GILLETTE - When 24-year-old Brandi Benson moved back here last year, it wasn't for the city's exciting night life or the wealth of activities and amenities the community has to offer. She moved to the area simply to be closer to family.

After graduating from Hastings College in Nebraska and doing an internship with Disney in Orlando, Fla., Benson wanted to be around family and start her career in a smaller community.

"I thought it would be good to come back here, spend time with my family and get a job that would sort of be a springboard for my career," she said.

While Benson is happy to be in Gillette now, she has other plans for her future. This spring she'll compete in the Miss Wyoming pageant in hope of earning a scholarship to attend graduate school. After that, she isn't sure where life will take her, but most likely it won't be in Gillette.

Benson isn't the only young adult with plans outside Wyoming's borders. With rapidly aging statistics across the state, communities are scrambling to attract the younger generation.

Gillette's median age was 33.8 in 2005, the last year for which data was available. That's still quite young compared to the state's median age of 38 the same year. But despite the increasing number of jobs available in the area, Gillette's median age is slowly creeping up.

"It's getting older," said Ruth Benson, executive director for Campbell County Economic Development Corp., who is not related to Brandi Benson. "When I came here 10 years ago, it was 29."

Finding what they want

Attracting young people is becoming more of a challenge for cities across the country. But Ruth Benson said the key to attracting the younger generation to the area is listening to them and creating a community where they'd want to live.

"Young people have to tell us what they want, then it's our job to listen to them and help," she said. "The first step is young people deciding what young people want."

A significant aid in learning what the younger population desires is the addition of Gillette's new young professionals group, FUEL Gillette. Founded late last year, the group already boasts a membership of 65 people.

"It allows us to have a stance on things representing young people in Gillette," said Josh McGrath, president of FUEL Gillette.

The new group provides opportunity for young people to get out and meet people with similar interests. With monthly meetings that highlight amenities in the community and four committees - membership, mentorship, education and networking - more young adults are becoming active in the community.

"If you're young and single, getting out and meeting people is the biggest difficulty," McGrath said. "We're giving people a chance to get out and meet new people."

McGrath hopes that once people are involved with FUEL Gillette, they'll find it easier to get involved in the greater community. Through programs and opportunities offered by FUEL Gillette, McGrath hopes that people will be able to see Gillette for all of its positive attributes and help come up with ideas to overcome some problem areas or shortcomings.

Adding amenities

Not only is it important to give young adults a voice and opportunity to network with others, but it's also crucial for the community to become more attractive to young professionals to keep Gillette young and growing, Ruth Benson said. It's no longer enough for Campbell County to have high-paying jobs to attract people, because younger generations are looking for more amenities that bring a higher quality of life.

"Wages are not going to be so important as quality of life," Ruth Benson said. "Amenities are going to be what draws young people to the community."

Work and a new adventure brought Jeff and Sharon Fox and their two daughters to Gillette. Wanting a change of pace from where they had always lived in Missouri, Jeff transferred with Home Depot last spring.

"We wanted to move to Wyoming, and Gillette was the only place there was an opening," Sharon said.

So far, the couple has enjoyed the amenities here, taking advantage of art classes at the Advocacy for Visual Arts Center and story time at the public library for their 2-year-old daughter, Zoe. Gillette also has better facilities and more programs for their 11-year-old daughter, Andie, than the small Missouri community where they came from.

"It's all a little bit better," Sharon said. "There's more in the library, better books."

With all of the current facilities and several public projects in the works - from a new recreation center to a multi-events center at Cam-Plex and expansion at the college to additional elementary schools - the community is slowly growing and adding features that could attract the younger generation.

"I think the stuff they're building at the Cam-Plex is great," Brandi Benson said. "Hopefully they can get bigger events to come to Gillette."

As a sports announcer for Basin Radio Network, Brandi has seen the crowded gymnasium at high school athletic events. She said it's time for Gillette to add other sporting events outside of high school. With a new rodeo team at Gillette College, other collegiate sports may also be added in the future.

With new Internet coffee shops and Laundromats, Gillette is becoming a place young people will want to call home, Ruth Benson said. More technology and facilities will keep the community young and growing. The lack of a mall and a large selection of restaurants makes it difficult for Gillette to remain competitive with larger cities, including Denver or even Rapid City, S.D., and Casper.

