By Paul F. Vang
Tanya Harper, owner of the Pioneer Bar and TNT Casino in Cut Bank is this year’s Brown-Forman Retailer of the Year for Montana.
The award was presented to Harper March 3 at the annual convention of American Beverage Licensees (ABL) in Las Vegas. The awards are presented annually to recognize and honor dedicated members of ABL’s state and regional affiliates. ABL is the Montana Tavern Association's national affiliate orgaqnization.
The award, sponsored by Brown-Forman, a global company based in Louisville, Ky., and a major distiller and distributor of spirits and wines, honors a retailer from each of ABL’s member associations, which includes the Montana Tavern Association.
Ralph Aguera, Brown-Forman Vice President for Trade Relations, announced the winners, presented them with plaques and thanked them for their contributions to the beverage alcohol industry.
Another Cut Bank woman, Tippy Burtch, was Montana’s 2008 Brown-Forman Retailer of the Year. So the question comes up, how did it happen that Cut Bank women bar owners won the award two years in a row? Is it the water?
“I guess we’re both smart business women,” is Harper’s reaction, though she adds that she, like Ms. Burtch, has been active in her local county association as well as with the Montana Tavern Association.
In addition, Harper had recently completed a major business expansion, building a new facility, replacing a century-old building, one of Cut Bank’s original buildings that housed many businesses over the years, including an automotive dealership, general store, meat market, post office and billiards room. Harper, and her business expansion, were previously featured in a
Montana Tavern Times story in December 2006.
Harper was able to go to Las Vegas to receive her award in person and said of the trip, “It was a blast. I had been planning to go, even before I learned I was to get the award, and to take along my head bartender, Nisha Swenson, as well. So, it was great when I learned I was also going to get the award.
“We had a good time, and we learned a lot,” she concludes, adding that one particularly intriguing thing she picked up at the trade show is a new product: an electric cigaret that doesn’t produce second-hand smoke.
MTA past presidents are the nominating committee for the Brown-Forman award, with Darrell Keck serving as chairman of the committee. The nomination for the award cited Harper’s 10 years of MTA membership, including service on MTA’s executive board, Legislative and Gambling Committee, Research and Education Committee, and Chair of the Public Relations Committee.
Harper is also active in community affairs, and is a past director of the Cut Bank Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the “Lewis & Clark Committee,” a local group that plans community events.