Billings Business March 2016

5 MINUTES WITH

DAVE AUSTIN

MAGIC CITY PRODUCTIONS

MONTANA ENERGY REVIEW

March 2016

KEEPING IT REAL Retailers assure consumers that their olive oil is the real deal

March 2016

A1

Billings Business 401 N. Broadway Billings, MT 59101-1242

CONTENTS March 2016

An indispensable business resource

On the Cover

FEATURES

Specialty retailers warn that you might not be getting what you pay for when you buy olive oil.

Keeping it real................................................................................................................................................................................ 6

Photo by LARRY MAYER/Gazette Staff

Olive oil retailers assure their customers that their products are real

Montana Energy Review............................................................................................................................................. 14 Low energy prices expected to continue in 2016

COLUMNS

Economic Development................................................................................................................................................ 10 Allison Corbyn -- Billings compares favorably to peer cities

Sales Moves.................................................................................................................................................................................. 13

Commercial & Residential

Travel and Leisure................................................................................................................................................................ 17

Flood or Fire, we will restore your property from beginning to end.

Jeffery Gitomer - Think about the customer first time, every time

Billie Ruff - Businesses need to address risks when employees travel Local economy to grow in 2016, but agriculture is a challenge, Page 16

24 Hour Emergency Flood & Fire Restoration Services

Strategies for Success...................................................................................................................................................24 Joe Michels - A professional audit can provide peace of mind

Better Business........................................................................................................................................................................25 Erin T. Dodge - Phishing scams can drain your bank account

Complete Reconstruction Licensed • Bonded • Insured

BILLINGS BUSINESS EVERY MONTH

From the Editor..............................................................................................................................................................................4 By the numbers.............................................................................................................................................................................5 The local economy at a glance

Chamber News......................................................................................................................................................................... 11 Bruce MacIntyre - War on coal threatens a reliable energy source

Five Minutes with................................................................................................................................................................. 12

Preferred by Major Insurance Companies.

406-628-0178

—24 hour contact line—

www.alphaomegapros.com

Dave Austin - Magic City Productions

Business Briefs........................................................................................................................................................................26

Billings Business is mailed each month

Success Stories.......................................................................................................................................................................27

to area business owners, managers and

The Listings...................................................................................................................................................................................28 Dave Austin, owner of Magic City Productions, knows how to play to the crowd, Page 12

2

March 2016

decision makers for $19.95 per year.

To subscribe, please send payment, name, business name, mailing address and phone number to:

Billings Business 401 North Broadway Billings, MT 59101

March 2016

3

the editor

A S A SIAN TOURISM SOARS , THE MYSTERY

FEBRUARY 2016 • VOLUME 22 • NUMBER 5

OF BROKEN TOILET SEATS HAS BEEN SOLVED Last year, maintenance crews in Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park were puzzled by the destruction they found while cleaning vault toilets that serve the parks’ remote locations.

Not only did workers fi nd a lot of broken toilet seats, they also noticed that the shattered pieces were frequently marred with footprints.

Andrew White, a Teton Park spokesman, told the Jackson Hole News and Guide that seats were broken on about a dozen of the park’s 42 vault toilets.

As it turns out, it wasn’t a wave of vandalism perpetrated by thugs bent on destroying governmentissue privies. It boiled down to a case where cultures clashed in unexpected ways.

Busloads of Asian tourists — most of them from China — have descended on Yellowstone and Grand Teton in recent years. Many Chinese are used to floor-hugging squat toilets instead of the chair-like fixtures common in western cultures.

Toilet seats shattered when people climbed on top of them and squatted to do their business instead of taking a seat. The Park Service sought to remedy the problem with posters that illustrate the proper way to use a western-style toilet. A drawing that shows a person squatting atop the toilet was circled, with a diagonal slash through it, the universal symbol identifying this type of behavior as a no-no.

Norma Nickerson, director of the Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research at the University of Montana, said in Billings recently that Asian tourists are flocking to Yellowstone and other American tourist attractions. More than 4 million tourists visited Yellowstone last year, a 17 percent increase from 2014. A growing percentage of them are Chinese, she said during the annual Economic Outlook series.

Visa tracks credit card expenditures by foreign tourists in Montana. As recently as 2008, Chinese tourists barely registered in Visa’s statistics. By 2014, China ranked among the top five countries in spending.

4

March 2016

“We’re seeing more and more tourists from China,” Nickerson said, mentioning that the National Park Service and gateway communities have been faced with the big task of providing signage to help Chinese tourists get to where they need to go. One reason for the surge in Chinese visitors is that American tour companies have been working with Chinese travel agents, she said.

“This is not going to go away,” Nickerson said.

“Increasingly, the international visitor will be from China.”

So far, signs point to another busy tourism season in 2016. The National Park Service celebrates its centennial this year, gas prices have been hovering in the $2 per gallon range and unemployment has been steady, Nickerson said.

Last year a record 11.6 million out-of-state visitors came to Montana. But tourism spending actually declined by 8 percent from the prior year. Nickerson said she had predicted a 2 percent increase.

Lower gas prices accounted for part of the decline. While gasoline accounted for 32 percent of tourists’ expenditures in 2014, that total dipped to 22 percent last year because of a drop in gas prices, she said.

But other trends help explain the drop in tourism spending, she said. Last year millennials, the generation born between 1980 and 1995, eclipsed baby boomers as the nation’s largest population cohort.

Millennials seem to be spending less on tourism in part because they have less disposable income and many still carry student debt, Nickerson said.

Millennials have also embraced the new “sharing economy.” Rather than stay in a motel or rent a car, millennials are more likely to use ride-sharing service Uber, and AirBnB, where people rent out their homes to travelers, she said.

So if you plan to visit Yellowstone or Glacier National Park this year, remember that patience will be a virtue. The line into the gate could stretch for a mile. There will be many tour buses. And whatever you do, be careful in the restroom.

mike gulledge tom howard COPY EDITOR chris jorgensen GENERAL MANAGER dave worstell PUBLISHER

EDITOR

SALES

ryan brosseau shelli scott ADVERTISING SALES karen anderson, milt lang, arcadea scott ADVERTISING COORDINATOR spencyr schmaltz ADVERTISING DIRECTOR

ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER

SUBSCRIPTIONS Billings Business is mailed each month to area business owners, managers and decision makers.

To subscribe for $19.95 per year, please send payment, name, business name, mailing address and phone number to: Billings Business 401 N. Broadway Billings, MT 59101 ADVERTISING For retail advertising, call Karen Anderson 657-1492, Milt Lange 657-1275, or Arcadea Scott 657-1305. For classified advertising, call 657-1212. You may send material to ads@billingsbusiness.com or FAX to 657-1538.

Advertising deadline for the April 2016 issue of Billings Business is 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 8.

NEWS If you would like to submit a news tip, story idea, announcement about your business or press release, please email it to: editor@billingsbusiness.com website: www.billingsbusiness.com Information published herein does not reflect the opinion of Billings Business. Contents are the property of Billings Business.

Personal

By the Numbers

Business

LocaL and regionaL economic trends

real estate Member FDIC

agriculture Shiloh & Grand 655-3900

DOWNHILL IN 2015 Montana ski areas tallied 1.35 million ski visits in the 2014-15, down 10 percent from the previous year.

Source: Bureau of Business and Economic Research, University of Montana Gazette photo

Downtown 655-2400

14th & Grand 371-8100

National park visitors

Worden 967-3612

Airport boardings

10

7

6

8 5

In ten thousands

Hilltop & Main 896-4800

In hundred thousands

King Ave 655-2700

www.stockmanbank.com

6

4

3

2

4

1

Billings housing starts

2

0

New single-family home building permits 60

25

50

20

40

15

30

10

20

5

10 0

October

November

September 2014 to January 2015

December

January

0

Aug. Sept. Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Bozeman

July 2014 to December 2014 July 2015 to December 2015

2015

July 2015 to December 2015 National Park Service Source: National Park Service

Ag prices

July to December 2014 July to December 2015 July to December 2014 July to December 2015

Source: Montana Department of Transportation

Unemployment

Montana Beef Cattle

(per bushel)

Dec.

July to December 2014 July to December 2015

July 2014 to December 2014

2016

Nov.

Missoula

Glacier National Park

YTD Through Jan. 31

Source: City of Billings

$8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

July

Yellowstone National Park

September 2015 to January 2016

Montana winter wheat

Aug. Sept. Oct.

Billings

21

14

0 September

July

(per cwt.)

6%

200

5

150

4 3

100

2 50

July

August Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

July to December 2014 Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture

Dec.

0

1 July

August Sept.

July to December 2015

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

0

July

August

Montana

September

October

Yellowstone County

November

December

U.S.

Source: Montana Department of Labor and Industry

March 2016

5

LARRY MAYER/Gazette Staff

Bottles filled with olive oil and vinegar are on display at the Spiked Olive.

Keeping it

REAL

6

March 2016

Specialty retailers assure customers about the origin of their olive oil

By Tom Howard Stella Fong, a food writer and author of the blog Last Best Plates, sometimes purchases California olive oil directly from producers such as McEnvoy Ranch in Petaluma, and Round Pound, a wine and olive estate in Rutherford. Whether the product is wine or olive oil, tracing a food to its source is educational and enhances enjoyment, she said.

LARRY MAYER/Gazette Staff photos

ABOVE: Gina Ceartin owns at the Spiked Olive gourmet olive oil store in Billings.

AT LEFT: James Pennington is owner of Yellowstone Olive Co., 529 24th St. W. BELOW: Varieties of oil are on display at the Yellowstone Olive Company store in Billings.

By contrast, Fong avoids buying olive oil from bargain bins or outlet stores. The oil may come in a pretty bottle and may be packed in roasted peppers or olives. But unless there’s a date on the bottle, she doesn’t buy it because there’s a possibility that the oil could be out of date.

Extra virgin olive oil has become a premium-priced super star of the food pyramid because of its bright taste and healthy properties.

But hold on to that bruschetta.

There’s mounting evidence that olive oil is being hacked, altered and counterfeited by crooks who are laughing all the way to the bank. Amid reports that organized crime has infiltrated the olive oil industry, experts are

The varieties available for purchase at Yellowstone Oilve Co. are displayed for customers to sample.

warning customers to be on the lookout for products that may not add up to their billing. Books, magazine articles and television segments have documented the growing power of the so-called food mafia.

The deception takes place in a number of ways.

Occasionally a touch of highquality olive oil will be mixed in with lower quality oil and sold as a top brand.

But even more egregious examples of food forgery exist. That healthy-appearing oil used to dress salads and slather on bread may actually be canola or safflower oil spiked with chlorophyll so that it takes on the jade-green Please see Oil, 8 March 2016

7

LARRY MAYER/Gazette Staff photos

ABOVE: Bottles of oil are shown at the Spiked Olive.

AT RIGHT: Yellowstone Olive Co. displays dried herb mixtures used for dipping.

Oil

It’s free of cholesterol and artery-clogging transfats, it’s rich in antioxidants and Continued from 7 contains no genetically modified organisms. hue of cold-pressed extra Reading the fine print virgin olive oil. on the bottle provides only A 2011 study by the Unibasic information.

For inversity of California Davis stance, a label that appears concluded that consumers often don’t get what they’re to be an Italian brand may paying for when it comes to actually be a United Nations-like blend, containing olive oil. oils from Greece, Spain and “While there are many Morocco that were shipped excellent imported and domestic extra-virgin olive to Italy for packaging.

Gourmet restaurants oils available in California, and cooking shows feaour findings indicate that the quality level of the larg- turing celebrity chefs have spurred consumers est imported brand names to expand their horizons is inconsistent at best, and that most of the top-selling beyond meat and potatoes.

Boutique stores that speolive oils we examined cialize in olive oil, balsamic regularly failed to meet international standards for vinegar and other specialty foods are springing up extra-virgin olive oil,” the across the country, and study concluded. store owners tout the auSpurred by medical research that touts the food’s thenticity of their products.

