Last winter I went to Teton Mountaineering for a pair of skis and ended up buying a complete new backcountry setup…. whoops.  After I got over the initial shock of having dropped over a grand before 10:00am on a Wednesday, I decided to do some shopping around online.  I learned that I could have bought the same gear for about $250 less online and momentarily doubted my purchase. Then I realized I certainly couldn’t have gone to backcountry.com for help fitting my boots (which, as the guys at TM know, takes a while) or gotten a great deal for getting my skis tuned.  

How about the awesome Christmas present I bought my boyfriend last year?  I got it at Teton Village Sports and it turns out I have no idea what size he wears.  Instead of having to ship it back somewhere or drive to Idaho Falls to return it, he was able to drop by TVS after skiing one day, get a store credit (because what he really wanted was a new pair of skins) and still make it to the Calico for happy hour with, incidentally, some of our friends who work at TVS.

The point I’m making is that it’s important that we spend our money here in Jackson Hole when we can.  I know that’s not always a reality, but as long as people are “thinking Jackson first” our buying habits will fall in line.  It’s in this vein that the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce decided to start a “buy local” campaign.  The Chamber will be running ads in the local media, promoting via The Lowdown (our e-newsletter), providing information on our new “buy local” website (to be announced at the kickoff party on October 14), providing window decals, merchant bag stuffers and posters for our member businesses and bumper stickers for the public.

The campaign aims to:

• Educate consumers on the benefits of buying locally. These benefits include:  more jobs, tax revenue that supports our trails, nonprofits, parks, community events, and an overall strengthening of the Valley’s economy.
• Educate consumers on the wide range of products available here in Jackson Hole and encourage them to “Think Jackson Hole First” before going outside of our local economy to purchase products.
• Encourage local businesses to patronize local vendors and businesses when possible in recognition that by buying locally they are helping to recycle Jackson Hole dollars through our community and economy.

44 local businesses businesses have already pledged money to help sustain this program by becoming founding sponsors and we received over 120 slogan entries for our “buy local” slogan contest.  We chose 5 entries and those finalists are set to find out who won the grand prize (a 3-day Stay & Play in the park, courtesy of Grand Teton Lodging Company) as well as the prizes for the runners up (including a night stat at Hotel Terra, a spa treatment at the Chill Spa, a family membership to the National Museum of Wildlife Art and a Grand Teton Music Festival BRAVO! membership) at the buy local kickoff party, October 14 from 5-7pm upstairs at the Snake River Brew Pub.  The party is open to everyone!

A special congratulations to our finalists (in no particular order):  Christie Reinhardt, Will Ferguson, Nikki Melanson, Steffan Freeman and Kevin Olson.  Interviews with each can be heard on the JH Chamber’s radio show October 13 from 3-3:30pm on 89.1 KHOL.

A special thank you to the founding sponsors of the buy local campaign who have helped make this campaign a reality and I look forward to seeing you at the Snake River Brew Pub October 14 for the kickoff party!  Questions? Contact April Hankey with the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce at 307.733.3316 x18 or april@jacksonholechamber.com.

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Attitude is the theme for this economy. We keep hearing about consumer confidence, a measure of attitude.  Depression is a really big attitude and that is exactly what the crash in 1929 created. But this time it’s different. Consider this:

There are about 9 Trillion dollars on the sidelines awaiting a safe investment but making no real returns right now.

The government is selling bonds and printing a lot of money with a falling GDP, so inflation seems inevitable. If we have inflation then the future dollars to pay back loans later will be cheap dollars!
A sensible place to move money is hard assets such as real estate (you can’t live in or rent your stock portfolio). The population continues to grow and people have to live someplace whether they own or rent.

Buying a house now is a great deal if you have some money and/or good credit. Inventory is high, prices have fallen and credit is cheap with money at about 5% on a fixed 30 year loan. Americans are used to a much higher standard of living than in the great depression and soon may grow weary of doing more with less. Sure ‘less is the new more’ but people will still want the real more.

So what is stopping us? It is an attitude of uncertainty. We are uncertain that we have hit bottom and we are uncertain about leadership. Polled likely voters recently gave congress an approval rating of under 10 percent! Without faith in leadership we tend to become frugal, cautious and more uncertain. Locally, in Wyoming, we are less influenced by Washington and can move with somewhat more confidence. Our state economy is still strong and we can be more confident. Still, many of our local incomes are generated by outside sources so we are not immune. We need tourists to come, second home buyers to spend money in shops, restaurants, on services and recreation to fuel this economy a major source is consumers buying second homes. When will they feel confident enough to do so again? They are scared and hurt - somewhat like a person who has lost a loved one, though not so emotional. They will go through stages of recovery and some people will go through those stages faster than others. Some will never feel safe again.

