Transplant Entrepreneurs Feel at Home in Wyoming
Published Dec 16, 2008
Renowned animal-training expert Robin Wiltshire started the Turtle Ranch in Dubois after coming to Wyoming from Australia.
For years, people based their living arrangements around their jobs, often relocating to major metropolitan areas in search of better opportunities.
But these days, many people are putting quality of life first, reclaiming their small-town roots and a more relaxed pace while creating big success.
Australia native Robin Wiltshire relocated to Wyoming in the 1980s, opening Turtle Ranch just outside of Dubois in the northwest corner of the state. A renowned animal trainer and film production professional, Wiltshire has worked with a host of big-name clients – including the Merrill Lynch bull and Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales.
Wiltshire works with all types of animals, from horses and mules to cattle and pigs. And thanks to his experience behind the camera, he also has built a reputation for scouting prime Wyoming locations for film production.
After working in Asia for more than 10 years, Kent Holiday decided it was time to return to the small-town lifestyle he enjoyed as a child. He also recognized the need for better and more efficient language and communication-skills training for those in non-English speaking countries. Holiday found that he could fulfill both dreams while visiting his in-laws in Ten Sleep, population 304.
Started in 2006, Eleutian Technology employs Wyoming-based certified teachers to teach conversational English to students living in Asia via high-speed videoconferencing technology.
From two teachers working in office space donated by the local school, the company has grown to 250 teachers in nine Wyoming locations and one coming online in Utah, Holiday says.
“We’re able to recruit excellent teachers, and the fiber-optic network is world class,” he says. “Best of all, this is the kind of town where neighbors know each other, the kind of peaceful lifestyle people enjoyed in small towns 50 years ago.”
Holiday credits the company’s success with support of regional and state officials, such as Gov. Dave Freudenthal, the Wyoming Business Council and Wyoming Department of Workforce Services.
“I feel so fortunate to be able to do what I love,” he says. “I run a global business, live in one of the most beautiful places in the world and provide jobs in rural America.”
Story by Amy Stumpfl
Photo by Jeff Adkins
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