Bozeman News

Obama in Montana

Presidential Visit Makes Big Sky Proud

By Jonathan Weber , 8-16-09

President Obama with Barb Starz, Dax Schieffer and Brian Stumpf of Big Sky Resort. Photo courtesy of Big Sky Resort.

When the news broke a couple of weeks ago that President Obama would visit Bozeman for a town hall meeting and then travel with his family to Yellowstone Park, there was a frenzy of rumor about where, exactly, the First Family would go and where they would stay. Some reports had him fishing at the Sun Ranch and staying at the elite Yellowstone Club. Others suggested they’d overnight in the Park.

In the end, though, the Presidential entourage ended up at the Summit Hotel at Big Sky Resort, a modern, 10-story hotel at the base of Lone Mountain that’s high-end but casual. Michelle and Sasha and Malia went whitewater rafting on the Gallatin River Friday afternoon while the President went fly fishing, and they then had a quiet dinner at the hotel and toasted some marshmallows over a bonfire. The next morning they left by car for Yellowstone - all in all, an itinerary not too different from what any upper-middle-class family might have done with one day of vacation in Southwest Montana.

For the staff of Big Sky Resort, though, and for public safety and law enforcement agencies and various lucky merchants in Big Sky, Friday and Saturday were about as far from routine as could be. Taylor Middleton, general manager of Big Sky Resort, recounted in an interview Sunday that the experience was both exhilarating and a bit surreal.

“The Resort was contacted about three weeks ago, and we were sworn to secrecy - they didn’t even tell me until about a week later,” Middleton said. The information flow was deliberately limited, for security reasons, and Middleton said at times they they knew “just enough to freak us out, but not enough that we could know exactly what to do.”

What kind of food should they prepare, and for how many people? How many rooms would be needed? Would they be coming by car, or helicopter? And when, exactly?

“We ultimately had 400 rooms reserved,” said Middleton, noting that there were various entities within the Presidential entourage - security, press, admin staff, culinary staff - and their arrangements were “somewhat coordinated and somewhat uncoordinated.”

In the run-up to the President’s stay, there were various “red herrings” that appeared to be part of the plan to keep everything secret, Middleton said. In the end, Michelle and Malia and Sasha arrived at about 2:30 Friday afternoon and, undeterred by thunderstorms, immediately turned around and headed off for the rafting trip, with Geyser Whitewater. The President, after a few hours of fly fishing (the location of which still has not been fully confirmed) arrived at about 7:00. Middleton said the motorcade pulled into the garage, and the President made eye contact with him, got out of the car and, well-briefed, said: “You must be Taylor” and then greeted the hotel’s senior staff.

The other guests at the Summit Hotel, including a wedding party and participants in an oncology conference, were allowed to stay, though there was apparently no casual mingling with the President. The First Family ate in their room, though hotel kitchen was offered the honor of preparing the meal.

Middleton said the President, his family and the giant entourage “were the most gracious and kind and respectful a group as I have ever seen. We deal with groups all the time, that’s what we do, and they were so gracious.” The President, he said, made a point of asking “has my staff been behaving themselves?”

The visit was an economic stimulus package all its own for the Gallatin Valley, though Middleton did say the White House had “negotiated a hard bargain” on the hotel rates. Restaurants in Bozeman were reportedly especially busy for several days, and everyone from aircraft fuel suppliers to local law enforcement agencies got a whole lot of extra business.

Middleton was clearly thrilled with the whole experience, and was effusive in his praise of the staff and the exceptional job everyone had done over what promises to be a long-remembered couple of days. “To see the whole community come together and honor the presidency and the unique history...everybody is going to be part of that history.”

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