Gina Ceartin, owner of heart-healthy benefits, the Spiked Olive, a Billings sales of olive oil grew by 10 store at 1313 Grand Ave., percent annually between said customers started 2009 and 2014. Extraasking questions soon virgin olive oil’s growing popularity can be attributed after a recent “60 Minutes” episode investigated to its nutritional punch.

8

March 2016

counterfeit olive oil and other deceptive practices in Italy’s food industry.

James Pennington, owner of Yellowstone Olive Co., said he too heard from customers after the “60 Minutes” report. Aside from the dishonesty, consumers suffer in another way when they buy counterfeit olive oil because it lacks the health-enhancing properties of the genuine product, Pennington said.

Ceartin sources oil exclusively from a California distributor, Veronica Foods.

Good-quality olive oil is grown in many different countries, and Ceartin enjoys demonstrating how her “tree to table” products are a cut above what’s available in the grocery store. One of the store’s popular offerings, a Spanish oil known as Arbequina, is bright green, has a fruity taste and offers a peppery finish when

slurped and swished in the mouth.

Fong said she often cooks with lower-cost virgin olive oil, but saves extra-virgin oil for dishes where its flavor stands out.

“Extra virgin oil should have a touch of bitterness with notes of hay and then a peppery finish, and yet be rounded with a warm goldenness,” Fong said. “It should have a nice aroma of freshness. These qualities make for a great combination with salads and fresh vegetables such as summer vine-ripened tomatoes.”

Pennington opened Yellowstone Olive Co. about four years ago after he became acquainted with Brie Thompson, founder of Olivelle. The Bozeman business began as a retail store and evolved into a specialty distributor and food manufacturer that sells olive oil and other gourmet food

products. In a little over a decade, Olivelle is now distributing products to more than 30 stores, including Yellowstone Olive Co. Thompson said she and her mother had planned on purchasing a franchise known as Olive and Vinegar, but the franchisor went bankrupt. But they forged ahead, creating their own business that has seen substantial growth.

“We had customers come in and say, ‘We love your store and products,’” Thompson said. They decided against creating a franchise, instead opting to work as a wholesaler and a consultant for the retailers they serve.

“We actually started manufacturing our own goods, and have more than 100 food items,” Thompson said.

A certification process can also assure quality.

All of the Italian oils that Olivelle sells are authentic because they carry the DOP (Denominazion de Origine Protetta) designation.

Along the way, Thompson honed her sense of taste and was able to accurately differentiate between different types of olive oil. After passing a test she is now a certified olive oil savant.

“She can tell what region the oil came from just by tasting it,” said Pennington, describing Thompson’s expertise as invaluable.

At Yellowstone Olive, the Spiked Olive and Olivelle, customers are encouraged to give the products a test drive before they buy.

“The reason we encourage sampling is that we want somebody to find a flavor they love,” Thompson said. “It’s not about me telling you what’s good. It’s about letting you find out what you like.”

Does leg pain keep you from enjoying the activities you love?

Vein Center Confused by all of the available treatment options?

Come see the vascular experts at Billings Clinic’s Vein Center for an individualized treatment plan, from painful varicose veins to unsightly spider veins. Many procedures are office-based and minimally-invasive, resulting in faster recovery, so you can quickly return to the activities you love.

To learn more, call the Vein Center at 435-VASC (8272) or 1-800-332-7156

billingsclinic.com/veincenter

March 2016

9

SPONSORED BY THE BIG SKY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

H OW DOES B ILLINGS COMPARE TO ITS PEERS ?

W E ’ RE CHECKING THE DATA Data enables us to understand the economic pulse of our community.

Allison Corbyn is business recruitment and outreach program manager for Big Sky Economic Development.

Contact her at 406-869-8420 or corbyn@bigskyeda.org

10

March 2016

At Big Sky Economic Development we are often asked, “How’s the economy doing?” While we can talk all day about our community’s key industries, business success stories, and new developments over the past few months, we have decided to dive into the data.

Data enables us to understand the economic pulse of our community, and perhaps more importantly, how we compare to others in our region.

To start, we decided to take a look at how we stack up against Boise, Fort Collins, Casper, Bismarck, Rapid City, Cheyenne, Missoula, and Great Falls. The key indicators (by statistical area) we used are real GDP over time, population growth, number of businesses over time, current educational attainment, employment over time by age bracket, unemployment rate over time, employment to population over time, employment by industry, current Gini index for household income (community equity), housing affordability, and total personal income (by county).

From these measures we gleaned some interesting perspective. For example, the Billings economy (based on annual total personal income) is 38 percent larger than that of Bozeman’s ($6.65 billion vs. $4.12 billion) but only constitutes 53 percent of Fort Collins’ ($14.1 billion.) While the size of our economy is at the front of the pack, our population growth over the last 10 years (16.4 percent) is at the back, only surpassing that of Great Falls (6.3 percent).

When considering our median household income ($51,077) vs. housing affordability ($1,097 per month average,) we rank right in the middle of our peer communities, suggesting that regionally our affordability is on par.

In Billings, we always talk about how diversified our economy is, but when we took a look at how diversified our peer communities are, the competitive nature of our region became abundantly clear. We are stacked up against communities with extremely strong economic bases that share many of the same

taken the dive into data and are striving to position ourselves as the “go-to” place for At Big Sky economic information.

Economic Development, we have As we work to quality of life benefits; who are working as hard to grow their economy as we are ours.

grow our economy through business growth services, newbusiness recruitment, and community development. We will

Changing lives in our community every day...

EVErY DOLLar, EVErY CONSuLTaTION, EVErY Tax aBaTEMENT, EVErY LOaN, EVErY CONTraCT, EVErY SMaLL BuSINESS, EVErY jOB, EVErY EVENT, EVErY OuTrEaCh, big SkY ecoNomic DeveloPmeNt cHaNgeS & imPRoveS PeoPleS liveS iN YelloWStoNe couNtY;

YelloWStoNe co. buSiNeSS taleNt / WoRkFoRce

now thats

buSiNeSS GROWTH SeRviceS commuNitY DeveloPmeNt

RemaRkable

™

buSiNeSS RecRuitmeNt + outReacH commuNitY FuNDS membeR iNveStoRS

See ouR SeRviceS & ouR StoRieS at bigskyeconomicdevelopment.org 406. 256.6871

BIG SKY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Upcoming Chamber/ CVB Functions More details and RSVP: www. billingschamber.com or call 245-4111

SPONSORED BY THE BILLINGS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

THE WAR ON COAL THREATENS RELIABLE SOURCE OF ENERGY There is a very real possibility that Colstrip 1 and 2 will be decommissioned and Montanans will see a significant increase in our power bills to meet the reduction target.

Bruce MacIntyre is director of business and government affairs for the Billings Chamber of Commerce. Contact him at 406-869-3723, or at bruce@ billingschamber.com

Do you realize that behind every light switch there are a few lumps of coal? The same holds true for every electric appliance, your heat and air conditioning and the food you eat.

Coal is one of the most reliable sources of energy we have in our energy portfolio and it doesn’t need the wind to blow or the sun to shine to make it work. It is easy to say: “I’m for clean energy,” while avoiding the fact that there is a steep price to pay for it.

Last August, the EPA released its final rule for reduction of emissions of greenhouse gases and Montana was arbitrarily assigned a targeted reduction of 47 percent by 2030, the highest reduction assigned to any state. Furthermore, the state of Montana is required to develop a plan to reach this goal and forward it to the EPA later this year.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently voted 5-4 to halt the new EPA regulations on power plant emisisons. But that won’t stop the states of Washington and Oregon from considering legislation that would incentivize the decommissioning of Colstrip 1 and 2.

What does this mean to you and me? There is a very real possibility that Colstrip 1 and 2 will be decommissioned and Montanans will see a significant increase in our power bills to meet

the reduction target. The Washington legislature is considering several bills which offer either an incentive or a mechanism to allow utilities to divest themselves of coal-fired generating plants. Their goal is to use only electricity from “clean” energy sources. Legislation being debated would encourage decommissioning coal fired power plants and the decommissioning costs could be funded through revenue bonds. Essentially Washington State is paying to shut down Colstrip because Puget Sound Energy owns 50 percent of Colstrip 1 and 2 and Talen Energy owns the balance.

If we lose a portion of our source of low-cost power and replace it with “clean energy,” what is the cost that we will bear as ratepayers in Montana? The Colstrip power plant generates 2,096 megawatts of power and decommissioning units 1 and 2 will reduce the output by one third. Puget Sound Energy estimates shutting down units 1 and 2 has a price-tag of $130 million to $200 million. This does not include dealing with the economic impact on Colstrip, the costs of retraining displaced workforce, or the loss of revenue for the town, county and state coffers.

Businesses make decisions daily on options to

improve profits, increase sales, reduce costs or expand markets. Does the plan to decommission a reliable source of power in a market you do not serve fit the defi nition of a business decision? If the people of Washington or Oregon do not want energy from coal-fi red generating plants, source it elsewhere.

Montana’s extrac-

March Business After Hours Wednesday, March 9 Center for Children & Families at Century 21, 1605 Shiloh Rd. 5-7 pm. Cost is $8.

Billings Breakfast 2016 Thursday, March 31 Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark $450 for table of 10, or $30 General Admission.

tive resources are getting attacked from all sides: Washington, D.C., from the east and Washington and Oregon from the west.

The drastic initiatives of the attackers are based on misinformed assessments of cost/benefit analyses.

And, while Montana is immediately in the crosshairs of the war on coal, those implementing the measures will not escape unscathed,

April Business After Hours Wednesday, April 13, 2016 Affinity at Billings, 4215 Montana Sapphire Drive 5-7 pm. Cost is $8.

due to decreased economic productivity and increased energy rates.

The United States has an ever increasing appetite for affordable power and a finite supply. Would we be shooting ourselves in the proverbial foot if we start decommissioning coalfired generation without a suitable replacement for that energy? The likelihood is yes.

Presenting Sponsor

BillingsChamber.com

March 31st | MetraPark, Rimrock Auto Arena 7 - 9 a.m. | Doors Open 6:00 a.m. $450/table of ten | $35 General Admission Visit BillingsChamber.com for details

March 2016

11

Dave Austin

He gets people’s

toes tapping

BY TOM HOWARD Are you planning a wedding or corporate event? Dave Austin, owner of Magic City Productions, can provide the music that gets people on their feet and dancing. Austin’s company can handle large and small events. And if you wish, he can even provide the dance floor.

ful it must be orchestrated well. In order to do that, I spend time with each of my customers, learning about their unique needs and their vision of the event before we even discuss music selection. We do not build a specific playlist because it would be too much of a cookie-cutter event. When we meet, we discuss what kind of music they like, what radio stations they listen to, and what they do not like, but it’s important to remember that a successful event needs to be fluid and go with the energy of the crowd. I do take song requests, but if it is something my customer does not want to hear, I won’t play it, or if I’m not sure, I’ll ask my customer.

What’s your busiest time of year?

Spring, summer and fall, essentially wedding season.

Tell us about how you got into this business. Can But winter is increasingly busy with corporate parties. you share some background and also how you got How many songs do you typically take with you on started? a gig?

