By Paul F. Vang
Tippy Burtch, owner of The Den in Cut Bank was honored as Montana' Retailer of the Year at the annual convention of American Beverage Licensees (ABL) in Las Vegas, Nev., in late February.
The award, sponsored by Brown-Forman, a global company based in Louisville, Ky., and a major distiller and distributor of spirits and wines including brands such as Jack Daniels, honors a retailer from each of ABL' member associations, which includes the Montana Tavern Association (MTA).
Burtch, who was featured in a December 2007 story in the Tavern Times, has owned The Den since 1988, following previous years of experience as a bartender around Montana and neighboring states, before returning to the Hi-Line and buying her own business.
Back home in Cut Bank, Tippy was still pinching herself as a reminder that she had, indeed, won the prestigious award, though she confesses that her friend and colleague and long-time MTA and ABL leader, Darrell Keck of the Dixie Inn in Shelby, had leaked the news of the upcoming award, to make sure that Tippy and her husband, John Horgus, would make the trip to Las Vegas for the ABL convention.
"I wasn't planning on going," Tippy said with a laugh, "but Darrell called and told my husband, "You've got to get her to go.' I called Darrell back and told him that John (who operates a large grain farm in the Sweetgrass area) doesn't have a clue what this is all about."
Tippy reports that she' glad she made the trip and enjoyed the convention. "They had a really good trade show. It took about two days to make the rounds. There were also a lot of other Montana people there, and that made it nice."
The trip to Las Vegas in February was also a pleasant break in the winter routine. "We had good weather, and no wind--though it made walking kind of difficult, at first, without the wind to lean into," she said with a laugh, referring to the usually breezy conditions in the Cut Bank area.
Darrell Keck initiated Tippy' nomination for the Brown-Forman award, and in a phone interview briefly summed up her qualifications for the award. "She' worked all over the state; she' run a great business in Cut Bank for many years and she employs a lot of people. Everybody loves her."
As the December Tavern Times feature detailed, there' more to Tippy' qualifying for the award than just personal popularity, however. Tippy has been working in the hospitality business since the age of 16 when her father, previously a construction worker, bought Bart' Place in the rural community of Kevin, not far from Cut Bank, and put his daughter to work in the business.
During the 20 years Tippy has operated The Den, she has made it a point to continually reinvest in the business. As she told Tavern Times, "It' been paid off five times. Every time we got the debt paid down we went back into debt to finance some major improvement or expansion."
It' an ongoing process as currently she' taking a good look at replacing the flooring. She takes a long view of the business, saying, "I'll probably be here in 10 years, so I need to stay busy, but I want to continue to upgrade the facility."
Tippy gives a lot of credit for her business' success to her staff of eight employees, and in turn she pays competitive wages, and offers benefits such as paid vacations, holidays, sick days, and 401(k) retirement plans, and added that her future plans for her staff included "bigger IRAs and better wages for employees."
In addition to operating her business, Tippy is a long-time board member of the Montana Tavern Association and was elected a Sergeant-at-Arms at the last MTA convention.
Diana Koon, MTA's executive director, endorsed the nomination and is pleased that Tippy won the award.
"I've known Tippy since I started with MTA in 2000. She' kind and generous with her time, and always willing to help with MTA projects. She' been on the board of directors and is now Sergeant-at-Arms," Koon said.
Koon explained that the purpose of the Brown-Forman Retailer of the Year Award is "to recognize and honor members of ABL-affiliated organizations who have been active in service with their associations, plus other community service. We solicit nominations from our membership and MTA' past presidents serve as the selection committee."
Diana praised Tippy' dedication to the Montana Tavern Association. "She has a long way to come for board meetings, but she rarely misses. She' always interested in promoting the industry."
Diana added that Tippy' MTA activities go beyond just personal involvement. "She always brings some of her employees to the MTA conventions so they can see, for themselves, what' going on in our industry world."
She concluded, adding, "She' a very dedicated woman. I like her a lot."
Tippy Burtch has enjoyed her moment in the national limelight, though it' evident that she hasn't let her 15 minutes of fame go to her head. When she got home from Las Vegas, she was pleasantly surprised when the Cut Bank newspaper ran a front page story on the award.
"I commented to the editor that it must have been a slow news week," Tippy laughs. "She replied, "I just wanted to scoop Tavern Times.'"
Source: The Montana Tavern Times, April, 2008, published monthly by Continental Communications, 125 W. Granite St., Suite 102, Butte, MT 59701.