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Congratulations to Deena and Amber Maier of
Windrift Hill in Conrad on their continued success manufacturing handmade, moisturizing Goat Milk Soaps and Lotions!
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Here is our Top 20 for this week celebrating work and successes to grow and strengthen the Great Falls regional economy -- Montana's Golden Triangle.
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1) Employers in the Great Falls MSA (Cascade County) brought 2,457 people back to work in May!!! This is according to preliminary data released by the Montana Department of Labor. THANK YOU EMPLOYERS! And, 989 people reentered the labor force!! We ended the month with an 8.0% unemployment rate, down from 12.2% in April. Across the Golden Triangle, including Cascade County, employers brought back 3,455 jobs in May and the labor force increased by 1,345, ending with a composite unemployment rate of 7.2%, down from 10.4% in April. We still have a lot of ground to recover. In the Great Falls MSA, we are still down 1,496 jobs from March; Golden Triangle total down 3,680 jobs. Because May is usually a better employment month than March, a comparison to May 2019 shows how far we have to go. The Great Falls MSA had 2,072 fewer jobs this May than last. The entire Golden Triangle including Cascade County had 4,762 fewer jobs.
2) Back on the positive side, JobsEQ released preliminary data this week for 2020Q1. Average annual wages in the Great Falls MSA increased for the 25th consecutive quarter, reaching $43,160. This was 75% of the national average, a climb from 73% of the national average last year. Our average annual wage grew by $1,602 or 3.9% compared to 3.0% in Montana and 2.4% across the nation. Total wages earned were $58 million higher for the four quarters ending 2020Q1 than in the previous four quarters. In the last six years, our average wage grew far faster than inflation. Inflation was 10.1% while our average wage grew 24.8%. That's a $5,090 increase in annual average earnings per year above inflation! In the 18 years since GFDA was formed, average annual wage growth above inflation translates into $8,544/year increased earnings!
3) Met with a renewable energy project looking at our region. This solar project would be the largest solar project to date in our region. The project has a two-three year time frame. We work with all types of energy projects. Contact Jolene to discuss, 406.750.4481.
4) Join us on
our FaceBook page
this Thursday, June 25 at 1 PM for a new downtown Great Falls business announcement!
5) Have your sales been affected by COVD19? If you could would you increase your revenue, sales, traffic, and profitability? The Destination Creation Course helps businesses do just that. The Destination Creation Course retails for $399, but in response to COVID-19 challenges we are offering it free to Montana businesses. The course will be offered for the first time in Montana starting June 30. It will be fully online. This an incredible opportunity to increase your revenue, sales, traffic, and profitability. You can
register here
. If you have questions about the course, contact Nathan Reiff
[email protected]
or 406-403-4937.
6) The Great Falls 4th of July Parade is on! This year's theme is "Open for Business - Celebration on Parade." Parade entries are available at Great Falls Lumber, 310 6th Street South. More volunteers are needed this year; contact Lola Sheldon-Galloway at 750-4721. The parade will be at 11:00 AM downtown, on July 4th of course; more info on
KRTV.
7) The GFDA Loan Committee approved a loan this week in the amount of $89,837.04 to support an ongoing, mixed-use river front development with environmental contamination clean-up costs. The EPA Brownfield loan funds can provide clients with low interest funding for environmental contamination removal to help get the property ready for redevelopment. If you want to discuss different options that GFDA may be able to provide, please contact Jill Kohles at 406-590-1056 or
[email protected]
.
9) Are you still considering getting a COVID related loan or grant. PPP loans are only available through June 30, EIDL loans have reopened, and new Montana grants opened this week, including a
business loan deferment program
. You can find information about these programs and other COVID-19 resources on our website
www.GrowGreatFallsMontana.org
. If you have specific questions or need help we have coaches here to help. Contact Nathan Reiff 406-403-4937 or
[email protected]
.
10) Over 1,000 votes were cast in
The Electric’s Great Falls Greats
! Be sure to check out the winners and the runner ups so you are well prepared to vote next year.
True Brew Coffee
is now being served at
Tracy’s Diner
. Another great example of local businesses teaming up and showing why Great Falls is such a great place to do business.
11) We welcomed 11 potential entrepreneurs in our two pre-business workshops, The LaunchPoint and Boots to Business at Malmstrom Air Force Base.
13) It has been one week since the LiveInGreatFalls.com website went live. As of Friday at noon, there have been 1,288 individual page views across several countries. We have received lots of positive feedback – thank you! Contact Soren Chargois at
[email protected]
if you have relevant content that could be included on the site.
