Green River Strong

Support from across Green River, Sweetwater County, and all of Wyoming is pouring in to honor and help victims and their families who were involved in the shooting at Embassy Tavern June 23.

During the shooting, Brian Nussbaum was injured and Aaron Sadler and Jessie Wells were both killed.

Sadler was a life-long resident of Green River who worked at the Embassy Tavern for three years as manager. The family she leaves behind includes a husband and two sons. Wells was also a Green River resident and was working at The Hitching Post. Her family includes a husband and a son and daughter.

In the weeks since the shooting, the community has come together to show support for the victims and their families. Expressions of sympathy were instant, with donations coming in almost as quickly.

"It's just amazing how everybody's coming together," Tina Porter, the owner of the Embassy Tavern, said.

While fundraisers have been ongoing and will continue through August, one of the biggest events put together will happen this weekend on "bar row" in Green River. Events will go from Friday through Sunday at the Embassy and the Ponderosa Bar and will include concerts, food trucks, a pool tournament, a pig roast, Xtreme Music Bingo, and raffles and auctions.

Porter continually expressed her gratitude for the individuals, businesses, and a variety of community members who have pulled together to support the victims and their families and to make this event possible.

Some of the bands playing were originally supposed to play at the Embassy during Flaming Gorge Days, but the concerts had to be canceled, so now the bands have donated their time to support this event. Individuals and businesses have donated items for the raffles and auctions, which have been ongoing on the Embassy Tavern Facebook page and will continue through the weekend, with the winners announced Sunday. Bracelets and koozies are for sale at the Embassy Tavern. A big board has also been making its way around the bars in Green River where people can buy a square for $20. The winner will receive $1,000, but most participants have already made plans to donate the money.

All the ongoing fundraisers for the victims and this weekend's planned events have been grouped under the titles "Green River Strong" or "GR Stands Strong."

"Even though it's called Green River Strong, it's really Sweetwater County Strong and Wyoming Strong," Porter said, explaining support has come in from all across the state.

"Honestly, we are making all the other states look bad," Taylor James, a bartender at the Embassy, said. "It's spread so vastly. It is amazing, overwhelming in such a good way."

People from as far away as Farson, Evanston, Casper and more have been expressing their support, donating items, participating in auctions, and making plans to come for the weekend's events.

So far, the Embassy Tavern has already raised approximately $14,000.

"And it's still going," Porter said.

Just this week, Porter got a call from Searle Brothers Construction saying they will match up to $20,000 raised, which Porter is confident they'll reach this weekend.

"Green River has proved that we are a tight community and family, and Wyoming has proved it," Porter said. "They're not making this about anything political. They are coming to support families and show that their love and support is what we need, not hate and anger."

James thinks the small population in Green River and Wyoming help contribute to the close-knit community. Porter agreed, saying you don't get the same kind of closeness in bigger towns. Green River is built on diversity, many of which comes from industries like the mines and the railroad, Porter explained. But she believes that diversity can be a strength.

"Even though we're diverse, we come together," Porter said. "So that is just amazing to see."

Those connections become even more obvious after a tragedy.

"Because the community cares so much, it also hurts that same value when something like this happens," James said. "Everybody hurt in some sense, on some level."

"Everyone's looking at it like 'God, that could have been my kid or my friend,'" Mehgan Thomas, another Embassy bartender, added. "And I think that's why everybody's pouring in and helping out so much because they know how much it's affecting, and it is a good cause."

Thomas added it's not just this situation - she's seen the community come together over and over.

Despite regular community support, Porter recognized this situation is unique and overwhelming since something like this hasn't happened for several decades.

"I think the importance of this is that the families actually see that they're not alone going through this," Porter said. "Although we can't make their pain go away, hopefully they know that we care enough that it will lessen what they're going through, it'll lessen their pain. And it's not even about the money that we're raising. It doesn't matter how much we raise. What matters is that they were all three a part of our lives. We want their families to know that if they need us, we're here. And not just the Embassy but the entire community. We're here for you."