Heart of the Flathead

20. The Business of Building Community

• David Wigginton • Episode 20

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Kalispell is growing quickly, and with that growth comes important questions about housing, workforce challenges, economic development, and preserving the qualities that make the community special. In this episode, Lorraine Clarno, President and CEO of the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce, shares her journey to the Flathead Valley and explains how the Chamber’s work extends far beyond supporting local businesses. From workforce development and housing affordability to childcare access and regional collaboration, Lorraine offers a practical look at the issues shaping the future of Kalispell.

The conversation also explores downtown revitalization efforts, including the Downtown Forward Coalition, the vision for a more active and vibrant downtown, and the potential impact of opportunity zone designation on redevelopment. Whether you're a business owner, community leader, or resident invested in the future of the Flathead Valley, this episode provides valuable insight into how growth, collaboration, and thoughtful planning can help Kalispell thrive while maintaining its unique character.

Subscribe, share this episode with a friend or neighbor, and leave a review to help more people discover conversations about the future of the Flathead Valley.

Heart of the Flathead is brought to you by:

Heart of the Flathead, is produced by David Wigginton, in partnership with LeftBrainRightBrain Marketing. Listeners can find the podcast online at HeartoftheFlathead.com and LeftBrainRightBrain Marketing at lbrbm.com. The content for Heart of the Flathead podcasts and any show notes and transcripts are copyrighted by David Wigginton. All rights are reserved. Reproduction and rebroadcasting, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited without written permission. Contact David Wigginton by clicking the Send Us a Text link at the top of the episode description. 

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed by guests on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host or production team. Appearance on the show does not constitute an endorsement of any goods, services, or opinions discussed. This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered professional, legal, medical, or financial advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on the content of this show.

SPEAKER_01

Welcome to the Heart of the Flathead, where we sit down with the change makers, the unsung heroes, and everyday folks who give this place its pulse. If you live here, love here, or just want to know what makes Kalispell and the Valley tick, you're in the right place. And now, here's your host, Dave Wigginton.

SPEAKER_02

Welcome everyone to Heart of the Flathead. I'm excited to introduce our guest this week, Lorraine Clarno, president and CEO of the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce. Welcome to Heart of the Flathead.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you, David. I'm really happy to be here. I've listened to a number of your shows and they're terrific.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, great. We've got uh I've got a fan on today. So hopefully we have a great conversation. Well, I I have a lot of questions I want to ask you about the chamber and questions that I think are good for everybody in our community to understand and know about the role of the chamber. But before we dive into those questions today, I think we need to get to know you a little bit, Lorraine. Can you can you tell us a little about where you're from, uh what you like to do, and maybe how you ended up where you are today?

Lorraine’s Journey To Kalispell

SPEAKER_00

Sure. Well, that's that's quite a story. When people ask me where I'm from, I usually say I'm I'm really a mutt. It's hard to say. I was born in Sarnia, Ontario, in Canada. And when I was two years old, my parents moved to Hong Kong. And I was raised in Hong Kong, Korea, and Australia all my formative years. When my dad retired, he did that in Tacoma, Washington, my senior year of high school. And so I chose to go up to university at UBC and Simon Fraser in Vancouver, British Columbia, because I'd never gotten to really live in Canada. So I wanted to experience it, swore I would never leave. I absolutely love Vancouver. It's an incredible city with so much international flavor to it. But I met an Oregonian and fell in love, ended up in Oregon, between Washington and Oregon for about 30 years, raised two beautiful, wonderful children in Oregon, and decided in about 2018 that we wanted to find a different place for our second act, that we kind of outgrown Oregon and wanted to do something new and different. So we came to Calispo, Montana, ironically, on vacation in July of 2020. 10-day wonderful vacation, right in the middle of COVID. Oregon had been locked down. We wanted to get out. And we explored Glacier National Park. We rented a pontoon boat on the lake and did all the things. Tourists in the flathead fell in love with the area. And ironically, received a call from one of my colleagues that night, one of the nights that I serve on a couple different chamber boards with. And he said, It looks like you're in the Calisbell area. Looks like you're loving it, because I'd been posting on social media and so forth. And he said, Lorraine, Joe Underreiner's retiring. And Joe had been with the chamber for 24 years. I'd been at the Beaverton Chamber for 21 years. And Chris Roomer, head of the Vale Valley Partnership, said, you know, mountain community to mountain community, we'd have so much fun working together. You need to go for that job. And at the time, I just said, Chris, you're such a sweetheart. Thanks for thinking of me. A couple days later, my phone rang and it was LC Staffing, the recruiting company that had been working with the chamber. As it turned out, Chris had worked some magic on my behalf. And the rest is history. So we moved here in October of 2020, have never looked back. We both still pinch ourselves every morning that we actually get to live and work in this absolutely magical and beautiful place. So that's that's a little bit about me.

