Community Connections
Where the Past Quarter Took Us
Welcome to Community Connections, a new quarterly feature from Western Montana’s Glacier Country. Community engagement has long been part of our work, and we are bringing new structure and focus to it. Our team travels the region year-round—our Director of Sales and Director of Communications on product verification trips, familiarization tours and media visits, and our President CEO and Community Liaison for chamber presentations, community meetings and one-on-one visits with local leaders. These visits help us better understand our communities and support a visitor economy that works for the people who live here. Here is a look at the past quarter.
Glacier Country awarded $80,000 in staffing assistance to 10 visitor information centers across Western Montana. Visitor centers are often a traveler’s first point of contact in a new town, and strong engagement from visitor center staff can turn a pass-through stop into an overnight stay.
President CEO Racene Friede presented to the Hamilton Downtown Association, Ravalli County Chamber of Commerce, Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce and Eureka Chamber of Commerce, walking through Montana’s lodging tax, visitor spending and county-specific visitation trends. Sharing this information helps communities understand their strengths, challenges and opportunities in the local visitor economy.
Community Liaison Megan Hill Sundy visited Bigfork, Condon, Columbia Falls and Thompson Falls to learn what local leaders are working on and better understand what each community wants from its visitor economy. In Seeley Lake, we wrapped up a two-year community-building project through the Seeley Lake Community Council, taking a close look at what residents want and need for their community.
At our board meeting in Cut Bank, board member Lailani Upham shared an update on the Montana Indigenous Tourism Alliance and its work toward an Indigenous tourism trail. In June, we attended the Tourism Advisory Council meeting in Helena, where Glacier Country’s FY 2027 Destination Plan and Budget was approved. Megan also represented the region at the 2026 Rural Summit in Townsend and continued committee work with Glacier County Economic Development and Mission West Community Development Partners.
Every one of these conversations helps us better understand the communities we serve. If you would like to connect with us next quarter—for a presentation or a conversation about what is happening in your community—please reach out to Megan at Megan@glaciermt.com. We are always happy to connect with our partners and communities.
