Band assists town’s call for help
Karen Peterson photo
People of all ages get up and dance to Sho Down during the CDC fundraiser.
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
ARLEE – Shannon Buhr of the Arlee Community Development Corporation said this is a time of distress for the Arlee area.
“We are out of money,” she said.
The CDC’s lack of operating money could affect the amount of available programs in the area from youth support to town improvement.
“Membership is down and monetary support is down,” she said. “It’s like the Chicken Little story: everyone wants to eat the bread but no one wants to help. People want the parade and other programs but they don’t want to help. People don’t realize that what they are enjoying, someone had to put together.
“I may be a little passionate but this is a great area and people need to come together to help. One voice is okay, but if you have 300 (voices), people listen and things get done.”
Last Friday evening, bold red lettered signs that said “Arlee needs help” were posted around the Hangin’ Art Gallery parking lot where the band Sho Down assisted the town in asking for help in the form of donations to the CDC. The band played the benefit concert to first pay for the new outdoor stage built on credit for $2,000 and anything left went to the CDC.
“The stage was built because we wanted to use the resources we have left to bring people in and get them interested,” Buhr said. “We had to do something. We plan to use the stage to bring people in with music and food. We were thinking we could have fundraisers, rent the stage and use it for things like plays. We had to spend a little to make a little.”
Band members at the event included Mike Hegwood, Dan Newman, Ted Zento, Matt Brown and Kenny Triphan. They played old and new country songs and said choosing a favorite song was like picking a favorite child. The stage, they said, was a great addition to the venue.
“It’s got a power source to plug in extension cords, and it’s a good cover from the hot sun,” said Mike Hegwood, bass player. Performances by music groups in the past required setting up by a wall and use of long extension cords for power. “This is much better,” he said.
The band with many local members has opened for “big gigs” over the years like Jason Aldean, Hegwood said, and they regularly get paid for putting on a show, but they volunteered their time for Friday’s performance.
“It’s important to give back,” he said.
Sho Down singer Matt Brown is also on the board of the CDC. He helped build the stage and hopes the horseshoes found in the ground while digging the foundation will give the CDC some much needed luck.
“The CDC raised thousands of dollars for the trails and other programs,” he said. “We need to raise money to keep things going.”
The CDC generates funding from grants and fundraisers for programs like the Jocko Valley Trails, the After School Arts Program, the Jocko Valley Farmers Market, library programs, youth sports programs and art programs.
“The CDC is a vehicle to bring resources for things to happen in a community that doesn’t have government,” Donna Mollica, CDC director said. “This is about a community taking charge of its destiny. In the past ten years, we brought $300,000 into the community for various projects. People think we are funded through taxes but we are not. It’s all volunteer.”
Programs with funding already incurred are stable, Mollica said. The distress comes from the CDC’s continued ability to acquire funds and organize projects.
“We have almost no operating money for management and to do things like pay the phone bill and book keeping,” she said. “We have a lack of volunteers and members. We used to have up to 268 members and now we have 14. We can’t get grants with 14 members.”
Members are different from volunteers.
“If people don’t want to volunteer time, they can just be a member,” she said. “We can’t continue community building without volunteers, but with members, I can write grants.”
More members give the organization leverage.
“People won’t donate big dollars if they don’t see people involved. If we have 300 CDC members, that says something. I can write grants to big funders. They care about an invested community. We’ve lost grants. They weren’t renewed for our low community support and it’s a shame.”
The CDC is accepting donations at the Hangin Art Gallery or by mail at P.O. Box 452, Arlee, MT 59821.
