Federal Reserve honors Stiffarm for service on board

The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis sent representatives to Havre Thursday to honor a local woman who is leaving the Helana branch of the bank after more than five years of service on its board.

Barb Stiffarm, who has a history of economic development in the area and still serves as executive director at Opportunity Link Inc., is finishing her last year on the Helena branch.

Dorothy Bridges, senior vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank Minneapolis, said that people are only allowed to serve two terms on the boards.

"I want you to know she has faithfully served," Bridges said. " ... I am particularly honored to be able to call her my friend."

She also welcomed Stiffarm's family members who could attend, her husband, Loren "Bum" Stiffarm, her son Pete and his wife Jessica, and her daughter Amy Stiffarm Tall Bull and her 4-year-old daughter, Tahmya.

"Thanks for sharing this with us today and thanks for sharing Barb with us for the last six years," Bridges said.

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Senior Vice President Duane Carter said the information Stiffarm brought from this region about the economy was critical to the Minneapolis bank's monitoring of the economy and what it took back to Washington for the meetings of the Federal Reserve.

"We need more people like Barb to do this all over the country," he said,

When she would come to Minneapolis, she was at meetings where heads of Fortune 500 companies would be telling the bank what they saw and what were their concerns, Carter said.

"And Barb is doing the same thing for north-central Montana," he said.

Stiffarm said her job on the board was to tell the Minneapolis bank what was happening with the economy here. She said that involved many hours talking to business and community leaders to find out their concerns and what was happening - "Talking to many of you here," she told the members of the audience.

She gave a special thanks to the members of the board of directors of Opportunity Link, a poverty-fighting organization that covers 11 counties and three Indian reservations in north-central Montana, for letting her take the time to work on the branch bank board.

"I don't even want to share the apologies I had to make to my staff," she said.

After the ceremony, Stiffarm had organized a Regional Economic Development Forum, with speakers that included University of Montana President Seth Bodnar - to whom she actually gave the microphone during the celebration honoring her - and Bridges of the Federal Reserve Bank Minneapolis, Gov. Steve Bullock and noted economist Michael Shuman as keynote speaker.

The forum then held a discussion by an economic development forum panel featuring Bear Paw Development Corp. Executive Director Paul Tuss, Terry Brockie of Island Mountain Development Group, Anne Boothe of Triangle Communications and Montana State University-Northern Chancellor Greg Kegel.