I started as a radio DJ 20 years ago and occasionally did To every event, I bring a solid music library of close to some shows on the side. It wasn’t until around 2000 that 10,000 songs in many genres that will appeal to people I realized that I enjoyed performing for a live audience of all ages. I use only equipment that will deliver a highmore than I loved radio. I started DJ-ing for a couple local quality sound. companies and quickly learned that if I wanted to stand out What’s the largest venue where you have provided from the others, I needed to be the emcee who delivered the music? an energetic yet unique experience. Saying that I’m a DJ is For a wedding of 500-plus people. It was a ton of fun. an understatement; I am not stationed behind my gear all Typically, though, my crowds are between 150-300 people. night. Instead, I’m more like a movie producer. I emcee, Tell us a little more about your game show. entertain and work with my customers, the guests, other The game show is something unique I added a couple vendors, the venue and anyone else involved to deliver a of years ago. It is entirely digital and is much like “Jeopseamless event. To brand myself I started my own busiardy,” but also has features to do games like “Family Feud,” ness, Magic City Productions, in 2011. Currently, I have “Wheel of Fortune” and “Press Your Luck.” I launched it a team of talented DJs who share the same passion for at the Chamber of Commerce After Hours event with a making a memorable experience. In addition to DJ services, “Jeopardy”-style game with categories related to Billings I also offer dance floor rentals, digital game shows and history and landmarks. We have since added “Extreme lighting.

Bingo,” which is much like “Bingo” meets “Name That We’re interested in learning about the process of Tune.” The game show has been used in a variety of ways: how music is selected. Do you discuss and agree to a as a teaching tool with business workshops, as an icebreaker playlist with the customer ahead of time? How do you between families at a wedding rehearsal (can you imagine handle song requests? playing bride’s family against groom’s family in “Family Planning an event is a process, and to make it successFeud”?), and a fun competition between offices.

Dave Austin of Magic City Productions BOB ZELLAR/Gazette Staff

12

March 2016

SALESmoves

Think about the customer first time, every time What the customer really wants is a green lawn. Aha!

Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible and The Little Red Book of Selling. Reach him at 704-333-1112 or email salesman@gitomer.com

You have opportunities to think about your business growth and your sales growth every day.

The big questions are: How and when do you do it? And once you’ve arrived at your thought, or your idea, or your response, how do you deliver it? Or better stated: Who is the message in terms of?

Everyone will tell you to “Think things all the way through.” But not many are able to teach that methodology effectively, unless they think: OUTCOME. And unless they think: CUSTOMER. That’s the secret — DON’T just “think it through.” Think it through to the desired outcome that the customer wants or the customer is hoping for. What happens after delivery.

Example: Customers call with what you perceive is a simple problem. Not me. I have found that what most people consider a problem, I look at as a symptom.

Think of it as: applied thinking.

Here’s a real-world scenario that happens in every business, hundreds of times a day: 1. Someone calls and presents you with a complaint, a problem, a question, a service call, an order, an opportunity, or even an idea.

2. You pause, and take

the time to think. You may think to yourself, or think in writing, or think out loud, or think about the situation, or think about the resolve, or some combination of these scenarios. In short, you try your best — using your experience, combined with your corporate rules, prices, and policies to think it all the way out.

Insight: Rarely do you think about the outcome of the call. What happens after the issue is resolved, the answer is delivered, the sale is made, or the item delivered.

3. Now it’s time to respond, help, or even try to resolve. You present your reaction, offer your help, your suggestions, your knowledge, your ideas, your solutions, and your thoughts.

3.5 The questions are: Who is this in terms of, and what are the motives and expectations of the customer. What have you thought and responded in terms of?

Is it, “what we can do.” Or is it, “Here’s what we can do to get you what you really wanted, and here’s what will happen AFTER that.”

The object of thinking is to flesh the idea all the way out from the beginning of the opportunity, to the outcome, to the solution all the way out to the end — in terms of what the customer really wants. (They don’t want a drill — they need a

nothing. If you help them get what they want, and add a wow, you will earn a referral, and word-of-mouth advertising.

As you think things through, ask yourself: Why do they want a green lawn?

Pride, show off, be the envy of the neighborhood, provide a place for the kids to play, garden? Discover these answers, document them in a customer file, and now you can get from wow to relationship.

Here’s another example: John Keatley Ever make an airline resDo more than fix your customer’s sprinkler. Make sure they have a ervation? Do the airlines green lawn. know your problem? Your hole). says, “My sprinkler is brodesired outcome? No. They Here’s how to think it ken I need it fixed.” If you make you a reservation, and through to a win for everythink: Service call, go fix the hang up. Except one airline. one: sprinkler, you’re thinking Virgin Atlantic Airlines.

— Listen to the situation. wrong. You should think: When you fly upper class, — Discover the immedi- this is not a problem this a they ask you where you’re ate opportunity. symptom. What the cusgoing when you land. People — Discover the symptom tomer really wants a green don’t want to fly, they want and the problem. lawn. Aha! to land. And when they — Communicate the To get that green lawn land, they gotta go someaction. you have to fix their sprinplace, and Virgin arranges — Reassure the customer kler. Here’s the opportutransportation to your you know what they really nity — fix the sprinkler, destination as part of their want. and give them a bag of fare. Wow. — Look for a long-term fertilizer branded with your Think about the 10 prime opportunity. company’s name to help reasons customers call you, — Create an add-on idea them achieve what they and figure out the symptom, or tailor a personal experiwant: A green lawn. (If at the problem, the customer’s ence. all possible, capitalize your desired outcome, and dis— Wow them with some- opportunity by branding cover opportunity to wow. thing as simple as friendly your wow.)

Then act. or manners Note well: It’s not what’s If you’d like a few more Here’s a real world think wrong, it’s what they want. thoughts to ponder, go to example: Their desired outcome. If www.gitomer.com, register Let’s say you’re in the you just fix the sprinkler, if you’re a first time user, lawn sprinkler business. you get a thank you. Just fix and enter the word ‘think’ in Your customer calls and what’s wrong, and you get the GitBit box.

March 2016

13

MONTANA ENERGY REVIEW

Low energy prices expected to continue through 2016

By TOM HOWARD These days, it seems like every time the oil market coughs, the stock market catches a cold, such as the 177-point drop that the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered on Feb. 8, after oil prices dipped below $30 per barrel.

Prices for oil and natural gas have been on a slide for at least two years, and energy experts don’t expect a rebound for the rest of 2016, as worldwide supply continues to outstrip demand.

The fallout from the collapse in oil prices can be documented in a variety of ways. North Dakota reported 42 oil rigs in operation as of Feb. 5. That compares to 136 operating one year earlier and 191 in the field during February 2014.

MDU Resources Group Inc. reported that its 2015 profits had declined by 12.4 percent compared to a year earlier. Losses at the company’s new North Dakota refinery near Dickenson, and warmer winter weather that cut into demand for natural contributed to the drop in prices, the company said.

MDU also announced that it’s delaying plans for a second oil refinery near Minot, N.D. Bismarck, N.D.-based MDU Resources Group and Indianapolis-based Calumet Specialty Products Partners built the $430 million Dakota Prairie Refinery

14

March 2016

near Dickinson. It began selling fuel in May but has lost $12.6 million in its first few months of operation, MDU spokesman Tim Rasmussen said.

Developers had considered a similar plant in Minot, but Rasmussen said the company is now focused solely on “optimizing investment” at its Dickinson factory, which can process 20,000 barrels of oil each day into diesel fuel and other products.

Low fuel prices have contributed to the red ink at the Dickinson plant.

“We will look more seriously at a second plant when these commodity prices rebound,” he said.

Diesel fuel consumption in North Dakota soared with the need for the fuel in the state’s oil patch. Agriculture, along with North Dakota’s seven coal-fired power plants and lignite mines also are big users of diesel. But it’s the equipment supporting the drilling in the Bakken and Three Forks oil shale formations in western North Dakota that have been the biggest guzzlers

LARRY MAYER/Gazette Staff

Despite a steep decline in oil prices and drilling activity, oil production from the Bakken has experienced only a slight decline, experts say.

in recent years, powering the trucks and trains needed to move crude oil and material.

However, oil production in the Bakken has declined only slightly, despite the steep drop in prices and the slowdown in drilling.

“Why haven’t we seen a significant drop in production? Technology really has changed the landscape in all of the states,” said Terry Johnson, director of research for natural resources and energy development at the University of Montana’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research.

In the past decade, horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have unleashed a flood of oil and natural gas from shale

formations like the Bakken, the Marcellus shale in the Northeast, and the Eagle Ford formation in the Southwest.

But recent refinements to those two technologies have helped North Dakota keep Bakken oil flowing despite lower prices, Johnson said during the BBER’s recent Economic Outlook session in Billings.

Drilling costs have dropped significantly because of technological improvements that have been made since the shale play first began. Refinements in hydraulic fracturing have helped squeeze more oil and gas from shale formations. Also, it’s much easier to move modern oil rigs. “You don’t have

to completely dismantle them to keep them moving,” Johnson said.

Jeff Currie, global head of commodities research at Goldman Sachs, provides additional explanation on technology’s role in the oil industry.

“Shale has turned oil production into a standard manufacturing process where you can dial production up and down in short order. That’s a sharp contrast from the old day, where you couldn’t change the capacity,” Currie said in a company webcast.

OPEC has also lost much of its market leverage in the wake of production gains in the United States. This factor removes much of the volatility from

oil markets, Currie said.

Today’s low prices for natural gas create challenges for nuclear energy and coal-fired power, Currie said.

In the Bakken, there’s evidence that producers will continue to concentrate on the most productive wells and halt drilling in areas where geology isn’t as favorable, Johnson said.

He was asked whether technology that made the shale energy boom will eventually spread to other countries. Although that hasn’t happened yet, it could happen in the future, Johnson said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

MONTANA ENERGY REVIEW Obama oil tax likely to be DOA WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama wants oil companies to pay a $10 tax for every barrel of oil to help fund investments in clean transportation.

Obama’s proposal was included in his final budget request to Congress.

The $10-per-barrel fee is expected to be dead-on-arrival among Republicans who control Congress and oppose new taxes and Obama’s energy policies.

Still, the White House hopes the proposal will drive a debate about the need to get energy producers to help fund efforts to fight climate change.

The White House says the fees would be used to increase funding by $20 billion per year for traffic reduction and new modes of transportation like high-speed rail.

Other funds would help cut carbon dioxide emissions within regional transportation systems and integrate self-driving cars.

GTUIT gains new financing GTUIT, a Billings company that develops equipment to recover natural gas at drilling sites, has announced that it is raising additional financing from the continued support of its investors through exercise of options.

As part of a preferred

BRIEFS

And yet, he counts his blessings every day.

Bockman is the owner of Bockman Group, LLC., a Dayton-based business focused primarily on fencing for local residents, and it’s a job he wouldn’t trade for anything. But in order to achieve the American dream of owning his own business, he had to endure the harsh realities of American capitalism.

Several years ago, he found himself on the wrong end of the boom and bust cycle of the energy industry. Out of a job, he took a leap of faith.

And it turned out to be the best decision of his life.

Life was good for Bockman.

He was a seven-yearveteran at Marathon Oil Co., working as a construction supervisor in the exploding methane fields. Natural gas was selling at record prices, the coal and oil markets booming with it.

Man finds happiness were But in 2013, everyafter energy bust thing started to change.

DAYTON, Wyo. — Natural gas prices There’s no arguing the started to flatline. Methane prices dropped from demanding nature of their record-high $13 per Dan Bockman’s job.

He often finds himself MBTU, or million British working long hours, both Thermal Units, in 2008 in freezing temperatures to around $3 in the winter of 2013. in the winter or under “We started to see evthe scorching hot sun erything collapse around in the summer. When us,” Bockman said. he’s not working with He was called into his hands, he spends his several different meettime buried in paperwork ings, most of which conand trying to find his sisted of supervisors informing their employees next client. round of financing, investors received options to purchase additional units of the same class for a one-year term. The one-year term expired in December of 2015 with a majority portion of the options being exercised.

Christian Orms, CFO, said: “The continued support from the GTUIT investor base is a vote of confidence in the ability of GTUIT and all its employees to manage and grow the company through the current state of the energy markets, introduce new products for energy and adjacent markets, and expand the market for its products through enhanced customer engagement.”