As a nation we are saving more than we used to do and this trend will continue for many years. Savings help build a sense of confidence and that helps defeat uncertainty. One of our best traditional savings places is our homes. Not only do they help us save but we can live in them - unlike an account at the bank. A fixed rate home loan is a fabulous hedge against inflation too.
If you need an attitude adjustment and you want to get rid of that feeling of uncertainty, real estate is still a good option you should consider.

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When everything is up in the air, you need to catch something, bring it down to earth and create a goal you need to go for.  It is all part of the “pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again” school of thought.  Sitting on a fence, or waiting for something good to come your way is not constructive.  You are the one who must make it happen. I don’t know any other way to really get anywhere in life. Don’t wait. Just do it!

This advise works for everything worthwhile in life.  It works for getting a job. It works for finding a mate. It works for building a positive life out of the chaos. Please just try this method. Look toward your future and think about where you’d like to be in five years.  This is your dream, not anyone else’s. It is what you see when you look into your secret heart of hearts and think “This is what will make me happy.” Again, this is not what your friends or parents or teachers have told you are the right paths. It is where your special combination of hopes dreams and aptitudes will lead you. Positive thought, aimed in a healthful direction is more powerful than a laser.

It is an absolute truth that action brings results, and the thought is the engine to the deed. You must dream a little dream, or envision what you desire to set in the proper direction. To some of you, this will sound a little too touchy feely, out there, or like wishful thinking. This is precisely my point. You must have wishful thinking in order to motivate yourself and align your dreams with attainable reality.

Look around you. Evaluate your current situation. If you want to change anything, then you are the one who can affect that change. Give this process a chance, and I promise you, with a little practice and persistence your dream will prevail. You can have a better life, live in a better home, choose the most positive friends, and end negative thinking with this method of looking forward to realize your dreams.

Please keep in mind that these are my opinions and observations, and do not represent the views of Diane Nodell Real Estate, Inc.

Jane Folgeman, Associate Broker
Diane Nodell Real Estate, Inc
240 E. Deloney
Jackson, WY 83002
307 732 0303 ext 11
307 413 5263 Jane’s cell

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Last week, dozens of Jackson residents again made their biannual migration to Salt Lake City for the Outdoor Retailer trade show.

Every six months, about 20,000 outdoor enthusiasts congregate at the Salt Palace for four days. Over a thousand camping, hiking, climbing, skiing and watersports brands show off their wares in the colossal building; retailers and media take notes; start-ups, athletes, freelancers and videographers get serious. And then, at about 5 p.m. each day, when the show is technically over, nobody leaves. Bottle caps pop in all directions as the trade floor turns into a free bar, and the schmooze-booze begins.

“I see people from Jackson here [at the OR show] that I almost never see in Jackson,” said Dave Simpson, a public relations specialist with Jackson-based Base Camp Communications.

Simpson has attended the show since 1995. He admits that the financial crisis appears to have dropped attendance this summer. “The talk of the show is: ‘Is traffic down?’” Simpson said, but he and most other Jackson-based attendees remain positive about the future of outdoor markets in a stumbling economy. Some believe sectors that cater to the average outdoorsman will see revenue increases, as individuals and families are more likely to save costs by recreating in the great outdoors.

Flashy booths designed to show off shiny gear are not great economic indicators. But the current of conversation that ran through the show was more telling. Many Jacksonites were optimistic.

Noah Robertson is global brand manager for Mountain Khakis, a company conceptualized in an East Jackson basement seven years ago. Their approach – simplicity – he said, remains an asset in any economy: “We’re not trying to be an innovator… we’re trying to produce classics that last forever.”

Some technical apparel companies, like Cloudveil, whose concept softshells were first sold on Teton Village Road in 1997, also have a hopeful outlook. “It’s created a leaner company that still has a core market we can focus on,” said Nick Brosnan, Cloudveil’s marketing coordinator. “Tough economic times force you to look inside and see what’s working.”

David Gonzalez, founder of the Jackson lifestyle Web site Thesnaz.com, is preparing to re-launch his site. He plans to increase quality while decreasing posts. Pitching his high-end media site to sponsors at the show went well, he said, but it’s hard to gauge success until deals are sealed months down the line. “You do foreplay of business at the show,” he said. “It’s all about the follow-up.”

Gonzales now enjoys attending Outdoor Retailer, and he sees the value in making industry connections. But he also finds the event ironic. “I think everybody has a hate-love relationship with the show,” he said. “It represents the commercialization of wilderness on an obscene scale. It’s filled with people trying to sell the outdoors, but also filled with people who love the outdoors. And that’s the problem – and here I am, doing the same thing.”

