Peg's Blog

New Documentary on National Parks by local Bozeman, Montana filmmaker

Peg Potter (Prudential Montana Real Estate) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 17:41:46 -0600

A BRIGHT IDEA
Filmmaker Ken Burns gives Bozeman sneak preview of new documentary ‘National Parks: America's Best Idea'

   Most Montanans figure they know all about Yellowstone Park, yet on Thursday night filmmaker Ken Burns showed he's still a master storyteller who can surprise even a Bozeman audience with the history of America's first national park.
By GAIL SCHONTZLER
• Chronicle Staff Writer

   An audience of about 700 at Bozeman's Emerson Theatre stood to applaud and cheer after seeing a 50-minute sneak preview of the new 12-hour Burns documentary "The National Parks - America's Greatest Idea." It will air this fall over six nights.
   In addition to stunning photography of geysers and bison, the series focuses on stories about people who were passionate about Yellowstone.
   It tells the story, for example, of President Teddy Roosevelt's 1903 visit. Excited as a boy, Roosevelt hiked and rode on horseback all over Yellowstone, loved seeing the animals and was dying to shoot a mountain lion, but was persuaded that would be bad politics. The president settled for killing a mouse, which he promptly stuffed as a scientific specimen.
   For 30 years Burns, 55, has been making award-winning documentaries for public television, from "The Civil War" to "Jazz," "Baseball" and "The War."
   Burns told the audience his films are all part of a struggle "to figure out how our country works: Who are we? Who are the strange and complicated people who call themselves Americans?"
   For 200 years America has grappled with race and space, Burns said, citing the "monumental hypocrisy" of Thomas Jefferson writing that "All men are created equal" while owning more than 100 slaves.
   "Only in the last two days," Burns said, with the inauguration of the first African-American president, has America righted that. Burns attended President Obama's inauguration, which he called, along with the birth of his daughters, one of the "greatest events of my life."
   Nearly 10 years ago his friend and collaborator, writer Dayton Duncan, suggested a series on national parks. Burns quickly said yes.
   It was writer Wallace Stegner who called national parks America's greatest idea, said Duncan, 59. Asked if that wasn't ignoring America's democratic ideas, Duncan said the film has a historian who argues that America's greatest idea is Jefferson's idea of equality.
   "I argue (national parks) are our greatest idea after we became a nation," Duncan said. "The national parks idea is actually an extension of the Declaration of Independence - applied to this glorious land.
   "By virtue of being an American, no matter if you're rich or poor, no matter what color you are, you are an owner of the most spectacular places," Duncan said.
   Paul Schullery of Bozeman, now retired after a long National Park Service career in Yellowstone, was an advisor and interviewee on the series.
   "They're frankly brilliant," Schullery said of the filmmakers. "They remind us that national parks ... represent the heart and soul of America."
   People in the National Park Service are excited about the series, Schullery said. Many studies have found that fewer kids are getting outside, hunting and fishing license sales have slipped. Schullery said he hopes the series might reverse those trends.
   Thursday's screening was a fundraiser for the Montana Historical Society, which shared hundreds of photographs with the filmmakers.
   "We think we have the best jobs in the country," Burns said in an interview before the screening. He recalled spending part of his honeymoon in Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons.
   There are two great paradoxes about the national parks, Burns said.
   "They were meant to provide access to everybody, but also to preserve them for future," Burns said, adding that anyone who has ever been in a traffic jam in Yellowstone understands that contradiction.
   The second paradox, he said, is "when we're in the presence of these magnificent places that we've been fortunate enough to save, we're reminded of our insignificance. At the same time, we feel bigger and feel a connection to everybody else."
   He said his upcoming projects include the history of Prohibition, the Dust Bowl, profiles of Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt, a series on Vietnam, and an addition to "Baseball," called "The 10th Inning."
   "When the Red Sox won (the World Series), I knew Ken would be doing that," Duncan said and laughed.
   Asked what advice he'd offer to young filmmakers at Montana State University, Burns said there is no single career path or "rut" to becoming a documentary maker. "You have to forge your own way," he said. "Just persevere. In documentary work, nothing is handed to you."

Robert Lang makes huge easement donation

Peg Potter (Prudential Montana Real Estate) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:50:05 -0500

$3.9 million dollars was just donated by Robert Lang, who owns the Sun Ranch in Madison County, Montana. The $3.9 million was donated to help secure large portions land for conservation easements in the Madison Valley. The donation was made to the Trust for Public Land, which is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to securing open lands, park space and other natural places.

Click on the link below for the more on this article:

http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2008/08/13/news/000donation.txt

Allegiant Air to fly from Bozeman to Las Vegas, Discount Prices!!

Peg Potter (Prudential Montana Real Estate) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:31:05 -0500

Starting October 9th Allegiant Air will start flying discounted flights from Bozeman,MT to Las Vegas. Currently Allegiant Air serves Billings, Great Falls & Missoula. You could be fly fishing one day and on the same day be heading to the Vegas, all on a budget!

Click on the following link to read the entire article from the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2008/08/12/breaking_news/09allegient.txt

You Will Love Coming Home

Peg Potter (Prudential Montana Real Estate) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:30:01 -0500

Sweet Pea Festival

Peg Potter (Prudential Montana Real Estate) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:58:45 -0500

If you are in the Bozeman, Montana area this weekend, make sure to check out the 31st annual Sweet Pea Festival. The Sweet Pea Festival is dedicated to "promoting and cultivating the arts." Check out the following website for all your Sweet Pea information.

http://www.sweetpeafestival.org/

Along with the Sweet Pea Festival, we will be holding one of the most exciting real estate projects Bozeman, Montana has to offer open, both Saturday & Sunday from 12pm-4pm. For information on The Village Downtown, check out, http://pegpotter.featuredwebsite.com/the-village-downtown.as . Hope to see you there!

