North Country Media Group praised for outreach work for Montana – receives the Montana Ambassadors 2003 Business of the Year Award – Flathead Valley Community College President Jane Karas named educator of the year

Mark Simonich, the director of the Montana Department of Commerce, drives his family nuts every time a commercial sporting an 800 number to call to order the advertised product flashes across his television screen.

"That’s one from North Country Media Group, http://www.ncmg.com/ " he shouts.

By JO DEE BLACK
Tribune Staff Writer

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20040219/localnews/440410.html

Until recently Simonich, like most of North Country’s neighbors, didn’t have any idea what the Great Falls-based business does.

He knows now that North Country Media Group received the Montana Ambassadors 2003 Business of the Year Award. Simonich is the Montana Ambassador’s secretary.

The award was presented to North Country’s owner, Sandy Peters, by Gov. Judy Martz at the Montana Ambassador’s conference in Fairmont Hot Springs Feb. 12.

North Country Media Group inputs 800 numbers into master copies of commercials and infomercials for clients. They also duplicate commercials for clients, produce close captioning and provide other services. The business employees 33 full-time and two part-time workers and does $4.5 million of business a year, 95 percent of which comes from out-of-state clients.

North Country was nominated by Carl Kochman, a Montana Ambassadors board member who established the business more than 20 years ago with his ex-wife, Margaret Moddison.

"The board members quizzed him (Kochman) pretty hard, since this was a business he founded," Simonich said. "Once he explained the background, that they have clients from all over the country, how they’ve grown a niche here few people expected to work in Montana and their role in getting the new FedEx hub at the Great Falls airport, we all thought they were a great choice."

The niche, known as video post-production in the broadcast industry, started out as a sideline for North Country, Peters said.

"When the company was founded, we did production of commercials," she said. "The post production started out as a niche. We started out with some pretty interesting products. Remember Ginsu Knives?"

Then Time-Life started peddling records directly to customers using television commercials and other companies followed suit.

"It became an industry instead of the stepchild of production," Peters said. "Today our clients are more mainstream, including Bob Vila Craftsman Tools and Hooked on Phonics."

A tour through North Country Media Group’s network of studios reveals other recognizable clients. Wednesday afternoon technicians were preparing commercial tapes for Tempur Pedic beds, the one with a woman hopping up and down and not spilling a glass of red wine on the mattress.

The walls of North Country’s office are lined with gleaming ad awards, framed gold records from clients pleased with their sales and other symbols of industry recognition. But Peters said the Montana Ambassadors’ award is equally as important. A Great Falls native, Peters said she’s pleased to be having a positive impact on the local economy.

Peters is part of the team assembled by Great Falls Development Authority President John Kramer to attend trade shows and make sales calls to attract businesses to the area.

"She’s so positive about Great Falls and why she’s doing business here," Kramer said. "I’m in development and prospective clients know that. But Sandy’s doing business here, which gives her a lot more credibility."

Technology, along with a late FedEx pick-up time, provide North Country Media Group with its competitive edge, Peters said.

FedEx gets prepared commercials from Great Falls to television stations by 10:30 a.m. the next day.

Broadband Internet service from Sofast Communications allows clients to send commercials via e-mail to North Country’s studios.

The company this year added satellite distribution capabilities, which allows commercials to be transmitted directly from the Great Falls studio to cable and television stations for airing.

Peters is frank about the downside of running a business with national clientele from Great Falls.

"Travel," she groaned. "I make a trip about once a month. And it can be hard to get clients in cities such as New York to believe we have the technology available here to do the work. They think Montana is a beautiful place to vacation, but not as state for business."

There are other positives to doing business in a small community.

"Our biggest competitor is in New York and they are having trouble getting a permit to have a satellite dish attached to their building," Peters said.

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Karas honored by ambassadors

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Flathead Valley Community College President Jane Karas was named educator of the year recently by the Montana Ambassadors.

An organization of volunteers appointed by the governor, Montana Ambassadors work to improve the state’s economic, educational and business environment. Karas was honored for her leadership in forging alliances between education and businesses.

"We partner with local businesses and industries to help them be more successful," Karas said. "Their successes are our successes in order to provide a vital community and state."

Karas received the Michael P. Malone 2003 Educator of the Year Award on Feb. 12. The honor is named for the late Montana historian and Montana State University president.

Appointed the 11th president of the community college in 2001, Karas previous served as vice president and dean of instruction and student services. She previously worked for the Montana Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education.

A graduate of Wellesley College, Karas holds a doctorate in social policy from the Heller School at Brandeis University.