HomeMy WebLinkAboutMatt JamisonFrom:Matt Jamison
To:Agenda
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Statement of interest for the city commission position
Date:Wednesday, October 11, 2023 5:06:08 PM
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Mayor Andrus,
Please accept this letter as my request to be considered for the current vacant position
on the Bozeman City Commission.
I graduated from Montana State University and have been a resident of Bozeman for 27
years. My wife and I have raised our two daughters in this beautiful town. Our children
are 7th generation Bozemanites and continue the traditions my wife’s family brought to
this valley as homesteaders 136 years ago. My oldest daughter is now a student at
Montana State University and the other is a Junior at Gallatin High School. Having had
the privilege of making Bozeman my home and raising my family is part of the reason I
want to be considered for the commission position, I hope to be a part of it remaining a
special community.
My qualifications for this position come from a wide range of work experience and
community involvement. I spent the first part of my career managing a family-run, locally
owned business. I saw how the city of Bozeman interacted with businesses and the value
in their support of locally owned. I moved into the corporate world, which brings a whole
other set of experience to the table. Communication, conflict resolution, and
understanding corporate regulations and trying to work within those constraints are all
skills that would bring value to this position.
Bozeman is the community I choose as home; I wasn’t born into it. Over the years I have
been a strong supporter of local events, local businesses and non-profits. My family and I
have supported organizations such as Bozeman Three, Family Promise, Fork and
Spoon, Gallatin Valley Food Bank, Heart of the Valley, and more both financially and
through volunteering. We try to frequent the locally owned restaurants and shops,
and rarely miss a community event like Sweet Pea or the Christmas Stroll. It’s a
culmination of these things that make Bozeman a valuable place and my hope is to be a
part of the solution to keep it this way.
At this time in my life, I believe I possess the knowledge, ideas and most importantly the
desire to serve my community. Having experienced the growth in Bozeman the past
several years, I would like to be a part of managing and presenting ideas for the city’s
future development by working with our residents. We are presented with some unique
challenges and I would like to participate in the implementation of Bozeman’s strategic
plan for the future.
Along with my professional skills and passion for the community, I know my life
experience would bring a diverse perspective and open-minded nature to
the commission. I was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, my mother’s family
immigrated to this country from Lebanon and my father was a civil servant for 26 years.
I have witnessed firsthand the struggles of homelessness, financial inequity, and
bias while growing up. Problems that are becoming more evident in Bozeman recently. I
believe that serving on the city commission requires listening to residents, empathy, and
compromise to reach our common goal of creating a better Bozeman today and in the
future.
I would welcome any opportunity to visit with you in person or otherwise and greatly
appreciate your consideration for this unique opportunity to be involved in something
far greater than myself.
Thank you,
Matthew Jamison
1229 Hunters way