Tag Archives: Small Towns

Small Town Stories: Hazelton, ND

By Black Mountain Software | Published January 21, 2013

Black Mountain Software recently hit an enormous milestone: signing our 500th customer.  But hold on!  Before we write about that, we want to share our happiness about customer number 499, Hazelton, North Dakota. After working with municipal officials since 2009, BMS is excited to equip Hazelton with the whole nine yards: Utility Billing software Finance software, Payroll software, and our Automated Meter Reading interface module.

You may have heard about the town of Hazelton, ND, which in 2005 offered families up to two lots, $20,000 towards a home, and lots of elbow room to anyone willing to give the cold winters a try and make Hazelton home. Read more >

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Chronicles of a Montana County Road Warrior in Libby, MT (Guest Blog)

By Black Mountain Software | Published January 17, 2013

by: David Morton, Customer Solutions Coordinator and Guest Blogger for the BMS County Traveling Road Show Series

These are the chronicles of one David Morton, road warrior on a mission to solve client problems for Black Mountain’s Governmental Accounting Software.  What you are about to read is real.

December 13, 2012 -Libby, MT

Well its Sunday, three days after my day two ended (WARNING: Day 2 material just isn’t as fresh as Day 1 and may contain unintended embellishments). But let’s go back…back into the murky world of memory…. Like in the movie Ground Hog’s Day with Ben Affleck….oh wait I mean Bill Murray…nonetheless, my eyes snapped open to the same alarm. Read more >

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Small Town Stories: Scobey, MT

By Black Mountain Software | Published November 14, 2012

Which town in Montana has a courthouse that used to be a brothel, people as its second-largest export, and 35 renovated historic buildings which now host amenities such as a trapshooting range and a hydrotherapy pool?  It’s Scobey, Montana, and this town has a whole lot of character jam-packed into its tiny one-square mile footprint.

Scobey may be a small town, but there’s no lack of personality in this community.  In fact, the many restored buildings have been much of the buzz around town for years, possibly beginning as far back as 1915 when what is now the Daniels County Courthouse was home to One-Eyed Molly’s, a “house of ill repute.”

Beyond the courthouse, Scobey is home to a newly expanded school complex, a newly renovated hospital and nursing home, a full service airport, a 9-hole golf course and clubhouse, municipal pools, ball parks, a movie theater, two grocery stores, and several other industrial and professional service buildings. Read more >

Posted in City Clerk Cafe, Small Cities | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

How Post Office Closures Affect Small Towns

By Black Mountain Software | Published November 7, 2012

English: The United States Postal Service Cont...

Back in June, we featured an article about the town of Pray, Montana, which was for sale for $1.2 million.  What made Pray so special?  Well, despite having only 10 residents, Pray has its own zip code, and its own post office.

In a time where digital documents are replacing paperwork, and email is replacing “snail mail,” small town post offices are less commonly “open for business.”  In fact, the Internet, is more or less, “killing the post office.”

But, as many towns are finding out, the Internet can’t replace every aspect of mail service, and small, poor towns, stand to lose the most with a post office closure.  Read more >

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Small Town Stories: Belleair, Florida

By Black Mountain Software | Published September 10, 2012

A Treasurer, who is a client of ours in Belleair, Florida, inspired this month’s small town story. After taking a look at Belleair and finding out more about its colorful history, we couldn’t help but make it into a small town story piece!

All that Belleair has to offer—yachting, horseback riding, golfing, tennis, and skeet shooting—was the exact reason why Henry B. Plant built a majestic hotel there in 1897. But it was the national craze for bicycling that really put Belleair (and the Belleview Hotel) on the map. Belleair became a cycling mecca during the Turn of the Century, hosting a six-day bicycle race and other national (and international) cycling events. Read more >

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Pray, Montana: Yours Today for Only $1.2 Million

By Black Mountain Software | Published June 20, 2012

What can $1.2 million get you these days?  Well, it could buy you 40,000 shares of Facebook stock, an apartment in NYC, or, if you live in Montana, an entire town!  That’s right, the entire town–post office, 10 residents, and zip code included–of Pray, Montana.

Barbara Walker, town owner, mayor, dog catcher, and maintenance woman, is auctioning the town of Pray off to the highest bidder June 27th. We chose to feature this property because it represents what small towns are about–a few acres, a handful of close-knit residents, no “big box” stores or “upscale” establishments, and a small rural post office which is vitally important to the town’s existence and connection to the world.  Read more >

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Small Town Stories: Grenora, ND

By Black Mountain Software | Published June 4, 2012

Black Mountain Software loves “Small Towns,” and so we decided to start a series, “Small Town Stories,” inspired by the small towns and cities that motivated BMS to create software made with BIG features for SMALL cities.

This month’s Small Town Story was inspired by a new client of ours from Grenora, North Dakota.  Grenora is located in the upper Northwestern corner of North Dakota, 30 miles from the Canadian border.  A quick search of Grenora on Wikipedia unveiled its specialness, and we couldn’t help but consider it for our feature.

What makes Grenora so special? Well, its small town charm is something to talk about.  Read more >

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Black Mountain Software Video Series Highlighted in The Missoulian

By Black Mountain Software | Published May 21, 2012

Black Mountain Software is so excited to have been recently featured in the Montana newspaper, The Missoulian.  The Missoulian is the third-largest city newspaper in Montana, just behind the Billings Gazette and the Great Falls Tribune. We appreciate that this large newspaper would include stories from outlying towns such as Polson, which is 90 minutes north of Missoula, where the BMS Accounting Office is located.

The article discussed the making of the Small Town Stories Video Series, in which Black Mountain Software features exaggerated versions of the people and situations that City Clerks handle with grace each day; but not without mention of how Black Mountain Software gives these clerks the tools to accomplish an amazing variety of tasks with confidence and ease. Read more >

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Two men, some software, and a love for Montana: The story of BMS.

By Black Mountain Software | Published May 8, 2012

When you think about Black Mountain Software, a few things may come to mind: The actual “Black Mountain” which is located just above Colorado Gulch near Helena, Montana; the small cities and towns that make up the community of BMS customers; or perhaps you think of the customized software solutions that fit the landscape of your job so well.  Each one of these associations plays a part in the BMS story, where location, community, and technology converge to provide “bigger city” solutions for small municipalities.

The story of BMS, as told by BMS President Wayne Carriere, goes something like this:

Wayne knows small towns. Read more >

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Behind The Scenes: Black Mountain Software’s Tea Campaign

By Black Mountain Software | Published April 20, 2012

by: Darlis Smith, BMS Marketing Manager

Black Mountain Software has a long history of giving away nice little gifts through direct mail marketing campaigns and at municipal and school conferences. For example:

  • 2011 iTunes-type gift card for a free downloadable song
  • 2010 Tin of refreshing mints
  • 2009 (Spring) Black Mountain Software cookies
  • 2009 (Autumn) Black Mountain Gourmet Blend coffee
  • 2008 Black Mountain microwave popcorn

Pretty cool stuff! But being new to the company and knowing how expensive direct mail campaigns are, I hesitated last fall before jumping right into plans for another giveaway.  A chat with our Sales team didn’t reveal a lot of solid compelling sales data from past campaigns, but what it did reveal is a strong feeling that the gift items have helped boost our brand recognition and BMS’ positioning as a friendly, service-oriented company that really cares about our customers.  Read more >

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