GREAT FALLS — The Great Falls Development Authority alongside scores of community members came together at the The Newberry as part of their annual meeting recognizing people and projects that have made impacts across the community.
GFDA Vice President Jolene Schalper stated, “Our fiscal year runs from July 1st all the way through June 30th, so this is the end of our fiscal year. We like to bring everybody together to reflect on the accomplishments and the wins that we've had as a community. We'll share some numbers, but really we share stories about the projects and the people behind the scenes that are helping really drive jobs and economic growth here.”
Schalper attributes much of the success to GFDA CEO Brett Doney.
“He's been with us for about 17 years, and when he came to us, he already had a very successful career as an economic developer. Obviously, everybody has their ups and downs, and he was recruited here. When we brought Brett in 17 years ago, he was able to start transforming our economic development team. We are now an award-winning team that implements best practices from the International Economic Development Council, which is pretty exciting to be part of. We are able to meet more people. We continuously attract more resources to our community to help with this growth. And success begets success, right? When you're successful, then everybody wants to be more on the team."
During the meeting, those who were recognized for their impacts are:
- Brad Talcott, James Talcott Construction, Inc.
- Craig Raymond of City of Great Falls
- Erin Townsend of Bravera Bank
- Frederick Van Den Abbeel of the MT Department of Commerce
- Jon Boutillier of Stockman Bank
- MSU Extension Glacier County Kari Lewis
- Kassy Buss of Bjornson Jones and Magnus
- Katie Willcockson of the MT Department of Commerce
- Mako Sakaguchi of the MT Department of Commerce
- Matt Harrington of the Native American Community Development
- Nathan Reiff of First Interstate Bank
- Rebecca Engum of Great Falls MT Tourism
- Robin Rude of MT Department of Revenue
- Steve Dogiakos of Choteau Chamber of Commerce
Highlighting some notable growth areas, the GFDA pointed out Great Falls' unemployment rate declining to 2.2 percent, along with the cost of living being 86 percent of the national average as of the first quarter of 2023.
When asked about what this means for the future of Great Falls and development, Schalper said, "while ten years ago you might not have known much about the Economic Development Authority, today we have seven teen professionals on our staff that meets with businesses to do anything business related. You want to start a business where the people you call, you want to sell your business, you better give us a call. You want to expand your business, call us. It's anything business. And we have a team of professionals now that are certified in their areas that are doing continuous improvement and professional development. Really I think the Great Falls Development Authority is something that Great Falls should really be proud of.”
TRENDING
- Standoff with police ends with arrest
- VIDEO: grizzly bears run through Ulm
- Wild bison return to Blackfeet Nation
- Rocky Boy mom-son duo design Nike shoe
- Recent Obituaries
FOLLOW KRTV: Instagram | TikTok | Twitter