Brian Cebull, President and CEO, added: “We are very thankful for our strong and diversified investor base that continues to support our growth.”

that the outlook for their industry was starting to look dismal. Eventually, it was suggested Bockman and his co-workers look to be transferred, or start exploring other options for work.

He’s a Big Horn native; his wife grew up in Dayton. This was their home, he said, and there was no way they were going to pack their things and leave Sheridan County.

But with a wife and kids to provide for, he couldn’t afford to be out of work. So, Bockman filed for an LLC while still working at Marathon Oil, though he admits he didn’t know what that business would be.

“Instead of looking for a job, I wanted to create a job. I wanted to work for myself,” Bockman said.

The inevitable happened. He was called into his supervisor’s office and told he would only be given three more weeks of employment until he would be another casualty of the bust of the energy market.

Bockman was out of a job, so he got to work.

He and his family pushed their chips to the middle of the table and went all in. They cashed out their life’s savings, put it toward equipment and assets and hired several employees. By Jan. 1, 2014, he founded Bockman Group, LLC., a fencing and oil roustabout company.

He had put together a company in a little more than a month and a half.

“I was really trying to put together two businesses at once,” Bockman said. “I was actually using the oil roustabout of my company to fund the fencing start-up.”

While natural gas went belly-up, the fencing industry was wildly successful for Bockman that first year.

Working from sunup to sundown networking with local residents in and outside of Dayton, Bockman was able to find more than enough jobs to keep him and his crew busy throughout the summer.

“It was literally the honeymoon stage of our company. We were wellfunded and there was plenty of work,” Bockman said.

Yet, it wasn’t all fun and profits. After starting his business in less than 90 days, the owner and manager roles were still very foreign to Bockman. He was balancing payroll, networking, marketing and even learning the business of fencing itself; he admits his prior knowledge on the industry was somewhat limited.

With the price of oil taking a dive, the oil side of his business began to slide as well.

“It was a little scary at first,” Bockman said.

“Especially with everything coming right at us — we had to learn quick.

I was really learning everything on the fly, constantly. It was intense there for a while.”

The honeymoon stage is over for his company, but three years later, business is still going smoothly for Bockman.

The third year, he hopes, will be his best year yet.

He employs 13 seasonal employees and has other projects in the works to diversify his business.

Oil prices have hit rock bottom. Natural gas is the lowest it’s been in decades. Local coal companies are filing for bankruptcy left and right. The crash in the regional energy sector has hurt thousands of Wyomingites claiming thousands of jobs.

Bockman’s business has taken off, but as a former energy employee himself, his heart goes out to all of those who are suffering from the bust.

But it shouldn’t deter anyone’s chance at success.

He says when terrible things happen, it allows another door to open up; and when that door opens, don’t hesitate — just go for it.

“You just have to keep your nose down and keep going,” Bockman said. “Don’t sit there and be depressed with what the economy is doing. You have to keep being resilient.”

March 2016

15

Economists: Yellowstone County to grow in 2016, but agriculture faces headwinds

By TOM HOWARD Yellowstone County’s economy should grow by a respectable 3 percent annually through 2019, although the agriculture and energy sectors will face headwinds, state economists said recently in Billings.

Obstacles could emerge to derail that growth, and the biggest X factor is oil, according to Paul Polzin, an economist with the University of Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research.

Despite a collapse in oil prices because of oversupply, production remained relatively steady through last year, and Yellowstone County’s economy persevered through brisk construction and other healthy sectors, he said.

This year, Yellowstone County will continue watching production at wells to the east, Polzin said.

“How big is going to be the decline in the Bakken, and how is that going to affect Yellowstone County?” Polzin said.

Patrick Barkey, director of the UM Bureau of Business and Economic Research, said the state is near full employment and is finally seeing wage growth, including in the retail sector. This may indicate consumers are looking to spend more after years of holding onto their wallets, he said.

Construction is back

16

March 2016

around pre-recession levels, and no bubbles — like the inflated housing market that led to the 2008 crash — are on the horizon, he said.

Low oil and coal prices are the state’s biggest struggle, and Barkey said he expects this environment will last.

“The worst of the impact for energy still lies ahead,” he said.

Health care remains a bright spot in the Billings economy. In the next decade, hospitals, clinics and other facilities will add 16,000 jobs in Yellowstone County just to meet needs of an aging baby boomer population and other growth, said Bryce Ward, a UM health care economist.

Growth in the sector slowed over the last five years, but Ward said he expects it to return to previous levels.

Montana’s agriculture industry survived the recession of 2008-09 in good shape, but grain and cattle prices took a significant downturn last year, creating headwinds for the state’s agriculture industry, said George Haynes, professor and agricultural policy specialist in extension economics at Montana State University.

Last year, cash receipts for all Montana agriculture products totaled just over $3 billion, a 25 percent drop from the $4 billion in receipts during

LARRY MAYER/Gazette Staff

Patrick Barkey opens the University of Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research outlook for the state’s economy at the Northern Hotel in Billings. Despite a positive statewide report, certain segments of the state — especially American Indian reservations — aren’t doing as well, state Sen. Lea Whitford, D-Browning, said.

each of the three previous years.

Montana wheat producers saw prices as high as $7 per bushel in 2014, but prices have sunk to $5 per bushel or lower. Prices are soft because worldwide wheat production has been on the upswing, Haynes said.

“These are challenging times for grain producers out there, and there are more challenging times as you look at cattle production,” Haynes said.

Cattle prices remained strong through 2014 as ranchers in droughtstricken areas in the U.S.

liquidated their herds. But prices began dropping last year after ranchers began rebuilding their herds.

Beef imports also factored in the equation.

Pulse crops — peas, beans and lentils — are expected to be a bright spot this year, in part because of a robust export market, he said.

Montana’s manufacturing sector has outperformed the national average in the wake of the recession. In 2014, manufacturers frequently complained of worker shortages, but that is seen as less of a problem last

year.

Metal fabrication, a specialty that’s tied closely to the oil industry, has experienced a slowdown in the Billings area, said economist Todd Morgan.

Yellowstone County’s manufacturing sector supports 3,955 jobs with earnings of nearly $319 million.

The keynote speaker was Doug Young, professor emeritus at Montana State University, who walked the group through Montana’s convoluted property-tax system.

Residential property taxes were about 1.5 per-

cent of wages statewide in 1995, and they rose to about 2 percent of wages in 2015, according to Young.

The biggest reason is the appreciation of residential homes values during that period, which far outpaced other property, he said.

Montanans is also above the national average in how much property taxes comprise state and local taxes, Young said. This shouldn’t be a surprise because Montana lacks a state sales tax, he added.

Erik Olson contributed to this report

TRAVEL&leisure

Businesses need to address risks when employees travel Duty of care is about managing risk for the entire business trip.

Billie Ruff is owner of Travel Cafe and can be reached at travelcafeonline.com.

In light of the tragic terror attacks that occurred in Paris and California, let’s take this opportunity to revisit the importance of traveler security.

Thomas Jefferson once said: “With great risk comes great reward.”

Nothing is truer in today’s business travel environment. You can hardly open a newspaper without hearing about political unrest or natural disasters happening somewhere in the world.

Companies requiring that employees travel to other countries must have strong travel security programs to protect both personnel and corporate information. “The term is duty of care in travel risk management.’

Duty of care is a critical and ever-changing aspect of business travel. Duty of care is about managing risk for the entire business trip. There is only one way to eliminate the risk of business travel. But, since staying home is typically not an option, duty of care strategies are an essential part of your travel policy.

Sending employees to foreign countries on business can result in lucrative new markets and offer exciting experiences for the traveler. Since 2001, however, there have been

a number of international incidents. There have been attacks in London, Madrid, Mumbai, and most recently in Paris and Mali. We actively flew clients home during the Icelandic ash cloud that grounded flights across Europe and stopped passengers on their way to Alaska. Travelers have faced earthquakes, tsunamis, and the nuclear crisis in Japan, and more.

Large organizations are more likely than smaller organizations to include several features in their risk management protocols.

These are pre-travel information to prepare travelers, automated communication about real-time risks, and local providers for medical and security services.

These features may be related to duty of care.

Today, keeping employees safe involves much more than it did even a few years ago. It starts with having a mechanism for knowing where your traveling employees are at any given time. Similarly, companies should have in place a communication plan when faced with possible emergency situations. Many firms limit the number of their management team allowed on the same flight to mitigate any risk. While unpleasant to consider, risk is an impor-

Digital Vision.

Passport Officer at Airport Security

tant aspect of traveler for which every company must be prepared.

Following are just a few guidelines to consider when implementing a duty-of- care plan: Have your traveling employees read the U.S. Department of State’s country-specific information for each country they will be visiting to get information about the availability of medical facilities, U.S. embassy locations and

other safety, health and logistical issues they may need to know about. It is also a good idea for them to register their visit to places of concern with the U. S. Embassy in that country of travel. I did that a few years ago when I traveled to Jordan. I never needed to use it, but the peace of mind was priceless.

Technology is important when it comes to being able to stay in touch with traveling employees 24/7/365. For

communication purposes, make sure all mobile devices have backup batteries and power chargers. There are some powerful travel device chargers available now, such as Power Monkey eXtreme.

Working with a Travel Management Co. that has access to a 24-hour service is also important when faced with trying to find traveling employees in times of emergency, just in case that technology fails for some reason.

March 2016

17

Experts warn against long-term auto loan trend Chicago Tribune After a year of record new-vehicle sales, automakers, dealers, and the banks and finance companies that issue car loans are jubilantly exchanging high-fives.

Analysts list several reasons for record sales of 17.5 million vehicles in 2015, including an improving economy and job market, low interest rates, cheap gas and growth in leasing.

New-car sales also are being driven by easy

credit: Consumers, many with marginal credit ratings, are borrowing higher amounts and for longer loan terms than ever before.

Experian, one of the three major credit bureaus, says that the average loan for a new vehicle in the third quarter was $28,936, up by more than $1,100 from a year earlier, and the average loan was for 67 months.

What’s more, consumers are trying to keep monthly payments affordable by stretching out the payments.

Seventy-one percent of new-vehicle loans were for longer than five years and nearly 30 percent were longer than six years. In addition, 29 percent of new vehicle loans were issued to borrowers with credit scores below prime (660 or lower).

Potentially millions of consumers will owe more than their vehicle is worth for years and will still be making payments after the warranties run out. When they get the new-car itch again, they might have little or no

one of a kind • one at a time

INSURANCE AGENCY

Ask Us Your Insurance Questions Online

1320 28th Street West Billings, MT 59101 call us: (406) 652-4180 visit us online: darnielle.com

Thank You Clients, Community, Friends, & Family for 5 years in business

Managing your Insurance Moves The Independent Contractor – Addressed Again??

Buying Workers’ Compensation Insurance Condominium Association Insurance Transportation Network Companies – TNC’s

Read More at darnielle.com March 2016

tive financial solutions for Experian, argues that delinquency rates on auto loans are lower now than before the recession In the third quarter of 2007, 2.81 percent of auto loans were 30 days past due. In 2015 it was 2.53 percent. The 60day delinquency rate is virtually the same at less than 1 percent. Subprime borrowers — those with credit scores below 600 — take out a smaller chunk of auto loans today than in 2007, 24 percent instead of 28 percent.

TO SUBSCRIBE, CALL 406-657-1298

By guest blogger Dennis P. Gambill, Insurance Litigation Consultant.

18

cial services executives, Curry warned that longer loans are “exposing lenders and investors to higher potential losses.”

“Although delinquency and losses are currently low, it doesn’t require great foresight to see that this may not last. How those auto loans, and especially the nonprime segment, will perform over their life is a matter of real concern to regulators. It should be a real concern to the industry,” he said.

Melinda Zabritski, senior director of automo-

BUSINESS IS LOOKING GOOD.