14) Congratulations to
The Block in downtown Great Falls on a great Bozeman restaurant envy story on
KISS FM!
15) The
latest video
in our Doing Business in the Golden Triangle series features Aaron Weissman, owner of Teriyaki Madness (Wok-tossing wizards) right here in Great Falls, MT. Next week we will take a behind-the-scenes look at the newly opened
Foster’s Farmacy
in Choteau, MT! Be sure to
like us on Facebook
and hit that share button to help us spread the word that the Golden Triangle is a great place to live, work, and do business!
16) GFDA has a great spread in the new issue of
Signature Montana Magazine
about the many partnerships that make up our community, including the new Talent Attraction Partnership bringing talented workers to (or back to) Great Falls. Talent Attraction Director Soren Chargois also had a
sidebar
about working for GFDA and living in Great Falls.
17) USDA and SBA joined forces on Thursday to present a webinar directed towards Montana lenders and agricultural producers. The webinar gave attendees the chance to learn more about USDA and SBA programs addressing the COVID-19 crisis available to agricultural producers. USDA's allowance of agricultural producers to apply for operating loans under the Business and Industry (B&I) loan-guarantee program was covered in-depth. The webinar can be accessed
here
. For more information related to federal government COVID-19 efforts directed towards agricultural producers, visit
https://www.farmers.gov/coronavirus.
18) The Montana Food Show, hosted by the Montana Department of Agriculture, is scheduled to take place on Monday, October 26th in Missoula. Early bird registration for vendors (a $50 savings) ends on July 8th, and all registrations will be refunded if the show must be canceled or postponed for public health reasons. Learn more at
https://agr.mt.gov/MTFoodShow.
19) We signed a six month contract with CoStar/Loopnet to market the
Great Falls AgriTech Park. Attracting new leads to the Park has proven to be great for the entire region because some companies that were drawn to consider the Golden Triangle because of the Park have chosen to locate elsewhere. As long as they locate somewhere in the Golden Triangle region, we're excited!
20) Thanks to this week’s Investors in Economic Development,
NorthWestern Energy
for their Advanced Division Investment,
Geranios Enterprises, Inc.
for their Pacesetter Division investment, and
Klinefelter’s Insulation
for their Community Division investment! Thank you for your continued support and promotion. Not only has your investment kept our team working to move the needle, but we’ve also been able to provide critical tools and resources to help existing businesses to survive and reposition during an uncertain time. If you haven’t invested in GFDA, and would like to discuss the various ways we leverage investment to work toward growth, email
Teresa
or call 406.781.9499.
We are HUNGRY to Grow the Great Falls regional economy, create higher wage jobs, build our tax base, improve our market competitiveness, and enhance the quality of life and economic opportunity for residents of Great Falls, Cascade County, and the entire 13-county Great Falls trade area.
Happy Father's Day and Juneteenth!
Brett
Brett Doney
President & CEO
Connect with me on
LinkedIn
to network with the Great Falls region.
Forward the GFDA Top 10 to friends and colleagues. You can join our distribution list
HERE
or text GFDA to 22828.
"To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities."
Bruce Lee
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GFDA Career Opportunity -- Commercial Lending Assistant.
Experienced, self-motivated lending operations professional sought for two-person lending team within 15-person nonprofit economic development Community Development Financial Institution. Help us to continue to grow our gap and bridge financing efforts to support entrepreneurs, businesses, developers and non-profit organizations throughout the Great Falls trade area and across Montana. Responsible for working with borrowers to put together thorough and accurate loan application packages, preparing loan documents, coordinating loans closings, managing our loan portfolio, maintaining digital loan files, preparing reports to public and private loan capital sources, and maintaining excellent relationships with clients and bank partners. Requires working familiarity with commercial loan documents and recording, insurance, appraisals, and lending practices. Requires the ability to maintain accurate records, work with a wide variety of clients and bank partners, and excellent computer and communication skills. Must be detail-oriented and organized with the flexibility to help achieve our overall team mission. Experience with EDA, USDA, CDFI, EPA and/or SBA 504 loans a plus. Live on the Missouri River along the Rocky Mountain Front and work with a great team! Salary range $45,000-55,000+ with excellent benefits, professional development, growth opportunities, and flex-time work environment. EOE. Cover letter and resume to Brett Doney,
[email protected]
. Open until we find a great candidate.
