SEELEY LAKE – Four downtown businesses in Seeley Lake set out food and beverages and invited the community to join in holiday cheer. Blue River Station, Citizens Alliance Bank, Kurt's Polaris and the shops in the Heritage Building all offered special merchandise discounts in conjunction with their open house events, but each business said the main focus was on fellowship rather than on sales.
Owner of Blue River Station Nancy Butcher said it is difficult to keep the store profitable once the summer tourism season ends. Local patronage then becomes even more important.
Butcher sees the open house as a way to say, "Thank you for helping us stay alive." She added. "I just want to let the community know that I appreciate it."
Dave Plante, an attendee at the Blue River Station open house Dec. 14, explained his reason for coming, "Nancy and Mark are good people. They care a lot about the community. I like to share in that spirit."
Citizen Alliance Bank's (CAB) customer appreciation open house Dec. 18 included lunch. An estimated 150 to 175 people attended.
Bank Loan Officer Cheryl Lewis said, "This is a long standing tradition with Citizen Alliance Bank and it has become our tradition as well. It shows in a big way that we really do appreciate our customers. Now that we are a bigger bank, we need to do bigger outreach."
Bank Loan Officer Gary Miller added, "It's a good time to see customers, spread Christmas cheer and thank our customers with a Christmas meal.
This year the meal was catered by the Filling Station as part of CAB's intention to patronize local businesses whenever possible.
The co-owner of Kurt's Polaris Kim Friede said for as long as she can remember they have had open houses and customer appreciation days at both their Seeley Lake and Missoula locations.
Friede said, "The Seeley Lake one is more intimate within the community."
Kurt's purchased the hot dogs, brats and chili and donated it to the Driftriders Snowmobile Club to cook and serve as a fundraiser and membership drive. There were also a variety of other snacks to enjoy while shopping and socializing.
According to Friede, a lot of local people attended the Dec. 19 event. Several out of town snowmobilers also stopped in and joined in the day's festivities. A product representative from FXR was present to talk with attendees.
Friede said, "This is our Black Friday – our big Before- Christmas Sale and it allows us to reach out to the local community. It's our appreciation and thank you to the community. It's also awesome to be able to help support the [Driftriders] club. A big thanks to all of Kurt's Polaris employees for a great 2015."
This was the first year that the Heritage Building shops staged a communal open house. The building houses Heritage Plumbing and Heating run by Ken Schmitz who is also the owner of the building complex; Heritage Office Stop, a copy and office supply facility run by Schmitz's wife Dee; Cathy's Sewing, an alteration and mending store run by Cathy Schulz; Essential Massage Therapy, a massage service that uses and sells dōTERRA essential oils and is run by Alicia 'Alex' Kues; Branding Shack, a custom silk-screening and embroidery shop run by Mark Kues; and Country Chic Design Boutique, a home décor and event planning business run by Cristine Valentine Matheny.
Dee Schmitz said the Dec. 11 open house was a huge success. She said, "People just came and mingled and got to see what's in the building. The town really supported us. It was great because there were some people sitting in Cathy's room talking and then they'd mingle over here [Heritage Office Supply] and sit and talk with us and then go over to one of the other shops."
Jim Haueter, who attended the Heritage open house, said he thoroughly enjoyed the event. "I ran into people I hadn't seen in a long time. And that's part of what open houses are all about, isn't it?"
According to Schmitz, several of the Heritage shops made sales during the event. The event also included a drawing for what Schmitz called "a basket of goodies, a modge-podge of stuff, just something fun." Boyd Gossard won the drawing.
Schmitz said the shop owners were so pleased with the success of the event that they plan on doing it every year from now on.
Blue River Station, the Citizens Alliance Bank and Kurt's Polaris also intend to show their appreciation for the support of the Seeley Lake community by hosting open houses again next year.
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