• Custom Laser • Cutting & Engraving • Full Color Dye Sublimation • Rubber Stamps • Name Badges • Corporate Awards Dennis Crowder • Personalized Gifts 819 16th Street West • 406-245-1681 • Desk Accessories ddc@lasered4u.com • www.engraveables.net • Interior Signs Mon-Fri 8:30-5:00 • Trophies & Awards

DARNIELLE

equity in the vehicle they want to trade in.

Few within the auto or banking industries express concern about these trends, but others warn that loose credit that puts consumers in hock longer and for higher amounts could backfire in the future, especially if there is an economic downturn.

Among those waving a caution flag is Thomas J. Curry, comptroller of the currency, head of the federal agency that regulates banks. In an October speech to finan-

Video Production, Commercial, & Event Coverage

406-534-2070 • alwaysearley.com

To be named one of the best banks in America,

we first had to become one of the best banks in Montana.

This award is more than national recognition—it’s evidence of your trust and confidence. Thank you for helping us achieve this honor.

It’s bigger than banking. It’s you and

firstinterstate.com

together.

Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender.

March 2016

19

Google’s artificial intelligence could count as a car’s driver, federal regulator says Los Angeles Times

will interpret ‘driver’ in the context of Google’s described motor vehicle Google Inc.’s selfdriving system, controlled design as referring to the SDS (self-driving sysby artificial intelligence, could be considered a car’s tem), and not to any of the vehicle occupants,” Paul driver, according to the Hemmersbaugh, chief National Highway Traffic counsel, said in the letter.

Safety Administration.

“We agree with Google its In a letter posted SDV (self-driving vehicle) on NHTSA’s website, will not have a driver in the agency responded the traditional sense that to Google’s request for vehicles have had drivers interpretation of several during the last more than federal safety standards 100 years.” as they apply to the tech Google’s vehicle design giant’s self-driving cars. removes conventional As a premise of the controls such as steering wheels and brake interpretation, “NHTSA

pedals, as the company believes that giving human occupants access to these operations could be “detrimental to safety because the human occupants could attempt to override the (self-driving system’s) decisions,” according to the letter.

The letter said Google, based in Mountain View, Calif., believes its self-driving system will “consistently make the optimal decisions” for the safety of its occupants, pedestrians and others on the road.

There are still many

2016 is the year to MEET!

obstacles to overcome before driverless cars could make a widespread debut on public roads. In the letter, NHTSA said that Google also must certify that self-driving technology meets standards developed for cars with human drivers and that the agency itself must have some way to determine compliance.

“We wish to make clear that many of the other requests present policy issues beyond the scope and limitations of interpretations and thus will need to be addressed

using other regulatory tools or approaches,” Hemmersbaugh said in the letter.

In addition, NHTSA said it may be possible for Google to prove that certain standards are unnecessary for a particular vehicle design, though the company “has not made such a showing.”

Google spokesman Johnny Luu said the company was considering the letter but had no other comment.

Analysts said the interpretation is a small step toward more concrete

regulations and further deployment of driverless vehicles on public roads.

“I think it will be an evolution,” said Jack Nerad, executive editorial director and analyst at Kelley Blue Book.

“Certainly NHTSA is looking well over the horizon, looking to encourage any kind of driving technology that makes things safer, and certainly autonomous driving promises to do that,” he said.

“They want to encourage that, and at the same time keep people safe.”

Integrity. Honesty. Confidentiality.

Meetings and events from 2 to 200.

Flexible space and fantastic food and beverage options.

• Complete meeting packages • Complimentary WiFi / Business Center, • Full service Audio / Visual equipment • Eight miles from Billings Logan International Airport • Group room discounts

A Winning Combination – Earning your confidence while working for you.

Please contact us by email bilbm-salesadm@hilton.com or call 406-655-8800.

Hilton Garden Inn Billings 2465 Grant Road, Billings, MT 59102 406-655-8800 • 1-877-STAY-HGI www.billings.hgi.com

20

March 2016

IT’S BETTER AT THE GARDEN

Travis Dimond • (406) 927-8724 ©2016 HILTON WORLDWIDE

Travis@floberg.com

Surprise insurance fees often follow medical emergencies out-of-network charges were a surprise to nearly 70 percent of patients, who did WASHINGTON — Recovering from a medical not know the services were procedure is always a chal- not covered, according to the non-partisan policy lenge, but getting hit with unexpected insurance fees group.

Here are some key quescan add financial hardship tions and answers about to the process. out-of-network charges and As health insurance potential steps for protectplans become increasingly complicated, more patients ing yourself.

Q: How does this are facing unexpected fees when they step outside their problem occur?

It usually happens when plan’s coverage network. In people need to be hospitalmany cases, patients don’t ized for medical care. Even realize they’ve received though services from their out-of-network care until primary physician may be they’re slapped with a bill covered by their in-netfor hundreds or thousands work insurance coverage, of dollars.

Nearly a third of insured services provided by other professionals, such as anAmericans who have esthesiologists, radiologists financial problems tied to medical bills faced charges and emergency doctors that their insurance would often aren’t. In those cases, the patient will be billed at not cover, according to a recent survey by the Kaiser out-of-network rates.

Family Foundation. These The often-hefty bills

Associated Press

leave many consumers angry and confused. Determining whether various specialists are in your network can be difficult, sometimes impossible, particularly during emergency situations.

“You can’t wake up from a heart attack and say to the ambulance provider, ‘Excuse me, are you in my network?’” says Karen Pollitz, who has studied the issue for the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Q: How much do these fees cost consumers?

Experts say there is little hard data on the cost of out-of-network charges or how frequently they occur.

But a 2011 study by the state of New York found that the average out-of-network emergency bill was about $7,000. After assistance from insurance and other

Associated Press

A lab technician draws blood from a patient at a health center, in Phoenix. As health insurance plans become increasingly complicated, more patients are facing unexpected fees when they step outside their plan’s coverage network. In many cases, patients don’t realize they’ve received out-of-network care until they’re slapped with a bill for hundreds or thousands of dollars. Surprise fees often arise when hospitals send blood samples or medical scans to outside facilities for Please see Insurance, 23 development.

Your Local Bank.

Your Opportunity.

IT Consulting Since 2008 ◆

Unique & customized IT solutions

◆

Ethical, objective advice based on client needs

◆

Superior 24/7 technical support

To learn more about our highly-qualified staff, visit us at

Mike Phillips Market President (406) 256-1891

www.honcooptechnology.com

Opportunity Bank TM

O F M O N TA N A

455 S. 24th Street W. www.opportunitybank.com

NMLS #412554

406-272-1282 March 2016

21

call the experts call the

best

your marketplace for local professionals.

Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Contractors Commercial – Industrial Institutional Systems Custom Metal Fabricators

2041 Harnish Blvd.

PO Box 30776 Billings, Montana

Phone: 248-1757 • Fax: 248-6320 Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors National Association – SMACNA

MAKE YOUR HOUSE HAPPY & HEALTHY WITH CLEAN CARPETS & AIR DUCTS Air Duct cleAning SpeciAl $399 for up to 15 openingS Some restrictions apply. not sold with any other offers.

-Since 1963

Call Today for Air Duct & Carpet Specials!

252-6952

www.steristeam.com

TRUST The Water Experts!

Check out this month’s special at www.AmericanWaterTechnologies.net

134 Regal st. Billings • 406.252.4161 serving the Billings area since 1941

Roofing Fascia Soffits Commercial & Residential

LUMBER CO.

roofing • siding • windows • doors

Licensed Bonded Insured Registered

LocaLLy owned • deLiveRy avaiLabLe • M-F 7-5:30

www.zentzlumberbillings.com

2775 Roundup Rd. • 252-4810

• Uniforms • Linens • Floor Mats

Now Selling Flame-Resistant Workwear

&

Surrounding Areas s City & Servin g Businesses in Billings, Mile

22

March 2016

& Cre reating Images Since 1906 715 Central avenue (406) 252-5172 w www.bigskylinen.com

www.kirknessroofing.com

moore lane

Since 1978

Advanced Employment Services 652-8808 • www.advanced-employment.com locally owned & Operated Do you need an employee for a day or forever?

• We cover all Workers Compensation, Payroll plus Payroll taxes and Unemployment • We work with all types of companies including roofing

Insurance Continued from 21 services, most consumers still had to pay roughly $3,780.

Q: Is there anything I can do to protect myself?

If you have a scheduled surgical procedure coming up, experts say there are certain precautions you can take to insulate yourself from surprise fees. But they warn that even these will not guarantee you won’t be touched by out-of-network providers.

If possible, call the hospital in advance and make sure the surgeon and assistants handling the procedure are part of your insurance network. You can also talk to the hos-

WE CARE. Downtown Chapel 925 S. 27th Street Billings • 245-6427

pital and request that any tests are sent to in-network laboratories for processing.

Surprise fees often arise when hospitals send blood samples or medical scans to outside facilities for development.

Even in these situations, however, hospitals often cannot tell you which radiologist or anesthesiologist will be handling your procedure. That means even if you’ve tried to premanage the process you may receive care from an out-of-network provider.

“This is one of these situations that I think is very challenging for consumers. Consumers just don’t have any control,” says Georgetown University professor Kevin Lucia, an attorney who has studied

WE LISTEN.

West Chapel

304 34th St. West Billings • 245-6427

the problem.

Q: I’ve already received a bill that includes these charges. What can I do now?

The first step is to call your insurance company and let them know what happened. Some employersponsored health plans have policies where patients are not responsible for out-of-network charges, especially if they occur during an emergency. Even if your plan doesn’t have such a benefit, insurance companies can try and work with the hospital to negotiate lower fees.

You can also check if your state has a consumer assistance program to help patients with health insurance problems. Currently, ten states run such pro-

grams, including California, Illinois, Michigan and Maryland.

Q: Is anyone working on a permanent solution to these problems?

Most experts who have studied the issue say legal changes are needed to protect consumers for surprise

medical fees. In most cases that means new laws at the state level.

New York recently implemented a law that relieves patients from out-ofnetwork expenses that arise from emergencies or certain other circumstances. The law does not eliminate the

Puzzled by Cloud ComPuting?

Let Vision Net Help You Put the Pieces Together!

Whether you are looking for hosted servers, virtual desktops or backup solutions, Vision Net’s cloud-based services provide a comprehensive answer for any small to medium sized business.

Our state of the art network will provide you redundant connections to our geographically diverse data centers to assure you safe and consistent service. Then we back the whole thing up with our world class support center that is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to keep an eye on those critical services and help you maximize your cloud experience.

Give us a call and let’s work together to drive your business to new heights!

WE HELP.

Smith Chapels

Laurel & Columbus 628-6858

fees, but instead requires insurance companies and hospitals to begin negotiations to resolve the charges.

“The consumer is out of the process at that point,” says Pollitz. “They pay what they would have paid if they were in-network and then they’re done.”

www.vision.net 1-866-334-8638 | sales@vision.net

Olcott Chapel Red Lodge 446-1121

call the experts call the

best

your marketplace for local professionals.

Today is the day to start a heart healthy life

Leading the Way in Mortgage Lending

Now!

Teri lost 44 lbs and 60 inches!

“This program changed my life in so many ways. I love exercising and staying fit.” Ask about

DeDe Stoner

(o) 406-237-0104 (c) 406-208-4404 Terms & Conditions Apply

490 North 31st Street Suite 130 Billings, MT 59101 406-252-2600 • 406-237-0185 fax

4 YEARS IN A ROW

getting your first week

FREE!

Before

www.dedestoner.com

No Origination Fee

Branch NMLS #140408 NMLS #250504 Company NMLS #3274

1025 Shiloh Crossing Blvd • 406-652-9142 • www.balancedietbillings.com March 2016

23

STRATEGIESfor success

A professional audit of your books can be well worth the expense Investigating the finances of any firm or organization will always ‘Spook the Herd.’

Joe Michels, Ph.D., P.E., C.P.I., is principal of Solomon Bruce Consulting LLC. Contact him at 406-672-6387 or at solomonbruce.com.

