The Wyoming office of tourism is running a campaign called “wildly Wyoming” that includes short films, ads, and a contest giveaway. STIO is one of the partners for a prize giveaway.

I really appreciate Mr. Sullivan taking the time to investigate the contest and craft a thoughtful response.

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My first email: 7/25/2024

Dear Mr. Sullivan,

I am disappointed that STIO is giving away prizes for the Wyoming Office of Tourism’s #wildlywyoming contest. While I know that this agreement was formed before the Cody Roberts scandal, this is not a good time to promote tourism in your state.

I hope that a caring eco-conscious company such as STIO will reconsider its partnership with the tourism office until real changes are made to Wyoming’s treatment of wolves and other predatory animals.

On a personal level, I hope you will join Wyoming residents in demanding legislative changes.

Thank you for you time and attention.

His response: 7/25/2024

Thanks for the note. Honestly we sponsor literally hundreds of initiatives and organizations each year, and also honestly I’m not intimately involved in each and every one of these efforts – our brand team drives that bus. I dug into our level of sponsorship of the #wildlywyoming program, which you are correct was formed well before the scandal, and it looks like the extent of our “sponsorship” was a $200 gift card…one of our most nominal sponsorships of the year.

That being said, I know from living in and travelling extensively all over Wyoming, that Cody Roberts is not representative of the “norm” of the residents of our fine state…at all…I am in your camp and do believe stronger state and national legislation is needed to protect all animals from cruel and unusual behavior, just not clear on the correlation you are drawing and why this relates to work with our home state tourism board, just because one super bad apple made a really stupid decision.

I sincerely appreciate you reaching out and will bring your note to my brand team’s attention for further reviews

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My reply: 7/26/2024

I hope I wasn’t too harsh in reply below. I do not expect him to reply.

I appreciate your thorough response. I understand that the $200 gift card was a minimal contribution and that such decisions are managed by the brand team.

I completely agree with you that Cody Roberts’ actions do not reflect the values of the broader community in Wyoming. While delving into this incident, I encountered people who hate wolves and “outsiders” but most shared your view.

My intention was not to suggest that one individual’s behavior should define the state or its residents. However, I connected Cody Roberts to the Wyoming Office of Tourism due to the timing of their #wildlywyoming campaign. It was disconcerting to see beautifully made ads depicting outdoor adventures in a wild landscape, with the underlying message that the state cared about nature and its wildlife. By contacting STIO and taking action on social media, I hope to 1) increase awareness of the incident and keep it top-of-mind until legislative action is taken and 2) reinforce that the tourism industry is affected by this one “bad apple”. Cody Robert may be an anomaly but Wyoming has laws in the “predator zone” that encourage cruel behavior.

I am grateful that you will bring this to your brand team’s attention. Perhaps this could be an opportunity for STIO to take a stand that aligns with your company’s values — of being caretakers of our natural resources, including wildlife. For example, STIO could partner with Wyoming Wildlife Advocates, a group that is at the forefront of fighting for legislative changes. Even the local tourism office could do its part by lobbying legislators to take their industry into consideration when making laws (instead of always favoring ranchers).

I don’t know the answers and I’m sure Wyoming residents would prefer to come up with their solutions. All I know is that staying silent and continuing with business as usual is not okay. Thank you once again for your attention to this matter and for considering my perspective.

Dear residents of Wyoming, part 2