SPEAKER_02

All right. So apart from the flathead, where is your favorite place between international and domestic that you've lived and had experiences in?

SPEAKER_00

Boy, that is a really tough question, honestly. I love Asia. Asia was my home for so long. So I would probably point to East Asia as probably my favorite part of the world, probably a lot just for comfort. But honestly, my gosh, this world is so amazing. But I will tell you, honestly, of all the places I've lived, I believe Kalispell and the Flathead is absolutely the absolute best.

SPEAKER_02

So yeah, we definitely hear that a lot from people. Absolutely. Absolutely. So yeah, it's so you think about the cultures you've experienced that East Asia, Australia, you know, Vancouver, Oregon, Kalispell, Ontario. I mean, you've really gotten around to see a lot of different cultures, different people, and different ways of life. So what a what a great experience. So what do you like to do in Calisto?

Favorite Kalispell pastimes

SPEAKER_00

Oh my goodness. There, you know, everybody said when we were moving here, you know, Kalispel is so small. It's rural. There is more happening here every single day and weekend than ever experienced before in other communities. We love the outdoors. We're not warm climate people. So this was perfect. We love hiking, we love snowshoeing, we take our dogs all over. We had to get a pontoon boat, of course. When you live by the beautiful Flathead Lake, you can't pass up that opportunity. So, you know, we put the boat in the slip last weekend and we're heading out on Sunday for our first float of the year in Flathead Lake. But all four seasons, there are incredible things to do. Festivals all the time, whether it's Big Fork, Columbia Falls, Whitefish, Kalispell. There are just amazing people and amazingly talented people who have settled in this valley. And there are great things to do seven days a week, 365.

SPEAKER_02

Isn't that the truth? So you you said you take your dogs everywhere.

About those dogs

SPEAKER_02

I hear you're a big dog person. Maybe talk to us about your dogs.

SPEAKER_00

Well, I'm a crazy dog lady, that's for sure. I tell my husband all the time if he goes first, I will be a crazy dog lady. He only allows me to have three right now. Um we all three are rescues. We believe very firmly in rescuing animals. So we have a beautiful golden lab named Tucker, and we have two little mutts that we adopted out of California and the Wasco Desert. One is Dandelion and one is Marley, and we call her Marley Monster. She has earned that name. When we got her, she had a little broken leg and had been emaciated and tossed out in the desert. And so she developed a real survival attitude and it's carried forward for nine years. We have our grandkids, or actually, my granddogs followed us here as well. So we have a pack of seven between my two kids and our dogs, and we're really blessed because they all get along. It's pretty fun. And they love coming to grandma and grandpa's and running on the acre we have and having a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_02

How often do you get them together?

SPEAKER_00

Oh, at least twice a month on a weekend. And then we uh we do some good dog sitting or grandchild sitting for them too, when the kids are out of town.

SPEAKER_02

So who who's your favorite, the dogs or the kids?

SPEAKER_00

Oh, that's hard. That's hard, David. You know, love the kids. They're now 38 and 34 and very well grown and flowing. I'm I'm pleased and proud to say. Love them dearly, but gosh, those dogs, you know, that unconditional love. They never asked me for anything but but pets and food, kids, that's a different thing.

SPEAKER_02

Good perspective. Let's let's transition into talking about the chamber. And I think, you know, I wanted to start kind of at a high level. Like, what exactly is a chamber of commerce? And generally

What does a Chamber do?

SPEAKER_02

speaking, what is its objective or mandate?

