Purchase an Individual Membership Package:

Membership Level:

Level 1 $25.00 USD Level 2 $100.00 USD Level 3 $250.00 USD Level 4 $1,000.00 USD

Purchase a Business Membership Package:

Membership Level:

Level 1 $250.00 USD Level 2 $500.00 USD Level 3 $1,000.00 USD Level 4 $2,000.00 USD

Have you strolled through the Columbia Falls Farmer’s Market, visited Discovery Square, or hiked the Kreck Riverwalk Trail? Have you ever wondered what makes these things possible?

Wonder no more! Introducing First Best Place membership: now you can help make Columbia Falls the amazing place it is by becoming a member of the First Best Place. Supporters like you make it possible for us to do things like build trails, promote local business, and develop a community center in downtown Columbia Falls. Now you can contribute to our support base while enjoying a variety of membership perks. Individuals or businesses can choose from four different levels of support, starting at $25.00 annually for individuals and $250.00 annually for businesses.

“Many people have asked why we don’t have a membership program,” said Hilary Hutcheson, First Best Place President. “We have been working behind the scenes to fundraise for key projects, but we haven’t ever come right out to the community and asked for a consistent commitment to help fund all the programs we offer for free. So, we realize that as we grow, we need to build that small-but-steady and stable funding base rather than rely on the larger donations. We are extending an invitation to the entire community to join the effort. For as little as $25/year, you can make a difference and show your pride for this great community.”

Read on to learn about membership benefits, and scroll down to purchase a membership package:

Purchase an Individual Membership Package:

Membership Level:

Level 1 $25.00 USD Level 2 $100.00 USD Level 3 $250.00 USD Level 4 $1,000.00 USD

Purchase a Business Membership Package:

Membership Level:

Level 1 $250.00 USD Level 2 $500.00 USD Level 3 $1,000.00 USD Level 4 $2,000.00 USD

Purchase your membership a.s.a.p. to get perks related to this year’s Showcase event (March 23rd, 2012) or purchase by April 22nd to get your membership benefits in time for summer. Use your PayPal account or credit card to purchase membership. We’ll send you a confirmation via e-mail. When your membership package is ready, we’ll ship it to the address provided during the checkout process.

After much hard work and deliberation, the First Best Place steering committee has selected a new leader to direct the organization. We are pleased to introduce Steve Paugh as our new executive director! Thanks to the ongoing support of folks like you, First Best Place has been growing, and the selection of a new executive director completes a transition driven by our continued success.

Steve comes to First Best Place equipped with decades of experience in business management and volunteerism, with successful careers in title insurance and commercial real estate. Following his son, who is a local business owner living in the Flathead Valley for the last 12 years, Steve and his wife Betsy moved to the area from Pennsylvania three years ago and currently live in Martin City.

“Steve was chosen from a field of incredibly talented people from all over the valley,” says Ron Nash, Vice President of First Best Place. “We are so fortunate to have had such a great pool from which to choose.”

Steve has already begun training for the position to ensure a smooth transition, and will formally take on the Executive Director title on January 22nd. As Director, he will be responsible for all aspects of the planning and implementation of our mission, to develop quality of life amenities for the community.

“We absolutely made the right choice by bringing Steve into this leadership position,” says Barry Conger, who is a co-founder of the organization and has served as Executive Director for the last three and-a-half years. Barry now supports First Best Place by volunteering on the steering committee as Fundraising Chairman. “This is a major step forward for us in our ongoing growth. Steve will chart a strong and steady course for FBP, and we will be able to charge forward on our fundraising effort for Discovery Square.”

“I am ready and excited to work with the community volunteers, local service groups, government and the Board on the exciting projects of First Best Place,” says Steve. “It is the beauty and opportunity of this place and its people that motivates me to give all I have to the betterment of our community.”

In January, First Best Place will introduce a coffee in partnership with Montana Coffee Traders, the Red Bridge Blend. The coffee–an organic, shade-grown Mexican dark variety–will bring in proceeds to benefit First Best Place programs and raise awareness about the old Red Bridge in Columbia Falls. You can pre-order the coffee here.

In 2012, the Historic Red Bridge will mark its 100th birthday. For generations the bridge has served as both useful infrastructure and memorable landmark. After nearly 80 years as a critical connection point between the east and west side of the Flathead, it was taken out of service at the end of the 80s, splitting the community in half and eliminating one of the few safe river crossings in Flathead County. For over 20 years, the community around the bridge has been trying to restore this critical crossing.

We want to see your photos of the Red Bridge, old and new. Share them with us on facebook, twitter, or e-mail us by January 10th–we’ll select a winner to receive the first bag of our Red Bridge Blend coffee on January 10th, 2012, and post the top 10 photos on our website.

The First Best Place is committed to the rehabilitation of the historic Red Bridge as a pedestrian crossing. The project is a joint effort of Flathead County, the City of Columbia Falls, First Best Place, and the Montana Department of Transportation. As to the recent setbacks, we want to assure all of you who have made donations to the Old Red Bridge project that we are holding those funds securely. We are committed to being a part of making this happen. It will take everyone working together, but it can be done.

