Volunteer of the Month - Amanda Bruder (January 2021)
The Rock Springs Main Street/Urban Renewal Agency is pleased to announce the Volunteer of the Month for January: Amanda Bruder.
During the holidays, snow, wind or shine, Amanda helped make the season more joyful in Downtown Rock Springs. She sponsored Santa Saturdays throughout December, decorated the antelope on Dewar Drive with red winter hats and even had her own in-store Tree of Sharing for those who wanted to make Christmas a bit merrier for children.
Amanda, an Arizona native growing up with three younger sisters, has been an active volunteer nearly all her life.
She was part of the Prescott area leadership program and volunteered with the Town of Prescott Valley and anywhere else, she could. She earned two Presidential Gold Volunteer Service Awards and a Presidential Gold Lifetime Volunteer Service Award for volunteering over 20,000 hours.
After high school, Amanda joined the United States Air Force. She was trained in explosives engineering and bomb disposal. She specialized in Electrical Engineering for three years.
Soon, her career in the Air Force ended due to a back injury. She eventually got a Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice and finally got a Masters in Criminal Justice with a focus on juvenile justice and drug crimes.
Amanda and her husband, Casey, managed and owned Beasts and Barbarians Games and Hobbies in Downtown Rock Springs for five years.
“When I got pregnant with our son, (Thane), I knew there was no way I could be there twelve hours a day, seven days a week,” Amanda shared.
They closed their business but kept their ears and eyes open for a new business opportunity.
A year later, they heard how popular escape rooms were becoming in several communities. Finally, they opened Escape 307.
“Our town needs things for teens and adults to do that are fun and different,” Amanda said. “We built our first two rooms and just grew from there.”
Amanda’s daughter, Gracelynn greets players at the door. They enjoy having Escape 307 in Downtown.
“The other businesses want to work together and they have the same goals we do to make our town a better place,” she expressed. “They always help out others and donate to charities without even having second thoughts about it.”
Amanda still believes that by volunteering, our community will be more successful.
“If you don’t like how things are being done, it is best to get involved,” she suggested. “You can really influence how things are ran and be a part of an organized event and more.”