SPEAKER_00

You bet. We have a saying. Uh, you've seen one chamber, you've seen one chamber. We all have an overriding mission of strengthening our local economies. And chambers exist across the world in most communities, whether they're professionally staffed or volunteer-based, but we all exist to support our local businesses and grow our economy. We believe the foundation of a healthy community is a strong business community. And if business is ticking, the rest of the community will. But how we get there is all very different. Even if you just take our valley, 110,000, 12,000 people, three municipalities, Whitefish, Columbia Falls, and Calisbell, you look at those three chambers, we are night and day different. And I think that's what makes chamber work very special because we're made up of our members and our businesses. And so, therefore, we all have different ways of getting to that endpoint of strengthening our communities and economy. Calispell is the regional trade center for Northwest Montana. We're the industry, we're the retail center, we're the gateway to the other wonderful smaller communities that are primarily tourism-based. So we have a much broader membership. We're about 700 members right now. Everything from our wonderful tourism, hospitality, retail businesses to applied materials and Logan Health. So we have a very different makeup. And each chamber, while we're all heading for that same goal line, we all get there very differently. And Calispell is uniquely positioned because we are the job hub of Northwest Montana and the industry hub.

Fulfilling the Chamber's mandate

SPEAKER_02

What are some of the things that the Kalispell Chamber is doing to fulfill its mandate, so to speak?

SPEAKER_00

You bet. The last few years, actually since 2020, the number one thing we hear from our businesses and employers and members is workforce. We are the only chamber in the valley that has a full-time workforce specialist, Jen Kronk. And we do special initiatives under that umbrella to try and drive what our employers need in terms of workforce. Every single one of our members almost says we could grow, we can't because of the lack of workforce. And when you dig deeper into that, it really comes down to two things housing affordability and childcare, the lack thereof. We are still considered a desert. So we do a lot of work in workforce development. We produce job fairs twice a year. Jen works with the Manufacturing Alliance and other clusters or sectors of our economy really to drive home and solve some of those problems. We've also taken on a much bigger role in our downtown. We noticed that while there were wonderful groups that were all trying to do a little bit here, a little bit there, we formed a coalition of five business organizations. And together, we developed what's called downtown forward coalition. And we're making real headway to keep our wonderful Main Street vibrant and working towards getting it to be an 18-hour vibrant downtown. We have a lot of work to do, but we're really excited about the change in leadership at City Hall with our new mayor and our new city manager. And we've already, in six months this year, made some significant headway as partners working together. The council is moving forward with some parking recommendations that the coalition put forward. We're also looking at joining forces to get an opportunity zone approved for our Main Street core area. And so dipping our toes more into that arena, but also never taking our eye off the ball and supporting our small businesses. That's critical to us. So we do our unwinds, our coffee connects, we do a lot of partnership building. And then, of course, we have our wonderful destination marketing organization or the tourism business improvement district, which is an arm of the chamber. And we promote Calispell as that destination in its own right for visitation. We have so many neat things here, but also to get them here and then experiencing the rest of our gorgeous valley and the park, of course.

SPEAKER_02

So you mentioned the opportunity zone. Can you maybe help listeners understand what an opportunity zone is and how that could benefit downtown?

SPEAKER_00

Sure. Montana is not known for its economic tools and incentives. So we really have the tax increment financing districts, which are allowed, which is a complicated but pretty simple thing when you get down to it. But commercial property owners invest or pay property taxes. Any growth in that value gets put in a special fund to be able to help with infrastructure projects and things like that in our community. And

What is an Opportunity Zone?

SPEAKER_00

an opportunity zone is somewhat similar, but different in that it is not tax-based, but it's a federal designation. Montana now is looking at 20 potential, is what the feds have said we have an opportunity for in the whole state. And it's based on census tracks and poverty rates and blight as defined. And it's another incentive tool for redevelopment of areas. And so that's uh what we see as an opportunity for the city of Kalispell to go after for our core Main Street and the mall. It really covers the heart of Kalispell. So it would be an incentive tool, again, to attract more redevelopment of our core.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, definitely need the redevelopment at this point. So revitalizing downtown workforce initiatives, those are all critical to our local businesses. Maybe help us make the connection,

How a Chamber Impacts the community

SPEAKER_02

how those initiatives that you're working on will benefit the community at large and not just the businesses that are impacted by that.

SPEAKER_00

Sure. Well, when I say that the business, a healthy business community is the foundation, if businesses have workforce, if businesses are generating profits, business understands and recognizes their role in that healthy community, and they have resources, whether it's time, talent, expertise, money, et cetera, that they lend. So as a community, if your businesses are ticking, they're going to be donating to all the amazing nonprofits we have in our community that provide the social service nets and safety nets, the Calisbell Education Foundation, Abbey Shelter, you can go on and on, Flathead Food Bank. If your businesses are hitting their marks, they're going to, again, provide people to serve on boards, people to volunteer in your community and get engaged and connected. And they're going to have resources to help solve the problems that sometimes growth brings, right? So growth brings challenges, and the business community here has been amazing about stepping up to address some of those.