"They're going to go to communities that have amenities available," Ruth Benson said. "Young people look at those as progressive."

Fixing problems

As the community has increased by the thousands during the past few years, it's still trying to catch up with the rapid growth it has experienced. Most of the new facilities in the works won't be completed until 2009.

"I don't think anyone anticipated Gillette would grow so quickly," Brandi Benson said.

One of the biggest issues with the increased population has been the lack of affordable housing. Though Brandi Benson found housing for a reasonable-for-Gillette price of $650 a month after living at home for eight months, most other rentals are more in the $850 to $1,000 range.

"I think I got a very good deal compared to what other people pay around here," Brandi said. "I was just lucky enough to have a good job that I could pay that price."

Ruth Benson echoes Brandi's sentiments, and that's why the economic development organization has taken time away from its worker recruitment campaign to focus on finding more affordable housing for those who are moving to the community.

"With the lack of housing, it became negative publicity," Ruth Benson said. "We need more affordable apartments."

Even with several apartment complexes in the works, there will still be a huge lack of affordable housing because rental prices for those new facilities will mostly likely start at $950 for a one bedroom. Though Ruth Benson's group is working with several other community organizations to come up with an answer to the affordable housing dilemma, no plans have been solidified, she said.

While the shortage of affordable housing has been an impediment to recruiting young people to live here, the lack of social outlets and activities also serves as a deterrent. Young adults want activities and events that will keep them busy and add to their quality of life.

"There's not a whole lot for young people to do," Brandi Benson said. "People aren't going to be attracted to a place where there' nothing to do."

The Foxes frequently travel to Rapid City for shopping and a larger selections of restaurants. While the Cam-Plex offers some good plays and events, they miss having access to concerts and cultural opportunities.

"There's not much of a music scene," Sharon said. "More music and a little more culture would be nice."

Though many bars attract young adults and offer a small social outlet, those places involve drinking in a smoke-filled environment, which some may not enjoy. Coming from a college town and a larger metropolitan area, Brandi Benson finds Gillette lacking in many of those social areas.

"I don't know that I'll necessarily stay here in Gillette," she said. "I'd like to go someplace bigger where there's more to do."

Just across from Gillette College, ground has been broken for a new Campbell County Parks and Recreation center.

The state-of-the-art facility will offer a climbing wall, tennis and basketball courts, and a swimming pool three times larger than the current pool. Campbell County officials think this addition will be a big asset to Gillette and serve as a great feature when recruiting young people.

�When you look at some of our youth programs, the numbers are going up every year,� said Sandra Bott, senior recreation program supervisor. �We're definitely getting an increased demand for activities kids can do outside of school.�

Constantly adding new programs, the recreation center is trying to keep up with the community's demands for new activities. From new programs for preschoolers with the "Jump, Jammin and Jive" class to expanding adult softball leagues, the community has outgrown the current facility. With a completion date of fall 2009, the hope is there will be more space for new activities in the near future.

�It's going to be much larger than what we have now,� Bott said. �This place will be a lot more wide open.�

- Kim Phagan-Hansel]]->

Wyoming Center at Cam-Plex

* When: Fall 2008

* Cost: $38 million

* Size: 135,000 square feet

* Features: Ice arena, events center that can hold up to 9,000 people

Campbell County Recreation Center

* When: Late 2009 or early 2010

* Cost: $55 million

* Size: 186,000 square feet

* Features: Pool, tennis courts, three basketball courts, climbing wall, baby-sitting facility, weight room, cardio room, fitness areas, six-lane track

Gillette College Technical Education Center

* When: Fall 2009

* Cost: $36.8 million

* Size: 98,000 square feet

* Features: Diesel technology, welding and industrial electrician programs

Gillette College campus housing

* When: Fall 2009

* Cost: $8.5 million for the first phase

* Size: Four 164,000-square-foot buildings

* Features: Apartment-style student housing with kitchen/dining room for each suite

Gillette College Health Science Education Center

* When: Fall 2008

* Cost: $4 million

* Size: 13,000 square feet

* Features: Theater lecture hall, classrooms, computer classroom, laboratories for nursing programs

Downtown development plan

* When: Not yet determined

* Cost: $20 million public sector, $53 million private sector

* Features: Street improvements, greenways, plaza, canal, parking structure, pedestrian bridge, office center, townhomes, senior housing development]]->