, and they did a marvelous job, but they didn't give them any marketing money.
So I filled with the travel commission to do the marketing for the centennial. So that brought Jeanne and myself together, and the last lasting legacy project was the two of us getting married in Paul Smith's backyard on October 6.
Wendy Corr:
So that just makes me, that just makes me so happy, and it genuinely brings me to tears. For those of us who knew Jeanne, she was a bright spot in any room that she walked in.
Gene Bryan:
She lit up her room.
Wendy Corr:
She did. And her loss is so recent, Gene and, and that's, that's really hard. You guys had, what? 34 years together?
Gene Bryan:
34 plus. They were 34 marvelous years.
Wendy Corr:
Yes, you guys were a team. The Gene and Jeanne Bryan team.
Gene Bryan:
You couldn't have one without the other. But anyway, we got through that, and then, boy, what year was it? I can't even remember what it was.
Anyway, Howard Robinson, I think was his last name, came in as the speaker for Bill Schilling annual meeting in Casper, the Wyoming Business Alliance - at that time it was, I think, still called the Heritage Society.
And Howard came up from Atlanta, and he was the keynote speaker, but then he was also the wrap up speaker two days later. And his last speech, he slapped that entire audience right up alongside the face and said, Wyoming, you're not ready for economic development.
Wendy Corr:
Oh, my goodness.
Gene Bryan:
And then left the stage. Everybody was just sitting there, stunned, including the governor. Well, Schilling picked up on that, and he quickly got in touch with the governor and said that he would put together a group to meet at the ranch at Ucross, if the governor and others would come up.
At that time, I was then Department of Commerce director. I had moved over when Les Colgan left.
Wendy Corr:
Okay, so what year was this, do you figure?
Gene Bryan:
Oh, wow. It had to be about 1994, 95
Wendy Corr:
So you stayed at the travel commission then for about seven years. And then you got called to go over to commerce.
Gene Bryan:
Okay, I was the public sector member on the steering committee that ultimately wrote the business plan for the Wyoming Business Council.
Wendy Corr:
Wow, once again, ground floor. Your professional journey to this point has been just so full of firsts, for Wyoming, for rodeo, for all of these things. And yet, you weren't done yet, because then you came and made your mark in Cody.
Gene Bryan:
Yeah, I was working for Paul. I was his Vice President of Sales and Marketing out at the Hitching Post, and really enjoying that job. That's where I was when Dave Freudenthal cornered me. He was getting ready to run for governor, and he cornered me - not cornered me. He found me in the hallway, and we stood there for a solid hour talking about whether the travel commission should have its own separate board and whatnot. And so when he got elected governor, he made it happen.
And so I was doing that. I was working with Team Wyoming, when Diane Shober and and Chuck Coon put that program together, and I administered that program for a couple of years, and emceed the breakfast for about 10.
Wendy Corr:
You're talking about the Wyoming breakfast at the NFR.
Gene Bryan:
At the NFR. That was a love job. I really enjoyed doing that.
Wendy Corr:
So you got to go to the NFR and be there to represent Wyoming. For people who don't know, they've got a day set aside during the National Finals Rodeo, where all the people there from Wyoming just gather and have breakfast and network and say hi.
Gene Bryan:
Honor those that have qualified for the NFR. And it's just been a great program, and one of the things that come out of that is a good relationship between tourism and the ag industry.
And that's not always been the case. I mean, there's been some head butting on many issues, but on this one, they have total agreement. Being able to honor those cowboys and cowgirls and stock has been a very, very positive program for the state of Wyoming, I think.
Wendy Corr:
Gene, one of the things when we were all having just a wonderful conversation - we went to visit you the other day, and you and Dan Miller were talking about rodeo, and it was just so fun to listen to the two of you talk about these things.
Because, of course, Dan's role in the rodeo world has been, Mesquite Rodeo and National Finals Tonight down there in Las Vegas - but the two of you were talking about how the rodeo stock is so much - their personalities are just as much a part of what makes a rodeo performance grand.
Gene Bryan:
Oh, absolutely, absolutely. Those horses and bulls and, I mean, they are so valuable too, you know. And I know there's a lot of issues about animal rights and so forth, but if people would take the time to see how those stock contractors take care of that bucking stock and all of that stock, they would, they would have a greater appreciation for -
I mean, those are valuable animals. I mean, Dan can tell you, people will pay a quarter of a million dollars for a roping horse, and they could die of colic tomorrow. It's a gamble.
