Holden excited to get things done

Businesses in Havre have a new advocate helping to lead the Havre Area Chamber of Commerce — Shawn Holden.

Holden assumed the role as Chamber president Tuesday at the group’s annual luncheon at the Duck Inn.

Holden was born and raised in Havre and has lived here most of his life. He and his wife, Christy, own Holden’s Hot Wheels, which is located on the corner of 1st Street and 5th Avenue. He has been a member of the Chamber since Holden’s Hot Wheels opened in 1994 and a board member for six years.

One of Holden’s goals as the new president is to encourage business owners to take care of the outside of their business buildings.

He said that the outside of one’s business property goes beyond the building itself and that the businesses’ responsibility also includes the sidewalk in front, all the way up to the middle of the street.

“It’s just more inviting to the customers (who) come in that you care about the outside of your store as much as you care about the inside,” he said. “We do a great job at the Havre Pride Day for those two days, but it’s not just Havre Pride Day that we need to be aware of — it’s all year long.”

Holden also said he wants to help other businesses during his time as president.

For example, during spring and summer, Holden said, he wants to help eliminate the abundance of weeds in town.

“My goal is to take weed killer and try to hit the downtown area with weed killer once a week,” he said. “My goal is to make downtown look very clean and nice.”

Another thing Holden wants done is to get a 24-hour port of entry opened between the United States and Canada. He believes this will generate more revenue in the community.

“People can stay longer. They’re not rushed to get out of town,” he said. “(For example,) if it closes sooner, they get three hours less of shopping because they have to get across the border.”

Holden said the Canadian government is not as supportive of this idea as much as the United States.

“We just need support from Havre businesses that say it is important and then our legislators have something to stand on to be able to say this is important for both of our countries,” he said.

Holden also said that he enjoys being involved with the community and that he has been a supporter of many community events and causes such as Relay for Life and the Community Tree Lighting ceremonies.

He wants to inspire people to get involved in the community.

“There’s a lot of things that happen in Havre, but it takes volunteerism to do that,” he said.

Holden added that the city of Havre has friendly people who provide a lot of community support.

“It’s the best hidden secret in Montana,” he said.