First Interstate Bank Hosts MHTBA Annual Meeting and Reception in Missoula Oct 6, 2021
First Interstate Bank hosted the MHTBA Missoula member reception with wine, beer, and hors d’ oeuvres at its offices in Downtown Missoula October 6, 2021. All photos by Tommy Martino Photography.
Oct. 21, 2021
Members from across Montana - Helena, Kalispell, Bozeman, the Bitterroot Valley and beyond - joined the Montana High Tech Business Alliance in Missoula for an in-person annual member meeting and reception on October 6, 2021. Tom Severson, Missoula Market President for First Interstate Bank, and his team partnered with the Alliance on our 7th member reception in the Missoula downtown branch since 2014. The annual meeting took place in the afternoon at the AC Hotel Missoula with some joining virtually via Zoom.
CONNECT: Annual Meeting - MHTBA Board of Directors and Workforce Committee announce call for nominations, due Oct. 21
Kym Corwin, Executive Director, Aim Higher for ATG, a Cognizant Company, and a member of the MHTBA Workforce Committee, explains the committee’s goals.
After an MHTBA progress report, Kelly Schwager, VP of Communications for Oracle and Alliance Board Chair, announced a call for nominations to fill an open seat on the Board of Directors.
Nominees must be employed by a MHTBA member company and are elected to two-year terms with no limits on number of terms.
Kym Corwin of ATG/Cognizant also announced a call for nominations for the MHTBA Workforce Committee.
The Workforce Committee aims to retain in-state workforce talent, attract out-of-state interest and bring tech learning opportunities into K-12 schools and colleges and to nontraditional workers.
All nominations are due by Thursday, Oct. 21 and will be voted on at the upcoming member meeting in Bozeman Nov. 9 and by-proxy.
PROMOTE: Skyfish, Kart Kleen deliver lightning talks on the growth of their companies
Orest Pilskalns, founder and CEO of Stevenvsille-based drone company Skyfish, spoke about his company’s rapid growth during the Missoula reception.
After building his early career out of state, Dr. Orest Pilskalns, CEO of Skyfish and a Missoula native, launched a drone company with a few grad students in his Missoula barn in 2014. Since then he has led the startup through rapid expansion and a $20 million investment announced in June 2021. Skyfish, which specializes in drones that can create 3D models of critical infrastructure and partners with Sony to analyze the images, now has 35 employees in Stevensville. Pilskalns aims to grow his workforce to more than 50 soon, but availability of housing has been a challenge. The Skyfish CEO said he is eager to create job opportunities for Montana natives like himself who don’t want to leave the state after graduation.
“I'm glad to be part of a bunch of technologists here in Montana, trying to create jobs, where when I got out of school, I didn't have that opportunity,” Pilskalns said. “And now hopefully, I'm creating that opportunity for the next generation.”
Max Gardiner from Kart Kleen in Missoula gave a 5-minute talk about the evolution of his startup.
Max Gardiner, Executive VP for Kart Kleen in Missoula, joined his father, CEO Jason Gardiner, and University of Montana Professor of Microbial Ecology Bill Holden in developing a patented technology that uses UV light to disinfect surfaces like shopping carts, PPE, and emergency medical equipment. Kart Kleen has developed a portable unit for first responders that weighs just 20 pounds and can disinfect items like clothing and equipment in 28 seconds. The collapsible bag kills all bacteria, viruses, bacteria, and fungi, and leaves no smell so items can be reused immediately. Both the Gallatin County and Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Offices are piloting the system.
ACCELERATE: Missoula FIRST Robotics Team Shares Hands-on Demonstration, 2022 Goals
The Missoula Valley Robotics Team 3216 showed off its robot built for the 2021 FIRST Robotics Competition at the MHTBA annual member meeting. Team 3216 won the Regional Chairman’s Award from FIRST in 2021 for excellent representation of program values. Team coaches are teachers Dan Lande and Brian Boot of Missoula County Public Schools.
To highlight our goal of expanding technology education across Montana, the Montana High Tech Business Alliance invited Missoula Robotics Team 3216 to give a presentation on their club and plans for competing in the FIRST Robotics Competition in 2022. The students represented all Missoula area high schools and a house-built robot rolled along with them.
The 2021 robot collects balls from the floor, shoots them through a target, and hangs suspended from a metal bar. The students will receive specifications in January to build a new robot for the 2022 competition. Formed in 2008, Missoula Team 3216 hopes to encourage other Montana school districts to form FIRST Robotics teams as theirs is currently the only one competing at this level in Montana. Many Montana communities support programs in FIRST Lego League and FIRST Tech Challenge.
The mission of FIRST is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders and innovators, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs. FIRST combines the rigor of STEM learning with the fun and excitement of traditional sports.
Alliance member companies like Cushing Terrell have hired interns and employees trained by Missoula Robotics Team 3216.
Team 3216 is seeking sponsors to raise $40k this year to cover the costs of building their robot and traveling to competitions in 2022, with sponsors’ logos featured on the robot. The team is also looking for local companies to host field trips and mentors to help students with:
Marketing & PR
Social Media Campaigns
Fundraising
Business Administration
Computer Programming
CAD
Electrical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
For more information, contact Team Mentor Dari Quirk: team3216[at]gmail.com or visit the team website.
The Montana High Tech Business Alliance’s next executive roundtable and member reception will be held on November 9, 2021 in Bozeman where we will continue to discuss education and workforce — see your email inbox for details.
About the Publisher: Launched in 2014, the Montana High Tech Business Alliance is a nonpartisan nonprofit association of highly-engaged high tech and manufacturing companies and affiliates creating high-paying jobs in Montana. For more information, visit MTHighTech.org or subscribe to our biweekly newsletter.