Thanks for another great year of reuse, Missoula.
Here’s our top ten highlights from 2018…
Surviving Russell Street Construction
Zero Waste Plan Adopted
Best Green Business
Record # of YIPers, Work Programs, & Volunteers
Awards!
New Positions & New Hires
Heat in the Door Room!
Moving MCPS toward Zero Waste
Operational Improvements
SponCon & the Auction: Spectacular thanks to you!
We survived the Russell Street Construction…for now. Although there is more to come (the bridge, Wyoming St. signal, and Milwaukee Trail underpass!), we take joy in the fact that the incessant pounding is only a fading memory and that the community can easily access Home ReSource again.
We wrote a Zero Waste Plan that was unanimously adopted by City Council. From partnering with the City on the planning process, to drafting, to writing, to layout & design, to presenting the final plan to the Parks & Conservation Committee, Home ReSource provided knowledge and expertise every step of the way up. Check out the coverage in Missoula Current, Missoulian, & KGVO.
We were voted Best Green Business for a 4th (and final) year in a row in the Missoula Independent Reader’s Poll. We enjoyed working with the Indy over the years and lament the loss of their voice in the local media.
We had record numbers of youth interns, Work Programs participants, and volunteers. 10 youth interns, 20 Work Programs participants, and more than 200 volunteers made it our biggest year yet.
We won an award for ZWAP! and (by affiliation) for the Summer Smart shade shelter. The Montana Environmental Educators Association (MEEA) presented Home ReSource with a Business Award for ZWAP! “in appreciation of [our] work and support of the field of Environmental Education in the state of Montana.” And the U.S. Green Building Council presented MMW Architects, our friends and collaborators on the Climate Smart Public Shade Shelter project, a 2018 Mountain West Leadership Award for Most Successful Community Engagement in the Public category.
We created four new positions and promoted and hired excellent folks to fill them. We promoted Andy to Yard Coordinator and Simon to Operations Director. We hired Matt as Operations Development Manager and Tylyn as Development Coordinator. All of which means we are doing more things more better. Of course, the position of Food Scraps Manager will never be filled quite like it was when Porter was among us. We still miss you, good buddy.
We installed a natural gas heater in the Door Room, the final frontier in our quest for complete indoor climate control. The heater itself was reused and it is an important improvement for the comfort for our staff and customers.
We wrote a Zero Waste Plan with Missoula County Public Schools. After stewarding a Zero Waste planning process involving students, teachers, operations staff, administrators, and members of the Board of Trustees, we presented the top recommendations to the Board in June where it was embraced and met with questions about how to get started. We hope that in the very near future MCPS cafeterias will have fewer garbage cans and more recycling options as Zero Waste systems are put in place. ating in the ZERO by FIFTY Zero Waste plan wrapping up, we set our sights on the next big target: MCPS. Under the leadership of Superintendent Mark Thane, more fifth graders will get ZWAP!ed through our Zero Waste Ambassadors Program and we will facilitate the development of a Zero Waste plan for the entire school district all of which will be supported by the incredible Katie Anderson, our shared Energy Corps service member.
We made a multitude of operational improvements. From customer-facing to behind-the-scenes, we continued working toward improved shopability and improved efficiency.
And YOU helped make our events the best ever. SponCon teams raised the bar again and our community of support has increased our funds raised at our annual Banquet & Benefit Auction 600 percent over the last 4 years. And due to the support of our generous sponsors, every penny we raised this year went to support our Community Sustainability Programs. (SponCon photo by volunteer extraordinaire Hans Hoffman)
Thanks again, Missoula. You made all this possible.
Here’s to another great year ahead!
