Kellie Danielson, the president and CEO of Montana West Economic Development and the Flathead County Economic Development Authority, is stepping down.
Danielson is resigning in September to relocate to Arkansas, according to Rick Weaver, publisher of the Daily Inter Lake. The MWED board accepted Danielson’s resignation during its May 16 meeting.
“Kellie will be working through August, which gives us time for a proper search,” Weaver, chairman of the MWED board, said in a statement. “It is the executive board’s hope that a person can be hired early enough to allow the new hire to work with Kellie for a period of time. Even though Kellie is leaving us, she is returning to her home state of Arkansas to be closer to her family; which we all can understand. In talking to Kellie, I know this was not an easy decision. She is going to be sorely missed, not only by MWED and FCEDA but by Kalispell and throughout the Flathead.”
Danielson began working at MWED in 2009. Montana West Economic Development has played a large role in the entrepreneurial progress that has been made in the last two decades, alongside an adjacent organization with a similar purpose named the Flathead County Economic Development Authority.
As a not-for-profit economic development organization, MWED has worked to stimulate a diversified, sustainable business base through loan and grant programs, consulting, market analyses and regional marketing campaigns.
In recent years, MWED has dished out roughly $4.4 million through a revolving loan fund, helping local businesses make improvements or expand. MWED collaborates with government units, developers, business professionals, and community organizations to strengthen the region’s business and lifestyle assets.
Among the organization’s most prominent projects, MWED has spearheaded the development of an industrial rail park in Kalispell.
The application deadline for the president/CEO position is 5 p.m., Thursday, June 2. Position details and application instructions can be found on the Montana West website.