Honoring and empowering women

The state of Wyoming is still a principal figure in the advancement of women in government.

This past Friday, Governor Mark Gordon along with Green River High School teacher Bridgette Neilson and students from her government class hosted a special ceremony to proclaim January 5, 2025, Nellie Tayloe Ross Day in acknowledgment of the 100th Inauguration Anniversary of Wyoming's and our nation's first female Governor. Nielsen's class prepared the Proclamation during a student-lead lesson inspired by Governor Gordon's Reimagining and Innovating the Delivery of Education (RIDE) education initiative.

The event included opening remarks from the Chairman of the Sweetwater County Board of County Commissioners, Keaton West. West thanked Governor Gordon for attending to commemorate such an important event and introduced Budd Allen, who is the Chairman of the Sweetwater County Museum Board. Allen, along with museum director David Mead, were both active participants in aiding Neilson and her students with drafting the Proclamation. Allen recognized Nellie Tayloe Ross's Sweetwater County ties as she was best friends with Lucy Talaiferro of Sweetwater County. The Talaiferro family was represented by Bill Talaiferro, who aided in providing more information and photographs about Ross. Talaiferro still resides in the residence that Ross often visited. Allen went on to explain how Wyoming has played a pivotal role in achieving equality for women across America.

"In 1869 we were the first state to give women the right to vote, right here in Sweetwater County," he said. "We had the first female justice of the peace, and of course the fist female governor in the United States. At various times in history, Wyoming has led the way and is truly the equality state."

Museum board member and teacher Bridgette Nielsen followed Allen and offered more details on how Ross was elected governor. Nielsen also explained how her class became involved in writing the proclamation.

"Nellie Tayloe Ross was elected 100 years ago in a special election, after her husband, who was the sitting Governor passed away," Nielsen said. "She accomplished so much in her tenure. She fought for education, bank regulation and tax relief for farmers."

Neilson continued by explaining that after narrowly losing her reelection bid, Ross was appointed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt as the director of the U.S. Mint, which was the highest government appointment ever for a woman at the time.

Regarding the process her students went through to draft the proclamation, Neilson said, "Students first read through examples of previous proclamations, and then each student researched Mrs. Ross, choosing character traits in accomplishments they felt deserved to be recognized. Each student wrote a 'where as' statement, again modeled after previous proclamations. In the end we chose bits and pieces from each statement and included them in our final proposal."

Neilson went on to introduce several local women entrepreneurs who fittingly provided a luncheon following the event. Some of those entrepreneurs included Tami Bebee-Schwartz of Instructional Intensity, Courtney Joy of The Rock Academy, Sarah Page of SAP Virtual Resources, Sami Doak from Stellar Coffee, and Allison Dalling of Dough Momma Gourmet Cookies, among many others.

Following Neilson was student Kyle Gonzales, who said it was a privilege to be a part of the class who wrote the proclamation. Gonzales then introduced Governor Mark Gordon, stating that "Governor Gordon is committed to quality education for all."

After taking the podium, Governor Gordon recognized the presence of Senator Stacy Jones, stating that as she is "a female senator and a leader in the state, we should celebrate you in this day of legacy as well."

Governor Gordon's remarks also reflected his appreciation of how Mrs. Neilson's students taking part in writing the proclamation aligns with the RIDE initiative.

"Mrs. Neilson, your work here is everything that the RIDE is about," he said.

Gordon also gave even more history about Wyomings role in women's suffrage, explaining, "They had to send Wyoming's constitution to the Congress to be approved, and it was sent back because congress did not like the idea of women voting. The legislature at that time came within one vote of resending women's right to vote. The letter sent by Wyoming back to congress stated, 'we will wait 100 years, but we are coming with our women.'"

Governor Gordon closed the ceremony by signing and reading the proclamation, proclaiming January 5, 2025, as Nellie Tayloe Ross Day in the state of Wyoming.