Bozeman, MT ranked #2 on "dream town" list

Peg Potter (Prudential Montana Real Estate) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 12:55:55 -0500

Bozeman is a breath of fresh air and for me the only place to live! Small town America at its finest with the conveniences of a big city in a small intimate setting, great food, good air service including a jet center for private jet owners, great recreation including fly fishing, hiking, biking, skiing, kayaking, and more, 1 ½ hours to Yellowstone National Park, art and music festivals, and the home of Montana State University. Considering a move? Take a look.

Enjoy the following article

Peg Potter

wwww.pegpotter.com

Bozeman,MT ranked #2 on "dream town" list

http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2008/07/25/news/30bozeman%20dream%20town.txt

Montana Housing Market Holding Strong

Peg Potter (Prudential Montana Real Estate) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 12:02:25 -0500

Housing market holding strong

By CHARLES S. JOHNSON - IR State Bureau - 07/11/08

Helena Ir.com

Montana's housing market is much stronger than it is nationally because of the state's strong economy and the refusal of most lenders here to issue subprime mortgages, state Revenue Director Dan Bucks said Thursday.

Speaking to a legislative interim subcommittee, Bucks cited federal statistics showing that Montana housing prices were up by an average of 4.7 percent for the year ending March 31, while national housing prices dropped by an average of 3.1 percent. Montana's housing price increase ranked third highest behind Wyoming and Utah, he said.

He attributed this trend to the fact that Montana's economy is stronger than the national economy and the state's unemployment rate is below the national average.

Bucks also heaped praise on Montana's mortgage finance industry officials for their actions that have mostly shielded this state from the subprime mortgage crisis that's led to mortgage defaults and home foreclosures in some parts of the country.

"We all owe a debt of gratitude to the Montana-based mortgage finance industry," Bucks said.

People in this industry here "said no to the junk money" when Wall Street called, he said, and mortgage originators here said no when some prospective homebuyers wanted subprime mortgages.

"Because they said no to this funny money, we have been spared from what's going on nationally," Bucks said.

The price of homes in Montana is critical at this time because the Revenue Department is completing its latest cyclical reappraisal of residential property. Bucks said the agency will deliver the completed reappraisal to a legislative committee in November.

The reappraisal establishes the market value for homes for tax purposes. That value - multiplied times the local and state mill levies and tax rate - ultimately determines how much in property taxes a homeowner owes.

Although Gov. Brian Schweitzer said there will be, on average, no statewide property tax increase resulting from reappraisal, results will vary widely by county and by area, if the past is any indication. There usually are wide variations in the percentages of increases and decreases in new home values across the state and by county.

It will be up to the 2009 Legislature to decide on how to modify the reappraisal results to reduce the impact on taxpayers. After recent past reappraisals, lawmakers have lowered the tax rate used to calculate property taxes and exempted a portion of the new property value from taxes.

Another option would be to simply postpone the reappraisal for several years, said Sen. Jim Elliott, D-Trout Creek, who is chairman of the Senate Taxation Committee.

Bucks told the subcommittee that the benchmark date for setting the property values for home reappraisals was supposed to be Jan. 1, 2008, but he extended it by six months to examine home sale information through June 30.

That will enable the department to examine late-breaking trends - upward and downward - in Montana housing sales, he said. Residential appraisals are determined largely based on the sales of comparable homes in an area.

To help learn about local housing trends across the state, Bucks said top Revenue Department officials held meetings in 18 cities with real estate agents, appraisers, mortgage finance officials, contractors and local planning officials.

Beki Glyde Brandborg, who facilitated the meetings, summed them up for legislators. She said that while housing prices vary by the area, residential property values generally had "appreciated considerably but leveled off in 2007 to more realistic numbers."

"Prices are stabilizing, not shooting up or down significantly," Brandborg said, calling it "a return to consistency."

Brandborg said other trends that emerged from the meeting included:

- The sales volume for Montana homes has slowed down.

- Fewer out-of-state residents are buying homes in Montana, particularly the "higher-end homes." One reason is they are having trouble selling their homes in other states, and some are choosing to buy new homes in other states.

- A "very low inventory" of lower-priced homes exists, but demand remains high. She said the need for affordable housing is universal across the state, with available homes in this category selling quickly. Yet very little new affordable housing is being built in Montana.

- Values of medium-priced homes are holding well, while there is a holding pattern for high-end homes. Significantly fewer speculative homes are being built.

- Home builders remain busy in Montana's largest cities.

- As gasoline prices escalate, home buyers have less desire to commute from outlying areas. That is leading to more "in-fill" homes in urban areas and a revitalization of city centers.

Click here to visit the Revenue and Transportation Subcommittee on HB 488 - Study of Property Taxes and Periodic Reappraisal Web site.

Bike, Walk & Live Downtown, Bozeman, MT The Village Downtown

Peg Potter (Prudential Montana Real Estate) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:45:52 -0500

If walking & biking to work is a life style that you have been looking for, what about living close enough to do both those. Check out the Village Downtown, Bozeman, MT. This new community offers downtown living in Bozeman's historic district. Lofts,Town Homes & Single Family home sites are now available for you. Check out the following web link to see how great this new community is!

http://pegpotter.featuredwebsite.com/the-village-downtown.asp

BIKING BOZEMAN

Residents find reason to switch to pedal power
By JODI HAUSEN Chronicle Staff Writer
Bozeman Daily Chronicle

