Giving back
BEN ALLAN SMITH, Missoulian
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Banks, real estate agents, distillers step up to help DAVID ERICKSON david.erickson@missoulian.com From banks to real estate companies to local distilleries and breweries, Missoula businesses and nonprofits are taking action during the coronavirus pandemic to support healthcare workers and needy people in the community. Ryan Montgomery, who owns Montgomery Distillery in downtown Missoula with his wife Jenny, has been able to keep more than a half-dozen workers on the payroll by pivoting to making hand sanitizer for local healthcare workers and first responders. He teamed up with Big Sky Brewing Co. in Missoula and is now pumping out 50 gallons a week of the stuff. 12
MISSOULA BUSINESS • SPRING 2020
“They donated their extra keg beer to us, and we’re distilling that into alcohol,” Montgomery explained. They then mix the alcohol with other ingredients and bottle it. He jokes that it’s the “most expensive hand sanitizer in history” because very little alcohol comes from the beer, and his artisan setup isn’t specifically designed for the purpose. They’re barely covering costs, but he said he’s happy to be doing something to help. Montgomery has been inundated with calls from hospitals, clinics and other organizations all over Montana and the region, and he said he’s simply unable to fill all requests. But he and his team have delivered to local hospitals, police, firefighters and the Montana Highway
Patrol. Rattlesnake Creek Distillery in Missoula also has been making hand sanitizer, as have many distilleries in Montana. “We’re able to do it, so we decided we wanted to help until all the big manufacturers can ramp up production,” Montgomery said. He noted that they’re currently on a very long waitlist for sanitizer, so he’s not able to take any new requests at this time, and the sanitizer is solely for healthcare workers and others on the front lines. They’re not the only business that’s pivoted during this time. Engel & Völkers Western Frontier, a real estate brokerage based in Missoula
with shops throughout western Montana, kicked into gear on a different initiative as soon as local businesses and restaurants were restricted due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their “Feeding the Frontlines” program began sending meals each day to local hospitals, including St. Patrick’s Hospital, Community Medical Center, Kalispell Regional Medical Center, St. Joseph’s in Polson and Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital in Hamilton. Brokerage owner Dawn Maddux kicked things off with a donation, then more than 60 real estate advisers and staff stepped in to extend the program. In the first week of April, they started a GoFundMe account so community
