Introduction

1.1 Purpose of the Economic Development Strategic Plan (EDSP)

The EDSP establishes direction for Sheridan County's short- and long-term economic
development, setting forth realistic and strategic goals and actions for the economic
development of the County. Specifically, the Plan identifies challenges to economic
development in Sheridan County and outlines strategic initiatives to address those
challenges in order to enhance business retention, expansion, and attraction efforts. By
leveraging Sheridan County's existing strengths and working proactively to address its
challenges, the EDSP aims to create a vital, diverse economy in the County.
The EDSP was developed under the direction of Forward Sheridan, Inc., the economic
development organization for Sheridan County, to support its mission of developing and
maintaining a sound and sustainable economy in Sheridan County, Wyoming.

1.2 EDSP Process

The EDSP reflects nine months of planning among the Forward Sheridan Board of
Directors and staff, the members of the EDSP Task Force, and other potentially affected
community members. Over the course of this process, Forward Sheridan and the EDSP
Task Force met multiple times to review economic data, discuss goals and strategic
initiatives, and formulate and evaluate the Plan. The Plan contains input from a diverse
set of stakeholders, including business owners, residents, City and County officials,
educators, healthcare professionals, real estate experts, developers, and other
community leaders.

The EDSP builds on findings outlined in the Wyoming Rural Development Council Rural
Resource Team Report for Sheridan, Wyoming (January 2004) ("Community
Assessment") and in Vision 2020: Sheridan County Growth Management Plan (July
2001), and reflects the values and priorities of the Sheridan County community.

1.3 EDSP Format

The EDSP is a dynamic document to be updated regularly as the plan is implemented.
The EDSP consists of Goals, Strategic Initiatives, and Implementation Actions. The
Goals describe overarching objectives that Forward Sheridan hopes to achieve through
the EDSP. Each Goal has a series of supporting Strategic Initiatives to further define the
Goals for the implementation task forces charged with accomplishing each Goal.

The EDSP also contains an Implementation Plan, which is a dynamic document to be
updated regularly as Forward Sheridan works with the implementation task forces to
develop specific action steps to support each Strategic Initiative. The Implementation
Plan outlines the timing of each Implementation Action and the lead party or agency
responsible for completing that action.

Beginning with fiscal year 2007-08, and over the next five years, Forward Sheridan will
take action to align economic development efforts in Sheridan County with the
community vision as set forth in the EDSP.