   Inhaling a whiff of lilacs on the morning commute isn't the only benefit of riding a bike to work and Bozemanites seem to be picking up on the trend.
   "Not only are more people doing it, but it's growing into a culture," said John Friedrich, a mechanic at Bangtail Bikes.
   Friedrich estimates that the small shop on Main Street has seen bike and accessory sales for commuters increase from about 5 percent of all sales last year to more than 30 percent this year.
   Though actual numbers of bicycle commuters are hard to come by, Bozeman bicycle shop mechanics agree that pedaling to work is a growing movement.
   "A lot of people are pulling out the old 10-speeds and tuning them up and recycling them for commuter bikes," said Ben Donatelle, a mechanic at Summit Bike and Ski Shop.
   Based on the number of dust-covered bikes they are refurbishing, the numbers increase by at least one or two every day, his co-worker, Ben Dodge, said.
   "Most of those bikes are older than me," said Dodge, a 25-year-old bike mechanic.
   At Chalet Sports on Main Street, Brian Wolgamott estimated that they are setting up about three commuters weekly. That set-up usually includes adding lights, fenders and storage racks.
   Andy Kemp, 30, lives on Kagy Boulevard and Tracy Avenue and commutes about a halfmile to work as the news director at KTVM television on South Wallace Avenue and Olive Street. He said it takes him 10 minutes or less on mostly trails. He was at Chalet getting a rear rack installed on his Elektra Rat Rod - a retro-style bike painted black with white and red flames. On the cross bar, a sticker indicates one reason he rides - $0.00 10 - 9 , it said in bold white numbers on a black background.
   Kemp moved to Bozeman from Atlanta, Ga., about six months ago and specifically chose Bozeman because it is easy to ride everywhere.
   "Having this as an option is just great," he said. "You could (bicycle) commute in Atlanta, but you take your life in your hands."
   Shane Metolyak, 33, lives on the west side of Bozeman and rarely uses his gasolinepowered vehicle, he said.
   "People say it's not safe (to bicycle to work), but it is if you follow the laws," he said.
   Metolyak has a nine-mile, round-trip commute but also rides to go grocery shopping and for other errands. He points out that bicycles are considered vehicles and are subject to the same traffic laws as motorized ones. He also recognizes that many cyclists are not aware or simply don't obey those rules of the road - a situation that can be dangerous and create animosity between motorists and pedalers.
   "I think motorists get upset when we act inconsistently, so I think if people would see more and more bicycle commuters out there obeying the laws, people would see it as a more viable means of transportation," he said.
   Though the savings in gas are impetus enough, Metolyak said he's probably not saving much because he's continually buying "new toys" for his bike. He recently bought a $300 trailer that he's even used to haul wood to a bicycle trail.
   "I just like riding bikes," he said. "If you want to ride, Bozeman is very conducive to it. I don't think I save a lot of money." But, he adds, "I lost track of the last time I bought gas - May, maybe?"
   Apparently, many are drawn to pedal power by the increasingly unaffordable price of gasoline, but some have other reasons.
   Elizabeth Bird, 51, said bicycle commuting accomplishes several goals. Bird is a member of the Bozeman Area Bicycle Advisory Board, a cancer survivor and a grants specialist at Montana State University. She bicycle commutes three to four times weekly, mostly on the Galligator Trail.
   It's good exercise, saves in gas expenditures and saves the environment in the cost of burning fossil fuels, she said.
   Bird said her committee mailed surveys in September to poll people about their walking and cycling habits. She said between 3,000 and 4,000 of them have been returned. Now the group is analyzing the data to determine where more bicycle and walking infrastructure is needed - things like bike racks, trails, curb cuts and bicycle lanes.
   Back at Bangtail, Friedrich said he commutes only a half mile each day but sees about eight others on his ride each day. "And they don't seem to be out on a pleasure ride," he said.
   And it's getting easier to do.
   Friedrich is a contributor to a locally produced free newsletter called "the Practical Pedal." In it are articles and advertisements geared towards, well, gear and the practicality of using a bicycle as a primary source of transportation.
   Friedrich said commuter bikes were the overriding theme at Interbike - an industry trade show held in Las Vegas in the fall each year.
   "Commuter bikes are becoming more fashionable in everyday life," he said.
   Several companies make bicycles specifically designed for traveling to and from work or on errands. Typical accessories such as racks, fenders and lights come standard on many. Commuter bikes also are designed for comfort, safety and efficiency with road-sized tires for speed, small wheel-bases for maneuverability and upright seating for comfort and visibility. And if one already has a bike that needs retrofitting with practical pedaling accessories, mechanics say it can be done for as low as $100.
   "There are so many types of commuter bikes these days," Donatelle said. "And the airconditioning is automatic."
   Jodi Hausen can be reached at jhausen @dailychronicle. com or 582-2630.

Bio Music, Bozeman, Montana

Peg Potter (Prudential Montana Real Estate) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:40:46 -0500

BIO MUSIC

Ten Foot Tall and 80 Proof powered on veggie oil for Music on Main
By JESSICA MAYRER Chronicle Staff Writer
Bozeman Daily Chronicle

   When 10 Foot Tall and 80 Proof cranks out its "Honk-A-Billy" music this Thursday at Music on Main, the amplifiers, lights and instruments will be powered entirely by locally grown vegetable oil.
   "It's completely off the grid, and it's completely made in Gallatin County," said Preston "Professor" White, a piano and mandolin player for the band.
   Joel Lindstrom from Leonardo Technologies harvested 4,000 pounds of camelina seed grown on Ted Turner's Flying D Ranch, crushed it and produced 50 gallons of oil. The oil goes into a portable generator and produces energy.
   Using the 50 gallons of oil made in this trial batch, Lindstrom has demonstrated how camelina may be used to fuel engines and amplifiers around western Montana. <script type="text/javascript"></script>
   He used the oil to power the Northern Rockies Bioneer Conference at the Emerson Cultural Center in October, providing energy during four days of music, performances and speeches with 20 gallons of seed oil.
   Ten Foot Tall encountered Lindstrom at a sustainable energy conference in Big Sky. During the conference they performed using Lindstrom's souped-up generator, which has been adapted to run on seed juice.
   Ten Foot Tall and 80 Proof play bars and private parties all over the state, and, White said, they'd like to offer vegetable oil as an option to traditional electricity.
   Camelina grows well in cold climates and doesn't require much water or herbicide to grow, so it's more efficient than other vegetable oils, Lindstrom said.
   "Camelina is far greater of a biofuel than corn-based ethanol," he said. "We're not taking food out of anyone's mouth when we grow camelina."
   Ultimately, Lindstrom and Leonardo Technologies, which works with the U.S. Department of Energy to develop alternative fuels, would like to see farmers grow camelina and turn it into oil to fuel farm equipment, while using the byproduct to feed livestock, he said. "That's the long-term picture," he said. In the meantime, he's looking at powering other events. "We're looking at getting involved with Sweat Pea," he said. In Europe, it's not unusual to see cars run on camelina. "It's 100 percent viable," Lindstrom said. But educating folks about how to grow the seed and modify engines to process it is necessary if camelina is to catch on, he said. "There's just a lot of work that needs to be done," he said. "It can't power the world," he said. "But it can be a substantial piece of the energy puzzle." <script type="text/javascript"></script>
Jessica Mayrer can be reached at jmayrer@ dailychronicle .com or 582-2635.