Economic Development Services
See our updated
Great Falls Economic Development Menu of Services
which includes our expanded staff team. We provide award-winning and internationally-accredited economic development services throughout Montana's Golden Triangle, and SBA 504 loans statewide.
Cost-Effective Rail-Served Industrial Sites Available
If your company needs a rail-served, BNSF-Certified, shovel-ready site with all municipal services at your door, we have lots available for immediate construction in the Great Falls AgriTech Park. Contact Jolene Schalper at 1.406.750.4481 or
[email protected]
June SBA 504 Loan Rates
The 25-year loan effective rate came in at 2.597%; 20-year at 2.522%; and, 10-year equipment 2.644%. These rates are FIXED for the life of the loan and are inclusive of all fees. If you would like to find out how to get financing for commercial real estate and equipment at potentially lower rates than you're paying for your home mortgage, please contact Jill Kohles at 406-590-1056 or
[email protected]
.
C
ommunity members are invited to participate in the effort to create a
wayfinding plan for Great Falls
. Visit the
Great Falls Wayfinding
Facebook page for project information. We've set up a
mapping website
so you can put pins on locations and landmarks that you think should be included in the Wayfinding plan. See
TheElectricGF.com
article for more details.
Invest in Great Falls Regional Economic Development
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Events, Business Training, and Opportunities
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The new relocation website
LiveInGreatFalls.com
is officially LIVE! This website was the #1 request we got from local recruiters and HR professionals for aiding in attracting talented workers to Great Falls. The
Great Falls At-A-Glance
two-pager is a great complementary resource that highlights Great Falls for people unfamiliar with our community.
The
Great Falls Livability
relocation magazine is a new tool to help you recruit talent from out of town to relocate to the Great Falls trade area. Here is the
online link
to the magazine. For printed copies, and to have a conversation about best practices for recruiting employees, email Soren at
[email protected]
. Let's talk Talent Attraction!
We have
Brownfield Clean-Up
money that we want to put to work! Our low interest Brownfield Loans can be used to clean up hazardous materials including but not limited to lead paint, asbestos, etc. Are you working on a project that could use some clean up? Call Lillian today to discuss eligibility 406.750.1253 or
[email protected]
.
Northrup Grumman
is working to gather subcontractors for the missile upgrade project. This is a long process and they expect to gather information for three to four years. If you are a small business interested in doing business with Northrop Grumman, please complete the Supplier Information form at
https://oasis-sbeforms.myngc.com/
USDA has open grant rounds for the Value-Added Producer Grant, Rural Business Development Grant and Renewable Energy for America Programs. Visit
www.rd.usda.gov/mt
or contact Lea McGiboney for more info, 406-770-4291 or
[email protected]
. Let us know if we can help!
The Montana Department of Commerce's
State Trade Expansion Program (STEP)
is offering grants to help businesses pay for translation of marketing materials to boost exports. The program also offers trade show grants and assistance. MDOC's Film Office is offering powerful new incentives to promote filming and production in Montana.
Click here
for details.
Of our online business planning tool, LivePlan, one said: "LivePlan is Awesome!" The
LivePlan tool
is helping her streamline her strategy in preparation for presenting to bank partners. We offer LivePlan licenses for free to active clients. Learn more about LivePlan on our
website
.
The 4th annual Montana Food Show will be held in Missoula on October 26. Learn more at
https://agr.mt.gov/MTFoodShow. The Montana Beverage Show will be held in Helena on November 9. Visit
www.beverageshow.mt.gov for more information. The Export Montana team is hosting Riddle of the Exporter training in Billings on July 28 and Kalispell on July 30. The training is free and will help you learn about and prepare for export markets. Learn more
here.
All of our recorded monthly
business strategy webinars
are available online for viewing anytime, click them out
here
.
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Vision
Hungry to Grow the Great Falls region
Mission
Grow and diversify the Great Falls regional economy.
Create higher wage career opportunities.
Improve market competitiveness.
The first economic development organization in the Rocky Mountain West to earn accreditation from the International Economic Development Council.
GFDA is a certified Community Development Financial Institution and a 501(c)3 charitable organization. High Plains Financial is a certified Community Development Corporation that offers SBA 504 loans statewide. GFDA and High Plains Financial are Equal Opportunity Employers and Lenders.
GFDA is proud to host a Montana Small Business Development Center, a Montana Procurement Technical Assistance Center, and a Montana Food & Ag Development Center. We are also proud to provide office space for the Montana Manufacturing Extension Center of MSU, and to be part of the Montana Cooperative Development Center network.
For more info, click to our
website
.
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See what's happening on our social sites:
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