The Columbia Falls Heritage Days celebration dates back to 1956 when it was originally called “Progress Days”. The original event was organized to celebrate the prosperity brought about by the industrial expansion of the area. Decades later, Columbia Falls still enthusiastically celebrates our history, our heritage, and our future. This year’s theme is “There’s No Place Like Home”.

Look for Freedom Bank in the parade down Nucleus Avenue on Saturday, July 27th at 12:00 pm. After the parade, roughly at 1:30 pm, Freedom Bank sponsors a wild horse drive down Highway 2 from Columbia Heights to the Blue Moon. We are also a main sponsor of the Open Rodeo at the Blue Moon Arena, a team and prize sponsor for the 3 on 3 basketball tournament, and a sponsor of the Columbia Falls Community Market at the Coop.

Heritage Days is an adventure and celebration for the whole family. Take a look at the complete schedule below or visit the official website here: http://cfallsheritagedays.com/index.html

Wednesday – July 24, 2019

• 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm – 10th Annual Car Show
  • Location: Marantette Park
• 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm – The American Legion Freedom Post 72 will be preparing food for the Car Show.
  • Location: Marantette Park
  • A nominal fee/donation will be requested to cover the costs of the food.

Thursday – July 25, 2019

• 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Community Market
  • Location:  The Coop – 830 1st Ave. West
• 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm – FREE Open Swimming
  • Location: Pinewood Park Pool.
  • 6:30 pm – 7:45 pm – Adults and kids to 12 years old
  • 8:15 pm – 9:30 pm – Adults and kids 13+ years old
• 7:00 pm – Lion’s Club Concert
  • Location: Marantette Park

Friday – July 26, 2019

• 5:30 pm – 11:00 pm – Wildcat/kat Athletic Endowment Auction and BBQ
  • Location:  The Coop – 830 1st Ave. West
  • 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm – BBQ and Social Hour. $10.00 per plate
  • 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm – Silent Auction
  • 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm – Live Auction
  • 8:30 pm – 11:00 pm Social/Cash Bar and Dancing with Music on The Move
• 7:00 pm – Open Rodeo
  • Location: Blue Moon Arena northeast corner of Hwy. 2 and 40, just behind the Blue Moon Bar & Grille

Saturday – July 27, 2019

• 7:00 am – Firemen’s Breakfast
  • Location: Don Anderson Fire Hall, 624 1st Ave. West
• 7:30 am – early check-in for Heritage Days 3 on 3 basketball tournament
  • Location: Berube Physical Therapy
  • Teams will consist of boys and girls, grades 5-6, grades 7-8 and grades 9-12 and Men’s Open.
  • Registration forms may be picked up at the Columbia Falls Chamber Office, Berube Physical Therapy, Glacier Bank and Whitefish Credit Union. Completed forms must be turned in by July 22nd to any of the above locations. Contact Laura Gadwa at 892-2072 with any questions. Cost per team is $80.
• 8:00 am – Boogie-to-the-Bank 5k & 10k Run
  • Location: North Fork to Discovery Square
  • Contact Ashley Campbell at 406-751-4758 for more information.
• 9:00 am – JIM’S Rat Race
  • Location: A short race from Whitefish Credit Union down to the Boogie to the Bank finish line.
  • The race will start after the last runner is finished with Boogie. Open to children ages 4-13. Contact Ashley Campbell at 406-751-4758 for more information.
• 9:00 am – 5:00 pm – Arts, Crafts, Food Vendors, and Activities for the Kids
  • Location: Marantette Park
  • **Note: Food Vendors have the option to set up by the 3 on 3 basketball tournament and then move to Marantette Park.
• 10:00 am – 3:00 pm – North Valley Senior Center Fundraiser Luncheon
  • Location: North Valley Senior Center at 205 Nucleus Avenue
  • 11:00 am – 12:00 pm – North Valley High Steppers line dancing entertainment.
  • For more information call the Center at 406-892-4087.
• 12:00 pm – Main Parade
  • Location: Nucleus Avenue (Railroad Street to 7th Street West)
  • Parade participants will stage along Railroad Street at the north end of Nucleus Ave. at 11:00 am.
• 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Family Fun Day
  • Location: Glacier Bank parking lot
• 1:30 pm – Freedom Bank’s Wild Horse Drive on Hwy. 2
  • Location: Along Highway 2 from Columbia Heights to the Blue Moon.
  • **Note: Wild horses can be unpredictable and don’t always follow a strict schedule.
• 4:00 pm – 6:30 pm – Falls Fest Fundraiser by the Rotary Club, with music by the “Barn Yard Riot”
  • Location: Marantette Park
• 7:00 pm – Open Rodeo
  • Location: Blue Moon Arena northeast corner of Hwy. 2 and 40, just behind the Blue Moon Bar & Grille
• 7:00 pm – 9:45 pm – Falls Fest Fundraiser by the Rotary Club, with music by “The Brothers”
  • Location: Marantette Park