Just a taste of Bozeman, Montana's lfestyle

Peg Potter (Prudential Montana Real Estate) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:37:18 -0500

The unemployment rate may be up, but some local hightech employers say creativity is still required to attract and retain top talent.

Bozeman Daily Chronicle
BY NICOLE ROSENLEAF RITTER
PHOTOGRAPHY BY THOMAS LEE

   GOING TO THE DOGS SEEMS TO BE A WINNING STRATEGY. So do Fun Committees, charitable giving programs and the chance for continuous learning. An emphasis on family doesn't hurt either. Three of the area's leading "new economy" employers - Zoot Enterprises Inc., RightNow Technologies of Bozeman and PrintingForLess .com of Livingston - offer such unusual perks. Human resources staff at the three enterprises emphasize that the sometimes quirky benefits are necessary to find and keep employees - even in a local economy that is softening. "The kind of people we want to be a part of this organization have choices all over the world and in all kinds of different companies, and they're the most important ingredient to what we do," Kevin Boylan, director of human resources for RightNow Technologies, explains. "We want to be sure we're doing all we can to recruit and retain the best employees.
   "These are not people who are going to be having trouble finding jobs," he adds.
   While anecdotal evidence has indicated an easing in the employee shortage in the greater Bozeman area, statistics have only recently begun to back it up. In April 2008 - the latest month for which statistics were available - the Montana Department of Labor and Industry confirmed that unemployment has risen in Gallatin County. The 3.2 percent rate was lower than Montana's statewide average - 3.9 percent - but more than one percentage point higher than the rate just a year ago.
   The rise should be good news for HR departments seeking to hire, but RightNow, PFL and Zoot all note that staffing is still hard work because of the caliber of employee they seek.
   As Zoot Enterprises HR director Ruth Kronfuss notes, "It's always a challenge to find the right people. We are continually looking at our benefits and what we have to offer to make sure that we are attractive."
   DOGS AND KIDS
   Every day is a dog day afternoon at PFL and Zoot, where employees are allowed - even encouraged - to bring their (well-behaved) dogs to work. Suzie Lalich, PFL's benefit specialist, says that the company's dog policy helps draw potential employees to the company - and keep them there once hired. "When we're recruiting people, the dogs at work program is one of the main attractors," Lalich says.
   The company recently celebrated Pet Sitters International's "Take Your Dog to Work Day," with dog contests and agility training. On regular work days dogs and their owners can take outdoor breaks on the company's campus on the outskirts of Livingston, and even the non-dog-owning employees often keep puppy treats at their desks.
   PFL's founder and CEO Andrew Field is one of the policy's chief proponents. He noted in a recent press release that the policy "helps staff morale and builds camaraderie among employees." His own dog, Jesse, is a daily presence at PFL.
   Field and his counterparts in management at Zoot have found that allowing dogs not only aids in recruitment and retention, but also contributes to the business's bottom line. A PFL press release indicates that having pooches around "aids in creating a more productive work environment, helps stimulate employee creativity, offers a great social catalyst for relationship development between coworkers and decreases employee absenteeism."
   PFL took family inclusion one step further in 2003, when it founded Montana's first companysponsored onsite daycare for employees' children. Benefits specialist Lalich notes that the facility is another huge draw for potential employees and also contributes to lowering turnover rates.
   "If you have your child in the childcare facility, you'll probably have to really think about whether you want to leave the company," she explains. She notes that since the daycare was founded, other Montana companies have contacted PFL wanting help setting up their own or similar facilities.
   "In that way we also like to be trendsetters for Montana employers," Lalich says. "We want to help integrate progressive practices into Montana workplaces, which sometimes lag behind in benefits."
   Zoot, too, offers its employees help with childcare. CEO and founder Chris Nelson provided money for the startup costs of a group of employees who wanted to start a daycare that would be convenient for Zoot workers. While it is maintained as a separate company from Zoot and is not technically sponsored by the organization, HR director Ruth Kronfuss explains that Zoot helps support it using some of the money it collects for below-ground parking fees.
   "There's a lot of strong support from Zoot for the center," she adds.
   SWEET CHARITY
   Welcoming family - of both the human and canine variety - is one way that local high-tech employers compete for talent in the larger workplace. Empowering employees to be involved in the community and to keep learning is another.
   At RightNow and Zoot, employees are eligible for matching funds to support the charitable causes of their choice, up to $250 per year. "It ends up being a big chunk of money," RightNow HR director Kevin Boylan says. "And that's decided entirely by employees, not by the company."
   RightNow also makes it easy for employees to give their time, not just their money, to local charities and nonprofit organizations.
   "We encourage all employees to donate 40 hours a year to community service," Boylan says. Popular causes include Big Brothers Big Sisters, Eagle Mount and Habitat for Humanity.
   With more than 750 employees worldwide, RightNow can have a tremendous impact in their communities, he notes. "If all of our employees contribute 40 hours a year, that would be the equivalent of 30,000 hours per year or 14.5 full-time employees for the nonprofit sector," Boylan indicates. "And our employees feel proud that the company will pay them to work on causes that they care about."
   These companies also support continuing education in the form of company training, professional development or even academic studies for their employees.
   RightNow offers a $5,000-per-year tuition reimbursement for employees pursuing advanced degrees or additional training. Both PFL and Zoot have extensive in-house training programs for new employees. At PFL, most new employees go through a 10- to 12-week paid training program before they are integrated into the company.
   "We want to invest in and develop our employees," PFL's Lalich says. "We find that it keeps them wanting to learn and grow with the company."
   BRINGING THE FUN IN
   One unquantifiable element - fun - represents an additional "benefit" that these companies offer their employees.
   "We try to provide a fun, friendly work environment," Zoot's Kronfuss notes. "And our surveys find that one of the things people like most
   continued on next page Work's Perks continued
about working here is that environment." Both Zoot and PFL have employee-driven "Fun Committees" that organize on- and off-site activities such as picnics, athletic events, parties and work-time diversions.
   "From summer golf outings to family pumpkin carving contests, the company comes together and enjoys being together, improving morale and employee relationships," Kronfuss explained in a follow-up brief. "Even small things, like ice cream socials to celebrate birthdays each month, make a big difference."
   RightNow celebrated a successful first quarter this year by offering employees in all of its locations a day off from work. In Bozeman, the company sponsored a workday outing to Bridger Bowl, HR director Boylan says. "Everybody went up and skied for the day," he notes. "The lift tickets were paid and the lunch was paid, and everybody got to have a day off work."
   While offering several hundred employees free skiing would represent a significant outlay for most businesses, PFL's Lalich notes that not all "fun" benefits have to be costly.
   "You don't have to spend a lot of money to do some of these things that make employees happy," she insists, citing the examples of negotiated discounts for employees at local businesses.
   Overall, making employees happy is an emphasis at all three enterprises.
   "Happy, comfortable workers are productive workers," Zoot's Kronfuss noted in her brief. "Through fun, teamwork, respect, and an orientation to the importance of family, Zoot attracts the best and brightest - and keeps them."
   It's a sentiment that her human resources colleagues at PFL and RightNow would no doubt echo as they go about their still-challenging job of trying to find and keep the talent that drives their businesses.
   Editor's note: The author's husband is employed by PrintingForLess .com in Livingston.
   Nicole Rosenleaf Ritter is the managing editor of Business to Business and At Home.

