Volume 34 , Issue 11
A record number of diners and spectators were in attendance on October 29th, as the Chamber took over the Civic Center for our annual dinner & meeting. We were honored to be joined by the Montana Tech Copper Hill Choir performing the National Anthem, our Special Guests the Butte Cobras Hockey Team, and Don Berryman and Kristine Carpenter with ACADIA’s “Be 1” Program.
www.buttechamber.org
Thursday, December 12th - 8:30 a.m. CVB Board @ Chamber
Dinner was expertly catered by Casagranda’s Steakhouse, and the no-host bar was provided by Metals Sports Bar and Grill. The crowd was delighted with performances by Magician Shane Cox, and Dynamic Dance and Tumbling Academy. Chamber Annual Awards were also announced—more on the awards inside this edition of The Progress.
Monday, December 15th– 11:30 a.m. Executive Board Meeting @ Chamber Thursday, December 18th - 12 noon Chamber Ambassadors Meeting Thursday, December 18th - 5:30 p.m. Business Card Social @ Chamber Hosted by Silver Bow Hospitality Association Friday, December 19th - 8:30 a.m. Chamber Board / Strategic Planning @ Comfort Inn Thursday, January 29th - 5:30 p.m. Business Card Social @ Big Sky Senior Living
November / December 2014
Butte-Silver Bow Chamber of Commerce Visitors’ Center 1000 George St. Butte, MT 59701
Marko Lucich Executive Director mlucich@buttechamber.org Maria Pochervina CVB Director/TBID Executive Secretary mariap@buttecvb.com
Stephanie Sorini Marketing, Membership & Bookkeeping Director
marketing@buttechamber.org Cheryl Ackerman Receptionist/Staff Associate bsbchamber@gmail.com
(406) 723-3177
Shane McCarthy, Safeway
Don Peoples, Individual Member
Desiree Shogren, Comfort Inn of Butte
Cindi Shaw, Council of Commissioners
Ed Stepan, RED Silicon
Pat Fleming, Fleming & O’Leary Attorneys
Paul Tash, Tash Communications
Lynn Lloyd, Montana Standard
Alana Ferko, Butte Plaza Mall
Mark Hughes, Super 8
Linda Granger, School Trustee/Highlands College
Kevin Dennehy, St. James Healthcare
Town Pump Hotel Group
Paul Babb, Northwestern Energy
Chris Ackerman, Cherry Creek Radio
Ed Stepan, Vice President
Tami O’Connell, Stix & Stonz
Herb Kelsey, Farm Bureau Financial
Karen Corbin, KXLF TV
Judy Jonart, School District #1
Maura Uggetti, Copper Ridge Healthcare
Andy Zdinak, BLDC
Becky Sprunger, Human Resources Council, District XII
Jeff Gorman, McDonald’s Kristen Rosa, Butte-Silver Bow
Colin Higgins, MacKenzie River Pizza Company
Machelle LeProwse, Northwestern Mutual
Bob Bentley, Jr., Bentley Construction
Pete Akey, Glacier Bank
Matt Vincent, BSB Chief Executive
Marsha Foster, Individual Member
Donald Blackketter, Chancellor Montana Tech
Janel Morgan, Harrison Avenue Realty
Paula Ruark, Town Pump Hotel Group
Craig Tippett, Newland and Company, P.C.
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Pete Akey, President Glacier Bank
Colin Higgins, President-Elect MacKenzie River Pizza Company
Paula Ruark, Past President
REC Silicon
Mark Hughes, Vice-President Super 8/CVB President
Desiree Shogren, Vice-President Comfort Inn of Butte
Paul Tash, Vice-President Tash Communications
Chris Ackerman, Vice-President Cherry Creek Radio
My message for this month falls between Thanksgiving and Christmas—a time to be thankful and a time for joy and hope. I am thankful to live in a community such as our great community. It is a true gift to have members like you who have invested in the Butte Chamber of Commerce. The annual dinner/meeting was the largest in the history of the chamber with involvement from our youth, the next generation of chamber members. I am so grateful to have a dedicated staff and legion of volunteers who enable us to carry out the work of the Butte Chamber of Commerce. My hat is off to the Board of Directors who give of their time and energy to help promote all businesses in Butte. We are now approaching the holiday of giving. No community gives more than Butte to help those in need. The Butte business community is second-to-none when it comes to donating for many causes, never asking for anything in return. My hope for this holiday season is that Butte people will shop locally to help replenish the coffers that are always so willing to donate no matter what the cause might be. No matter if it is Uptown, midtown, or downtown, please shop Butte. It will make the holiday season a joyous event for everyone. Butte is known as the Richest Hill on Earth. We are rich in many areas such as: minerals, history, architecture, education, location and most importantly, people. Once visitors get to know the people of Butte, they have discovered Montana’s real treasure. As a community we find it in our hearts to support many worthwhile causes. This holiday season, let’s find it in our hearts to make every effort to support those businesses that continually give and make Butte the greatest place to live. It is through this gesture that we would have one of the most fulfilling holiday seasons ever. Supporting each other is the key ingredient to growth and success. My wish to all of you is to have to have a healthy and joyous holiday season. Sincerely,
Executive Director
Wednesday December 17th - 6:30 p.m. Metals Sports Bar & Grill Appetizers and beverages will be provided. This event will be a great opportunity to meet & engage the newly re-organized Digger Athletic Department, spend some time with Tech coaches, and hear about their plans moving forward! The Progress | Page 3
