Taylor Anderson
Big Sky Weekly Assistant Editor
The Big Sky Community Corporation received a little boost Tuesday toward creating the second annual Big Sky PBR event.
To the tune of $12,201.35, the BSCC was granted—among seven other recipients—the Montana Department of Commerce Special Events Grant Program.
BSCC was the eighth and final group to receive part or all of the requested money. 20 applicants didn’t receive any grant funds.
Eric Ladd, who helped coordinate the event last summer, said he was glad to see statewide recognition after the first PBR.
“It’s a wonderful community event for Big Sky,” he said. “It’s nice to see the state recognize it and help make it a bigger event next year.”
The West Yellowstone Chamber of Commerce, two groups from Kalispell and Helena, and groups from Great Falls and Hobson each received grants to execute their tourism-boosting events.
The Office of Tourism website says the purpose of the program “is to diversify and enrich Montana’s tourism product by developing new and enhancing existing community-based tourism festivals and events. The goal of SEGP is to create and sustain economic development through the advertising and promotion of “hallmark events.”
In total, $100,000 was awarded to the eight groups, up $20,000 from the previous year. The commerce department received more than $400,000 in requests.
Money must be spent on media marketing at least 100 miles outside of the recipient’s town. Last year, the Big Sky PBR received $12,000 total in government funding from the Big Sky Resort Tax Board.
Grant recipients were decided based on an 800-point scale. The Big Sky PBR received 671 points, 27 more than the next group—the cutoff for grant recipients.
