Kalispell Business Expansion & Retention (BEAR) effort receives international recognition

At the 2007 Business Retention and Expansion International (BREI) conference, the efforts of the Northwest Montana Business Expansion and Retention (BEAR) Program received international recognition as the Outstanding Small Community BR&E Program for 2006.

The award was accepted by Gloria O’Rourke, Coordinator for Montana Economic Developers Association and the Montana BEAR Project during an awards dinner on June 7. The following morning, O’Rourke outlined the winning efforts of the BEAR team during a presentation to convention attendees. “The Northwest Montana BEAR Program exemplifies that great things can happen economically when all of the partners in a community work together to meet the needs of area businesses in a practical and timely way”, O’Rourke said.

The award-winning effort began in January 2003, when the Kalispell Area Chamber of Commerce, Flathead Workforce Center, Montana West Economic Development Agency and Flathead Valley Community College joined together to spearhead an effort to build the economy by working with local companies to help them retain their employees and identify opportunities to grow their business. These groups brought together organizations involved with economic development, workforce training and community development to develop a business retention and expansion program to support continued growth in Flathead County. After two years of planning, the BEAR program was formally launched in January 2005.

The effort now comprises a cooperative partnership of 22 economic, workforce and community development organizations and 24 individuals. While many community economic development efforts are focused on attracting new business to an area, BEAR helps identify problems and opportunities facing the existing business community, helps to prioritize options and develop activities to help local businesses thrive and thus improve the economy.

So far, team members have met with over 200 northwest Montana companies. The data obtained through an extensive survey at each establishment provides the background for program development. Those 200 companies represent more than 24 percent of the total workforce in Flathead County.

While the major thrust of the program is to assist companies with expansion and workforce retention, the team has also gained valuable insight into the challenges faced by employers in the areas of education and training. The educational members of the team used those insights to review and revamp the focus of education to better meet the needs of the business community. These efforts were recognized by the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education and resulted in a statewide business and education summit scheduled for June 27-29 in Kalispell.

In addition, this focus on Next Generation Talent resulted in a May 2006 community event featuring Rebecca Ryan that raised awareness and re-ignited the Flathead Young Professionals organization. A free brown bag luncheon also highlighted Best Practices in Employee Attraction and Retention. The team worked to improve communication, not just within the business community, but with the Kalispell City Council and its departments. The BEAR website (www.nwmontanabear.com) provides a central source for information for businesses and government.

Based upon the success of the northwest Montana program, the Montana Governor’s Office of Economic Development became involved and joined with the Montana Department of Commerce to provide the funding for the hiring of a statewide coordinator. BEAR is now in 17 Montana communities.

Laith A. Wardi, President of ExecutivePulse, Inc., of Erie, Pennsylvania, nominated the Kalispell effort for the award. According to Wardi, “The Kalispell/Flathead County BEAR Program exemplifies the very best in local economic development initiatives. Through BEAR, the folks in Kalispell are listening to the business community… understanding their concerns…and responding in an accountable and professional way. The results of this program—both for individual companies and Flathead County as a whole—are simply outstanding. The Kalispell/Flathead County BEAR Program is a best practices model for any small or rural market in North America.” ExecutivePulse provided the software that enables the BEAR program to create and maintain their extensive database.