24

March 2016

A term that I use with many of our career counselling clients is “Don’t spook the herd.” I use this aphorism to ensure that new employees find a cultural fit in their new job and learn how to get along with their new colleagues in the early stages of their new assignment.

However, a time when you do need to “spook the herd” is when company money is involved. The December 2015 edition of Texas Magazine portrayed the story of an accountant at Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana, Texas, and the approximately $18 Million that he embezzled from the firm. Sadly, this story is not unique. Just last week, the Wyoming Fiddlers Association fired their long-time secretary for embezzling approximately $10,000 from the organization.

We worked with a major automobile dealer who learned, after a new chief financial officer came on board, that a long-time employee embezzled approximately $250,000 from the dealership. A new church business manager identified a long-time church staff member embezzling from the offering each week. In many cases, the individual involved justifies his or her actions because of low pay, jealousy of senior company/organizational officials or having an ad-

diction problem such as drugs or gambling.

In each instance, the president or chief executive officer did not realize what was going on until another staff member identified that a problem was occurring with the organizational finances.

The employee who is normally involved is a long time trusted employee who one would never think or suspect would be involved in such activity.

This employee is normally one who always knows the answer to any financial or accounting question, no matter who asks.

Many businesses or organizations elect not to prosecute the individual involved for fear of bad publicity or negative public reaction. However, as bad as the publicity may be, stealing is stealing.

There is no equivocation here.

The easiest way to ascertain if your business has this problem, and trust me, most businesses do, is to conduct an external audit of company finances. Yes, this costs money. However, having an external audit will identify whether your accounting procedures are in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Many accounting firms that conduct audits will qualify the audit results and state that fraud detection is not part

A professional audit can prevent thieves from raiding your business.

of the audit. However, if found, it will be identified.

The next step is to have an uninterested third party, a business consultant or other accounting firm, come in and begin asking questions of the financial staff. We like the “Why” question best. The “Why” question engenders a series of follow-on questions, each digging deeper

Pixland

into the issue. This technique, used extensively in industrial quality control applications, continues to explore “why” something happens.

Normally, if there is a financial accounting problem, this technique will identify the issue.

This can be tedious and somewhat difficult to accomplish. However, the

end result is that either everything is in order and no further audits are necessary or a problem has been identified which requires further exploration and resolution.

Investigating the finances of any firm or organization will always “Spook the Herd.” However, this is good. If there are no problems identified, you can rest assured that your financial systems are in order. If problems are detected, you can take action to resolve those deficiencies in a timely manner.

Our experience in matters such as these is that many individuals do not like to have their integrity or veracity questioned.

However, we always point out that we are not questioning or impugning an individual’s integrity, we are ensuring that the firm’s internal accounting control procedures are working as designed.

Take a look at all of your accounting and bookkeeping procedures.

Make sure that you understand what is going on, why you are taking certain actions and the reasoning behind the methodology you choose. Remember, it is your money that is involved. Don’t be afraid to make the hard decisions if you find improper actions.

After all, you worked to make money!

BETTERbusiness

Phishing scams often arrive disguised as a message from IT Scammers get creative in hopes that their potential victims don’t question the legitimacy of the message.

Erin T. Dodge is an editor for the Better Business Bureau of Eastern Washington, Northern Idaho and Montana in Spokane.

Contact the bureau at spokane.bbb.org.

One day at work, things are rolling along so smoothly that you wonder why every day couldn’t be like this. The finish line for that big project you’ve been working on is on the horizon. You take a break, check your email. IT has sent an email that says you need to download a security update ASAP. You follow the instructions. It seems to go well. You take a stretch break before getting back to work on your project. But your computer is acting glitchy. You’ve been scammed. Your good day has just rolled off a cliff.

How the scam works: Scammers are targeting business emails with generic “IT Helpdesk” emails, often claiming that an update is needed to block a security hole and prevent phishing by hackers. This ironic scam is in fact phishing for information such as the target’s computer login and password. Or the email may be a malware download attempt in order to access files and accounts on business computers.

Scammers get creative in hopes that their potential victims don’t question the legitimacy of the message. For example, the email may appear to come from the office scanner or

voicemail system, instead of the IT department.

Machines do communicate with us, so if the message seems like a generic message that could be programmed within a system, we may not question it.

How to handle phishing scams: First, you shouldn’t click on a link from an email like this.

Second, you should check with the person at your company who would know if an update is expected and if the email is legitimate.

If you know an email, or even a text message, is not legitimate, then you should delete it. Some IT departments set up an email account for reviewing spam emails. So if yours has, you can forward the suspect email before deleting it.

In some variations, the email or a text message may direct you to call an IT helpline. If this is the case, before calling, you should check in with the person who would be most knowledgeable about the systems used at work and what warranty and service agreements are in place.

This can be important because scammers could have someone waiting on the other end of a fake phone number as part of the scam. Or the phone number could be a toll line

in the Caribbean, which could rack up per minute charges on your company’s phone bill.

If an unexpected email seems to be coming from a business or organization you do business with and it doesn’t seem quite right, don’t respond, click any links or open any attachments. Instead, you should check with the organization directly at the website or phone number you know to be correct. Scammers do attempt to mimic large banks, software companies and business-to-business service companies as a way to lure in as many unsuspecting employees as possible.

Other avoidable signs of phishing: Even if the email seems believable, it is wise to err on the side of caution. One trick scammers use with emails is spoofing. Spoofing is when they make it seem like the email was sent from a trusted account. They show that trusted email account when, in fact, it comes from the scammer’s email.

Also, if the email has poor or awkward grammar, you should immediately be suspicious. Misspellings, incorrect verbs and even sentences that just sound awkward are all possible signs of a scam.

You should also be suspi-

cious of generic language.

When an email fails to include specifics, such as your name, company name and their name, product or service, this could be a sign that the email is a scam that is being sent out to as many people as possible, in hopes of hooking many targets.

Some tips to stay safe: Your IT department or consultant has probably already installed security software on your work computers and devices. Once installed, it is a good idea to set them to update automatically.

Or if you get a message that an update is needed, check with IT to make sure it isn’t a bogus message before downloading.

Some of the best advice for work or at home is to never email personal or financial information. Email is not a secure way to transmit information. If your business regularly needs to email sensitive information, you should look into secure email services that encrypt and password-protect the information.

Only enter sensitive information into a website that uses secure URLs. This means that the website starts with https and, in many browsers, will show a lock near the URL. If a website asks you to login in to your account and doesn’t

have the https in front of the URL, then don’t log in. It could be a look-a-like website, trying to capture your login information for malicious and fraudulent use.

Caution is your friend whenever an attachment exists with an email. File attachments are critical to the collaboration process for just about any business today. If you unexpectedly receive an email attachment, that’s the time to reach out to the sender and make sure she really sent it.

To help catch spammers, the Federal Trade Commission encourages everyone to send spam emails to spam@uce.gov.

The Anti-Phishing Working Group , an organization that includes internet service providers, cyber security companies and law enforcement agencies, among others, asks that you report phishing by forwarding the email in question to reportphishing@apwg.org.

If you or someone you work with has fallen victim to a spam scam, you can report it to the FTC at www. ftccomplaintassistant. gov. To see what scams are trending in your area or to report a scam, you can visit the BBB Scam Tracker at www.bbb.org/scamtracker.

March 2016

25

Business Briefs Local Commerce at a Glance

Helena bank is purchased

A Helena-based company says it has reached an agreement to buy First Security Bank of Helena.

Ascent Bancorp expects to close that deal as soon as April 1.

The company plans to keep First Security’s name and its employees. It did not disclose the family-owned bank’s purchase price.

First Security, located at 1721 11th Ave., was founded

by Montana native Paul Caruso in 1970. Ascent, which is helmed by an executive team of Helena natives, “looks forward to building on the strong Caruso family reputation,” the company said in a statement.

Ascent CEO Loren Brown, a former executive with Mountain West Bank, said the company signed a purchase agreement to take ownership of First Security on Dec. 30, but is still raising capital to complete the move.

If completed, that deal would count as a first for Ascent, which was founded

by Brown and 11 other board members in July 2015.

Prominent Helena-area doctors, bankers and businessmen are all set to appear in the fledgling company’s boardroom. Even Rep. Chuck Hunter, the termlimited Montana House minority leader, holds a stake.

The company, founded specifically to acquire First Security, isn’t necessarily planning to snap up any other banks any time soon.

“At this point, we’re definitely growth-oriented, but there’s no firm plans to buy anything else,” Brown said. “We want to give First Security time to grow.”

IRS considers co-employment

Steve Bentley, senior vice president of finance for Avitus Group, has met with top IRS officials and attorneys from the Treasury Department to discuss the

PRINT

26

March 2016

logistics of implementing the Small Business Efficient Act, or SBEA. The act is designed to create an IRS certification process for businesses like Avitus Group in the co-employment industry.

Under the co-employment model, the co-employer organization, such as Avitus Group, is considered the employer of record as far as the government is concerned, and is responsible for payroll, employment taxes and other records. The business owner remains the supervising employer. The arrangement is designed to free up the business owner’s time to focus on growing the business rather than other administrative chores.

The Small Business Efficiency Act became effective on Jan. 1, 2016, but it hasn’t been implemented yet as the IRS has requested more guidance on how to property certify co-employment businesses.

“For the first time in the history of the IRS code,

ONLINE

the IRS is being required to receive and review audited financial statements from taxpayers,” Bentley said.

“The IRS requested guidance from industry leaders, and I’m happy I was able to help answer their questions and move the act closer to implementation.”

The next step will be for representatives in the co-employment industry to fill out an application to be evaluated be approved as a certified co-employment business, Bentley said.

“I feel this meeting was a critical step in the right direction as this act truly helps small businesses, and that is our goal.”

The co-employment industry accounts for $81 billion in revenues each year, according to a coemployment industry trade association, of which Avitus Group is a member.

ers have a new way to raise capital — through equity crowdfunding — now overseen by the Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance Monica Lindeen.

Many Montanans are already familiar with various online fundraising mechanisms, such as GoFundMe and Kickstarter. But to raise equity in a company – to sell its own stock to investors – businesses generally have had to undergo a lengthy process to gain approval of the securities.

But that changed with the unanimous passage of House Bill 481 by the 2015 Montana Legislature. Now, with just a $50 filing fee and an application 10 days prior to any fundraising, Montana businesses can raise up to $1 million from Montana investors in a 12-month period.

“Now Montana busiCrowdfunding nesses can raise equity starts in Montana directly from Montana Montana business own- investors,” Lindeen said.

MOBILE

TABLET

APPS

“With this new process, more and more Montana entrepreneurs can reach out directly to their customers and neighbors to help them realize their dreams, without costly and complicated regulations or going to the bank.”

Investors must be Montana residents and can invest small amounts, or up to $10,000, although accredited investors can invest unlimited funds. The company must provide certain disclosures to the investors — and CSI provides a template at www.csimt. gov to help businesses get started.

Since this law took effect, the Office of the Commissioner of Securities and Insurance has received and approved two applications from Montana businesses.

They expect to see more, as Montana was rated the top state in the nation for start-up businesses by the Kauffman Index in 2014 and 2015.

Business Briefs Success Stories Recognizing People Local and Commerce Achievements at a Glance

Grass elected Ortiz certified in GCSAA president obesity care Peter J. Grass, golf course superintendent at Hilands Golf Club in Billings, has been elected to a one-year term as president of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America at the association’s annual meeting, held in conjunction with the Golf Industry Show in San Diego.

Grass, a certified golf course superintendent, served as vice president of the association in 2015 and has been a member of the association’s board of directors since 2009. A 31-year member of GCSAA, Grass also is a member and past president of the Peaks and Prairies Golf Course Superintendents Association, one of 98 GCSAA regional chapters.

