State website compiles resources for disaster recovery Libby Chamber among local grant recipients,receives $5,000 for winter campaign
The Libby Area Chamber of Commerce on Oct. 15 was awarded a grant made available as part of a state effort to help minimize the economic impact of the summer’s wildfires.
The $5,000 Montana Tourism Emergency Marketing Grant grant, which Glacier Country Tourism applied for on behalf of the Chamber, will go toward a campaign to attract people to the region during the winter, said Chamber President Amber Pacheco-Holm.
The campaign is in the “very early stages” of development, she said via email.
“The Chamber needs to identify our goals and objectives for the campaign and then we will move forward from there,” Pacheco-Holm wrote.
The grant is one of many resources collected under Montana Business Disaster Recovery, a Montana Department of Commerce initiative Gov. Steve Bullock launched Sept. 21. The “one-stop shop” of resources can be viewed online at businessrecovery.mt.gov.
According to a news release, Montana Business Disaster Recovery was “developed through a partnership of the Department of Commerce, Department of Labor and Industry and Disaster and Emergency Services” and “consolidates information about programs across all departments of state government as well as partner resources.”
“The Department of Commerce, under Gov. Bullock’s leadership, is proud to be a big part of this effort, with nine of the 17 programs housed under our roof,” said Communications Director Emilie Ritter Saunders via email. “Two programs in particular — the Tourism Emergency Marketing Grants and the Montana Disaster Recovery Small Business Grant Program — stand ready to provide some of the most immediate assistance with existing funds we’ve set aside in response to this crisis.”
Saunder said businesses can apply for grants or loans to help them “re-open their doors or re-stock their shelves” or seek “technical assistance, business counseling or state tax extensions.”
The website also lists disaster relief funds and other charities people can choose to contribute to.
After launching the initiative, the department held meetings in a handful of communities that were hit hard by wildfires. A meeting occurred Oct. 5 in Libby.
“The meeting in Libby, in addition to a handful of others we’ve organized, was meant primarily to make sure folks in town knew about the resources and to provide in-person assistance,” Saunders wrote.
Pacheco-Holm attended the meeting, as did Forest Service Ranger Nate Gassman, Lincoln County Commissioner Mark Peck, City Council member Kristin Smith, Libby Police Chief Scott Kessel, Libby Police Sgt. Darren Short, Libby Mayor Brent Teske and Tina Oliphant, executive director of Kootenai River Development Council.
Meetings were also held in Lincoln, Seeley Lake, Thompson Falls and Lolo, Saunders wrote.
For more information about Montana Business Disaster Recovery, call 406-841-2770, send an email to businessrecovery@mt.gov or visit businessrecovery.mt.gov.