William Woods is eager to make his mark as Park County’s new events manager.

Woods, 27, began his new position this week. The Wyoming native attended college in Texas, but was raised in Wyoming.

“I grew up in Laramie,” said Woods. “I lived in Laramie all through high school, I guess about 18 years.”

Woods arrived in Powell by way of Texas, where he attended college and taught high school.

He received his B.S. degree in Agricultural Education from West Texas A&M, and then moved to Lovell, where he taught agriculture.

“Once all that Covid stuff hit, I stopped teaching and went back and farmed,” he said.

Woods joins the Park County staff during a difficult transition for the fair manager position. His predecessor, Mike Garza, resigned for “health reasons” after a brief and tumultuous stint as fair manager, which Garza had combined with other responsibilities for the county. As Buildings and Grounds superintendent, Garza was also responsible for overseeing management of the county fair.

“For whatever reasons, they [the commissioners] wanted to go a different direction and I’m not the person to take them there,” Garza said in a Powell Tribune article at the time of his resignation. “Maybe it’s just time to start a new chapter.”

Dossie Overfield, a Park County commissioner and chairman of the commission, clarified that Woods was hired as events manager, not as the fair manager.

“The events includes the fair,” Overfield said. “He’ll be handling everything that goes on with the fair.

“We’re excited to have him,” the Park County chairman continued. “It’s been kind of a rotating position for a while, and hopefully we can make everything come together.”

Woods is eager to start hosting events at the county fairgrounds. He’s also jazzed about living in Powell.

Although the commission has struggled to find the right fit for the fair management position, the events manager and fair manager positions go hand-in-hand.

“With the events manager part, I’m pretty much involved with all the events that go on here,” Woods said. “The fairgrounds is like my child. If I can have every building rented, I’d be tickled pink.”

He said attracting attention to the fairgrounds as a terrific place to hold a variety of events, beyond just the annual fair, is a top priority. 

“The fairgrounds has so much potential to be a happening place all the time,” Woods said. “It’s just a matter of getting people to come here and rent the facilities … making use of all resources to make sure people know it’s available.”

To that end, the new manager said marketing and “word of mouth” about successful events are crucial.

Woods seems excited to be working in Powell, contributing to agricultural education and community events development.

“Gett’n back to the area where my grandparents grew up — getting involved with the agricultural world without having to work for family” are enticing, Woods said.

Although he has no experience running a county fair, Woods has a lifetime of experience in agriculture and personal exposure to community events, particularly youth ag activities like those conducted by Future Farmers of America (FFA).

“I’ll be working with the 4-H, FFA and county fair advisory board,” he said. 

Speaking from his Powell office on his third day, Woods said he’s still getting acclimated to the events and fair management positions.

“This is a whole new ball game,” he said. “They’re still letting me get my feet wet.”

Powell appears to be the ideal location for Woods, who is single and moved to the community by himself.

“I’m living at our old family farm,” the county’s new events and fair manager said.