The Bozeman Life Style

Peg Potter (Prudential Montana Real Estate) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:10:52 -0500

Bridger Solstice

By DANIEL PERSON Chronicle Staff Writer

Today's the first day of summer. Grab your ski boots.

Elson and Ken McKenna didn't waste any time after parking at the gate below Bridger's Deer Park Chalet. They were headed for Saddle Peak, which accents the southern end of Bridger Bowl's famous ridge.

They set out with skis on their backs, but it wasn't long before they were clicked into their bindings, skinning up Pierre's Knob towards the summit, 9,100 feet above sea level.

Bridger Bowl had already extended its winter season to April 13, and by that warm Sunday mountain managers had recorded 397 inches falling over the season. That's almost double the 215 inches that had fallen by the end of the season in 2007.

But just because the lifts stopped running didn't mean the snow had stopped falling.

Michael Gill, Bridger's assistant marketing director, said one skier measured 33 inches of fresh powder last week. In late May n a month and a half after the lifts had closed n one mountain employee measured an 88-inch base on the upper mountain, a base some ski hills in Montana would be happy to see in February.

On Thursday, snow was still plentiful on the mountain. A skier could stay clicked into his or her bindings from the ridge to a few hundred yards from the base of Pierre's Knob lift.

While skiing in the summer months is not rare in Montana, the fact that so much of Bridger Bowl is still ski-able is a good omen for those who hate to see winter go, McKenna said.

Last year, skiers ditched the bowl at the start of June, he said. But this year, the snow has just begun to melt.

McKenna, who skis in the area several times a week, said he and others were skiing March-style powder last week, and this week just started to see the "corn-cycle" set in. That's skier- and snowboarder-slang for the freezing and melting that snow goes through when days get hot, but nights still see freezing temperatures. If you hit the snow right in the morning, it's like skiing through corn.

"This will go into August," McKenna said.

Like winter backcountry skiing, summer skiing has its risks n namely wet slides. When the snow heats up in the day, it becomes dense and is liable to break off in layers. While it's unlikely to get buried by summer snow, the slides are powerful enough to pull skiers off a cliff or throw them into a tree.

"They're bad," Wiesner said. "It's such heavy snow."

Wiesner said getting onto the mountain early is vital to avoid the slides, before the sun has a chance to cause any mischief. How early? "Start up at 3 or 4 in the morning," he said.

Indeed, summer skiing takes dedication. Far more time is spent sucking air on the ascent than on the descent. The sun is hot, the snow is deep.

But while many choose to hang the skis up for the season, McKenna, with a grin, offered this pun: "Summer skiing, some aren't."

FHA Loans Emerge From the Sidelines

Peg Potter (Prudential Montana Real Estate) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:43:45 -0500

FHA Loans Emerge From the Sidelines

By Dina ElBoghdady
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 10, 2008; D01

For the past few months, nearly every loan that Laura Triplett has closed for customers at SunTrust Mortgage has been backed by the Federal Housing Administration.

"I've got another 20 people closing in June and most of them got FHA loans, too," said Triplett, a branch manager at the bank's Woodbridge office. "I don't know what we'd be doing without FHA."

Demand for these once-neglected mortgages has surged because they do not require the hefty down payments or stellar credit scores that lenders have come to expect from borrowers. In addition, the amount of money people can borrow on these loans went up dramatically this year, and many homeowners have found them attractive for refinancing.

