MBAC works with rural communities to support businesses

The Montana Business Assistance Connection has been working in Lewis and Clark, Broadwater, and Meagher counties for more than two decades to support local economies and livability.

MBAC mentors businesses through collaborative work with partners like the Service Corps of Retired Executives, the Small Business Development Center, and Chambers of Commerce to help local business owners identify ways to support the unique needs of their community.

MBAC has supported a number of different projects in Lincoln throughout the years, and new opportunities are on the horizon.

One of the projects MBAC worked on several years ago was replacing the lower logs in the Community Hall. Brian Obert, Executive Director at MBAC, worked on this project and says that, at the time, he wished they could have done more, but the capacity just wasn't there.

MBAC has recently hired new staff and Obert hopes this will help open up new opportunities for collaboration in communities like Lincoln.

MBAC also worked with Hi Country Snack Foods in 2018 and 2019 to apply for a $400,000 Community Development Block Grant for Economic Development that supported the purchase of Hi Country by Travis and Molly Byerly. The grant "was awarded to Lewis and Clark County, which will add it to the county's Revolving Loan Fund. From there it will be provided to the Byerly's in the form of a loan. As the money is paid back, it is returned to the revolving loan fund where it can be loaned out again for other projects in the county," according to a Blackfoot Valley Dispatch article from March 2019.

A new MBAC project is being supported through funds provided by the Federal Economic Development Administration as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. MBAC plans to work with organizations and individuals in Lincoln, White Sulphur Springs and Townsend to develop marketing campaigns for the communities. The project will work to identify each town's target audience and figure out how to market the town to that audience.

"We're not going to drive the conversation," said Obert, who noted that it's important to MBAC to work directly with the local community to find out what's wanted and needed. "We're going to be bringing a little bit of money to help you figure out the demographic and advocate on behalf of the county.

"Who is your target audience now? We need to help define that. Who could it be? What amenities do we need to help you come up with or businesses come up with to target that?" asked Obert. He noted that opportunities in Lincoln are very different than the other two communities. Part of that is due to the draw of Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild; part is due to Lincoln's placement as a day trip location for people in Missoula, Great Falls, and Helena and to the vast amount of trails and outdoor activities available in Lincoln.

Obert said MBAC helps when it's needed, then backs away to let the community carry on the momentum. He said because so much work is done by volunteers in communities like Lincoln, projects like this often come in waves. The town will build up some momentum and initiate projects, which is where MBAC support can come in, and then it takes a few years to stabilize the projects and for the community to take a collective breath before launching in to new projects.

"It feels like you've taken your breath,"

Obert said, referencing where Lincoln is now in terms of starting new projects.