Author: Steve

What trade shows are you planning for in 2022-2023?  ExportMontana’s programs may be able to help.

Trade Show Assistance Program

If you plan to exhibit at a wholesale trade show in the USA in 2022-2023, you may be eligible for the Trade Show Assistance Program (TSAP).  It must be your first time exhibiting at the trade show, in a different location than the last time you exhibited, or at least 3 years from the last time you exhibited at the show.  The reimbursement is 50% of costs up to $3,000, including up to $500 of travel expenses.

For more information or to apply, visit the TSAP website.  

STEP grant

International trade shows are eligible for ExportMontana’s STEP grant.  While any trade show outside the USA is considered international, there are some trade shows inside the USA that qualify, as long as 10%+ of attendees/buyers are international.  The reimbursement is 50% of costs up to $10,000, plus a $2,000 travel stipend.  

For more information or to apply, visit the STEP website.  

Grants for other international activities

The STEP grant can help with so much more than trade shows, providing a 50% reimbursement up to $10,000 for these international activities: 

• Market Research & U.S. Commercial Service Programs 
• Foreign Language Translation
• International Compliance Testing
• International Intellectual Property Protection 
• International e-Commerce & Website Fees 
• International Digital Marketing 
• International Credit Insurance from EXIM Bank
• International Travel Stipend 

• Date: 5/5/22
• Time: 11:00 AM – 11:30 AM (MDT)
• Point of Contact: Jason Nitschke (406) 750-0314

Registration & Additional Info

Program Format: Online Meeting (Live)
Training Topics: Managing a Business
Description:
To join the webinar, click here: https://www.montana.edu/extensionecon/smallbusiness/

Topic:

As we lead into Mother’s Day, we will take this opportunity to celebrate and mothers who operate businesses while also being moms. Whether you’re a full-time founder or a home-based maker and side hustler, this webinar will celebrate your challenges and provide guidance on how to take your business to the next level. We will explore the research as to why parents make great entrepreneurs and tell share stories about how other moms make it work.

Open to non-moms, dads, and nonparents as well!

This is a 30-minute webinar from 11-11:30am Mountain Time.

Presenter: Presenter: Marguerite Thordarson, Business Advisor, Accelerate Montana – Women’s Entrepreneurship and Leadership Lab (W.E.L.L.) Women’s Business Center (WBC)

Presenter Bio:

Marguerite is an Accounting graduate from the Gallagher School of Business at the University of Montana, specializing in managerial accounting, operations management, and financial analysis. She has an extensive background working with small business, consulting in the area of business finance, strategic development, manufacturing accounting, human resources, and bookkeeping best practices. She is the Business Advisor for the Women’s Business Center in Missoula, a new program from Accelerate MT, also partnering with the Great Falls Development Authority and the Montana Native Growth Fund.

2022 Nominees

The Choteau Chamber of Commerce 4th of July Parade Committee has several nominations for Grand Marshall. Please read the info about each nominee and then cast your vote by replying to the weekly Chamber Members-only email, or send an email to choteauchamber@gmail.com.

Bill Marney

He takes such great care of all of us. I cannot begin to count the number of times he has spied a problem with my vehicle as I am driving by to the school. He comes and takes it, fixes whatever it is, and returns it. And I know he does that all over town each and every day – a silent angel, so to speak! An all-around great guy who does an awful lot for everyone!

Tom (Tommy) Tesch

He was nominated based on his dedication to the beautification of our city. He willingly accepted the job of caring for all of the planters on Main Street that The Rocky Mountain Front Community Foundation funded. You will see him and his van caring for and watering plants every morning to make our city a welcoming and beautiful place to live and visit. He took his dedication a step further by helping with planters south of the courthouse and the Wagon outside the now vacant Elk Country Grill. The Acantha recently ran an article about him.

