“Beating the Recession by Giving Back”
BigforkWEB builds sites and serves the community

By Elizabeth Harrison
Read the original article from the Flathead Beacon, 06-24-09

BIGFORK – In 2003, Mike Callaghan walked into the Bigfork Chamber of Commerce and set the tone for his start-up Web development company.

Now a thriving business with seven employees and more than 350 clients, BigforkWEB Development owes some of its early success to Callaghan’s dedication to community involvement.

“I think it’s important to give back – this company’s been very fortunate,” he said.

Whether it’s attending local Rotary Club meetings, decorating downtown Bigfork for the holidays or picking up trash along Highway 35, all of BigforkWEB’s employees are involved in the Flathead Valley community outside of work.

“It’s good for people and good for business,” Andrea Goff, vice president of operations and a member of the Rotary Club of Bigfork, said.

After growing up in New England and studying Geographic Information Science at the University of Colorado – Boulder, Callaghan moved to Jackson, Wyo., and started a computer software company. It was in this small town that he developed his business strategy of engaging the local community. He became a member of the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce and also owned a small mountain bike shop.

He later followed the dot-com boom of the 1990s to San Francisco, where he worked as a Web site developer for a financial services company for three years.

When the dot-com bubble burst in the early 2000s, he started looking for places to settle down and start a family. Callaghan said he chose Bigfork for its small-town feel – a decision that has paid off. (more…)