Cabin Fever Days 2018

Schedule of Events

Friday – February 9, 2018

• 7:00 PM – Mixed Doubles Pool – Southfork
  • Dart Tournament – Stonefly
• 8:30 PM – Marshall Catch – Packers
• 9:00 PM – Badger Hound – Stonefly

Saturday – February 10, 2018

• 10:00 AM – Biscuits & Gravy – Packers
• 1:00 PM – Barstool Ski Races – Sugar Hill
• 1:00 – 3:00 PM – Moonshine Mountain – Stonefly
  • Arm wrestling Weigh-Ins – Stonefly
• 1:00 – 4:00 PM – Killer Pool Tournament – Dam Town
• 2:00 PM – Hog Roast – Packers
• 3:00 PM – Shuffleboard Tourney – Southfork
  • Snowshoe Softball – Ball field
  • Mountain Man Competition – Packers
• 4:00 PM – Craig Barton – Southfork
• 4:00 – 7:30 PM – Arm wrestling Tourney – Stonefly
• 5:00 PM – Larry Myer – Packers
• 6:00 PM – Flathead V-8s – Deerlick
  • Dirty Old Men – Southfork
• 8:00 PM – Pedacter Project – Stonefly
• 8:30 PM – Comatose Posse – Packers
• 11:30 PM Chach & Triple T – Stonefly

Sunday – February 11, 2018

• 10:00 AM – Biscuits & Gravy – Packers
• 11:00 – 2:00 PM – Hangover Cures – Stonefly
  • Free Soup – Deerlick
• 1:00 PM – Barstool Ski Races – Sugar Hill
• 1:00 – 3:00 PM – Moonshine Mountain – Stonefly
• 2:00 PM – Hog Roast – Packers
  • Craig Barton – Southfork
  • Sonny King – Deerlick
• 2:00 – 3:00 PM – Roshambo Sign Ups – Stonefly
• 3:00 PM – Barstool Race Final – Sugar Hill
  • Mountain Man Competition – Packers
• 3:00 – 5:00 PM – Roshambo Tournament – Stonelfy
• 4:00 PM – Lary Myer – Packers
  • Dirty Old Men – Southfork
• 5:00 PM – Mountain Man Finals – Packers

7:00 PM – 40th Annual Barstool Race Awards @ Southfork Saloon

2017
NIGHT OF LIGHTS

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1st

PARADE STARTS 6:30 PM

AWARDS FOR FLOATS; FLOAT ENTRY $10 OR FOOD ITEM FOR FOOD BANK
CRAFT FAIR IN THE NORTH VALLEY TEAKETTLE ROOM

HEAT UP AT THE COOP AFTER THE PARADE
VISIT WITH SANTA AND WARM UP WITH A BON FIRE, HOT COCOA, CHILI &
A LIVE HOLIDAY CONCERT WITH CFHS CHORAL SONIFERS,
JAZZ BANK & HOLIDAY SINGALONG!

SATURDAY, DEC. 2nd 10 AM
BREAKFAST WITH SANTA: TIMBER CREEK VILLAGE
MEADOWLAKE DR.

Acutech – Business After Hours

This month the hosts of our Business After Hours networking event is Acutech.  Acutech is a welding shop located in Columbia Falls.  They produce high quality, custom metal manufacturing projects.  Acutech joined our Chamber in January 2017.  We are proud to have them as members and are looking forward to seeing their facility and projects at our Business After Hours this month.

Business After Hours provide a place to network with other business professionals, unwind after a long day of work and socialize with free food and drinks! Bring donations for the Columbia Falls Food bank.  The more donations you bring, the more raffle tickets you get! Raffle items include a one night stay at the Whitefish Lake Lodge, a $100 gift card for the boat club, and a $100 gift card for Latitude 48.

See you at Acutech on November 28th!

Why do we love “ugly sweaters”? Is it our inner child bubbling to the surface to express how goofy and individualistic we are? Is it that through these mats of cloth we deem to be ugly we can poke fun at ourselves and yet be  accepted for who we are? Or is it the simple fact that the holidays bring people together and people like to laugh?  Whatever it is that draws out our deep love for the Holidays, the Freedom Bank Crew personifies the zany spirit that comes with merry holiday traditions.

