Montana Ambassadors Spring (2005) Newsletter

President’s Letter
Liz Harris

Character, competence, contacts and creativity: the mix
needed for effective leadership. This describes well the traits of
our membership.

Leadership will determine how Montana
develops in the coming years. I want to acknowledge and
thank Past President Emil Erhardt for the leadership he
brought to our organization. Emil left his mark as a leader of
great character and thoughtfulness. Thank you.
The Ambassadors are in a unique position, as a statewide, non-partisan
group to cross pollinate ideas and build relationships across the state.

The
more we know each other, the better we can work together to take advantage
of the opportunities before us.

I would like to recommend several books for
your reading that touch on Montana’s very unique place in today’s world. The
first is Jarrod Diamond’s Collapse. Emil presented this book to our presenters
at the Annual Meeting this year. It’s an excellent work on economies and
the impact of environment and natural resources on culture.

Another is Life
2.0, by Rich Karlgaard, a book about “How people across America are transforming
their lives by finding the where of their happiness”. Montana plays
prominently in this phenomenon.

The third is Boomtown USA: the keys to
success for small towns. Montana is a small town in many ways and sometimes
I don’t think we fully comprehend the economic value associated with
small town characteristics.

In the economic development arena, you may want to review the cluster study
analysis done by RTS, Inc. for the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity.
RTS identified seven areas in which our economy has some good baseline
assets for significant growth. These are information technology, creative
enterprise, experience enterprise and tourism, food processing, value added
wood and life sciences. A number of initiatives are underway to develop value
in these areas. You can review each of these reports, which contain excellent
information, at http://www.rtsinc.org , click on publications.

There is a great deal of excitement associated with our Universities, the research
that is going on and with in the vigorous programs at our business
schools to support entrepreneurship
and existing
business. The
Ambassadors will host
a first ever statewide
golf tournament with
our members and the
s t a te’s bus i ness
schools to get to know each other, learn more about the cutting edge programs
and superb faculty associated with our universities and of course, to
have some fun.

The membership has long asked for more than one annual
meeting and we have a need to augment our budget so we can support initiatives
that matter to our members and to Montana. I hope to see you at the
Old Works in Anaconda on August 18 for a great round of golf.
I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to be President of the Montana Ambassadors
this year.

Montana teaches me something every day. From the
Montana Ambassadors, I continue to see the seven i’s in your work across
our magnificent state: Imagination, Innovation, Ideas, Insight, Ingenuity, Invention
and Inspiration.

See you at the Old Works this summer.

Liz Harris

http://www.montanaambassadors.com

Full Newsletter:
http://www.montanachamber.net/admin/sites/513/filelib/Amb%20Spring%20Newsletter/AmbassadorsSpring2005Newsletter.pdf