1. How did you get involved with the Chamber and what keeps you involved?
3. What are some of your other community leadership roles?
I started my involvement with the Chamber quite a long time ago when my husband and I were business owners and Chamber members. I am now on the Chamber Board which is a fantastic experience with a lot of opportunities to stay involved. The Chamber Board of Directors and the Chamber staff are wonderful, hardworking and dedicated to improving Butte in any and every way possible. My position with Butte-Silver Bow Economic Development also keeps me very involved with the Chamber. The Chamber is a key partner in the community for Economic Development.
Along with being on the Chamber Board I also serve on the Butte Education Foundation Board and the Tiernan Irish Dance board.
2. What is your favorite event or program of the Chamber? The Chamber supports and sponsors a lot of great events. I think the creation of the Southwest Montana All Star basketball game has been fantastic. It is a great fundraiser for the hospitality rooms which have made Butte the envy of the state. The annual dinner is also an amazing event. Not many organizations can fill the Civic Center like the annual meeting did this year. It speaks to how the Chamber and its staff are regarded in this community. But for me personally, the Chamber golf tournament this year was a very fun event. The day was beautiful and the people were fun – and the fact that I am not a very good golfer didn’t matter.
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4. What is your most memorable experience during your time working with the Chamber? It is not one specific experience that is memorable but rather working with the Chamber in partnership on many different occasions. There is a strong belief that if we continue to work together good things will happen.
5. Finish these sentences: Never again will I.... …Remodel my kitchen.
What makes Butte great is ... ...Its resilience. The community was hit hard in the 80’s when the mine closed but it never gave up and people today continue to believe that the future can be as exciting and prosperous as its past.
The best piece of business advice I've ever gotten is … ...Do what you have to do now so you can do what you want to do later.
This past October, Butte again hosted Altacare training, utilizing space in the Butte Plaza Mall and the La Quinta Inn. Altacare is a Community Treatment Program (CSCT); a part of ACADIA Montana Butte. “Altacare is Montana’s leading provider of in-school mental health services. With Altacare, children and adolescents can receive intensive outpatient treatment while they attend school – causing little-to-no disruption to their normal lives. Altacare staff; which includes a Master’s level or Licensed Therapist and a Mental Health Associate, has offices located within the school. They work closely with school principals and other personnel to identify and treat children in need of assistance with behavioral or emotional problems. Early diagnosis, intervention and treatment often eliminate the need for inpatient hospitalization and/or removing the child from home and school.” Given that Altacare personnel are located across the state, an annual meeting is held to bring everyone together, which coincides with the large statewide teacher conventions; for orientation, training, awards and networking. While training and learning were taking place, Butte enjoyed the benefit of: guest room, food and beverage revenues and attendee shopping expenditures at the Butte Plaza Mall. Although, Alana Ferko, Butte Plaza Mall Manager would prefer to see the empty store locations filled with retail shops; on a short notice space can be rented for events such as this training. Although my calculations are rather primitive, here is a brief recap of what this meeting brought into our city over the dates of October 15-17, 2014. Lodging: Food & Beverage (catered): Gas: Retail & Misc Expenditures ($40/participant) Total:
$29,750 $11,850 $ 4,000 $13,600 $59,200
In my book, these were a couple of good paydays for Butte. I would like to thank Dave Bennetts, Renee O’Keefe and the staff from ACADIA for all your hard work in setting up and assisting me with the heavy lifting. On behalf of our hoteliers, restaurants, retail and other businesses, the attendees spent their hard earned dollars, a heartfelt thank you!! We appreciate your loyalty to Butte, keeping this large event at “home” so to speak. To my dear friend Alana Ferko, and your great staff, thank you for your support and assistance, you are amazing assets to our community. In closing: I hope this Christmas season is blessed, filled with answered prayers and miracles!!
