This past week I was honored to be invited to the premiere of “Code of the West –Alive and Well in Wyoming.” No, I did not have to travel to the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. The premiere took place at the Hilton Conference Center in our very own Laramie, Wyoming. Based on the book Code of the West by Mr. Jim Owens, the movie illustrates how many of the principles from this book are exemplified every day by the people of this great state.
Jim Owens’ Wall Street career spanned 40 years, including 15 years as a partner with NWQ Investment Management Company in Los Angeles. In 2004, disillusioned by one too many corporate scandals, Mr. Owens launched a second career as a social entrepreneur. Inspired by his lifelong interest in Western history and folklore, he coined the phrase “cowboy ethics” and wrote Code of the West, which focused on ways to draw attention to values rooted in the cowboy spirit. Published in 2005, the book introduces 10 principles to live by:
- · Live each day with courage
- · Take pride in your work
- · Always finish what you start
- · Do what has to be done
- · Be tough, but fair
- · When you make a promise, keep it
- · Ride for the brand
- · Talk less and say more
- · Remember that some things aren't for sale
- · Know where to draw the line
In recent years, Mr. Owens established the Center for Cowboy Ethics and Leadership. Traveling cross country giving lectures, Mr. Owens discovered that there is one place on earth where the code of the West is still very much alive—Wyoming. In early 2009 a group of Wyoming business men approached Mr. Owens with the idea of creating a movie based on the concepts from his book, thus planting the seed for “Code of the West –Alive and Well in Wyoming.” The University of Wyoming Foundation headed up the fundraising for the movie with Kent Noble spearheading the effort and who subsequently became associate producer. Various donors included The McMurry Foundation, The Anschutz Foundation and the University of Wyoming, College of Business. The hardest job, according to Mark Zaback, President of Jonah Bank in Wyoming, was selecting people to interview for the movie. Starting with 450,000 people (for those of you not from Wyoming, this is roughly our current population), a committee narrowed the pool down to around 100. From there they selected about a dozen people who truly exemplify the Code of the West.
The result, “Code of the West –Alive and Well in Wyoming,” is a 30-minute movie that portrays what makes Wyoming such a special place with its people who are rugged individualists with high moral standards. The individuals exposed in the movie include politicians, business leaders, ranchers, rodeo cowboys, students, and a rodeo queen, just to name a few. Names range from celebrities such as former U.S. Senator Al Simpson and Wyoming’s number one philanthropist Mick McMurry, to representatives of business and ranching communities such as Jack Bedessem, President of Tri Hydro Corporation, and Lisa Shepperson, fourth-generation rancher and State Representative for Natrona County.
The movie is as touching and emotional as it is motivating. On one hand it is disconcerting that the values detailed in Mr. Owens’ books are increasingly absent in our society, yet on the other hand there is a great sense of comfort to recognize that our own community does hold and practice those values. When the movie is released to DVD, it is our plan here at Handel to share the movie and its message with everybody we do business with—from employees and stakeholders to customers and prospects. The Q&A period after the premiere revealed to the audience that the motivation behind the release was not for commercial gain, but rather for passing on the message. Incidentally, it is probably not a coincidence that the Anschutz family of Denver, CO contributed to this movie. One of their philanthropic endeavors is the Foundation for a Better Life whose primary mission is to spread healthy values through billboards and TV campaigns with their famous “pass it on” taglines. “Code of the West –Alive and Well in Wyoming” seems like an excellent vehicle for passing on the message of the Code of the West to many people. We at Handel are motivated to help pass on the message and this blog entry is the first of many efforts for this endeavor. In these difficult times we think that a lot of people may find comfort and a new sense of hope through this great film about a great state.
Watch the trailer for “Code of the West –Alive and Well in Wyoming.”