Smitham Will Lead Economic Group

Jim Smitham has been selected as the executive director of the Bonner County Economic Development Corp.

Smitham spent the last 12 years as an economic development specialist for the Montana Power Co. He is originally from Butte.

“Jim comes to (us) with vast experience in the field of economic development,” Curt Hecker, co-vice chairman of the corporation, said in a statement. “As a lifelong resident of the Northwest, he is also familiar with the business opportunities and quality of life available here in North Idaho.”

The agency was formed this spring, when 15 firms pledged $8,000 each for five years to fund an economic development effort.

The goal is to diversify the area’s timber and tourism economy through the recruitment and retention of small- to medium-sized companies.

Population has grown much faster than the job base in Bonner County. Unemployment hovers around 8 percent, peaking in spring after the ski season ends, and muddy conditions keep loggers out of the woods.

The county has been without an organized job recruitment effort since Sandpoint Unlimited disbanded about three years ago.