SPEAKER_02

Right. And I've not heard this here, but I've heard it in other communities where there's sometimes a little bit of a skeptical eye towards the Chamber of Commerce and all they're interested in are the businesses and helping the businesses. And you just rallied off a bunch of different organizations here that serve the community at large in different ways. Nonprofits, city government, all those different organizations uh work to make our community what it is. So maybe

The Chamber doesn't just serve businesses

SPEAKER_02

help dispel the misconception that chambers of commerce are only interested in the businesses and not the average person in the community.

SPEAKER_00

Absolutely. So we like to say we're the catalyst convener and the champion for Calispell. As the convener, we are one of the only organizations in Calispel and beyond where we have good positive relationships in most cases with all the other leadership organizations in the community, just as you said, David, whether it's government, we pull in our city leadership, our county leadership, our school district, our president of our community colleges on our board. We have the ability as a chamber of commerce to bring everyone to the same table, to have conversations that sometimes aren't easy, but put our heads together and work to drive community solutions. And there honestly is no other organization in a community that has that capacity or kind of that mandate to be able to get folks convened, connected, and championing their community.

unknown

Great.

SPEAKER_02

And so you also mentioned a bunch of different organizations, some specific companies that are members of our local chamber. How active are those businesses and their teams in the chamber? And what do they do as members?

SPEAKER_00

Oh my goodness. So all sizes. You know, take our board of directors. We make sure and ensure every single year we have small, medium, large, we have retail, manufacturing, education, nonprofit, et cetera. We make sure our board represents our membership. That's critical for any organization or chamber in particular. Our community steps up time and time again, whether it's financial institutions, whether it's a business on Main Street, Princess and Buck, if I call Kyle or Beth and say, hey, we, you know, we have this challenge over here downtown, they they jump right in. And that's part of the beauty of what a chamber does. We have such a broad base mix of membership that we can call applied materials, you know, our only advanced large manufacturer in the valley, and they answer the call. And they want to be a part of whatever it is we're doing. So for chamber, that that gives you a little bit of a breadth of how they engage. And in addition, all of our members, I don't think there's probably one member that isn't just like you as a small business,

It's about people serving people

SPEAKER_00

Glacier Investments. You know, you're you're chair of your rotary club right now. People who are part of a chamber believe in the work we do, believe in community connection, believe they have a responsibility to their community, and they find ways to get involved and engaged. So whether it's rotary or serving on another board of a nonprofit, whether it's taking teams of employees to the food bank to put meals together and take that 500-pound bag of beans and separate it into the one-gallon bags, the business community is truly the heart, I believe, and that foundation. And if you're if you have a strong one, your community is going to be healthy and strong. And it's because of the volunteerism, the time, the talent, and the resources that the business community gives each and every day to your community.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, we have a great, great business community here. I'm I am in awe and have so much admiration for all the people that put in so much time and effort and are truly invested in the well-being of our community. And because it seems like it's such a contrast to what so much of the world is today. So we we are very fortunate in that regard. Very fortunate.

SPEAKER_00

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02

So, Laura, what is your vision then? As you look to the future at this point, you know, thinking about the Kalispel chamber, thinking about downtown, thinking about the workforce, thinking about our community at large, what do you foresee for the future and how do you envision that happening here over the next five, 10, 15 years?

