Training – even in fourth grade – can pay off – April 2006 Edition of "Western Montana InBusiness"

Who could’ve imagined, back in March 1963, that Mrs. Broom was pointing me in the direction of my eventual, and lifelong, career? But there it is, 43 years later: the inaugural edition of The Green Broom, brimming with news from the fourth grade at East Handley Elementary.

By SHERRY DEVLIN

Right from the start, I loved newspapering. The storytelling. The immediacy. The relevance.

OK, so The Green Broom was typed on my mom’s monstrously heavy Underwood and mimeographed in the school secretary’s office. But the stories were classic newspaper fare.

Consider this gem, from an account of our class play on the life – and death – of Abraham Lincoln:

"Stephen Douglas was portrayed by Johnny Lanzoritti. It was Dean Ross who fired the fatal shot that Gerald Falls made sound effects for."

I’ve had many other jobs since my tenure as editor of The Green Broom, mostly at newspapers. Nowadays, my children are the ones wondering about – and embarking upon – careers.

I thought a lot about those journeys this month, as we assembled the April edition of Western Montana InBusiness and its detailed look at our state’s changing work force. What will come of my son’s search, over the next few months, for a full-time teaching job? Where will my daughter’s interest in lawyering lead her?

InBusiness reporter Tyler Christensen begins this month’s report with an overview of Montana’s – and, in fact, the nation’s – anticipated shortage of trained workers. By 2020,

Montana could be short 44,000 workers, as the baby boomers move squarely (need I say, happily?) into retirement.

A number of industries are feeling the crunch already. Tyler visited with managers at Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. about their work with the University of Montana’s College of Technology to train workers – before they’re hired. Michael Jamison had a similar conversation with folks at Plum Creek Timber Co.

Michael also took an in-depth look at Montana’s perceived "brain drain." Turns out, on closer inspection, all our young people are not leaving the state. And no small number of our state’s newest residents are talented, well-trained, brainy folks.

Younger people, particularly those with college or college-plus degrees, have always been more mobile than other workers. But only about 6 percent of workers age 20 to 29 move to a new state in any given year.

Still, Montana could do more to hold onto – or at least, lure back – its best and brightest, and that’s where Julie Foster and Come Home Montana hope to make a difference. Michael Jamison spent some time with Foster this past month, and some time perusing the 6,500 resumes on her montanajobs.net Web site.

Among his findings: Lots of states are scrambling to find and keep the top echelon of our nation’s work force. Thus Pennsylvania’s "Stay: Invest the Future" program. And the "Build Wisconsin" campaign.

There’s no silver bullet, Foster said, "so you have to plug all the little holes. This is just a part of a bigger effort."

The April InBusiness also has a full complement of profiles of successful and entrepreneuring business owners, starting with the fascinating story of Jerry Bromenshenk’s Bee Alert Technology Inc. The beekeeping business really hadn’t changed for hundreds of years – until Bromenshenk’s crew came along.

After three decades of research, the University of Montana biology professor is developing technology that uses trained bees – wow! – to detect minuscule amounts of chemical agents. Already, his Missoula company has trained bees to locate radioactive material, harmful metals and explosives. Next up: meth labs.

Reporter Tyler Christensen also visited with Randy Bostford at Pioneer Drive Corp., a Missoula business that is working with Nissan Diesel America to convert its delivery trucks to four-wheel drive. I particularly enjoyed Botsford’s five keys to small-business success, including: Persevere. "Even though things go bad, sometimes you just have to pick yourself up." And, care about your family, friends and the important people in your life. "It makes you have a reason to get up and go to work in the morning."

Finally, Tyler and photographer Tom Bauer had a chance to tour the newly constructed Hilton Garden Inn for a story on Missoula’s effort to bring in big national conventions. The Hilton’s new conference center can seat more than 1,000 and is being touted as the largest in western Montana.

With information from the Missoula Convention and Visitors Bureau, graphics editor Ken Barnedt put together a guide to western Montana’s largest meeting facilities. I think you’ll find it both interesting and useful.

All in all, we’ve got a solid lineup in April’s InBusiness – thanks, at least for starters, to that on-the-job training I got back in Mrs. Broom’s fourth-grade newsroom.

Reach Missoulian editor Sherry Devlin at (406) 523-5250 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Full Magazine: http://www.mtinbusiness.com/inbiz-0604/