As America prepares to celebrate our 250th anniversary in 2026, celebrations and activities leading up to July 4, 2026 should tell a story of a nation founded on freedom and democracy. We are a nation of people with diverse opinions and diverse backgrounds.

When searching for 250th anniversary events, I came across a “this or that” game to pick “The Most American Thing.” It resembled a sports bracket system where winners were picked in the first round all the way down to the final four with a winner emerging at the end. Curious to see what the results might be, I made my selections and the U.S. Constitution was my winner. The bracket included American things from cheeseburgers to apple pie to cowboy hats to blue jeans to the liberty bell and more.

It made we wonder if we had a bracket for “The Most Wyoming Thing” what “thing” would surface as the winner? I’m sure each Wyomingite would have a list of items that come to the top of mind when they think of “the most Wyoming thing.” Many of those pictures would be similar and many would be different. The phrase may conjure up images of cowboy hats and boots, tractors in the field, open spaces, wildlife, rodeos, football games, coal mines, long highways and so much more. We can’t forget Wyoming’s people. While cattle may outnumber our citizens, Wyoming’s people are second to none.

Wyoming people are the “Most Wyoming Thing” that comes to the top of my bracket. The United States Constitution begins with “We the people.” The citizens of our great country are the foundation of our democracy. It is the people of our great state and America that drive this nation forward. When I think of Wyoming people, I think of salt of the earth people who will be there for a neighbor in time of need and who volunteer to make their communities stronger.

While reflecting about the work we do as an organization in a recent meeting, “the people and families of Wyoming” kept surfacing to the top. The Wyoming people and families are why we do what we do to strengthen agriculture and the communities around the state.

It’s the Wyoming people we serve through their membership in this great organization that drive the policy development process. It’s the Wyoming people who step up when called to volunteer. It’s the Wyoming people who help their neighbors in time of need. It’s the Wyoming people who steward the land and provide critical habitat for Wyoming’s wildlife. It’s the Wyoming people who work hard to keep their communities strong for future generations.

While working on important issues to agriculture families, it is not lost on me that we are fortunate in Wyoming to have access to elected officials and agency officials to discuss critical issues of importance to our state. Wyoming is unique and again, it is our people that make it unique. While differences of opinion will surface, in Wyoming we call it “The Wyoming Way” where we talk about those issues and work to keep agriculture and our communities strong by advocating for the people that steward the land and the resources to which they’ve been entrusted.

We are reminded in Philippians 2:3-4 that we are to in humility value others above ourselves and look to the interests of others. It's the people…they are my “Most Wyoming Thing.”