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Thank goodness we’re still a long way off from the Southern California real estate market (literally and figuratively!). There, prices fell 36 percent in April compared to a year earlier as foreclosures accounted for more than half of all sales, according to MDA DataQuick. While prices are down a whopping 51 percent from the peak, the number of sales was up 31 percent. Foreclosed homes accounted for 54 percent of all transactions for April.

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Jackson Hole businesses are adjusting to the recession in surprising ways. Instead of lowering prices, business owners say they are looking for creative ways to add value to the services and products they already provide. Instead of holding mass layoffs, they are examining ways of retaining the best employees and making them feel invested in the businesses success. And instead of burying their heads in the sand and giving up, some business leaders say they are pushing for more transparency in the workplace by keeping their employees up to date on the current climate’s affect on sales. Shop owners are sharing their books with their sales associates, so they have a better understanding of what’s really going on.

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Jackson's social services are feeling the squeeze

The Jackson Food Cupboard served a record number of visitors this week as the economy took a larger toll on the working and middle class of Jackson Hole. The nonprofit food bank provided meals for more than 300 people on Monday, a significant increase from the previous record high of 177 people fed in one day last month, according to Tommy Wood at the Community Resource Center.

Volunteer staff said a line of people waiting for the food bank to open had already filled the staircase leading to the front door by 2:30 p.m. Monday. The food bank, which is located in one of the auxiliary building basements of St. John’s Church, opens every Monday and Wednesday at 4 p.m. Staff reported selling as much as $200 worth of cereal in one hour as the cupboards shelves emptied out.

The food  bank isn’t the only social service agency reporting a significant increase in the demand for services in the valley this week, thanks to a deteriorating national and local economy.

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A little bit of sunshine in the doom and gloom economic news cycle: Wyoming’s ski resorts are doing as well or better this year than in previous years.

That’s according to an article in Sunday’s Casper Star Tribune. The story quotes Heather Falk, the tourism manager for the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce, saying that the ski hills in our valley are reporting skier visits on par with last years numbers.

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The buzz about how deeply the national recession is cutting into Jackson Hole’s economy has created rumors about a slew of downtown retail store closures.

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They say Jackson Hole is in an economic bubble and that we will not be hit as hard by the national recession. Wyoming does seem to be better protected than other areas, thanks to our natural resource-based economy. But that is changing as energy demand decreases along with oil and natural gas prices. Gov. Dave Freudenthal has urged business leaders to continue working toward diversifying the state economy.

Still, the state’s unemployment rate in the lowest in the nation at 3.4 percent, compared with a national average of 7.6 percent. The new economic stimulus plan debated in Congress this week is focused on job creation and tax relief, but local Wyoming pundits have indicated that the Cowboy State might not be seeing as much of the stimulus in job growth as other states harder hit by the economic downturn. Meanwhile, here in Jackson Hole, we seem to be getting mixed signals. Local retailers and tourism officials say sales and reservations are down. But recently released lodging statistics from the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce indicates that this holiday weekend, which brings President’s Day and Valentines Day together, advance reservations are up, if only slightly, after slumping for most of this year.

So, how are we handling the recession? Are most of us still employed? Are we going out to eat less? Skiing less? Cutting back our vacation time? We asked people around town how they were doing. Check out what some of them had to say in this short video.

And let us know how you are fairing in this poor economy. Post a comment to this story, or go on our Forum page and start your own thread of discussion. We’d like to hear from you.

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If you ever thought drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon beer would get you nowhere in life, think again.

On Saturday, you can drink a PBR at the Mangy Moose and feel like a small-town hero. But that’s only if you arrive with a nonperishable food donation for the community food bank. Moose bartenders will reward donations with a ticket good for one bottle of PBR.

The donation couldn’t come at a better time. Yesterday, the food bank reported feeding 177 people from its shelves in one day, the highest number in its eight-year history.

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It seemed like a grand idea for Jackson Hole and the rest of the state’s tourism industry: Tap into the booming economies of China, India and Taiwan by marketing the state’s natural wonders to a growing number of travelers from the region.

That was before the state’s economic analysts announced last week that the state’s budget surplus would be less than a third of what they had hoped.

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When international dignitaries like James Wolfensohn come home to Jackson Hole, we can only assume that they take advantage of all the things we love about our mountain town: the beautiful views, outdoor opportunities, and gatherings of friends and family.

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Teton County has not been immune to the recession, despite the notion that we live in an isolated economy.

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