A native of Mankato, Minn., Grass earned a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Montana College in Billings. He succeeds John J. O’Keefe, CGCS and director of golf course management at Preakness Hills Country Club in Wayne, N.J., who served as president for 2015.

O’Keefe will continue on the board as immediate past

standing in obesity care.

ABOM collaborates with the National Board of Medical Dr. Jeanne Ortiz with Examiners to administer the the Billings Clinic Diabeannual credentialing exam. tes, Endocrinology, and Ortiz attended medical Metabolism Center has been school at Ponce Health Scicertified by ences University and comthe Ameripleted her family medicine can Board residency at Wilson Memoof Obesity Medicine as rial Hospital. She began at Billings Clinic in 1998, an ABOM joining the Diabetes, EndoDiplomate.

ORTIZ ABOM Dip- crinology and Metabolism Center team in 2014 to focus lomates are specialists in obesity medi- on medical weight management, metabolic syndrome, cine who undergo rigorous and diabetes care. training and an extensive examination process to achieve this designation.

2 licensed as This designation represents state sanitarians the highest level of achieveHannah Groves and Sue ment in the medical speCozzens passed the national cialty of obesity medicine. examination for EnvironThe American Board of mental Health Specialists Obesity Medicine serves the and achieved licensure in public and the field of obesiMontana as Registered Sanity medicine by establishing a credentialing protocol and tarians. Groves joined RiverStone Health after graduatmaintaining standards for ing from Rocky Mountain assessment and certification of candidate physicians. College in Billings in May of Certification as a Diplomate 2015 with a degree in biology and a minor in mathematof the American Board of ics. Cozzens graduated from Obesity Medicine signifies Rocky Mountain College excellence in the practice with a bachelor’s degree in of obesity medicine and distinguishes a physician as biology. She joined Rivhaving achieved a high level erStone Health in April of 2015. of competency and under-

Hereim joins Merrll Lynch

Melissa Hereim has joined The Anderson Hedge Wagner & Associates Team at Merrill Lynch as a registered client associate. Hereim specializes in a variety of private banking and support functions, HEREIM and provides each client with attentive, knowledgeable and personal service.

She is Series 7 and 66 licensed.

tana for two years. He may be reached at 647-4309.

or emailing JMcGinnis@ billingsgazette.com.

McGinnis returns Robinson honored to Gazette

by AAA Travel Joe McGinnis has

rejoined The Billings Gazette’s advertising department as an advertising consultant. McGinnis has 19-plus years of advertising and marketing experience in Montana and has helped hundreds of businesses achieve their objectives.

He brings a strong background MCGINNIS in print Berkshire and eHathaway adds 3 commerce Justine Timmons, Ashley marketing.

McGinnis is Thorson and Jim Flynn have available to help with print joined Berkshire Hathaway and digital advertising, HomeServices Floberg Real Estate as licensed real estate website consulting and agents, specializing in resi- improving social media marketing results. After dential properties. spending the last five Timmons attended years honing his e-comMontana State University Billings. She may be reached merce skills at Home Science Tools, he is excited to at 839-5860. return to The Billings GaThorson attended Unizette so he can help more versity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She may be reached local businesses grow.

McGinnis may be reached at 869-7683. by calling 406-657-1284 Flynn has lived in Mon-

Ellen Robinson of AAA MountainWest has received AAA’s Top Travel Award in 2015 for travel sales. She may be reached by calling at 869-4213.

Flooring America hires 2

Myndi Lorenz and Sheri Bond have joined The Cabinet Center team at Flooring America.

Lorenz brings extensive experience creating designer kitchens that provide premium function and beauty, and expertise guiding clients through design options, budgets, lifestyle needs and more. She is available for in-home or store consultations and may be reached by calling 651-4678.

Bond has a long background in home improvement and has specialized in kitchen and bath design for more than 20 years. She welcomes large and small projects. She may be reached by emailing sheri@carpetone. bz or calling 656-9300.

March 2016

27

Residential Permits

3789 Glantz Drive, Plotner, Lester Alvin III, One Source Construction LLC, $650 3130 Georgina Drive, Vissr, Albert M. and Joyce J., One Source Construction LLC, $5,000

442 Indian Trail, Fredrickson, Brent and Brooke, Craigo Construction, $1,000 143 Lewis Ave., Adam, Paul W., Yellowstone Basin Construction $35,000 4158 Bainbridge Circle, Dorn/ Lowe LLC, Stuart Anderson Construction, $16,640 1720 Cook Ave., Buyske, Joey and Erin, Craigo Construction, $1,000 1087 Clark Ave., Harper, Milo, One Source Construction LLC, $1,800 1907 Avenue C, Leckie, James L., Northwest Custom Improvements, $900 1035 Yellowstone River Road, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Tim Mullins Construction, $8,000 2961 W. Copper Ridge Loop, Oakland Built Homes Inc., $14,920 4536 Hi Line Drive, Vestal, Ryan E. and Kyla S., Win-Dor Industries, $60,114 2708 Miles Ave., Barry Wanker Structural, $500 835 Jackson St., Freier, Harold C., Levi’s Construction, $3,000 113 N. 19th St., Troy Daly, $5,000

3533 Briarwood Blvd., Tanner, Warren G. and Colleen A., Big Sky Exterior Designs Inc., $4,200 2189 Ridgewood Lane S., Haag, Richard L. and Brookney L., Ty Nelson Construction, $20,000 2326 Constellation Trail, Claudia Pierce, $25,000 3129 Laredo Place, Gallagher, Margaret R., Lynnrich Inc., $1,332 1254 Yellowstone River Road, McDanel, Evelyn M., Lynnrich Inc. $1,616 475 Moore Lane, S&S Leasing LLC et al, Lynnrich Inc., $3,630 3542 Cook Ave., Brown, Kirk L. and Christi M., One Source Construction LLC, $2,100 2158 Largo Circle, Oakland Built Homes Inc., $147,015 1242 Benjamin Blvd., Dawson Builders, $164,975 1419 King Charles St., Dorn Property LLC, Dorn Construction LLC, $187,290 1719 W. Thunder Mountain Road, Jeff Junkert Construction Inc., $249,800 1513 Anchor Ave., Rod Vetter, All Seasons Roofing, $165,400 1701 E. Thunder Mountain Road, Jeff Junkert Construction

1829 Arcadia Drive, Eby, Mark A. and Elizabeth S., Fisher Construction Inc., $55,000 1310 Benjamin Blvd., Bob Pentecost Construction Inc., $17,000 2646 Clark Ave., Yeager, Christina, Rocking JR Services LLC, $4,000 2849 Parkhill Drive, Fink, Amy M., Pinnacle Remodeling, $3,000 1001 Rimrock Road, Long, Valeria and Dustin D., C Squared Construction, $500 622 Oakmont Road, Breitwiser, Courtney A., C Squared Construction, $500 112 Wyoming Ave., Leischner, Jeffrey C., One Source Construction LLC, $2,000 304 S. 31st St., Hagstrom Properties, Great White Construction, $9,500 304-1/2 S. 31st St., Johnson, Pamela E. and Michael J., Great White Construction, $5,500 313 N. 33rd St., Odis, Hakins,

$7,000 936 Avenue E, Hawkins, Donna Jean, American Exteriors LLC, $14,286 550 Sprint Circle, Granneman, Jacob Andrew, American Exteriors LLC, $7,500 310 Ecton Circle, Trimble, Robert U., Wegner Homes, $750 4546 Swan Lane, Berry, James R. and Pamela W., C’s Construction of Billings, $9,202 2403 Elm St., Moyers, Zachary D., Win-Dor Industries, $16,862 2322 Quinn Haven Drive, Callen, Jerry and Carol S., Win-Dor Industries, $4,557 3018 Mactavish Circle, Smith, Gregory E. and Kerri L., Win-Dor Industries, $1,631 610 Joyce St., Wicks, Britton R. and Virginia, Win-Dor Industries, $861 909 Rimrock Road, Craig, Douglas O. and Batt, Kelly, Win-Dor Industries, $20,435 312 Eighth St. W., Henrickson Family Irrevocable, Win-Dor Industries Replace Window, $889 There were 22 Fence/Roof/ Siding permits issued in January.

Montana Sapphire Drive, 8942206 All Phase Contracting, 742 Dunham Ave., 698-5546 Happy Spa, 1833 Grand Ave., 702-7640 Stuart Anderson Construction, 210 N. 16th St., 861-4864 M.O.M.S. Wellness Emporium, 2918 Grand Ave., 252-6667

Fasteners Inc., A Division of Fastenal Co., 4015 First Ave. S., 507-454-5374 Better Than Ever Carpet Care, Roundup, 694-2731 Bush Tactical, 2531 Broadwater Ave., 694-3026 G.B. Global Bookkeeping, 2203 Wyoming Ave., 656-4738 Yellowstone Polygraphic LLC,

304 Grand Ave., 876-4173 The Art of Play, 605 24th St. W., 272-2129 4 Way Haulin, 8 Gatewood Drive, 281-1213 Total Nutrition, 1601 Grand Ave., #200 Abe’s Painting, 3035 Western Bluffs Blvd., 641-525-0337 Kelsey Industrial, 2921 Sara-

toga Trail, 208-6509 Mystic Gifts and Novelty, 4324 S. Frontage Road, 699-7259 Smiling Dog Records, 2702 Minnesota Ave., 861-6453 Lund Drywall LLC, 2106 13th St. W., 896-8737 Railyard Ale House & Casino, 2526 Montana Ave., 867-2337 The Giraffe Garden, 2815 Ar-

rowhead Meadows, 860-9479 M.EINC@ETC., 307 S. 30th St., 927-3051 Q2C LLC, 5425 Corner Stone Ave., 665-5649 OneMain Financial Group LLC, 1633 Main St., 238-9800 Melissa Rehm Insurance Agency Co., 520 Wicks Lane, Suite 9, 259-9795

LLC, Oakland Built Homes Inc., $169,925 1726 Island View Drive, McCall 808 N. 15 St., Carlos, Shawna, Development, $177,285 Sharp Construction LLC, $3,000 2706 Hanover Circle, Mont Vista Homes LLC, $171,315 New Garage 1020 Moon Valley Road, Laemmie, Ella C. and Joe M., New Garage 3987 Rifle Creek Trail, Baum, $79,440 1718 E. Thunder Mountain Craig A. and Denise K., C’s ConRoad, Jeff Junkert Construction struction of Billings, $20,160 Inc., $230,400

Demolition

New Single Family 1039 Vineyard Way, Dorn Property and Homes LLC, Kisling Quality Builders, $500,000 2151 Largo Circle, Oakland Building Homes Inc., Oakland Built Homes Inc., $146,280 1740 Island View Drive, McCall Development, $186,705 2150 Largo Circle, Oakland Built Homes Inc., $141,340 6841 Copper Ridge Loop, Copper Ridge Development LLC, Bob Pentecost Construction, $319,000 1502 Carson Way, Kristian, Nickol, $284,220 3123 Reflections Circle, Reflections at Copper Ridge

New Two Family 4196 Bainbridge Circle, Nelson, Samuel J. and Jaime L., Cougar Construction, $450,000 3033 Golden Acres Drive, Chad Hooker Properties LLC, $375,420

Remodel Single/ Duplex/Garage

Inc., $282,275

Remodel Single/ Duplex/Garage

Business licenses The following licenses were issued to businesses in January.

The information is collected from the city of Billings.

