Signs of change

Derek Pruitt / file photo Al Pickett, left, and Jim Miller of Hawe Steel position one of four new interpretive signs at the Berkeley Pit Viewing Stand in this April file photo. The project was pulled together by the Blueprint for Change civic improvement committee and many local volunteers.

There is no question that Butte and southwest Montana have a long way to go to catch up with the neighboring cities of Missoula, Helena, Bozeman and Billings.

Now that a blueprint has been drawn up for bringing various economic groups together, it's time to lay the foundation — in the words of Pat Dudley of St. James Healthcare — for building a strong economy.

Blueprint for Change, which had the financial backing of several major, private employers over the last two years, will change this week into Butte on the Move.

With many of its goals met, (see related stories on this page) Blueprint will go dark, but Butte on the Move will kick off with a public forum Monday.

The public is invited to a free presentation by Larry Swanson, associate director of the Center for the Rocky Mountain West, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Thornton Building, corner of Broadway and Wyoming, in Uptown Butte.

Swanson will present the economic realities facing southwest Montana and provide some insight into its future.

The forum has the backing of Team Butte as well, a Chamber of Commerce effort, which includes many of the economic development groups seeking to move in a unified direction.

A second forum of business leaders will follow on Tuesday morning at the Thornton Building. This session is by invitation only.

The work of the Tuesday session is to identify a set of community and regional objectives that all groups can work to accomplish.

Also, the group will indentify potential alliances with Montana's other major cities to grow the economy.

And, the group will identify what sets Butte and southwest Montana apart from other regions.

Finally, the group will come up with a collective message to lobby state government and the Legislature on what Butte and southwest Montana needs to prosper in the changing
environment of the 21st century.

For reservations to either session, contact Brenda Dorvall at 496-5572.

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