Updated: Jan 6, 2012 12:41 PM
GREAT FALLS- Officials at Malmstrom Air Force Base are working to expand small business opportunities.
To help in their efforts, they organized an expo to bring together business people and Malmstrom officials.
"There's possibilities of downsizing the base, which everyone knows about, and we thought it would be worthwhile to bring a bunch of business people together with business interests and skills," Gary Schlaeger, chairman of the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) in Great Falls, noted.
Schlaeger says the free space and buildings at Malmstrom could be put to good use for Great Falls small business owners.
And aside from business owners moving in to utilize space already available, the base employs a multitude of contractors to complete ongoing construction projects.
SCORE and the business owners toured the base on Thursday to see some of the newly completed projects as well as those still being worked on.
Chuck Weibel, the Malmstrom director of business operations, says there are currently about 45 projects in the works at Malmstrom for fiscal year 2012.
Shelley Lighter, one of the tour participants, says to make any of these business opportunity possible, the base and the community have to work together.
"We have to see what markets are available to see what's best for our civilian community and what is best for our military community so we can live together and work together and enjoy Great Falls as a whole," Lighter said.
She added the tour provided great insight into the possibilities of building business in the back yard of the Electric City.