Merry Christmas and God Bless,
CVB/TBID
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Grand Prize
Pita Pit
1st Place
Moonlight Professional Building
2nd Place
Marquis Vintage Suites
3rd Place
Wagner’s Nursery
Honorable Mentions:
Montana Chemical Dependency Center Emma Neighborhood Center Park Continental Gardens
Entrepreneur of the Year
Community Leader of the Year Educator of the Year Business Person of the Year Community Appreciation Award
John & Courtney McKee Headframe Spirits
Mike Thatcher CCCS, Inc.
Donald Blackketter Montana Tech
Frank Butori Butori Collision Center
Dan & Kim Steele Steele’s Warehouse
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Butte Community Celebrations In Their Own Words We are Butte Community Celebrations, LLC! Our organization initiated in January 2014 with only four members, Ken Devine, Linda Redfern, Paulette Scherr and Sandy Yakawich. The immediate goal was to provide for Butte the time honored traditions of the Duggan Dolan Blarney Stone Fun Run, St. Patrick’s Day parade, Veterans Picnic, 4th of July Freedom Fest parade (with the float build) and the Charlie Judd Memorial Halloween Party. An Awards Luncheon for the 4th of July Freedom Fest parade winners was added to the events. New games, booths and amusements have upgraded the quality and spirit of the Halloween party. A lot of hard work went into all of these events and we feel we’ve done well. Initially we started with a small amount of money but through careful handling, we are now financially solvent. Seven additional members have joined our ranks, Larry & Judy Cyr, Bill & Laura Weatherly, Sunvee Rosenleaf, Gabriel Offutt and Randy Skates. BCC is fully insured for all events including our vendors on St. Patrick’s Day and the float build. We are designated as a non-profit through the Montana Department of Revenue and the IRS, and are in the beginning process of acquiring the 501(c)3 designation. We need new members and volunteers. The difference between a member and a volunteer is this: A member has a voice and a vote in all matters brought before the board and discussed in meetings. A volunteer does not. Volunteers assist with specific duties on the day of an event. As it is now, all of our members help with every event. Our aim is to have enough people so we can designate a separate group for each event with support from the rest of us. This allows members to work only on the events they like best. Each new member and volunteer must fill out an application giving their basic contact information and choices of events to work. This application can be acquired from the Secretary, Linda Redfern. As 2015 comes around, our ambitions for this year are to have larger and better parades. We welcome suggestions on how to acquire more bands (school or local), floats and entries. We hope to develop more infrastructure by obtaining at least one or two 16’ – 18’utility trailers.
Come on and join us and let’s make a better party!
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October 22nd
Photos Courtesy of Pauline Mencarelli deBarathy
November 24th
Photo Courtesy of Maria Pochervina
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305 West Mercury Street Butte, MT 59701 (406) 299-1485 Contributed by:
www.firstsolution.com
Jon Kuennen
First Call Computer Solutions is a full technology resource company helping all manner of businesses, not-for profits, clinics, schools, government organizations and more with their technology needs. They offer IT Services Websites, Phone Systems and Cloud Services. Headquartered in Missoula and operating since 1999, First Call has eight satellite offices throughout the state and has been operating in Butte for four years. Please go to www.firstsolution.com for more information or call them at 406.299.1485.
401 South Main Street Butte, MT 59701
(406) 782-2224 www.lockmerplumbing.com
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PERIODICALS U.S. POSTAGE PAID BUTTE, MT
1000 George St. Butte, MT 59701
POSTMASTER: Send changes of address to: Chamber of Commerce, 1000 George St., Butte, MT 59701. Membership investment includes $3.00 per year subscription. The Progress (USPS 124-550) is published monthly by The Butte-Silver Bow Chamber of Commerce, 1000 George St., Butte, MT 59701. Periodical Postage Paid at Butte, Montana.
CONSTRUCTION Year to Date WATER
MONTH/YEAR
MONTH/YEAR
%
September 2013
September 2014
CHANGE
11,453,031.00
447,593.84
-69.2%
We can’t promise that we can include everything that we receive, but we do promise to carefully consider all submissions.
20,936,896.83
19,483,865.83
-6.9%
bsbchamberprogress@gmail.com
13,775
13,738
-0.3%
The Progress is the voice of our members and we are dedicated to keeping you informed and connected!
No Data No Data No Data No Data
18,313 17,304 1,009 5.5
EMPLOYMENT Labor Force Employment Unemployment Unemployment Rate
If you have ideas, suggestions, or submissions for The Progress, please send them in! We accept news & information, photos, information about events & functions, and more!
The Progress is published monthly and delivered mostly electronically. For advertising opportunities, please contact Stephanie Sorini.
marketing@buttechamber.org MAIL Tourism Requests General Information
35 6
10 3
-71.4% -50.0%
Visit your Chamber online:
www.buttechamber.org