JLDC announces award winners

The Jefferson Local Development Corporation (JLDC) usually hosts an annual dinner meeting in August to celebrate economic and community development activities over the past year in Jefferson County and to recognize outstanding county businesses. The Board of Directors met and conducted the annual business meeting August 19th in lieu of a formal dinner meeting due to the pandemic challenges and selected the following outstanding county businesses for 2020.

The recipient of the 2020 Community Improvement Award is the Whitehall Chamber of Commerce. They incorporated proactive business and community support programs to assist the community during the challenging ongoing pandemic. They implemented business Take Out Night, Senior Cruise and 8th Grade Graduation, Black Tie and Blue Jeans Fund raising event and sponsored a successful Frontier Days.

JLDC Board members Jan Thorne and Leonard Wortman presented the chamber with their award last week.

"The Whitehall Chamber exemplifies community engagement and has done tremendous work this past year. In response to COVID-19, the Chamber met the needs of area businesses and the community at large by organizing new events like Take Out Night, Senior Cruise and 8th Grade Graduation. These new events, coupled with more traditional programming like Frontier Days and Black-Tie Blue Jeans, really brought a lot of hope and support to the community of Whitehall," states a letter to the Chamber. "We recognize John Kreis, Chamber Board President, for his leadership and the time and effort he has spent visiting and checking in on area businesses. The Whitehall Chamber Board and staff have dedicated countless hours towards event planning and promotion of area businesses and deserve to be recognized for the positive impact they continue to have on the lives of those that live in this community."

The Discovery Kidzone Learning Centers in Montana City is awarded the 2020 Innovative Business of the Year Award. The Discovery Kidzone was founded in 2009 and has three locations focused on early childhood learning and development. They use a unique philosophy of developing the whole child through creativity and cooperation.

The recipient of the 2020 Business of the Year Award is Marks Lumber of Clancy. This major county employer is a locally owned family business that has been in operation for over 75 years. Utilizing the whole log, they produce a variety of quality timber products such as their amazing wood flooring, shiplap siding, tongue and groove paneling and rough cut lumber. They also produce natural landscape products that beautify landscapes and enrich the soil. Marks Lumber is a leader in the wood products industry and has achieved a high standard for business excellence.

Board of Directors extending their terms for one year were Adam Senechal, Kristi Wilson, Erika Morris and Brad Culver.

The Jefferson Local Development Corporation has several exciting ongoing projects in various stages of development that will help Jefferson County grow and prosper this next year.