The State with the Best Education Wins!
	MATR Newsletter - Thu Dec 30, 2010

This MATR newsletter sponsored by: Add an event... Upcoming Events Grant Proposal Writing Seminar, 1/6-7, Butte MATR supporter: New Events MATR supporter: MATR Web services provided by: To subscribe or unsubscribe from the free weekly MATR newsletter, please visit our list info page

"He talked about Montana, how important it was to him, and fishing," he said. "He kind of lit up. ... You could definitely see the youth and vitality come out when he was speaking." Arnold Richardson (1914-2010) Cast of a lifetime as the elderly Norman Maclean in "A River Runs Through It" http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html

MATR wishes you and yours a most prosperous and joyous 2011. "Do one thing every day that scares you." -- Eleanor Roosevelt

Northwestern Energy

• Montana Energy Summit, 1/7-8, Helena, Montana
  NorthWestern Energy http://www.northwesternenergy.com/ , in cooperation with the Wheeler Center http://www.wheelercenter.org and others, is hosting an "Energy Summit" on Friday and Saturday, January 7 & 8, in Helena. Please join us!

PrintingForLess

• New Year, New Stationery Plus, 500 Free Business Cards with Your Letterhead & Envelope Order!
  A new year is the perfect opportunity to give your corporate branding a jump start with a full color business identity package.

21st Century Initiative - "You Should Care..."

• Many U.S. companies are hiring ... overseas - One reason why U.S. unemployment remains as high as it is
  "We are not fulfilling the educational needs of our young people," says Sachs. "In a globalized world, there are serious consequences to that."


• Old school's no good for grades
  When students attend school in older buildings that need repair their grades suffer, research shows, particularly if those students change schools often.


• Diane Ravitch ("The Death and Life of the Great American School System") takes stock of education in 2010
  On my extended travels, I saw two interesting places. One was San Diego, where there is currently an amazing level of cooperation among teachers, administrators, the elected school board, and parents. Their goal is to develop "community-based school reform," http://www.sandi.net/20451082012139880/site/default.asp in which the various constituencies agree to work together to promote improvement at every school.


• Shanghai Schools' Approach Pushes Students to Top of Tests
  Educators say this disciplined approach helps explain the announcement this month that 5,100 15-year-olds in Shanghai outperformed students from about 65 countries on an international standardized test that measured math, science and reading competency.

MSU Leadership Institute

• Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg: Why we have too few women leaders
  Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg looks at why a smaller percentage of women than men reach the top of their professions -- and offers 3 powerful pieces of advice to women aiming for the C-suite.

Visit Montana

• Journey into Pryors is journey to 'Edenic past'
  Should you go to the Pryors, treat them with the reverence they deserve. Be quiet, and you may hear an answer that you've been waiting for all of your life.

Come Home Montana

• Arnold Richardson (1914-2010) Cast of a lifetime as the elderly Norman Maclean in "A River Runs Through It"
  Arnold Richardson was not the best-known Montanan to appear in a Hollywood movie, but his solitary bit part - as the elderly Norman Maclean in "A River Runs Through It" - remains one of the most iconic cinematic images of the state, partly responsible, for better or worse, for the explosion in the popularity of fly fishing in the 1990s.

Developing Tech Jobs in Rural Communities

• The Future of Small Towns
  "Small towns that are built on a set of shared beliefs or aspirations, be it a desire for sustainable communities or the chance to fully engage in all aspects of a community, will be attractive in the future."

Warren Miller Freedom Foundation

• How to Turn Your 12 Year Old Into an Entrepreneur
  Every kid needs entrepreneurial experience.

Developing a more Entrepreneurial Montana

• The Enterprise of One: How New Entrepreneurs Are Taking Advantage of the Great Reset
  Today, everyone is an Enterprise of One.

Montana Economic Development

• West Yellowstone Economic Development Council Inc. (WYED) purchases building for education project
  The new building, to be called the WYED Center, will be the future home of the Yellowstone Studies Center (YSC) as well as the home base for other education and economic development projects for the Greater Yellowstone region.

Regional Economic Development

• U. S. Economic Development Administration 2011 Funding Opportunities
  2011 funding opportunities in the areas of economic adjustment assistance, technical assistance, planning, public works,the Global Climate Change Mitigation Incentive Fund (GCCMIF, and economic development assistance programs have been announced by the EDA.

Bill Payne

• PowerPoint Pitching to Angels
  When entrepreneurs come to the attention of potential investors, they may be invited to make verbal presentations to a select group of investors.

Business Plan Forums

• How These Brilliant Businesses Won Startup Competitions In 2010
  To give you an idea of what it takes to win first place in a funding competition, we compiled a list of winners from several of this year's contests.

Careers

• Utilities Seek Fresh Talent for Smart Grids - "We want to help make utilities cool again."
  To pull off the modernization, Ms. Magnuson and others are trying to persuade this generation of fidgety teenagers to put their creativity to work in the power industry once they graduate. "We want to help make utilities cool again," she said.

Funding and Building your Business

• Message to CEOs: Do More to Keep Your Key Employees
  Some companies already are bolstering their retention efforts despite the still-weak job market. Google Inc. will give all employees a 10% raise in January.


• 14 Ways To Be A Great Startup CEO
  Very rarely do you hear about what a bitch it is to be CEO and how it's not for every founder that wants to be an entrepreneur.


• How to Charm a VC Into Mentoring You
  VCs are good for much more than just their money. I have never gotten VC funding, but I have had many VCs help me.

Montana Education Excellence

• University of Montana College of Technology Student Built Missoula House Raffle January 2, 2011
  Time is running out to get your ticket! Only 350 tickets left to sell to meet our minimum! So don't miss out!

Regional Business

• Qwest execs get millions in tax breaks
  Four days before Christmas, Qwest http://www.quest.com gift-wrapped millions of dollars in tax breaks for top executives in a move that included a special waiver from the company's board of directors to avoid a shareholder vote.

North Dakota Business and Economic Development

• The North Dakota University System laud system's impact on economy
  The North Dakota University System http://www.ndus.edu/ says its impact on the state's economy is worth $3.7 billion a year.

Washington State Business

• State of broadband in Washington: Fast and plentiful, in cities
  Washington residents generally have good access to fast broadband services - as long as they're not living in rural areas.


• Flynn's Harp: Drama for three Washington banks in 2010
  Nowhere was the financial-stability drama played out more prominently than with the effort to restore the health of three prominent Washington State banks.

Education

• Musical Instrument Designed for Kids with Special Needs
  The Skoog is an exciting new musical instrument with accessibility at its heart.

Community

• SIX New Grant announcements
  

Energy and Climate Change

• Blame Climate Not Politicians for Weather-Beaten Cities - Montana Rep. Ed Butcher Says 'Global Warming' is a scam
  "It's going to mean the power's going to go out because the electric system in your area wasn't designed to handle the stresses it will be put under. Cities will have to get less efficient and more resilient. Redundancies will have to be built into systems that previously seemed to work just fine."

Grupthink

• Wikipedia Showdown! What are the weirdest, funniest, craziest, and most bizarre entries?
  Help us discover the weirdest, funniest, craziest, and most bizarre entries that the people's encyclopedia has to offer.

Transportation

• Boulder County bringing transportation system "into the current century"
  Transportation should be about moving people, not just about moving cars.

---

To subscribe or unsubscribe from the free weekly MATR newsletter, please visit our list info page