Fifteen Businesses Recognized at annual PhillCo Meeting

The annual PhillCo Economic Growth Council held its annual meeting January 23, 2019 at the Great Northern Lodge Room. Those in attendance recognized the ten new businesses, four businesses that changed hands and the one expansion business in our community during 2018.

New Businesses

• Semperfi Heating and Cooling – Riley Flatt

• Lettuce Eat – Tina Myers

• Healing Roots – Katie Brown

• We Care Day Care – Cailtin Anderson

• Studio Stiles – Tia Stiles

• Julia's Junque – Megan Pankratz

• Bishop Real Estate & Development – Carly Bishop

• Lynn's Line Photography – Lynn Brewer

• Blue Ridge Brewery – Brian and Bri Shores

• Wish and Wander Boutique – Jessica Meyers

Change of Hands:

• Davis Glass Works – Derek and Megan Davis

• The Closet – Nancy LaBrie

• Prairie DeSigns – Greg and Katie Skiff

• Dale's Framing Shop – Dale & Elaine Enerson

Expansion:

• Tulips & Treasures – Mary Nordlund

President Marko Manoukian thanked the businesses for taking the challenge of an entrepreneur and making the community of Phillips County a better place.

In other business, new directors of Kari Hammond and Jace Anderson were elected to the Board of Directors. Re-elections to the board were Marko Manoukian, Garry Howell, Shane Anderson, and Logan Lund. Officers elected for 2019 were Marko Manoukian, President, Kelly Murray Vice President, and Carly Bishop Secretary.

While the organization has not had an employee since June of 2018, PhillCo has managed its accounts and conducted business without any problem. Manoukian explained that the labor pool is very thin but encouraged the group to stay the course, potentially join forces with the Malta Chamber and Agriculture and target the hiring of an Executive Director by infiltrating the state colleges. Try to find the young person that wants to make a difference in a rural community.

Additional highlights of the night were that the Villa Theater had paid it final loan to PhillCo and the that Nursing Home was making regular payments. Duane Murry with the Hi-Line Retirement Center spoke to the group about the challenges that the facility faces. Murry and the Hi-Line Retirement Center Board had stopped the fiscal bleeding and has started to repay their loans. PhillCo, facilitating the actions of the Community Foundation played a key roll in financing, as a lender of last resort, both the Villa Theater and the Nursing Home. The Community Fund was able to provide stop gap funding in a moments notice and delay repayment, if necessary so that these businesses and service could recover and move forward. Murry noted that it was a priority to repay the PhillCo loan in case the Hi-Line Retirement need them again in the future.

Specifically, for the Hi-Line Retirement Center its gross annual income is $3.4 million and it pays out $1.6 million in salaries. It employs 70 people, residents numbers are 44 and there are 13 people in apartments. Without PhillCo and the Community Fund this would have been in jeopardy. But for now, it is moving in a positive direction. The Mission of PhillCo Economic Growth Council is to assist in improving the economic stability of the Phillips County area and the standard of living of the residents, and to provide leadership in the county relative to the retention and creation of jobs with expanded wealth of our residents and tax revenue for the communities.