Hidey Ho Neighbor! As co-president of the Mineral County Chamber of Commerce for 2014, let me begin by first thanking the Mineral Independent for this space each month to share with you what your chamber is doing, has done and would like to do. If you’re not in business, we still want to reach out to you for your ideas, input and thoughts so please keep reading.

Many know of me from my time with NBC Montana for 15 years on Montana Today. My wife, Loie, has been my commandant and advisor for over 30 years and agreed to split this position because we both deeply care for the area. I’m a third generation Missoulian and she is from Virginia, Pennsylvania and California but lived here for nearly 40 years. Three great kids; grown and gone so just the dogs keep us company in our home near Tarkio. Asked at our first meeting of 2014 last month, “So what does the Chamber of Commerce actually do?” where I responded with, “When all boiled down, no frills or feathers, it is to make cash registers buzz” meaning, increase the sales of existing businesses. Along the road to this goal, relationships are built; business networking takes place, community involvement increases, commercial development swells and the overall economic health of the community improves. And if it was simple to do, it would have already been done, right? We know the barriers of Mineral County so “Just hangin’ on” have become the mission statement for many. We don’t have the answer to fix this. You might not either. But you might have connections or ideas. Would it be possible to get a Purina Animal Nutrition Lab in Alberton? What about all of these coal cars going to the west coast? Is there a “service” coal needs to have done out there that we could do here? Would Savage Arms consider an assembly plant in Superior based on our employable workforce and percentage of veterans? I’m told that we have a Clydesdale of a fiber optic cable that runs through St Regis that has to be attractive to some high-tech industry whose CEO loves to fish, wouldn’t you think? This is all economic development but does carry strong possibilities. Every small town in America is scrambling like we are to keep what we have and entice new opportunities to move in and set up shop. If you’re not a chamber member, your willingness to assist in brain-storming ideas and implementation of plans is still vital to your community and we’re listening to what you have to say! To our members, thank you for your confidence and your input. Our hope is that we can meet with each of you and pick your brains for positive ideas and involvement to make cash registers buzz, strengthen relationships, foster networking and community involvement and hopefully land a company to set up HQ in Mineral County. Our next meeting is tomorrow, Thursday, February 20th at 7 p.m. at the Chamber office with a busy agenda but you’re ALWAYS welcome. Several events coming up that will soon be updated on our website so drop us an email at info@mineralcountymt.org and share your thoughts otherwise.

In God We Trust

Monte Turner