By Michael Howell
The Stevensville Main Street Association’s economic development committee decided this year to provide a grant for a local business owner to attend the Innovate Montana Symposium in Billings on July 13-14.
“Innovate Montana connects entrepreneurs with the resources they need to take their ventures to the next level of success in a global economy. Through a statewide network of partner organizations and events, Innovate Montana aims to create a statewide entrepreneurship and startup ecosystem,” states the Montana.gov website.
The Stevensville Main Street Association took applications and the grant was awarded to Greg Lanoue, owner of the Stevi Café.
Lanoue said that he got a chance to meet Governor Bullock, Lieutenant Governor Cooney and John Walsh. He said their focus at the conference seemed to be promoting STEM education, that is science, technology, engineering and medicine.
“It was pretty high tech oriented,” said Lanoue. He said that he got a chance to ask about low-tech jobs.
“What about cooks and dishwashers? How do I keep them,” he asked. He said the answer he got was that by promoting new non-polluting, high-tech industries it creates employment and brings in business to the local café.
Lanoue said that he had a chance to hear from the founder of GoldieBlox, an out-of-the-box kind of business that was started with a Kickstarter campaign.
“It’s an engineering toy for girls,” he said. “A video was produced and the thing went viral.”
He had a chance to hear from a Montana Robotics Team that is the first American team to go to the world finals in toy car design.
Lanoue said there were a lot of micro-meetings at the symposium that were very informative.
“I was really there under two hats,” he said. “One as a Main Street business person looking for ways to improve the Stevi Café. But I was also sent there by the Main Street Association as a representative of the community.”
He said it was not really a question of “vitalizing” the community so much as “re-vitalizing” it.
“We are already a vital community,” he said. He said the recent closure of a Main Street business saddened him. But on the whole, he said, the town has a lot going for it.
“We’ve got a dance studio, an artist’s collective, a theater, a bike/river trail,” said Lanoue. “We have a playground, a skate park, and even a pocket park right downtown. We have a tree-lined Main Street with improved sidewalks. And the work that’s been done here to restore and upgrade some of the buildings is amazing, the Blacksmith Brewery, the Lutzenhizer Jewelry Gallery. It shows a lot of pride in the community.”
Lanoue said that the restoration and upkeep of historic buildings gives the town a special flavor. And what each individual does helps everyone else.
“A rising tide raises all ships,” he said.
“Stevi’s my Mayberry,” he said, “where everybody knows everybody and there is a strong sense pf place. People talk about