Michela Morrissey

Michela Morrissey wears several different hats — as the executive director of the Powell Chamber, the Powell Valley Economic Partnership (PEP) and the Powell Visitor Center. But in her first year in the role, Morrissey has put a particular focus on the chamber.

Before hiring Morrissey in December, the board that oversees the trio of interconnected organizations indicated it would be putting more of an emphasis on “membership management and direction.”

“I think the board was seeing an increasingly concerning trend in a drop in [chamber] membership and a heavy focus on economic development that wasn’t really seeming to go anywhere,” Morrissey said in a recent interview, “and so they wanted to try to course-correct to make sure that we were increasing membership or at least retaining a good number of members.”

Since the start of the year, Morrissey has been working to bring more businesses on board and ensure current members are getting good value.

As one example, she and others revamped a monthly networking event that had been held on mornings at the chamber. They’re now holding some of those gatherings in the afternoons and evenings and scheduling some at member businesses. (An event at Moo Juice was one of the biggest hits, Morrissey said, as everyone wanted to learn more about the company.)

The chamber also revamped its website to put a greater emphasis on members and events. The rebuilt site officially launches today (Thursday) during a 5-7 p.m. party at the chamber.

Morrissey pitches prospective members on the opportunities the chamber offers for marketing and networking, but also tells them that “really, what most of your membership dues go to is supporting our community events and making sure that those events are able to remain free for the community at large.”

That includes events like fall’s “Sample the Seasons,” where community members can stroll through Bent Street stores and try various vittles.

The chamber would like to host more large-scale community events, but with Morrissey being the only full-time staffer, she said that’s a challenge.

Economic development

Although members have taken center stage, the Powell chamber/PEP is also continuing its work on economic development.

Just last week, it helped kick off a county-wide effort that Morrissey said is aimed at bolstering local business through outdoor recreation and bringing more people to the area for that recreation.

The Environmental Protection Agency is leading the year-long process through its Recreation Economy for Rural Communities technical assistance program. Thanks to an application put together by PEP, Park County is one of just 25 communities selected to receive the EPA’s assistance in the current round.

Next spring, the federal agency will host a public workshop to gather community input and then put together a plan.

“That plan will then help us go out and secure funding, so we can then actually complete the projects that [are] developed in the plan,” Morrissey explained.

One of the projects that could potentially get a boost is a hoped-for biking/walking path that would run between Powell and Ralston alongside the railroad line.

While PEP has championed the “Rails with Trails,” Morrissey said its future will largely hinge on whether the City of Powell and Park County governments, the private landowners along the route and the general public are interested in moving forward.

“It could come out in this planning process with the EPA that this plan is going to help us actually do the trail,” Morrissey said, “if that’s something the community is pushing for, and that the community wants.”

Similarly, Morrissey said PEP’s push for the development of an industrial park at the Powell Municipal Airport will likely depend on interest from the city and businesses.

Downtown area

Bent Street currently features a number of empty storefronts, and Morrissey called it a difficult challenge in this age of online shopping.

“Those retail shops that I think a lot of people are wanting to see downtown, they’re not as abundant as they were in the past,” she said, adding, “So it’s harder for those businesses to put up a brick-and-mortar storefront.”

However, she thinks Powell can find success with creativity. As just one example, Morrissey suggested multiple businesses could collaborate and set up a kind of co-op — similar to the way that Heartworks offers a shared retail space for local artisans. She mentioned that she’d personally love a pop-up featuring outdoor gear and equipment, wondering aloud if retailers in Cody might want to set up a booth in Powell.

Morrissey said temporary measures can also help downtown, noting how the Homesteader Museum set up a small exhibit in the windows of the former Marquis Award building.

Simple things like that can help pull people in, she said, “and you never know who from out of town will see it and be like, ‘Oh, this is a great space and I have a business that would fit in here.’”

If an entrepreneur wants to start a business or make a move to Powell, Morrissey and the chamber are available to help connect them with resources. To check out the chamber’s updated website, visit powellchamber.org.