Equity Based Services, Inc

by Troy Downing

I have been spending some time with my family up in our vacation home in southwestern Montana for the holidays. We belong to a Club that has a great group of members, but, unfortunately, had some unscrupulous owners that managed to put the Club into a chapter 11 reorganization. So, needless to say, we weren’t sure what the overall mood would be like amongst the members this season.

There are, of course, people that are very concerned about keeping the Club viable and getting through this reorganization. The members are banding together to have a common voice and to watch and affect the prodeedings through the reorganization. This will most likely end with a change of ownership with more opportunity for members to be equity owners in the Club. The Club would have been completely viable if not for some very questionable transactions by the previous owners that unduly encumbered the Club’s assets. So, this was not completely a product of a receding economy, it was merely exacerbated by it.

But, as I said, the members are a great group of people that will effect change in a very positive way. The bankruptcy was only a hiccup that will ultimately end with the club being run in a professional manner, which is something that none of us have seen in the 10 or so years it has existed.

The Club normally employs approximately 600 employees in the area and directly affects the livelihoods of many more local vendors, small business operators, suppliers, etc. This combined with other large employers in the area that had to scale back operations due to temporary economic conditions and, in at least two cases, loss of construction loans when Lehman Brothers went bankrupt, has caused a lot of financial trouble in the local community.

When we first came out to Montana this season, there was a meeting of an ad hoc group of members. The intent of the meeting was to give information about the chapter 11 proceedings and what the issues were and what to expect in the coming months. This quickly turned to a discussion on the local community outside of the Club. In other words, the Club employees, the residents of Big Sky, the residents of Bozeman that commute and work in the Big Sky community. These people, families, and businesses have been hit particularly hard by what is happening in the Big Sky community.

There were discussions on what we, the Club members, could do to help. What was suggested were programs that we could fund that would make loans to local business owners that have been affected by these economic difficulties and to make grants to local residents and families that were affected. There was a very positive response to this in spite of the fact that we were gathered to deal with a problem that directly affected the personal interests of the Club members, and the news about the Club was not very upbeat.

There have been a handful of members that really took the reigns on creating a facility to aggregate donations, review applications for aid, and distribute these cash grants. The driving force in getting this off the ground was Loren Bough, a club member and a local resident of the community. He gave a presentation that was positively received amongst the members and was able to raise a significant amount of money in a short amount of time to help those struggling with utility bills, groceries, medical bills, etc. that are simply struggling because of this temporary setback.

The program, called LIFT, is a tax exempt charitable entity that will raise funds through donations and distribute these funds in the form of grants to individuals and families that are experiencing financial crises in the Big Sky area. In general, grant recipients must live or work in the Big Sky Area, they must have been recently laid off or hurt by the local economy, and must demonstrate financial hardship.

Last night, we went to a great New Year’s Eve party at the home of Warren Miller (the film maker / writer) and his wife Laurie. It was a fun party where everyone showed up with their holiday leftovers, some wine, and a Christmas tree to donate to the bonfire that capped the evening. The party was well attended by Club members, friends, and family. Everyone was upbeat and having fun.

At one point during the evening, Chris Wright and Whitney Peyton, got the attention of the crowd to have a quick “fundraising” event for the LIFT program. They decided to do it as a spontaneous auction and auctioned off things like a day of skiing with Warren Miller, or, spending a day whale watching on the Millers’ boat. The fun part of this was that every one of us know the Millers, and know them to be friendly, giving, and warm people. I’m sure they would welcome any one of us into their home, and Warren would love to ski with any one of us that asked… But, that wasn’t the point.

In this crowded room at the Miller house, Chris and Whit raised tens of thousands of dollars to help support the local community. The guests were willing to open their wallets to bid on, what were definitely valuable prizes, but, valuable prizes that we could have had simply for the asking.

The Miller party ended well before midnight. So, a number of us went down to the official Club New Year’s Eve Party. There was a band, dancing, party hats, and revelers waiting to ring in the new year.

When the band took a break, Chris and Whit once again took the stage and auctioned off ski dates, and whale watching, and joy rides with other members. Once again, they raised tens of thousands of dollars for the community.

The part that struck me was this. Here is a Club in trouble. All of the members are concerned about getting through the bankruptcy, as we all have a lot invested in the Club and a lot at stake here. This has also, without question, been one of the worst economic setbacks that the country has seen in my lifetime. Everyone feels it to some extent. Obviously some feel it more than others, but, it’s there.

So, amidst all of this, I was surrounded by a group of people that were willing to open their wallets to help those that were hit harder than they were. This really made me smile. Obviously, we’re not going to fix everything, but, here is a group of people doing the right thing by investing in the people of their community that most need help in a difficult time.

For me, this is a very positive start to the year. I look forward to a great 2009 and expect to see great things in the months to come.

If you are interested in the LIFT program, information can be found online at: http://mtcf.org/lift.html

There you will find information on making donations and applications for grants for people and families in need.