They might not be the cheapest loans around, but they are the best fit for some borrowers -- and the only option for others -- as lenders continue to toughen their standards in response to the subprime meltdown.

The number of FHA loans issued shot up 126 percent in the first quarter, compared with the same time a year ago, even though they still make up a small part of the market. They have made the biggest gains in pricey areas such as Washington, where the down payment other loans require is out of reach for many borrowers.

David H. Stevens, president of Long & Foster's affiliated businesses, said his real estate brokerage now holds regular FHA training sessions for its agents and the loan officers at its in-house lender, Prosperity Mortgage.

"Our FHA business in the Washington area went from virtually nothing at the end of 2007 to about 30 percent today," Stevens said. "In some spots, FHA makes up 50 percent of all our loans."

The volume of loans at Wells Fargo, one of the nation's largest lenders, has increased 342 percent this year from the same time in 2007, said Greg Gwizdz, the company's national retail service manager. Helping drum up business were live simulcasts for real estate agents that the lender recently held in movie theaters nationwide touting the benefits of FHA loans.

Many attribute FHA's growth spurt in part to federal legislation that has temporarily raised the FHA loan limits nationwide, broadening the number of people who can use these loans. In most parts of this region, the limit is now capped at $729,750, up from $362,790.

The change, which took effect in early March, came just in time for Abby and Walter Morris.

The couple had made an offer on a house in Chevy Chase. But their lender yanked the loan at the last minute, citing concerns about their finances, the couple said.

Abby Morris, a doctor, had just completed her residency. Her earning potential was huge, but her medical school loans and her lack of long-term employment made the lender squeamish.

"We didn't have a stash of money in the bank or stocks to cash out," Abby Morris said. "We were depending on our income potential and our history of on-time payments to help us qualify for a loan."

When that didn't happen, the couple planned to withdraw their offer until Kerry White, a loan officer at Prosperity Mortgage in the District, told them about the new FHA loan limits.

"A year ago, this couple would have had no problems getting financing," White said. "But because of the tightening mortgage climate, their loan options dried up. . . . FHA became an obvious alternative."

The FHA does not lend money directly. It provides mortgage insurance to borrowers through private lenders. That means the FHA will pick up the tab for defaulted loans using premiums it collects from all of its borrowers.

The agency lost relevance when home prices soared and borrowers turned to subprime loans with lower upfront costs. When those loans started defaulting at an alarming rate, many subprime lenders shut down and the FHA started slowly regaining its footing. Its market share is now about 10 percent, up from 2 percent in 2005, according to Inside Mortgage Finance, a trade publication.

Most of FHA's business now comes from refinancing. During the first three months of this year, nearly 60 percent of the 15,000 loans that FHA insured in Maryland and Virginia were for borrowers who were refinancing, federal data show. Some of them turned to FHA to get out of loans that were becoming too much to handle.

Among them was Petrina Chesson, who was anxious to get rid of a burdensome subprime adjustable rate loan. She got that mortgage two years ago and pulled out cash for improvements on her D.C. townhouse.

But the loan's interest rate reset last month, and her monthly payments climbed to $3,497 from $3,069. Chesson never fell behind on her mortgage but feared she would.

"Things were getting tight, and I was getting worried," Chesson said. "I just wanted a 30-year fixed loan, and no one would give it to me until Bank of America helped."

Her new loan will consolidate her other debts so that her total monthly payments will be $3,290. Her mortgage makes up $3,002 of that total.

Although the FHA is starting to recapture borrowers it lost to subprime lenders, its loans do not have the features that drew borrowers to subprime loans but later turned problematic.

Only borrowers who can make at least a 3 percent down payment or have at least 3 percent equity in their homes and who can document their income can qualify for FHA loans.

By contrast, many subprime loans did not require down payments or verification of income. They also charged expensive prepayment penalties that made it tough for borrowers to refinance. FHA loans do not allow such fees. Most FHA loans have fixed interest rates; subprime ones typically have rates that can rise.

Douglas Vazquez, 30, knew none of that when he applied for an FHA loan. "I was more like, 'FHA? What's that?' " Vazquez said.

All he knew is that he could not afford the 10 to 20 percent down payment many lenders demanded as he shopped for a condo, nor could he qualify for a loan without a co-signer.

An FHA loan worked for him because of the low down payment and because it let his mother, a non-occupant, sign on his loan, something many conventional loans do not allow.

The paperwork was a hassle, said Vazquez, who purchased a D.C. condo for about $400,000. "They required pay stubs from both of my jobs. They required statements from checking accounts. They wanted tax returns. They would call my employers. . . . They called my mother," Vasquez said. "But it was worth it."

These glowing reviews stand in sharp contrast to past criticism of the FHA, which was previously bashed by lenders and borrowers alike as too cumbersome. Now, complaints center on whether the agency can handle its growing workload.

Guy Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance, said the FHA remains bureaucratic. "But if your choice is vanilla ice cream or no ice cream, vanilla starts looking good."

75 Wally D, Belgrade Montana, Just Completed Construction

Peg Potter (Prudential Montana Real Estate) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 17:46:26 -0500

Just Completed Construction!
This brandnew home located in River Rock, Belrage MT features large living spaces, a well thoughout floor plan, high end materials, arched hall ways, a master suite with attached sitting area and walk in closet. For more information call Peg @ 406.570.8828 or visit her on the web at www.pegpotter.com.

This home is priced out $225,000 and won't last long!