Wendy Corr:
It's a gamble, but that's one of the things. And when you guys were talking about how that's something that you really want people to understand, and you wish more people knew, is that this rodeo sport, it's it's a combination. You can celebrate the Cowboys, but you have to celebrate the stock as well.
Gene Bryan:
Oh, absolutely. And then cowboys and the cowgirls would be the very first to tell you that if they didn't have quality animals, they wouldn't have any opportunity to win. And I think that's one of the developments of rodeo today, going to these tournament style formats for the larger rodeos. It wouldn't work on the two or three day rodeos. It just not long enough.
But the San Antonios, the Houstons, Calgary, Cheyenne, can go to these tournament style and that allows the stock contractors to subcontract with their other contractors and bring in their best stock for a short period of time. And those cowboys and cowgirls are getting the opportunity to compete against the very best stock that's out there.
And so it has really ramped up the whole rodeo scene, and the money is getting there. I mean, thanks to Las Vegas and the money that they're putting into the national finals - now, you know, it's never going to match anything to do with professional golf or the NBA or any of that, and the cowboys and cowgirls, I don't think would want to go there. That's one of the neat things that I've always loved about rodeo. It's a pay to play.
Wendy Corr:
You pay for the opportunity to compete.
Gene Bryan:
Absolutely. There's very few people that make money off of rodeo, and they're helping each other. You'll see Brody Kress write a saddle bronc, and the next thing you know, he's back there helping Damian Brennan get on his horse to try to outride him.
Or the steer wrestlers will get off of their horse, change the stirrups, and the guy will get on that same horse and go down every - or you'll go over on the other side and haze for him too, you know. And they're competing against the animal, not against each other.
Wendy Corr:
It's a community.
Gene Bryan:
It's a community, very much so. It's a family. They support each other, they police each other. Seen that happen, and you know, if something happens, they're the first there to help.
And the one funny thing that happened my first year in Las Vegas, the bull riders stayed down at the Four Queens hotel, and after the rodeo, we made a visit to all of the host hotels to see how it had gone for them during the week.
And Sherry Trotter was the little gal that was Sales Director down there, and she said, Gene, we'll take those bull riders every year. She said, I have never been ‘ma’am’-ed so much in my life. They are so polite and appreciative of everything that we did.
And I don't think that has changed over the - Can you believe it? It's going to be 40 years this December, all but one year it's been in Las Vegas.
Wendy Corr:
Yeah, that was COVID.
Gene Bryan:
Exactly.
Wendy Corr:
Isn't that amazing? And you've been there from the ground floor of this. And it just, to me, is a tribute to the work ethic that you have, to your personality, to your pure love of the sport - even though you've never been a competitor, you just purely love the sport, and you've been a fantastic advocate for it.
Gene Bryan:
Well, I like to tell people I'm dumb, but I ain't stupid, so I never did compete.
I think the other thing that I wish there were more attention to - as you see what's happened in Las Vegas, National Hockey League, National Football League, Major League Baseball moving there in a couple of years. Really, you know the NBA is going to be there before long.
And it all started with the NFR. Because December was, there, was a wipeout month. They closed December, open December 31 for New Year's Eve. Other than that, December went dark in Las Vegas - until the NFR came.
It's pretty easy just to say that it's probably one of the sports capitals of the United States, maybe even of the world.
Wendy Corr:
So again, ground floor. Gene Bryan, one of the things that just really strikes me is how rodeo has just been a thread throughout your career, and whether you were probably reporting on it for the Boomerang, or whether you were, you know, Cheyenne Frontier Days, or with Las Vegas with the NFR.
And then you go back to Cody. You are part of the team Wyoming promotion while you're in Cody, right? That's happening at the same time, right?
Gene Bryan:
Yeah, yeah.
Wendy Corr:
So you came to Cody which, of course, Cody Nite Rodeo, the Cody Stampede. I mean, all of the things. Cody is rodeo, we are very proud of that. So coming to Cody had to really be a highlight for you.
Gene Bryan:
Oh, it was. And I think one of the real highlights there is that the Stampede committee is very dedicated. I mean, those guys work hard and and, you know, I consider a lot of those folks very close friends to this day, even if I don't see them.
But one of the real highlights was watching a young guy work out in the arena at the night rodeo, and, without question, Dusty Tuckness is the greatest of all time. And I've had the opportunity to tell him that, and he's here in Tucson this week. I just gave it up that I'm in Tucson.
