The Bigfork Area Chamber of Commerce announced the appointment of three new board members on Tuesday. Adam Heggelund from Edward Jones, Aaron Whitten from the Timbers Motel, and Whitney Spencer from the Daily Inter Lake will start their two year terms this year.

In previous meetings, Chamber Executive Director Rebekah King told the board that they needed members who show initiative.

“We need board members who want to be on the board, and who want to be interactive,” King said.

King said requirements for board members include attending monthly meetings and other chamber events, and volunteering for two committees. She sent out an email to chamber members on the 21 with a nomination form and the election ran until November 18. Any chamber member could run— any member could nominate themselves or someone else, but a self-nomination required the backing of 10 other chamber members.

Heggeland has been involved with the chamber since he moved here three years ago from Wisdom, Montana. He said he started attending any chamber events that he could, and eventually King asked him if he would consider running for a board position.

“I sort of kicked the idea around, and I told myself that if I want to make a difference, it’s one thing to not only be involved but to actually serve on the board, I decided this was a good move for me to help give back to Bigfork, and even potentially surrounding communities, from a board standpoint,” Heggeland said.

Heggeland said he wants to help Bigfork businesses and the community grow while making sure it doesn’t lose it’s small town charm. He said as the town grows there are things that need to be looked at or upgraded, but the reasons people visit Bigfork need to stay the same. For example, he said the “small village” feeling that leads people to shop downtown by the bay is something that is irreplaceable for tourists and locals alike.

“My hope is to see Bigfork keep the traditions but also embrace change, and if it’s something that benefits the masses for our community and makes it a better place to live 12 months out of the year, I don’t see why we don’t embrace it,” Heggeland said.

Spencer said she and her family made the move to Bigfork about six years ago from Kalispell just as her oldest child was starting kindergarten. She chose Bigfork to raise her kids because of the smaller tight knit community.

“I wanted to join the Bigfork Chamber because I could see the direct impact that the chamber makes in Bigfork and I wanted to be a part of that. Everything the chamber is involved in is in the best interest of the local businesses and local residents and I knew right away that I wanted to be a part of that,” Spencer said.

When it comes to what she hopes to accomplish during her time on the board, she said the chamber is very successful at what they do and her goal is to jump right in and keep moving forward with the group.

“As a board member my goal is to work as a team with other board members to drive the local economy and be a part of community engagement. Another personal goal of mine is to show my kids that being involved and directly serving in the community does make an impact,” she said.

Heggeland said he believes the chamber plays an important role in the community, likening them to stage crew for a play.

“They do a lot of the background work to make these events fun, to have the Dragonboat Races, so we can have the parades, to decorate and undecorate Bigfork… all of these different things, they don’t just happen, it takes people who are willing and wanting to do that,” Heggeland said.

The Bigfork Area Chamber of Commerce meetings take place on the second Thursday of every month at the chamber office. This meeting is open to the public in person or virtually. Please email chamber@bigfork.org for a link to the virtual meeting.