Sen. Baucus - 250 Jobs for Hamilton, Montana - New Grant For Business Incubator In The Bioscience Industry

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June 3, 2008

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Montana's senior U.S. Senator Max Baucus http://baucus.senate.gov today announced a new grant that will create 253 jobs in Ravalli County.

While hosting his New Frontiers research conference in Bozeman today, Baucus joined Assistant U.S. Secretary of Commerce Sandy Baruah in announcing the $1.6 million grant. Baruah heads the Economic Development Administration, which awarded the grant at Baucus' request.

The dollars will be used to build a new Ravalli Entrepreneurship Center http://www.rceda.org/rec .

“This is exactly the kind of investment that is right for Montana," Baucus said while in Bozeman today. "This is about, creating good-paying jobs, encouraging entrepreneurship and keeping Montana the Last Best Place. I'm committed to helping Montanans share their remarkable dedication, knowledge and innovation with the rest of the world. This grant is great news."

The Ravalli Entrepreneurship Center will serve as a small business incubator- helping bioscience entrepreneurs find funding through state and federal grants, providing life science mentors and coaches, creating networking opportunities and other services.

The grant will be used to build a 10,000 square foot building in Hamilton to house the Center. The construction will include a new sewer lift station that will serve not only the new building but a portion of the City of Hamilton and allow for future city expansion, said Julie Foster, executive director of the Ravalli County Economic Development Authority.

"We're very excited," said Foster, who attended Baucus' conference in Bozeman. "We've been working on this project for 10 years. It's taken a lot of dedication and team work to make it happen. We have the opportunity to create better-paying jobs and boost a knowledge-based community. We are grateful for Max's help. He understands how important these good jobs are to Montana."

"The center will build upon the region's recent efforts to grow the emerging bio-medical industry, which has included the expansion of the Rocky Mountain National Laboratory and the Glaxo-Smith-Kline pharmaceutical laboratory," Baruah said in Bozeman.

In 2002 the bioscience company Corixa threatened to move from Hamilton because local water and sewer limitations prevented the company from expanding. That year, Baucus secured a $1.4 million Economic Development grant and an $80,000 Community Block grant to fix the problem and keep the company in Hamilton.

Bioscience is a fast growing industry in Ravalli County and has provided a major economic boost to the western Montana region in recent years.The Ravalli Entrepreneurship Center is projected to create 253 jobs and encourage more than $11 million in private investment over the next ten years, Foster said.

"Time and time again, we've learned the importance of being able to support new companies as they set up shop here in Montana," Baucus said. "We've got the big skies, the outdoor activities and the community spirit to draw these companies here, but the only way to keep them and the jobs they create is to make sure they have the resources to grow."

For more information, reporters should contact Julie Foster at (406) 880-0216 or go to the Ravalli Entrepreneurship Center website at http://www.rceda.org/rec.

http://baucus.senate.gov/newsroom/de ... m?id=298662

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Conference emphasizes economic benefits of research to Montana. http://matr.net/article-29359.html

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RCEDA gets $1.6 million grant for entrepreneurs

by WHITNEY BERMES - Ravalli Republic

The Ravalli County Economic Development Authority was awarded a $1.6 million grant Monday to help fund a new entrepreneurship center that could create more than 250 new jobs in Ravalli County.

“We’re very excited,” said Julie Foster, executive director of RCEDA. “We’ve been working on this project for 10 years. It’s taken a lot of dedication and team work to make it happen.”

The grant was awarded by the Economic Development Administration. It was presented to Foster at the 2008 New Frontiers research conference, hosted by Sen. Max Baucus in Bozeman.

“This is exactly the kind of investment that is right for Montana,” Baucus said. “This is about creating good-paying jobs, encouraging entrepreneurship and keeping Montana the Last Best Place.”

http://www.ravallirepublic.com/artic ... /news25.txt

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