He's one of the bright, shining stars for Wyoming and he hasn't forgotten that. I know he splits a lot of time because he's on the road constantly. He's much in demand. And this guy performed last year - I mean, he fought bulls last year with a broken arm most of the season, and and he just he is, without doubt, the guy that has made bull fighting in the rodeo arena the athletic event that it is today.
Wendy Corr:
I agree.
Gene Bryan:
So I got to see him start in Cody, and it's been fun to watch him develop.
Wendy Corr:
Oh, I agree. Oh, my gosh, we're so proud of him in Park County. Gene, when you got done in Cody, that was kind of your official retirement. You decided, Okay, now we're just going to go have fun. So you and Jeanne went and had fun, which is what brought you to Tucson as well. Correct?
Gene Bryan:
Yep, we got in the motor home and had no clue where we were going to go. We knew we're going to go see my dad for his 92nd birthday. And as it turned out, that was his last event. We were going to spend a month in Las Cruces, New Mexico. We had two criteria, warm, and a university.
Wendy Corr:
But one of the things that you love about the university, and it goes back to again, your love for sports, is you wanted access to those college sports because you think that, from your perspective, that's the pinnacle and the best of sports?
Gene Bryan:
Yes, no question, I I love college sports so much more than professional, although college now has become professional. But yeah, and we had access to - for a time we were season ticket holders of football, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball.
But one of the real highlights that happened is that we found out that Tucson is really a hotbed for live theater. And so really the last, oh, eight years, we've been season ticket holders in two live theater performances.
So in addition to the sports, we got to really experience the live theater. And it's, it's second to none. I mean, it's every bit as good as Chicago, Seattle, Minneapolis, even, even Broadway. I mean, they're good.
Wendy Corr:
That is absolutely fantastic. Gene, this has been such a fun conversation, and I have enjoyed it. I've just enjoyed it thoroughly. Are there things, looking back at your life, when you look back at your time in Wyoming, all of those years, is there a time where you really felt you know, it just doesn't get any better than this? Whether it's your interactions with people, whether it was the team that was around you, whether it was the place that you lived. Can you say, I look back at this and this is the shining moment?
Gene Bryan:
Well, there wouldn't be one. I think when, as we've gone through this litany, I was very blessed to have three of the best jobs any part person could ever hope for when you think about - being director of the Wyoming travel commission, being a general manager for the National Finals Rodeo in its infancy in Las Vegas, and then, frankly, being the chamber director in Cody.
The neat thing about that job was I wasn't building a resume anymore.
Wendy Corr:
That's true.
Gene Bryan:
I could go in and, with the board support, we could try some stuff. And one of the things that we got done was that we split economic development off from the chamber functions. And, you know, I don't know the final result, we probably won't know that for another 50 years, but it was worth a try, and we got it done.
So to have those kinds of jobs and and love every minute of it, that would be the highlight. And then the people I got to work with, some really talented, creative people, and only ran into two that I couldn't deal with over the career. So that's pretty good.
Wendy Corr:
That's a pretty good batting average, right there.
Well, Gene, I am so pleased that our paths crossed 20 plus years ago, and it has just been a joy to have this conversation with you today and to relive and let those highlights of your life, and those moments in your life, and those transformations in the world that we know, whether it's rodeo, whether it's tourism, whether it's Yellowstone, to be able to talk about those things from your perspective, because you had such a unique perspective on all of those things. This has just been a gift.
Gene Bryan:
Well, thank you. It's been my pleasure.
Wendy Corr:
Well, it's been my pleasure too. And folks, I hope it has been your pleasure as well, because I tell you, when we have people like Gene Bryan, who are from Wyoming, who have lived and dedicated their lives to Wyoming culture, to Wyoming heritage, to all the things that make Wyoming unique, that tells you what a special, special place we are at. And I just can't imagine a better place. And I'm so glad that Gene Bryan, you have made your mark on this state.
Gene Bryan:
Thank you. My pleasure.
Wendy Corr:
Well, it's ours as well. Folks, thank you for tuning in today. Thanks for being a part of our conversation with Gene Bryan. Don't forget, you can either watch this, share this conversation with anybody you know who might find all of these topics very interesting. And of course, if you have an idea for other fascinating people to have on the Roundup, as my guest on the Roundup, I would sure love to hear from you about that.
But until next week, have a wonderful week, folks. Don't forget to tune in. We'll talk to you soon.