First United Flight to land in Helena

Peg Potter (Prudential Montana Real Estate) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 11:01:05 -0500

HELENA, Mont. (AP) -- United Express made its first flight to Helena from Denver on Thursday - marking the beginning of daily service between the two cities. The addition of the flight provides Helena with daily service to four hubs - Seattle, Minneapolis and Salt Lake City are the others - and gives local travelers better access to the East Coast through Denver International Airport. "I've waited all these years to get in here," said Paula McKinnon Kuberski, a United flight attendant and Helena native. The service was made possible by a matching fund that helped secure a Small Community Air Service Grant from the Department of Transportation. Daily flights are expected to leave Helena for Denver at 6:42 a.m. and 4:06 p.m., with flights arriving from Denver at 3:40 p.m. and 11:56 p.m. The route will be served by 50-seat regional jets operated by SkyWest Airlines. Article Provided by Helenair. www.helenair.com

Ted's Montana Grill

Peg Potter (Prudential Montana Real Estate) — Fri, 30 May 2008 12:49:30 -0500

Last night my husband and I were invited to attend the "soft" opening of Ted's Montana Grill (located in the Historic Downtown Bozeman's Baxter Hotel), with the Press and Local VIPs in attendance. The food was fabulous, specializing in bison burgers and entrees. Ted Turner and his associates were there to for the opening to sample the food as well. See below the feature article in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

Ted's Montana Grill welcomed by downtown businesses

By TREVON MILLIARD Chronicle Staff Writer

   Ted's Montana Grill opens its doors at 4 p.m. Monday in the Baxter Hotel, and many neighboring business owners expect the restaurant - co-founded by media mogul Ted Turner and specializing in bison - to be an attractive bonus to the downtown district.
   "It's like Broadway," said Paul Grossman, owner of Looie's Down Under, a couple blocks east. "The more Broadway shows that are hits, the better. Broadway grows."
   It's the same for downtown Bozeman.
   Grossman said Ted's is a popular chain that will bring more people downtown who might otherwise go other places, so it will help Looie's too.
   Although Ted's opens to the public Monday, the cooking started Wednesday with dinners for Turner's family and friends. Tonight, the restaurant will host a ribbon cutting and dinner for the media. And VIP dinners are planned Friday and Saturday for local business owners, community service clubs and the Chamber of Commerce. On Tuesday, Ted Turner visited the restaurant for the first time since its restoration. "We're really excited," Turner said while greeting restaurant staff who were preparing for the opening. Designed to seat 128 people indoors and 96 on two patios, Ted's will offer a variety of menu choices from shrimp cocktail to bison burgers and short ribs. Prices range from about $10 for a blue plate classic to $32 for a bison tenderloin filet.
   Carla Hill, owner of John Bozeman's Bistro, said seeing Ted's open just a stone's throw from her restaurant is a good thing. It pays to be close to the excitement, she said. Most likely, people will have to wait for tables at the Grill and neighboring businesses will reap the benefits, she said.
   "I think it will be really complementary," Hill said. "The overflow goes to the next door down, which just so happens to be us."
   David Smith, president and CEO of the Bozeman Area Chamber of Commerce, said the restaurant will bring more people downtown and keep others there after they leave work, thereby improving business in an area that has been difficult for restaurants, on the west end of the Main Street district.
   "Most restaurateurs will say that their patronage will take a hit," Smith said. "But it will rebound for them if they provide good service."
   Kay Johnson, owner of Miller's Jewelry, called the new restaurant a positive change that will help keep downtown alive.
   "Every business and activity we can have is positive," Johnson said. "There's no reason to complain."
   Hill said many of her customers at the Bistro come downtown just to walk the sidewalks and take in the history that lines the streets, like the 79-year-old Baxter Hotel. And with Ted's renovating the first floor area that used to be the Robin Bar and Baxter Grille, she expects a resurrection for the hotel, which had fallen into disrepair.
   "That building is worthy of life," Hill said.
   Built in 1929, The Baxter provided more than 70 guest rooms but now has 20 condominiums on the upper floors. The hotel used to be a mainstay but lacked stable businesses occupying the first floor, so the hotel suffered as maintenance was put off, said David Loseff, owner of the Baxter's commercial space.
   The fact that Ted's Montana Grill, a successful restaurant chain with 57 locations in 19 states - none of them in Montana before now - has invested so much money in the Baxter, has given Loseff the confidence and money to restore other areas of the Hotel, he said.
   The hotel's ballroom, which is not a part of the Grill, has seen its maple floor renovated and the area cleaned for weddings and other events, Loseff said. The lobby also has been returned to its original grandeur, including the removal of carpeting that for two decades covered a terrazzo, or marble-flecked stone, floor.
   Loseff said he hopes to have the vacant Bacchus Pub leased out by a business soon, with Ted's Montana Grill inspiring confidence. And, Loseff said, the grill doesn't detract from the turn-of-the-century style of the Baxter.
   Ted's restaurants are designed in honor of Montana's early 19th century design of the Arts and Crafts period, which is "actually from the period of this building," Loseff said.
   Bruce Traucht, the proprietor of Bozeman's Ted's Montana Grill, said he's worked to keep the hotel's architecture a part of the restaurant. The two patios are still overshadowed by the original steel fire escapes with their faded-green paint and rust stains. The walls are mahogany wood from floor to ceiling, and the floors are walnut.
   "It's a benefit to the Baxter," Traucht said. "It's a turn-of-the-century concept in a turn-of-thecentury hotel."
The new sign for Ted's Montana Grill, the first of the restaurant chain in its namesake state, hangs off the facade of the Baxter Hotel.

On the rebound

Peg Potter (Prudential Montana Real Estate) — Fri, 30 May 2008 10:16:51 -0500

Publication:Bozeman Daily Chronicle;

Date:May 25, 2008;

Section:Economy;

Page Number:D1

Bozeman housing prices starting to recover from 2007, but big inventory of homes makes it more of a buyers' market

On the rebound

By GAIL SCHONTZLER Chronicle Staff Writer

aren't willing to give their homes away.

    "Prices have stabilized and are going up," Bailey said. "People wanting to hit the bottom-of-the-barrel market missed it if they're still waiting. ... Basically, 2007 was the low period.

    "This is a good time to buy a nice home, at a good price and there's a lot to pick from."

