by John Dowd
On Wednesday, March 27, the Bitterroot Valley Chamber of Commerce hosted a well-attended mid-day event for members, giving their annual report, reviewing 2023 and talking about what they have planned for the upcoming year. During the meeting, it was also announced that long-time member, Al Mitchell, will be retiring and stepping back from the Chamber leadership.
Mitchell has been with the Chamber for over 36 years, and spent much of that time as the executive director. After it was announced that he would be retiring, he was asked to speak, and was introduced by Jodi Mitchell, his daughter-in-law and the current executive director. Al gave a history of the chamber, and spoke about important members during that time that led up to him taking on the position.
“The story of the Bitterroot Valley Chamber is the story of optimism, struggle and triumphs,” said Al. He said the overarching goal for the Chamber has always been to keep businesses connected throughout the Bitterroot.
Al became a member in 1988, and got into it because he owns the Paper Clip in downtown Hamilton. It was suggested to him that he get involved to network. He then got onto the board in the early 90s, and in 2012 he became the executive director.
Throughout that time, he knew 55 board members and participated in some of the greatest growth in the organization’s history. According to him, what was meant to be a six-month appointment to the position lasted 12 years, and he enjoyed every moment of it. “It’s been a good ride for 29 years,” said Al. “I’m looking forward to being on the other side and partaking,” he added, specifically referring to the Brewfest, which he started in 1995. Now that event is one of the biggest in the valley. For him, the experience has been a “chance to meet with a lot of great people all over the valley,” and all of it has been “extremely rewarding.”
Al was the executive director until 2020. Since then he has been the advisor for Jodi, helping her transition into the role. Al will be retiring in August this year. After Al spoke, Jodi stood to thank him for all his help and to remind him he was only supposed to speak for 10 minutes.
Jodi stated that the membership numbers have been “trending up every year.” However, 2023 saw the highest jump so far, earning 58 new members. 2024 has already brought in another 16 members. As of the date of the annual meeting, the Chamber had 477 members. With all these new members, the Chamber is working to start holding some morning meetings for those who are unable to make mid-day meetings.
Jodi then spoke on the progress the Chamber made over the last year. One of the highlights of 2023 included their continued work on the Tourism and Relocation Guide. The guide was a way for the Chamber to “brand our visitor center and to be a tour guide for visitors,” said Jodi. The guide, which anyone can pick up at the visitor center, is published every year. That visitor center has been the home and base of operations for the Bitterroot Valley Chamber of Commerce for years, and according to Jodi, it is so much more than a visitor center. It is also a place visitors can plan trips in and out of the valley, and a source for lots of information, both on the history and the current state of the valley. “It’s kind of hard to organize because we have so much information,” said Jodi.
She also spoke on the great success of their updated Bitterroot Valley Gift Card Program, which now includes numerous businesses across the valley, and can be used in any one of them. The program used to be a certificate that purchasers had to use all in one place. However, now it works like a pre-loaded credit card that can be used to any amount up to and below the full load limit at any location that accepts it. “It’s for the people that don’t know what to get somebody, but want the dollars to stay local,” said Jodi. Businesses that accept the cards include establishments of all kinds, including tire shops, restaurants and much more.
The gift card program was updated in July of 2023. According to Jodi, in all of 2022, the cards put about $40,000 back into the community. Just between July and December of 2023 the cards did that amount again after the update. In all of 2023, they did about $75,000.
Jodi also spoke on what the Chamber has planned for the upcoming year of 2024. One area they will give special attention will be tourism. Part of this stems from recently taking over the visitbitterrootvalley.com website, which was created by the Tourism Business Improvement District, an organization that dissolved over the last year. That organization’s goal was to focus on tourism in the valley, specifically in ways that would help businesses of the area. “This website is amazing and we didn’t want it to go away,” said Jodi. The Chamber wants to use the site and the continued printing of the now annual Tourism and Relocation Guide in conjunction to drive tourism. They hope to do so specifically to create more visitation during the shoulder seasons and in winter. Jodi hopes this will help businesses during those times, including hotels and the lodging industry, which Jodi explained, would benefit the most from this.
According to Jodi, this is because lodging businesses are having trouble opening in the Bitterroot because of the steep rise and fall of use. She explained that when a company looks at the area, it is hard to justify putting in a facility when they see such a drop in use during an extended portion of the year. “People don’t want to build a hotel if they can’t ensure they can fill it,” said Jodi. This trickles into another issue, where limited lodging affects the caliber of events the area can host. One example of this, brought up by Al, is the difficulty getting bids for school sports tournaments. It is hard to be awarded these bids without places for out-of-town visitors to stay. Jodi mentioned a lack of event centers for conferences and conventions. The only one is at the Bitterroot River Inn and the fairgrounds, and currently there are no out of season big events held during winter months.
Another way to help with the goal of increasing tourism will be the re-introduction of the Chamber Tourism Committee. Jodi described this as a diverse group of people from the area, including business owners, construction workers, farmers and ranchers, and all kinds of people. This group would help tackle problems and come up with proposed solutions geared towards increasing tourism in a positive way for the valley, without forgetting Montana roots, as Jodi said.
Jodi was also excited to speak on the “state of the valley address,” planned for the coming year. According to her, this is intended to “bridge the gaps in the valley,” connecting communities. The chamber hopes to get people from across the valley into the same room, including businesses and local government. She described it as a “panel of community leaders with a moderator.” The goal would be to have participants speak on what each community has going on to inform other communities in the valley and to get everyone on the same page regarding efforts and networking. They hope this will lead to greater support for projects. With six different communities in the valley, and with each one “doing their own thing,” Jodi believes it may be beneficial to help cultivate some valley unity, inspiring collaboration.
This “state of the valley address” will take place in the fall. “We think it’s a really good opportunity to do it, and we feel like it’s a piece we need,” said Jodi. “There’s a lot of people doing really great work in the Bitterroot Valley.” Jodi hopes this will all lead to a stronger support system for each organization and business to accomplish their goals.
For more information about the Bitterroot Valley Chamber of Commerce and how to get involved, interested parties can visit their website at bitterrootchamber.com.