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BLDC outlines recruitment, workforce and strategic‑planning efforts including Headwaters Tech Hub event
Summary
Kelly Sullivan reported BLDC outreach and planning efforts on June 4: a May 13 Headwaters Tech Hub event in Butte, a $30,000 grant application to the Department of Commerce's Opportunities in Rural Economies program, attendance at SelectUSA, hosting international visitors for workforce development, and an active five‑year strategic plan process.
At the June 4 Economic Development Committee meeting, Kelly Sullivan, a representative of the Butte Local Development Corporation, described recent outreach and strategic‑planning activities intended to attract businesses and support workforce development in Butte.
Sullivan said the BLDC hosted a Headwaters Tech Hub event at Butte Brewing on May 13 with Tim Van Reeken (executive director of the Tech Hub) and Courtney McKee in attendance. "We had about 25 attendees and great conversation surrounding opportunities in Butte with the tech hub," Sullivan said. She added the BLDC plans to hold similar events quarterly and invited council members to participate.
Sullivan said she submitted a $30,000 grant request to the Department of Commerce's Opportunities in Rural Economies grant program on behalf of an organization in Butte and expected to learn funding results in early June. She also described a new monthly communications program called "The List," modeled on another development authority's weekly bulletin; BLDC distributed the first edition in early May.
On workforce and international engagement, Sullivan reported that BLDC team members hosted participants from Ecuador through a Community College Administrators Program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs to discuss technical education and workforce development. Sullivan also said BLDC business recruitment director Kayla Lappin attended the SelectUSA event in Washington, D.C., and was following up on leads from firms interested in Montana and Butte.
Sullivan described ongoing strategic‑plan work: a five‑year plan led by a consultant from Billings, community listening sessions, and a public survey that received more than 225 responses. She said the consultant believes the project is ahead of schedule and the BLDC may complete the plan sooner than the targeted October date; additional listening sessions are planned and the public will be invited.
Commissioners and staff were invited to future events and updates; Sullivan said she would provide more detail in subsequent monthly reports.