    Robyn Erlenbush, broker-owner of ERA Landmark Real Estate, predicted recently that 2008 will see relatively flat prices and a good summer selling season. It will take a while to sell off Bozeman's inventory of new homes, which will keep prices from rebounding quickly.

    Still, Bozeman's market is supported by a "very, very healthy, stable economy," Erlenbush said.

    David Smith, Bozeman Area Chamber of Commerce president and chief executive officer, agreed.

    "Yellowstone Park's not going away, Montana State University's not going away," Smith said. "I think it's a very strong economy. The strongest economy in the state."

    One sign of how much Bozeman's housing boom has cooled is a classified ad in last week's newspaper that offered home buyers the incentive of a "paid vacation" in Mexico's Cabo San Lucas or Walt Disney World.

    Other sellers have been advertising cash to help buyers pay closing costs.

    "Supply is high. Demand isn't," mechanical engineer Andrew Miller said.

    He has been trying since October to sell a three-bedroom home in the 4 Dot subdivision between Belgrade and Manhattan at an asking price of $279,900.

    Five years ago, he bought a house there for $130,000 and was able to sell it three years later for $220,000. But today's market is a lot tougher. "I thought I'd offer an incentive," Miller said. So he advertised $5,000 toward buyers' closing costs. "The market is flooded with options," Miller said. "It's a buyers' market." Tricia Bailey, immediate past president of the Gallatin Association of Realtors and broker-owner of 45^thParallel Realty, said she doesn't care for that label. Calling this a buyers' market could give the wrong impression that sellers are desperate and buyers can get homes for a steal, and that's not happening, Bailey said. Sellers

MARKET CHANGES

Southwest Montana Multiple Listing Service statistics show the dramatic changes in the housing market over the past five years. The median sales price for homes in the city of Bozeman zoomed up from 2003 to 2006, from $190,000 to $309,500.

    House sale prices in that period increased by 21 percent, 16.5 percent and 15.5 percent per year - rising far faster than the 5 to 7 percent that's more typical for Bozeman, Bailey said. Home sellers didn't need to offer vacation incentives then.

    "They could get five offers within two weeks," Bailey said, "and they were above-price offers."

    But then in 2007, the big national subprime-mortgage crisis hit, scaring lenders and buyers.

    At the same time in Bozeman, a lot of new lots and spec homes that had been in the pipeline came on the market.

    "In a nutshell, I believe we overbuilt," Bailey said, "and people stopped buying because of the mortgage scare."

    In 2007, Bozeman's median home price fell by $10,500 or 3.3 percent. Houses that had sold in an average of 44 days in 2004 sat on the market for 80 days last year.

    Bozeman never saw home prices plummet as they did in places like Las Vegas, Phoenix, Miami and Los Angeles, where prices fell 22 to 24.5 percent from their peak.

    "Price reduced" did pop up on house-for-sale yard signs and ads in Bozeman. Realtors blame a lot of that on sellers' expectations that home values would keep rising at steep rate.

    "Sellers are still kind of in La-La Land," as one agent put it.

    Bozeman had also seen some speculation, as investors bought homes expecting to "flip" them for a quick profit.

    BOZEMAN PRICES

    EDGING UP

    So, as the 2008 home selling season gets in full swing, has the Bozeman housing market really turned the corner?

    MLS statistics show the median price of homes sold this year through May 15 has stayed pretty flat, inching up by just $1,000 to $300,000.

    However, the homes sold in the first four and a half months of 2008 sat on the market much longer, an average of 104 days.

    Renee Gaugler, a certified mortgage planning specialist with First Horizon Home Loans, pointed to new numbers from Sidders Appraisals, which reported that house sale prices in the first three months of 2008 have started edging up from the last quarter of 2007 at a 2.6 percent annual rate.

    Appraiser Mike Sidders said the first-quarter 2008 prices were still 1 percent below firstquarter of 2007, but definitely improving. He pointed to similar news in an Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight report that came out this week. It found that overall U.S. home sale prices fell by 3.1 percent from the first quarter of 2007 to the first quarter of 2008, the biggest decline in 17 years.

    However, the report cited Montana as one of seven states that didn't decline. Montana had the third biggest rise in home prices from the first quarter of 2007 to the first quarter of 2008, a 4.9 percent increase.

    "The national market scared people," Gaugler said. "We saw a lot of buyers sitting on the fence" last year in Bozeman. But now, she said, the number of buyers is increasing as they've seen Bozeman doesn't have "a doom and gloom" market.

    "People have started to realize this is a good time to buy," she said. "Prices have come down a little but ... we've kind of hit bottom and it's started back up now. Now is the perfect time to get in and start buying. Who knows how long mortgage rates are going to be this low?"

    START MODEST

    Interest rates are close to a 40-year low, she said. People with good credit scores can get 30-year fixed-rate conventional loans at 6 percent or less.

    Lenders have tightened up their requirements. For five to 10 years, buyers could easily get 100 percent financing with zero down payment, Gaugler said. Now lenders are requiring 3 percent down.

    On a typical Bozeman home sold for $300,000 that 3 percent comes to $9,000 for the down payment. Closing costs are another 2 or 3 percent, which means another $6,000 to $9,000. It's hard for many buyers to come up with that much cash, and that's why sellers are offering cash incentives to help with closing.

    Gaugler's advice to prospective buyers is to clean up their credit rating. The better their credit score, the lower the mortgage rate they'll qualify for.

    First-time buyers shouldn't expect their first house will be their dream home, she said. They should plan to start with something more modest and later try to move up to the home of their dreams.

    Buyers need to be realistic about how much they can afford. The mortgage plus taxes plus insurance should total less than 40 percent of the buyer's gross income.

    "The No. 1 reason I can't qualify someone is because they have too big a car payment," Gaugler said. "If you want a big fancy house, don't have a big fancy car."

    Gail Schontzler is at gails@dailychronicle.com or 582-2633.