Montana Chamber Foundation

As August approaches, many of you will begin preparing for a new school year. If you’ve wondered why or how the MCF helps teachers or how we team up with Empowered, this may help! We’d also love to hear from you and see how we can be apart of your upcoming school year 🎉

🚨 Registration is NOW OPEN!

Building tomorrow’s healthcare workforce starts today.

The Montana Chamber Foundation is proud to support 406 Transfusion: Injecting Youth into the Care Continuum, a conference bringing together healthcare leaders, educators, and community partners to explore innovative ways to connect young people with meaningful careers in healthcare.

Join us October 13–14 at Fairmont Hot Springs to hear from industry experts, discover successful workforce strategies, and collaborate with others who are committed to strengthening Montana’s healthcare talent pipeline.

💉 406 Transfusion: Injecting Youth into the Care Continuum
📅 October 13–14, 2026
📍 Fairmont Hot Springs

💲 Early Bird Registration: $65 through September 1
💲 Regular Registration: $80

Whether you’re helping students explore career opportunities or addressing workforce needs in your community, this event offers valuable insights and practical ideas to help grow Montana’s future healthcare workforce.

Register today! https://cvent.me/MyyVyo

Happy 4th of July from the Chamber Foundation! Thank you to everyone who supports and partners with us. Additionally, thank you to the teachers across our great state for all you do. Have a safe and fun weekend! ❤️🤍💙

✨ Teacher Spotlight: Megan Vincent ✨

📚 School: Fergus High School (Lewistown, MT)
Subjects: Family & Consumer Sciences, FCCLA Adviser
Teaching: 5 years (and 5 years with Empowered!)

✈️ Fun Fact: Travel is my passion! I’ve visited 45 of the 50 states and hope to check off the final five before my youngest leaves home. I love exploring new places because travel teaches us so much about ourselves, others, and the world.

🍲 Favorite Classroom Activity: Every January, students make Soup Joumou, a traditional Haitian pumpkin soup served on Haitian Independence Day. After volunteering as a teacher in Haiti, sharing this tradition has become one of my favorite ways to teach culture, history, and the idea that food brings people together.

🎲 Favorite Empowered Lesson: The Trading Game is always a hit! Students love the challenge, and adding a few “mystery” bags gets everyone thinking, laughing, and talking long after the activity ends.

💡 Why The Prospects? Opportunity. The Prospects gives students a unique chance to develop and share their business ideas while building confidence and entrepreneurial skills. It’s one of the most valuable opportunities available to Montana students, and I want every one of my students to experience it.

It’s not too late! The MCF, JMG, AND Empowered are hosting a teacher professional development in August 😍 It feels like Christmas bringing all these amazing programs together. See below for details, we’d love to see you there!

Join us August 4–6 in Helena for a collaborative professional development conference hosted by the Montana Chamber Foundation, Empowered, and Jobs for Montana Graduates (JMG). Open to all educators, this event combines practical classroom strategies with real-world workforce connections through shared sessions and targeted breakouts for JMG and non-JMG participants.

Educators will explore Empowered’s 8 foundational principles, learn about programs like The Prospects, Market Days, and Cultivating Careers, and gain hands-on tools to help students build durable skills, explore careers, and take ownership of their learning. Participants will leave with fresh ideas, valuable connections, and practical resources they can use right away.

👉Register Here https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdP0VJzvlR6N3gHclORM7DmtW9yIlR1rgkqdSbK3ypDiO-ahA/viewform

🎉 Montana’s top teen entrepreneurs were crowned at the 2026 Prospects Grand Champion Pitch Competition at Jake Jabs College of Business at MSU Bozeman!

Students from across the state competed for $18,000 in cash prizes and scholarships, showcasing innovative businesses ranging from custom apparel and ag technology to healthcare support and surf safety products.

🏆 Existing Business Winners:
🥇 GRAND CHAMP YAU Studios – Declan Reed (Missoula)
🥈 A.M. Pork – Adelaide Meyer (Stevensville)🥉 Cooney Precision Genetics – Ella & Reese Cooney (Harlowton)
⭐ Sunny Sips – Alyssa Hanninen (Missoula)
⭐ ShortCut Customs – Tristen Short (Great Falls)

🏆 New Business Winners:
🥇 GRAND CHAMP Enduro Surf – Lachlan Lurgio (Missoula)
🥈 Luminex Aquatics – Hart Miller (Billings)
🥉 Ag Together App – Kaiya Cardwell (Billings)
⭐ Kitchell Creation – Makaio Kitchell (Frenchtown)
⭐ Care Lift – Brock Gardipee (Helena)

Now in its sixth year, The Prospects received more than 200 student submissions statewide, proving Montana’s next generation of entrepreneurs is already making an impact.

There’s fresh spring snow on the mountains, and 11 hopeful entrepreneurs are making their way to Bozeman today to compete for the title of Grand Champion and a $5,000 prize!

If you’re in the Bozeman area, we’d love to have you join us. The competition begins tomorrow morning, Monday, May 18, at 9:15 AM at the Jake Jabs College of Business & Entrepreneurship. It’s shaping up to be an incredible event, and we can’t wait to cheer on these amazing finalists!

Thank you to all of our generous sponsors to help make this happen and to Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship for hosting us.

On April 29, we had the opportunity to bring Montana Chamber Foundation’s Cultivating Careers event to Seeley-Lake — and what an incredible day it was!

More than 200 students in grades 6–12 from five schools connected with over 40 businesses and organizations to explore hands-on career experiences and real-world opportunities right here in their communities.

From learning CPR compressions to checking oil and antifreeze, students had the chance to step outside their comfort zones and discover new career paths in an interactive, engaging environment.

A few student highlights from the day:

💬 “The helicopter guy who showed how to put a breathing tube in was the most fun activity… I learned how to insert a breathing tube.”

💬 “I liked when Glenn from Glenn’s Automotive was showing how to check oil and antifreeze and all the things.”

💬 “My favorite activity was all of them! I loved how you pushed us out of our comfort zones and made us explore all of these different real-world opportunities!”

Thank you to all of the schools, businesses, volunteers, and community partners who made this event possible. The future workforce is bright!