Season 3 · Episode 85

Mike Nelson on Elevating Hospitality, Catalytic Downtown Investment, & Developing the Future Workforce

Mar 17, 2025

Join us as we sit down with Mike Nelson—community leader, business owner, developer, and hospitality expert—who revitalized the iconic Northern Hotel and helped shape downtown Billings. Mike shares his career journey, from working for major hotel brands in Las Vegas to returning home to Billings to restore the Northern.  He dives into his three legs of hospitality at the Northern—Connect, Empathize, Respect—and how they guide the guest experience.

Connect with the Northern Hotel HERE!

Season 3 · Episode 84

Following Your Dream, Building a Brand, & Designing Meaningful Customer Experiences with Linda Brooks, Owner of SOMETHINGchic

Mar 10, 2025

Join us as we sit down with entrepreneur, nurse, and owner of SOMETHINGchic, Linda Brooks. Linda shares her journey from small-town Montana to nursing school, life in Boston, and ultimately returning home to bring her dream to life. She dives into the long road to opening her store, from co-winning the Downtown Billings Battle of the Plans to crowd-sourcing capital, and finding the perfect downtown space. Plus, she shares her strategies for marketing, building community, creating a brand that resonates, and the importance of research.

Connect with SOMETHINGchic HERE.

Season 3 · Episode 83

Small Business Ownership, Listening to your Customers, and Cultivating Community with Molly & Friends Owner, Jodi Mackay

Mar 3, 2025

Join us as we sit down with Jodi Mackay owner of Molly & Friends, a beloved dog daycare and boarding business in Laurel, MT. Jodi shares how a simple idea turned into a thriving small business, the importance of communication and customer service, and the special touches that make Molly & Friends a home away from home for dogs. Plus, a special appearance from her daughter, Allison, as they discuss the journey of entrepreneurship, the love of animals, and the power of community support.

Learn more about Molly & Friends HERE.

Season 3 · Episode 82

Cindy Beers on Wellness, Leveraging Your Circle of Influence to change the food system & Building a Business

Feb 24, 2025

Join us as we sit down with Cindy Beers – dietitian, entrepreneur,  health advocate and Founder of Fresco Juice. Cindy shares her journey, from working in healthcare to launching her own business, driven by her personal gut health struggles and a transformative discovery of raw juice.

She shares how the encouragement from her community gave her the confidence to start Fresco. Cindy discusses their unique juice process that makes Fresco juice stand out from other juices.  She reflects on the power of influence—how we can all play a role in improving our food system.

Make sure to try the Official Juices of The Vault, Blue Juice and 14Karrot. Check them out here: https://www.frescojuiceco.com/ 

Season 3 · Episode 81

Building Strong Schools: Leadership, Mentorship, & Mission with Andrew McDonald

Feb 17, 2025

Join us as we sit down with Andrew McDonald, President of the Billings Catholic Schools. From dreaming of a career as a spy to finding his calling in education Andrew shares his career journey and leadership insights. On this episode he discusses the importance of transparency, knowing your strengths and building strong teams. We dive into the power of relationships and mentorships and their role in shaping a career. Andrew talks about leading through transition, navigating change, and fostering strong cultures within the schools. He talks about the Billings Catholic School system and its impact on education, community, and student success.

Learn more about the Billings Catholic Schools HERE.

Season 3 · Episode 80

Developing Leaders in the Healthcare Industry with Montana HOSA

Feb 10, 2025

Join us as we sit down with Katie Meier, the State Director of Montana HOSA, future health professionals of Montana. On this episode we talk about the role HOSA plays across the state to empower future leaders (high school students) through education, collaboration and experience. She dives into her passion for educating students and leveraging HOSA to provide students the real life experience to apply the personal, workplace, and technical skills it takes to be successful in the workplace.

Learn more about HOSA HERE.

Season 3 · Episode 79

“Feeling More at Home” Kevin Kooistra’s Legacy

Feb 3, 2025 · 01:18:54

We are honored to start season 3 of The Vault, episode 79 with a very special episode featuring a special guest who is no longer with us. This episode was recorded in August of 2024 and our special guest, Kevin Kooistra passed away in December 2024. We are honored to have had this conversation with him and to share it with you. We hope that you are inspired by Kevin’s story.

On this episode Kevin shares his journey to Montana from New Jersey, seeing mountains for the first time, Montana snipe hunting, and working in Yellowstone National Park. He talks about being an archaeologist and the types of items he found on digs. He shares about being a cultural anthropologist where then he was a Ethnographic Consultations working with elders in 12 western tribes.

We talk about his “fever for learning” something you hear throughout the episode. We discuss the journey that led him back to Montana, starting out as the Community Historian at the Western Heritage and transition to Executive Director. Kevin talks about what they do at the Western Heritage Center and said, “What we do at the museum is make people feel more at home. We take people, give them the maps of the past to get them to the present.”

Season 2 · Episode 78

The Vault Season 2 Recap, Top Takeaways, Key Themes, and Episode Highlights

Jan 30, 2025 · 34:12

On this vault short our hosts are solo to recap The Vault’s season 2 (Feb. 2024 – Jan. 2025). KaVo & Marce B dive into the key themes they heard from season 2 such as leadership, resources to launch a business, branding, listening to your customers, gratitude, and customer service. They share the episodes where these themes were most prominent, and their top takeaways, insights, expertise, and experiences shared by Vault guests.

On this episode, we also touch on season 3 of The Vault —what’s new, what’s exciting, and the updated episode release schedule!

Season 2 · Episode 77

How to Attract and Retain Talent in Your Community with Patience Fairbrother

Jan 20, 2025 · 57:57

Join us as we sit down with the Senior Vice President of Talent Attraction at Development Counsellors International, Patience Fairbrother to discuss attracting and retaining talent in your communities.

On this episode, Patience dives into why talent moves, what factors matter to talent when looking to move or stay in a place, and what we can do to attract talent. She discusses the work DCI does and shares how to attract the workforce of the future through custom research and targeted marketing campaigns. In this episode we discuss the research DCI does annually around talent through and the report they produce called Talent Wars Report.

She shares case studies and strategies for attracting and retaining talent in your community, offering creative insights into your community’s unique value propositions.

To connect with the DCI click HERE.

Season 2 · Episode 76

Transition from Military Service to Civilian Life with the Veterans Navigation Network

Jan 16, 2025 · 37:08

On this Vault short we sit down with Program Manager, Veterans Navigation Network, Senior Master Sergeant (retired), USAF, County Veteran Service Officer (retired), Mike McManus to talk about the services VNN provides to facilitate a smooth transition for our Nation’s Service Members from military service to civilian life.

In this episode, Mike talks about the network VNN creates to allow Veterans to succeed through job placement, physical and mental health, and linking the other services available by creating a network of support throughout the community. We discuss their peer to peer mentorship programming, the types of events they host and the community partnerships they cultivate.

Connect with the VNN program.