Lucky’s Grand Casino, 1411 13th St. W., 245-4976 Polished Salon & Boutique, 1407 Wyoming Ave., #5, 2566175 The Divide Bar & Grill, 4020

28

March 2016

Business licenses, continued Sharp Excavation, 3712 Decathlon Parkway, 390-1610 Delivery 2 U, 107 Birchwood Drive, 670-6228 Big Sky ATM LLC, 3844 Parkhill Drive, 697-9800 Montana Comedy LLC, 3844 Parkhill Drive, 697-9800 Handy Dan Carpentry, Laurel, 696-8838, Nails By Brooke LLC, 3429 Central Ave., Suite B, 860-4405 Premier Cleaning Services, 1240 OMalley Drive, 591-1741 Auto Importers LLC, 4432 S. Frontage Road, 877-6037757 B&M Construction, 7441 Folsom Road, 208-3896

PRINT

DMF Motorsports LLC, 1249 Reece Drive, 850-2940 R&L Painting and Remodeling, 1126 N. 22nd St., 272-3703 Big Sky Gaming LLC, Las Vegas, 702-893-7777 Loud And Proud Karaoke, 1123 First Ave. N., 969-1101 Vancleve Construction, 1801 Wagon Wheel Road, 591-3347 Erika Peters Paints, 901 Parkview Drive, 661-5622 Katie Howells, 2178 Interlachen Drive, 925-9770 Buttons & Bows Too Childcare, 1104 Sunnyside Lane, Unit 2, 699-0150

ONLINE

C.A. Lees Construction LLC, 705 Yellowstone Ave., 694-8794 Enterprise Truck Rental, 5044 Midland Road, Suite A, 495-9813 Guardipee Photography, 3769 Heritage Drive, 880-2373 Vinyl Monkeys, 224 Rolling Meadow Drive, 598-5639 Auto Glass Direct of Billings Inc., 3724 First Ave. S., 2946991 Accutitle Inc., 3302 Fourth Ave. N., Suite 100 Thirsty Street Brewing Co., 3008 First Ave. N. Peaks & Prairies Bookkeeping, 6180 Pleasant Hollow Trail,

MOBILE

Shepherd Niq V Yoga, 4520 Gators Way, 970-402-2300 Velum Skin and Laser Center, 178 S. 32nd St. W., Suite 3, 656-1244 The Bike Shop On Grand, 1934 Grand Ave., 652-1202 Domestications, 4906 Box Canyon Road, 698-8472 Billings Onsite Truck Repair, 2358 Jasmine Circle, 694-6931 Hearthstone Wealth Management, 303 N. Broadway, Suite 800 Bamf Construction, 918 Rex Lane, 208-874-3048 Outward Media Group LLC, 926 Main Street, #25, 252-

TABLET

5252 Corps Contracting LLC, 1011 Wiloma Drive, 910-3400342 Tyke Town Childcare, 1818 Dogwood Drive, 698-2089 Splinters Designs by Jeff Zitur, 212 N. 13th St., 894-2525 Treasure State Corals, 80 White Sands Drive, 672-5859 Palmiter Roofing, 2611 Arvin Road, 314-3581 Cards in the Yard, 1273 Governors Blvd., 252-0872 Eaglerider Billings, 6900 Frontage Road, 256-7108 3 Bella Donna’s 5203 Black Stone Circle, 927-6780 Katie Vanderloos LLC, 2049

Broadwater Ave., Suite 1, 671-9930 Montana Rev It Up Recess, 1505 Burlington Ave., 6970861 De Jager Construction Inc., Wyoming, Mich., 616-5300060 KR8TIV Kordz, Laurel, 2300949 CMFM Custom, Laurel, 672-3840 Grow World LLC, 3130 King Ave. W., 850-7266 Grille 30 LLC, 1123 First Ave. N., 570-0617 Metro-Clean, 310 Sahara Drive, 208-7832

APPS

March 2016

29

Bankruptcies Anton Leo Murr, Stephanie Larry Duane Brown, 443 Hill- Chapter 13 ming Ave., Jan. 14.

Billings area filings in U.S. Chapter 7 view Lane, Jan. 13 Delbert Kennedy, Charlene Murr, 516 First St. W., Jan. 29.

Bankruptcy Court, Jan. 1-31, Gayla Larae Power, 15 Swords Nickolaus E. Clawson Sr., Brandon Dean Moline, 4 BoL. Kennedy, 210 Westgate Drive, 2016. Addresses are in Billings Lane, Jan. 12 Patricia L. Clawson, 2321 Wyonanza Drive, Jan. 19.

Jan. 29. unless otherwise noted.

Montana patents Below are listed U.S. patents issued to Montana inventors Dec. 22, 2015-Jan. 19, 2016. For assistance in patent filing, call Billings patent attorney Antoinette M. Tease at 406-294-9000.

Jeffrey M. Golini, of Bozeman: Choline composition.

9,216,160, Dec. 22.

Kurtis Sparing, Thomas M. Gregory, both of Belgrade; Robert A. Kincaid, Craig Adam Lamb, both of Bozeman; Todd L. Birten of Virginia Beach, Va.; Matt S. Leach of Bremerton, Wash.: Modular illumination device. 9,217,558, Dec.

22, Vista Outdoor Operations LLC, Clearfield, Utah.

Scott Fahrenbruck, Bruce Hazeltine, Andrew Schweyen, Shawn Skinner, all of Missoula: Apparatus and methods for conversion of silicon tetrachloride to trichlorosilane. 9,217,609, Dec. 22, GTAT Corporation, Merrimack, N.H. William J. Ritter of Bozeman: Heel lock for splitboard binding interface. 9,220,968, Dec. 29.

Raymond Robert Kavarsky Jr., Bozeman; Chistopher M. Doyle, Scott T. Keller, both of Waterbury, Vt.: Snowboard

binding and boot. 9,220,970, Dec. 29, The Burton Corporation, Burlington, Vt. Paul R. Mchugh, Gregory J. Wilson, both of Kalispell: Electroplating systems and methods for high sheet resistance substrates. 9,222,195, Dec. 29, Applied Materials Inc., Santa Clara, Calif.

R. Shmuel Asher of Billings, Van Barker of Tuttonboro, N.H.: Ambidextrous charging handle for firearm.

9,222,738, Dec. 29.

Timothy R. Feldman of Louisville, Colo.; James Prescott Hughes of Palo Alto,

Calif.; Martin R. Furuhjelm of Hamilton: Object-based commands with quality of service identifiers. 9,223,612, Dec. 29, Seagate Technology LLC, Cupertino, Calif.

Gary Naden of Bozeman; Dale Reiser of Meridian, Idaho: System and method for implementation of a direct sequence spread spectrum transmitter. 9,225,383, Dec. 29, Geoforce Inc., Irving, Texas.

Jeffrey A. Bowers of Issaquah, Wash.; Geoffrey F. Deane, Nathan P. Myhrvold, Clarence T. Tegreene, Lowell

SUBSCRIBE NOW!

Name

Only 19 for a Year of

Address

$

95

News-Packed Issues

L. Wood Jr., all of Bellevue, Wash.; Phillip A. Sullivan of Bozeman; Russell J. Hannigan of Sammamish, Wash; Roderick A. Hyde of Redman, Wash; Muriel Y. Ishikawa of Livermore, Calif; Nathan Kundtz of Kirkland, Wash.; David R. Smith of Durham, N.C.; David B. Tuckerman of Lafayette, Calif.: Systems and methods for adaptive vehicle sensing system. 9,230,442, Jan. 5, Elwha LLC, Bellevue, Wash.

Michael S. Sandacz of Glen Ellyn, Ill.; Michael A. Stine of Lake Zurich, Ill.; Mark A. La

Vine of Carol Stream, Ill.; Melvin Paden of Kalispell; Patrick D. Walker of Park Ridge, Ill.; Jame W. Althoff of Wilmette, Ill.: Sealing system for a fluid catalyst cracking regenerator.

9,233,354, Jan. 12, UOP LLC, Des Plaines, Ill. Rajesh Baskaran of Dracut, Mass.; Robert W. Batz Jr., John Lee Klocke, Kyle M. Hanson, all of Kalispell; Bioh Kim of Milford, Conn.; Thomas L. Ritzdorf of Bigfork: Electrolytic copper process using anion permeable barrier. 9,234,293, Jan. 12, Applied Materials Inc., Santa Clara, Calif.

Business Name

Zip Email Phone

Payment:

An Indispensable Business Resource.

30

March 2016

r Check enclosed r Bill me

r r r r Expiration Card #

Natural gas isthe right choice!

1-800-638-3278 Montana-Dakota.com clean • abundant • affordable • efficient • reliable • safe • domestic • environmentally friendly

In the Community to Serve®

Commercial building permits January 2016 Addition

Addition

1849 Majestic Lane Park, Street Investments LC, Langlas & Associates Inc., $80,000 423 24th St. W., Auto Works 360 LLC, $210,000

Fence/Roof/Siding 4848 Midland Road, The City Of Billings, Commercial Roof, $3,398 348 Calhoun Lane, Steiner American Corporation, Centimark Corp., $156,000 317 S. 26th St., Aldinger, Darrell D., Capital Roof & Construction LLC, $50,000

PRINT

1041 N. 29th St., Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, Bradford Roof Management Inc., $180,000 4015 First Ave. S., Hagstrom Properties LLC, Wegner Homes, $7,200

New Townhomes (Three or More Units) 1607 17th St. W., Billings 55 Apartments LLC, Jackson Contractor Group Inc., $17,998,492 1900 Songbird Drive, McCall Development, $1,264,000

ONLINE

New Warehouse/ Storage

Remodel

445 Bernard St., Robin Dangerfield, The Lawn Ranger, $340,000 1290 Sierra Granda Blvd., Atonement Lutheran Church, S Bar S Supply Contractor, $37,862 3429 Briarwood Blvd., The Briarwood, Jones Construction Inc., $12,000 303 N. 28th St., First Building Corporation, Sprague Construction Roofing Division, $17,000 Building Misc., Holy Cross Cemetery, B&W Builders, $29,000

MOBILE

3318 Third Ave. N., 3318 Third Ave North LLC, G&L Enterprizes, $170,000 1025 Grand Ave., Harbour Towne Limited Partners, Cucancic Construction Inc., $280,000 300 S. 24th St. W., Rimrock Owner LP, National Contractors Inc., $1,600,000 1400 S. 24th St. W., 1400 S 24th LLC, $55,000 1739 Spring Creek Lane, ONI Realty Investors LLC, Capital Development Inc., $125,000 402 N. 32nd St., Young Men’s Christian Association, Langlas & Associates Inc.,

TABLET

$100,000 1537 Main St., SFH LLC, Jones Construction Inc., $2,500 2501 Montana Ave., Computers Unlimited, Brad Hudson Inc., $500 2401 Grand Ave., Glacier Bank, Dick Anderson Construction, $295,000 3429 Briarwood Blvd., The Briarwood, Jones Construction Inc., $7,500 3220 Henesta Drive, Gammy Group LLP, Langlas & Associates. Inc., $52,000 503 24th St. W., India Grill, C.A. Lees Construction LLC, $6,000 112 N. 28th St., Marion Inc., $3,000

1306 Central Ave., Duray, Mathew A., $20,000 1595 Grand Ave., Boardman Westpark LLC, Fisher Construction Inc., $79,000 111 N. 31st St., Roger Daniel, Langlas & Associates Inc., $120,000 1595 Grand Ave. Prospect, Ed, Shater Collage Camus Care, Fisher Construction Inc., $260,000 1233 N. 27th St., Rimrock Inn LLC, Yellowstone Basin Construction, $20,000 300 S. 24th St. W., Rimrock Owner LP, Gray-I.C.E., $75,000 4011 Montana Sapphire Drive, Jeff Yeley, Hulteng Inc., $115,000

APPS

March 2016

31

Building a

BETTER BILLINGS Construction Loans

Lines of Credit

Lot Loans

Billings #1 Construction Lender

King Ave 655-2700

Hilltop & Main 896-4800

Shiloh & Grand 655-3900

Downtown 655-2400

14th & Grand 371-8100

Worden 967-3612

Ranking based on market-share reports gathered by Rocky Mountain Statistics (RMS) Information Services.

Š 2016 Stockman Bank | Member FDIC

32

March 2016

WWW.STOCKMANBANK.COM