Cathy Campbell

Cathy is a life-long Teton County resident. The daughter of Lloyd and Jane DeBruycker, she grew up on the Dutton-area home place. She has been a Teton County 4-H volunteer for years and has worked as the 4-H summer camp cook. She is active in Special Olympics. She is active in production agriculture: she and her husband, Joe, raise Charolais beef cattle and farm north of Choteau. She is presently the head cook at Choteau Public Schools, where she worked with the Teton County CattleWomen to bring a “farm to school” meat program to the cafeteria. Her use of home- cooked meals using local beef, pork and bison has resulted in sharply higher student use of the school lunch and breakfast programs. In her capacity as head cook, she has worked with the Choteau Lions and Soroptimists to put on the free community Thanksgiving dinner. She is known as a tireless advocate for children and a strong supporter of local agriculture. She and Joe have two grown sons, Dillon Harrell, a sophomore, and two grown daughters and a number of grandchildren. All of her sons and daughters still call Teton County home.

Marlin and Betsy Styren

The Styrens, who ranch north of Choteau, have been heavily involved in the Choteau community for decades. They were both long-time members of the Jaycees in their 20s and 30s, helping with numerous programs: Huck Finn Day, the Halloween Haunted House and parade, the 3rd of July country music concerts and the Art on the Green summer art and craft fair, to name a few. After they aged out of Jaycees, they both became involved with the American Legion with Marlin joining the Sons of the American Legion and Betsy joining the American Legion Auxiliary. They have both worked on the annual Memorial Day program, recognizing veterans who have died, and they have worked at the Choteau 4th of July rodeo. They are both always happy to lend a hand when community organizations need help and they have invested their lives in the Choteau community.

SBA Celebrates National Disability Employment Awareness Month

The U.S. Small Business Administration will host a live online panel session to recognize entrepreneurs with disabilities and discuss how they have used SBA financial assistance to help pivot their businesses, overcome challenges, and build back better. Assistant Administrator for the SBA’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Civil Rights, Zina Sutch, Ph.D., will lead the two-part conversation, focusing on disability awareness, inclusion, and hiring employees with disabilities as an untapped source of talent.

WHEN:  Thursday, October 28, 2021, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. (ET)

WHO:  Dr. Zina Sutch, Assistant Administrator, SBA’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Civil Rights

• Alicia Hernandez, CEO, DAP Construction Management, Tempe, AZ
• Tomas Santos-Alejandro, CEO, Advent Services, Panama City, FL

HOW:  Registration is required. Click here to register or visit https://sbadisabilityemploymentawarenessmonth.eventbrite.com.

This event will be recorded.

All SBA programs and services are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. SBA’s support of or participation in this event is not an endorsement of any product, service, or entity. Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least seven days in advance of this event; please send an email to reasonableaccommodation@sba.gov with the subject header “ACCOMMODATION REQUEST”.

About the U.S. Small Business Administration

The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.

An Important Message from our HUD Partners

Montana Department of Commerce sent this bulletin at 09/17/2021 09:00 AM MDT

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that invalidated the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) eviction moratorium, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is using every tool at our disposal to help safeguard the millions of the nation’s individuals and families now in danger of losing their homes.

Our programs and resources protect HUD-assisted households from eviction and should be sought out by all Americans who are seeking assistance in avoiding eviction, relocating to new homes in the event an eviction moves forward, and fighting unfair evictions. Through our Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, we are ready to protect people of color, families with children, people with disabilities, LGBTQ people, and others who may disproportionately face eviction through discriminatory policies and practices.

HUD also has a responsibility to assist landlords, owners, public housing authorities, and all of our stakeholders in weathering this public health crisis.

