Butte, MT (August 15, 2017) – The Butte Local Development Corporation (BLDC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Joe Willauer as its new Executive Director, replacing Pam Haxby-Cote who was recently named Director of the Montana Department of Commerce. The BLDC Board of Directors’ decision comes with the fullest confidence that Willauer will continue to be an excellent steward of the BLDC’s mission and a passionate leader for the Butte community. The BLDC recognizes Willauer as a leader who, with his years of experience in economic development and job creation, is the right person to further advance the Butte economy through growing entrepreneurship and employment opportunities, increasing population and tax base, and assisting our existing businesses to grow and compete in a global economy.
Before joining the BLDC, Willauer served as the Food and Agriculture Development Center Director and then as the Executive Director at Headwaters RC&D, serving the seven county region of Southwest Montana. Additionally, Willauer founded Butte Young Professionals, a volunteer organization with a mission of supporting and recruiting young professionals to Butte. Willauer has been very active in local and state community activities, serving on many commissions including the Governor-appointed Future Fisheries Review Panel and Montana Ambassadors. Willauer received his Masters degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Eastern Washington University and is a Certified Economic Development Finance Professional.
According to Ray Rogers, President of the BLDC Board of Directors, “We are incredibly excited to have Joe Willauer as the BLDC’s new Executive Director. Joe has an excellent background in economic development and is very well respected among his peers across the State of Montana. Joe understands the unique challenges facing Butte Silver Bow and our region, has outstanding passion and vision for economic development, and we look forward to working with Joe to make a positive impact on job creation and economic development for Butte. ”
Willauer is schedule to start effective Tuesday, September 5th.
ABOUT THE BUTTE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
The BLDC is a private, non-profit corporation, organized under the laws of the State of Montana and is recognized as a 501(c)(6) organization by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. The BLDC is the primary economic development organization for Butte-Silver Bow, and works to fulfill their mission of advancing Butte’s economy by recruiting regional or out-of-state businesses to expand their operations to Butte, growing existing company operations, and partnering with entrepreneurs and companies of all sizes to promote job creation in our community. This is done through high-quality services and programs designed to make relocation, expansion, or start-up as smooth as possible.
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If you would like more information regarding this release, or the BLDC, please contact Cooper Fisher, BLDC Marketing Director, at 406.496.3173 or cfisher@bldc.net.
Contact: Cooper Fisher, Marketing Director
Email: cfisher@bldc.net
Telephone: 406.496.3173