Kelley Brown hired as new Administrative Assistant for Arlee CDC

ARLEE — The Arlee Community Development Corporation is growing, and has hired Kelley Brown to serve as a half-time administrative assistant for the group.
Brown works out of the CDC’s new office located in the Valley Bank on Highway 93, and will be conducting the daily affairs of the organization.
Brown, former secretary of the CDC, stepped down from that position to fill the new roll.
Despite the title change, Brown will still take minutes for the group’s meetings, and have them approved by board members before each next monthly meeting. Brown’s duties include assisting committees, channeling phone calls, responding to emails and other “day to day office duties,” she said.
A big part of her job, Brown said, is “being here so people can have someone to come in and talk to.” This allows her to direct querists to the right person, committee, or group.
Although the office is small, the work is already keeping her hopping.
“It’s just amazing” how busy she is already, Brown said.
“People are interested in the changes in Arlee with the highway going through,” Brown said, so she has been busy contacting the Highway Dept. and Mission Valley Power regarding changes to the roadscape people desire or are seeing already.
Brown previously worked for seven years with the Montana Human Resources Council, working with Section 8 housing.
That position was cut due to budgetary restraints, and Brown, an Arlee resident, looked for work closer to home. “I decided I would find a way to stay employed in my own community,” Brown said.
She accepted a job at the Hangin’ Art Gallery, but doesn’t regret the altered direction of her career.
“The Gallery was one of the best places I ever worked,” she said.
“Working with Denny and Donna was great; they’re wonderful people to work for.”
However, her new position with the CDC allows her “to recapture that feeling of helping people,” she said, as well as utilize her previous skills.
In addition to the office work, Brown plans to take an online course in grant writing to enhance her skills for the group.
“It’s the fruition of what I envisioned,” she said. “I saw this as the beginning of truly being able to serve my community.”
“There’s something special here,” she mused, “something about the Jocko Valley. There’s something magical about this place. It’s not only the landscape, but the people.”
“I always thought Alaska was the best place I ever lived, but it’s Arlee.”
The CDC’s office, housed in the Valley Bank in Arlee, is open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. through 1 p.m. You can contact them by phone at 726-5550, or through the web at www.arleemontana.org/cdc