HUD and our partners are taking a broad range of actions to help prevent evictions. They include:

• Fighting unfair evictions – HUD is making over $19 million available to fair housing partners to help them respond to possible fair housing violations, many of which relate to the pandemic and evictions. The funds will enable private fair housing enforcement organizations to respond to fair housing inquiries and complaints, conduct fair housing testing, and implement education and outreach activities related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds will also be used to address fair housing issues affecting individuals and families experiencing housing instability, including those who may face displacement due to discriminatory evictions and foreclosures. HUD is also ramping up funding and education for HUD-approved housing counseling agencies to work with clients to understand their options if they are facing eviction.
• Providing legal assistance – HUD is making $20 million available to non-profit or governmental entities to improve the availability of legal assistance at no cost to low-income tenants at risk of or subject to eviction. These funds will provide services in areas with high rates of evictions or prospective evictions, including rural areas. This grant program plays an integral role in helping individuals and families—including people of color, people with limited English proficiency, and people with disabilities—avoid eviction or minimize the disruption and damage caused by the eviction process.
• Keeping people housed – HUD has instituted an eviction moratorium to protect borrowers with HUD-supported or FHA-insured mortgages. This includes people living on Tribal lands with HUD Section 184 Indian Home Loans. HUD will also act to require public housing authorities and owners participating in HUD’s project-based rental assistance program to provide tenants facing eviction for non-payment of rent with additional time and other protections to allow them the opportunity to secure emergency rental assistance that may stave off eviction entirely. For the duration of the presidentially-declared national emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic, HUD will extend the time its programmatic regulations require before a tenant must vacate a unit once a notice of lease termination for non-payment has been issued from 14 days to 30 days, consistent with CARES Act protections and the protections already in place for FHA-insured Multifamily mortgages where the borrower is under a forbearance agreement. Additionally, in order to initiate eviction, HUD may require additional steps of covered landlords.
• Connecting people with rent and utility relief – HUD is working with the Department of Treasury to help Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) grantees connect tenants behind on rent and utilities with financial assistance. Throughout this year, HUD has brought our expertise on housing programs to Treasury, providing advice and assistance on program design and implementation, and engaged HUD-approved housing counseling agencies. As part of a whole-of-government approach, we call on state and local ERAP grantees to lean into the flexibilities provided in this program and get assistance out quickly to those who need it the most.
• Providing Tools to Help Public Housing Authorities, HUD-assisted Landlords/Tenants, and People Experiencing Homelessness – HUD program offices have delivered webinars, created documents answering frequently asked questions, granted waivers to ease administrative burdens created by the pandemic, and are distributing relief resources such as Emergency Housing Vouchers and additional assistance to people experiencing homelessness as quickly as possible.

Eviction prevention resources, tools, and training for HUD’s grantees will continue to be posted to HUD Exchange as they are available. A selection of resources include:

• Rental Housing Counseling and Eviction Prevention [hudexchange.us5.list-manage.com]
• Tools for Landlords with Tenants Impacted by COVID-19 [hudexchange.us5.list-manage.com]
• Tenant Guidance: Rent Repayment Plans [hudexchange.us5.list-manage.com]
• Homeless System Response: Strategies for Eviction Prevention [hudexchange.us5.list-manage.com]
• NFHTA Forum: On the Brink: The Looming Eviction Crisis of the COVID-19 Pandemic [hudexchange.us5.list-manage.com]
• Rent relief resources [hudexchange.us5.list-manage.com]

Research on Evictions, their Prevention, and Best Practices 

• Benefits of Eviction Diversion Programs [huduser.gov] (HUD)
• Eviction Prevention and Diversion Programs Early Lessons from the Pandemic [urban.org] (Urban Institute)
• Achieving Housing Stability with Eviction Diversion Programs during COVID and Beyond [rhls.org] (Regional Housing Legal Services)
• The High Cost of Eviction: Struggling to Contain a Growing Social Problem [open.mitchellhamline.edu] (Mitchell Hamline Law Journal)
• Emerging Best Practices for COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Programs [aspeninstitute.org] (The Aspen Institute)

HUD is here to help. You can find more information https://www.hud.gov/rent_relief [hud.gov] and you can also reach out to your local field office [hud.gov].