SPEAKER_00

Well, that is a great question, David. You know, I tell folks Kalispel is kind of a teenager right now. We're at that awkward stage of growth. We have some pimples, we have hormones going a little wild here and there with folks not happy about the growth that they've seen. And I understand that. I don't want to see Kalispel and the valley change or lose its pristine beauty and magical spirit. I think we can grow correctly and we can grow smart and we can grow if we talk and communicate together. And that's, of course, gonna be the charge of what we do going forward. The chamber's actually going through a pretty big restructuring right now. And I think that's gonna lend a lot to the future because we're getting smart about resources, efficiencies, et cetera. Diane Medler, who has been the executive director of Discover Calispell, our tourism arm, for 15 years, tells me she's leaving June 30th to retire. I haven't decided whether I will let that happen or not. She'll be incredibly missed. But we're gonna restructure so that my capacity will now oversee Discover Calispel as well. That's gonna open up some growth opportunities within our organization to take on a little bit more. We will be adding a staff person or two, driving more true economic development in Calispell and the Valley. Right now we're convening Facita, which is the county arm of economic development, Montana West economic development, all the chambers, the college, everybody involved in it. And we're gonna do a map of what's who's doing what, and again, try and combine efficiencies, not be duplicating, finding that higher and best use of resources so that we can attract the growth that we want. We don't want data centers in this valley, right? It just doesn't fit who we are. We spent time developing our community values, and we're not afraid to tell folks when we get Get inquiries, you know, sounds like a great business, but you don't fit here. We're not going to be shy about that message. Maybe they fit better in Missoula or Bozeman or Haver or whatnot, but we really want to define who we want to grow to be in that next 10 to 15 years. And that's going to take strategic planning, a lot of thought from the business leaders and community partners to decide that. So I think that's really the path we're on right now. And it's exciting. I'm very glad the growth rate we saw in 2021 to 23 has subsided because that was unsustainable and too crazy. We're at a very nice, healthy pace right now. We need to plan to keep that going. We want jobs here for our kids. We want our kids to grow up here, find careers, have their families be able to afford a house here. That's a huge issue. But we want to keep our prize possessions here and our talent and watch them grow together.

SPEAKER_02

Absolutely. Very well said. So if somebody's interested in learning more about the chamber or even getting involved, how can they do that?

SPEAKER_00

Give me a call. 406-407-4144 or email L dot C L A R N O at Calispelchamber.com.

SPEAKER_02

So thank you for all that you do. I remember the first time I met you was actually at a rotary presentation, and I was impressed with the vision that you were laying out, how you were communicating it. And I think you've done a fantastic job. And I'm grateful for your leadership and for the direction you've taken, taken our local chamber here, because I think it's yielding a lot of uh wonderful fruit, not only for now, but for the future as well. So thank you for all that you do.

SPEAKER_00

Well, you're very kind, David.

SPEAKER_02

Okay, so we are gonna move on to our final questions here. And these are called the Flathead Five. We ask all of our guests. These are a

The Flathead 5

SPEAKER_02

rapid response. So let's get into it. What's your favorite hidden gem in the community?

SPEAKER_00

That is so hard, but I'm I'm gonna say right off the bat, Conrad Manchin. I just I cannot believe what an asset that is to our community, but there's a million others.

SPEAKER_02

Grizz or bobcats?

SPEAKER_00

Impossible. I didn't grow up with football teams. In Oregon, I was a platypus, beaver duck. I haven't figured out what a grizz and a cat are together yet, but I will cheer for both any day.

SPEAKER_02

What's your favorite outdoor activity in the valley?

SPEAKER_00

Snowshoeing.

SPEAKER_02

What do you know today that you wish you knew when you started out?

SPEAKER_00

Good question. You know how people say don't sweat the small stuff? I would say don't don't sweat the big stuff either. It works out. If you keep your your North Star and your values, this too shall pass and it will be great.

SPEAKER_02

When it's all said and done, what do you want the two-sentence review to be on your book at the end of the day?

SPEAKER_00

Oh my goodness. That kindness matters, relationships matter, honesty, transparency, and that I was always the I always acted in the manner and expressed the values that are me and that they were received.

SPEAKER_02

Thank you, Lorraine, again, for coming in Heart of the Flathead. It's been great getting to uh to know you a little bit more and learn more about our chamber and all that uh the impact it's having on our community.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you for the opportunity. This is an amazing home.

SPEAKER_01

Thanks for listening to this episode of Heart of the Flathead. We'd love to hear your thoughts about today's episode and the podcasts in general. You can listen at heart of the flathead.com or wherever you listen to podcasts, and you can reach David via the contact page at heart of theflathead.com or by clicking on the send us feedback link at the top of the episode description and your favorite podcast app. Heart of the Flathead is produced by David Wigginton in partnership with Left Brain Right Brain Studios. Listeners can find the podcast online at Heart of the Flathead.com and LeftBrain Right Brain Studios at LBRBstudios.com. The content for Heart of the Flathead Podcasts and any show notes and transcripts are copyrighted by David Wigginton. All rights reserved. Reproduction and rebroadcasting in whole or in part is strictly prohibited without written permission. Contact David Wigginton at heart of the flathead.com with your request. The views and opinions expressed by guests on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host or the production team. Appearance on the show does not constitute an endorsement of any goods, services, or opinions discussed. The podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered professional, legal, medical, or financial advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on the content of this show.