Glasgow Resident Recognized by MLHA

During the Montana Lodging & Hospitality Association (MLHA) Awards Banquet on Oct. 23 in Missoula, Glasgow resident Melissa Sigmundstad was awarded the prestigious Sales and Marketing Person of the Year Award. Based upon a nomination process from the entire membership in all categories, Sigmundstad achieved the most number of votes from the board to earn the award, beating out four others who were also nominated.

"This person is a dedicated supporter of MLHA and the Sales and Marketing Council. Since joining MLHA they have never missed a conference or a sales and marketing retreat. This person sits on many boards and is a great representative of the Northeastern Montana Hospitality Industry with multiple efforts to share the small town experience with others.....This person has been a huge asset to the sales and marketing council with their approachable personality and not to mention their great sense of humor which has been a warm welcome to many new and existing council members," stated the banquet emcee upon announcing Sigmundstad's name.

Upon hearing her name, Sigmundstad admits she was "a little shocked" as she had been nominated in the past and was just happy to see her name on the nomination list again. "I really thought that it would've been someone from a bigger property/larger city. They have more competition between properties and we are so isolated here. Being in the larger places also means that you have more opportunity to get to know your fellow salespeople," she told The Courier. "It didn't really sink in until I got home after the Downtown Conference and realized what a huge honor it is to have won this."

Sigmundstad has been working at the Cottonwood since July 18, 2007, first starting out in the lounge part-time and then being promoted to lounge manager after Zack Burner left the position. About a year into the job, she was offered the catering manager spot, where she performed both positions for about a year and then decided to focus entirely on catering. "Once I was focused on just the catering side, I realized how much of a difference you can make for someone just by taking some of the stress of their events and allowing them to relax and enjoy those moments," she stated, which has led her to being the catering, sales, marketing and events manager for the Cottonwood.

In addition to helping individuals and organizations organize and cater their events at the Cottonwood, Sigmundstad is also a part of organizations including the Tourism Business Improvement District, Prairie Diver's Club, Fort Peck Sailing Club, serves as president on the board of Two Rivers Economic Growth and as vice president on the Montana Lodging and Hospitality Association's Sales and Marketing Council.

Prior to being elected President of Two Rivers, Sigmundstad served as a board member, then was nominated to be the secretary where she had the opportunity to learn more about what Two Rivers has done and continues to do for the community. The next year she was nominated to Vice President which she held a year before being nominated for President. During her involvement with Two Rivers, she was a team lead for Building Active Communities Initiative (BACI), which provides an enhancement in community environments so all members of the community can get to and from their destination, in 2007, and was instrumental in the Glasgow Brand Essence, building the tagline "More of What Matters" and the Glasgow logo, the Glasgow Marketing Plan, the Wayfinding and Signage project, Valley County Clean Up Day, Storefront Beautification Grants and the Eastern Montana Tourism Partner Initiative, where the office of tourism and business development is partnering with communities across Montana to strengthen and diversify local and regional economies by raising awareness that eastern Montana is a tourism destination.

As President, Sigmundstad has big goals in order to make the community the best place to live, work and play. One such goal is to start a youth educational pilot program to retain youth in the community after graduation. "This pilot will allow youth to tour businesses and speak with owners about what went into starting and maintaining a business, which allows them to think about what they would like to see in their own communities and possible impacts they could make without necessarily having to gain the financial burden of higher education," Sigmundstad explained.

Other goals, with the support of other newly appointed officers including Vice President Jennifer Robley, of the Town of Fort Peck, and Secretary Michelle Eliason, of Milk River, as well as other new board members including Wade Sundby, superintendent of Glasgow Public Schools, Brady Burgess, of Farm Bureau, and Connie Boreson, of the Busted Knuckle, is to gain and retain membership for Two Rivers, continue to bring educational classes and workshops to Valley County, and to continue learning, attending conferences and trying to make Glasgow a well-known travel stop. "We have to much to offer here and we need to be sharing it," said Sigmundstad. "We have many talented people, artists, entrepreneurs and great events. Bringing in outside tourists will inevitable bring dollars to our community and allow Glasgow as a whole to continue to make positive changes for the future."

Her motivation to be involved is simple, make the area a better place for future generations of our community. "Growing up I didn't have the opportunity to start school and go through high school within the same community and that's what I wanted for my children," explained Sigmundstad. "Now as an adult that has been able to be in the same community for so long, I just want to make sure that it is the best place for my children to grow, learn and hopefully make it a place that they also want to have their children be a part of someday. I am proud of our community and know it takes a lot of work and dedicated people to achieve that, so it is something that must be continually worked towards."

Two Rivers board meetings are open to the public and are scheduled for the first Tuesday of each month starting at noon at the Cottonwood Inn. If you are interested in joining the team, contact Keegan Morehouse at 263-4763 or by e-mail at [email protected].