Please contact us to see what you can to do to contribute to the rehabilitation of the Red Bridge.

First Best Place Gathers Funds to Replace Boiler at Glacier Discovery Square

If you haven’t heard already, this fall, the boiler at Discovery Square broke down after more than 35 years of hard work. Faced with the sudden expenses of replacing the boiler, First Best Place called on the community to gather funding for this essential element of the community center. The first donation came in just a few hours after we posted notices on Twitter and Facebook, and several more contributions have come in over the last month. We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of our supporters, and we have been humbly reminded how amazing our community is.

Flathead Electric Cooperative’s Roundup for Safety program is supplying an $8,000 grant for the new boiler. The grant completes the funding needed to replace the antiquated, defunct boiler at Glacier Discovery Square and culminates a speedy emergency fundraising drive, which raised more than $13,000.

The new boiler is part of the high-efficiency plan outlined in the remodel for Glacier Discovery Square that will service the building for decades. First Best Place put the word out to the community and received an immediate response.

December 2nd marked the annual Columbia Falls Night of Lights festivities centered at Glacier Discovery Square, so FBP community members had to scramble to find a solution to heat the building. Volunteers brought in temporary heaters for pre-and-post parade events as well as the Rotary Club of Columbia Falls’ annual Brunch With Santa event the following morning.

The Rotary Club voted to offer 10% of their proceeds from that event to the boiler fund. In addition, a bake sale during the parade raised an additional $310 for the repair.

The new boiler is on its way as we write this message, and we expect to have the heat back on by the new year. We’re planning a celebratory re-opening event in January, so watch our community events calendar for the event.

Everyone who made a donation or helped spread the word made this possible. Thanks to the support of Roundup for Safety, the Columbia Falls Rotary Club, Leo Renfrow, and countless more community members, we gathered 100% of the funds needed for a new boiler at Glacier Discovery Square, and we did it in just under a month’s time! We would like to sincerely thank everyone who helped make this possible. From the families who bought cookies at our bake sale during the Night of Lights festival to our largest donors, we could not have done this without you!

First Best Place community volunteers hope the success will spur additional fundraising, as efforts continue to work toward the necessary remodel of the community center. To make a contribution toward First Best Place programs, please click here or contact lindsay@firstbestplace.org to learn more about planned giving.

This year’s Whitefish Mountain Films event was a great success thanks to our donors, contributors, and supporters. A huge THANK YOU to everyone who helped make the event possible! Whether you attended the event or not, you can support First Best Place programs and events by purchasing your very own Whitefish Mountain Films T-Shirt!

Choose Your T-Shirt

Whitefish Mountain Films Tee with Logo Only $15.00 USD Whitefish Mountain Films Tee – with Artist Signature $17.00 USD

Sizes

Small Medium Large X-Large

At the O’Shaughnessy Center, 1 Central Avenue, Whitefish
Doors Open at 5:30, Films Start at 6:30

On Sunday, November 13th, First Best Place will be hosting its first event outside of Columbia Falls! Whitefish Mountain Films is a celebration of locally and nationally renowned skiers, mountaineers, and filmmakers. Come down to the O’Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish to enjoy some good food, good drinks, and great people!

Appearances by:
Julian Carr
Jamey Parks
Chris Rubens

Great Northern Brewery has donated plenty of Black Star Beer for the event!

There will also be lots of amazing raffles and prizes you won’t want to miss! We’ll be raffling off a day of cat skiing with Great Northern Powder Guides; Quadrocopter, LLC has donated a GoPro, and there will be much, much more!

Films featured at the event include segments from All.I.Can, The Ordinary Skier, Race Across The Sky, Salomon Freeski TV, Solitude, Set Your Sights and an amazing collection of local gems.

For updates on Whitefish Mountain Films, visit the Facebook event page or follow @WFMtnFilm on Twitter!

Whitefish Mountain Films is free to attend, encouraged donation to benefit trail projects of First Best Place.

Here is a bit from KPAX TV about the Riverwalk Trail and the Old Red Bridge.

You may be familiar with Pie in the Big Sky from their delicious baked goods, which made a big splash at this year’s Farmer’s Market.

On October 9th, 2011, Pie in the Big Sky brought their fine delectables to the Montana Veteran’s Home to share the joy of locally-baked pies with the senior citizens who reside there. The event was sponsored by Dr. John Sullivan to support First Best Place activities and programs.

You can support First Best Place programs by making a donation or sponsoring an event. We currently have sponsorships available for the Community Garden ($250 to sponsor a birdhouse in the garden) and the Columbia Falls Farmer’s Market ($200 to sponsor one evening of the Farmer’s Market). If you want to get more creative and sponsor a special event, we’d love to hear your ideas.

Contact Barry at barry@firstbestplace.org or Lindsay at 892-1363 to make a donation to First Best Place or arrange a sponsorship. Your generosity is what makes our work possible!

You can  to our YouTube channel, so that every time we post a new video – YOU KNOW ABOUT IT!

Yay!