Wells Fargo Gives Largest Gift for Leadership Wyoming

Feb. 8, 2002 -- Wells Fargo Bank has contributed $50,000 to support the Leadership Wyoming endowment fund, the largest corporate gift for the program to date. The contribution will be matched by state funding for University of Wyoming endowment gifts, bringing the total contribution to $100,000.

A joint program of UW and the Wyoming Heritage Foundation/Wyoming Business Alliance, Leadership Wyoming was created in 2000 to develop committed, knowledgeable and action oriented people to serve as catalysts to promote positive change for Wyoming.

"Wells Fargo believes it has a responsibility to help make the communities we serve better places to live and work," says UW alumnus Tom Honig, CEO of Wells Fargo Banks in Wyoming and Colorado and UW Foundation director. "As part of that commitment, we are proud to support Leadership Wyoming, an outstanding program that helps ensure strong community leadership in the years ahead. We also are pleased by the opportunity to double our contribution and its impact through the innovative State of Wyoming Endowment Challenge for the University of Wyoming."

Leadership Wyoming participants study Wyoming's social and economic problems; gain experience in group dynamics and team leadership; and enhance their decision making, presentational, and critical and creative thinking skills. The goal is to build a broad based pool of talented leaders who have a statewide economic perspective and knowledge of key regional and state issues.

"UW and the Wyoming Heritage Foundation are working to create a $1 million endowment to ensure the long term vitality of the program," says Rick Miller, UW vice president and co chairman of Leadership Wyoming's governing board. "We envision Wyoming in the future with hundreds of Leadership Wyoming graduates involved in state and community activities. These graduates will be informed leaders in their communities and professions, committed to Wyoming, and working together to move our state forward. This gift demonstrates Wells Fargo's commitment to Wyoming's future."

Mike Matthews, president of Wells Fargo Bank Wyoming, participates in the 2001 02 Leadership Wyoming class. "It's been a great experience, especially going to different regions of the state to learn about the issues specific to those regions. In addition, the opportunity to develop professional relationships with 39 other leaders from throughout the state is invaluable. I highly recommend this program and believe it is doing exactly what it is intended to do -- to help develop current and future leaders of Wyoming."

To support the Leadership Wyoming endowment, call the University of Wyoming Foundation at (307) 766 6300 or the Wyoming Heritage Foundation at (307) 577 8000. For information and application materials for the Leadership Wyoming program, call (307) 577 8000.

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company with $308 billion in assets, providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance from more than 5,400 stores and the Internet (wellsfargo.com). In February 2001, Fortune magazine ranked Wells Fargo the nation's most admired super regional bank for the second consecutive year and one of the top 40 "most admired" companies in all industries.

In 2000, Wells Fargo was honored as Corporate Funder of the Year by the National Society of Fundraising Executives and was featured in Worth magazine's annual ranking of America's top 50 "giving est" public corporations.

Posted on Friday, February 08, 2002