Northern chancellor to keynote Bear Paw Development annual meeting

Press release 

Bear Paw Development Corp. will be hosting its annual meeting Thursday, Feb. 17, at noon on the campus of Montana State University-Northern in Havre in the SUB Ballroom and announced that Northern Chancellor Greg Kegel will keynote the event.

The topic of his address will be “The State of the University: The Role of MSU-Northern in Economic Development.”

“We are very pleased that Chancellor Kegel will be joining us to discuss the important role that MSUN plays in a healthy economy for the Hi-Line and all of Montana. Higher education is a game changer in the positive trajectory for so many people, and we also know that graduates of MSUN contribute mightily to the workforce needs of our state’s employer community,” said Paul Tuss, executive director of Bear Paw Development. “MSUN and Bear Paw Development have had a decades-long partnership on a number of important initiatives and we are pleased to be highlighting the work that both organizations are currently engaged in to create a healthier, more sustainable economy for northern Montana.”

Tuss said the annual meeting will also focus on the work of the nonprofit organization over the past year and will mark the official release of Bear Paw Development’s 2021 Annual Report.

“Economic and community development in rural America always take a lot of work, but being effective and impactful during a global pandemic takes extra focus, more creativity and using resources wisely,” Tuss said. “We are excited to share the investments we were able to coordinate in 2021 for northern Montana, in addition to the jobs we helped the private sector create or retain in our five-county region.”

The annual meeting is scheduled for noon Thursday, Feb. 17, and will include a lunch. The cost is $15 per person and an RSVP is required. To RSVP, contact Bear Paw Development at 406-265-9226 or by email at [email protected].

Bear Paw Development Corp. is Montana’s longest-serving federally-recognized economic development district and serves the economic and community development needs of Liberty, Hill, Blaine, Phillips and Chouteau Counties and the Rocky Boy’s and Fort Belknap Indian reservations.