Our President carpeted in sheep’s wool to keep him warm this winter.

Michelle dawns her inner “squatch” this holiday season.

Kim shows that Santa may have had one to many cookies this holiday season.

Jerry clothes himself in his trusty rusty hunting sweater.

Nona as one of Santa’s elves taking a break from toy building.

Cameron as Santa brought holiday cheer to all the little boys and girls of Freedom Bank.

Meagan prancing around as a jolly young Rudolph.

Max proudly displays his not so ugly Freedom Bank Sweater!

Jerry Burley, assistant vice president and loan officer at Freedom Bank on Friday was awarded Notary of the Year by Montana Sec. of State Linda McCulloch.

Burley has been a notary since the early ‘90s, getting his start in banking fresh out of high school.

He grew up in Broadus and, following his love of accounting, took a job bookkeeping at a bank in Ashlan.

The job required him to be a notary, so he became one.

The process as he recalled it was not difficult.

“Back in the day, it was just fill out a form, and the bank paid for the bonding, and I took a training and they sent the certificate,” he said.

Being a notary is fairly simple, he said. Any time a legal document needs notarized, he confirms the ID of the person signing, keeps a log, and adds a stamp to the document confirming he notarized it.

“Jerry Burley epitomizes what it means to be Montana Notary of the Year,” said McCulloch. “He was chosen from a strong field of nominees for demonstrating exceptional services and high standards of practice.”

Montana Notary of the year nominees were evaluated on their longevity, variety of documents notarized, use of notary journal, community service, and exceptional notary service.

McCulloch started the Montana Notary of the Year award in 2009 in an effort recognize the invaluable work done by notaries in Montana.

“Notaries are the first line of defense against many types of fraud as they are responsible for determining the identity of the person who signs a document, swears an oath, or performs any of the other acts that require a notary public. I’m eager to present this award to such a deserving notary public,” McCulloch said.

Burley is involved in the community, which factored in to being named Notary of the Year.

He was a member of the Columbia Falls Chamber of Commerce for 10 years, and has served as treasurer of the Gateway to Glacier trail for the past three.

Because he was named Montana Notary of the year, Burley is automatically nominated for the National Notary of the Year award given annually by the National Notary Association.

Burley’s wife, Joanne, their daughter Kristen and granddaughter Avery were all present at the award ceremony at Freedom Bank on Friday.

Although he now works as a lender at Freedom Bank rather than the accounting and bookkeeping that first got him interested, he says that his favorite aspect of being a notary has remained the same.

“I think mainly it’s the people that come through, the conversations I have with them while they sign. It’s just getting to know people,” he saidJERRY SEC DON

Stable, affordable housing is critical to education, health, and economic success across our area. Habitat for Humanity’s unique home ownership program allows hardworking, low-income families to build and buy a home.

Currently, Habitat for Humanity of Flathead Valley is in the middle of an affordable housing project in Columbia Falls. This 16-unit townhouse development will be completed by 2015 and to date they have placed 8 families into new homes. These homes are constructed by volunteers and materials are paid for by donations and earnings from two second-hand furniture stores.

Habitat for Humanity is always looking for more volunteers to help. If you are unable to help, consider a donation. Freedom Bank recently made a sizable donation to Habitat for Humanity to help them improve our community. Please consider helping this great organization achieve their goal of providing affordable housing to our neighbors in need.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

For every Prepaid Visa Card Purchased, the purchase fee will be waived ($4.75 or $6.75), this fee will be donated by Freedom Bank to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Prepaid Visa Cards can be purchased at Freedom Bank. Donations can be taken over the phone by Credit Card or online through the donation page.

Visit the donation page to make a contribution for breast cancer awareness.

Freedom Bank’s Don Bennett commissioned local up-and-coming artist Colt Idol for an awe inspiring 6′ by 4′ oil painting depicting the majestic mountains and valleys of Glacier National Park and the symbol of freedom, the bald eagle.

A limited number of 3′ by 2′ giclee prints were available for pre-sale and also for sale the day of the event.  Those prints that were pre-sold were given additional unique brush strokes by the artist at the event at Freedom Bank, and all prints sold that day were embellished with the original signature of the artist.

Giclee prints of “Discover Freedom” are still available for purchase.  $100 of each sale of the premium quality, museum wrap format print benefits the Gateway to Glacier Trail non-profit organization.  Now you have the opportunity to own an incredible piece of art and support a great cause – a separated pedestrian and bike path which will ultimately connect Glacier National Park with the Flathead Valley.

To place an order, please stop by Freedom Bank, or contact us!

“Discover Freedom” by Colt Idol