Changes on the horizon for Discover Anaconda

Change is inevitable in life much as it is in business, and Discover Anaconda – which formed in 2021 as a merger of the Anaconda Chamber of Commerce and the Anaconda Local Development Corporation (ALDC) – is no exception, as the tourism and economic development organization will soon be under new leadership as its current director, Adam Vauthier, is stepping down. 

Vauthier, who became ALDC director about four years ago and continued in that post following the formation of Discover Anaconda, said in an interview Wednesday that he is returning to his former line of work with software engineering, yet he will remain in Anaconda and help the organization maintain continuity through the transition period as its board looks to hire a new director. 

"I'll be just down the hall," said Vauthier. 

That, said Mike Hale, chairman of Discover Anaconda, "will make it as easy a shift as possible." 

"Everything we have in place at this time is staying in place and we’ll continue to work with those programs. It’s still business as usual for us," Hale said. "We're just letting everyone know there's some changes coming down in the next few months and it's not a bad thing. There'll be changes with the new director, and there's going to be some new insights. The new director will allow us to focus on some things that'll help us better serve our members. We're moving forward and are excited to see where we can ago and where we can take this." 

As to what those changes might be, Hale indicated he and the board would wait until the new director and their team (two staff members are also leaving the organization) are in place and see what their perspective will be. 

As for Vauthier's perspective, he said he hopes the new director "will really dig into member services and make sure every member feels there's value to being part of the organization." 

"There'll be new faces. It'll be exciting ot see who the new director hires as new staff and how they'll make an impact on the community," Vauthier said. 

Asked what he was most proud of from his tenure as director, Vauthier pointed to Discover Anaconda itself, saying that "as a project, blending the two organizations into a really effective group that's focused on the economy has been a big accomplishment." 

He also mentioned the organization's efforts in housing, such as the Old Works Estates Subdivision and their work with the National Affordable Housing Network, and also the gap lending Discover Anaconda offers to businesses. 

"Adam has accomplished a lot in four years. As a board, we're really proud of those accomplishments – the housing projects, that's something we'd talked about before I became chairman. It's a major issue and we want to help fill that void," Hale said. "The gap lending has been a huge thing for our community – seeing [business owners'] dreams come to fruition. Merging with the chamber has been a huge thing, being able to focus on tourism. I was not born and raised here, I’m a transplant, I’ve been here 10 years, and Anaconda was a diamond in the rough, but with a bit of polishing you can see it becoming – not Whitefish, we don’t want to be Whitefish, but we want to see it flourish." 

For more information about Discover Anaconda, visit https://discoveranaconda.com/.