Moving Bigfork forward

David Feffer credits the idea of the Crown of the Continent Guitar Foundation to too much bourbon on a Sunday night.

But turning the big idea into a successful reality in just four years took more than a few drinks and a conversation. It took a clear vision, attention to detail and a refusal to fail.

“It’s not wanting to succeed, it’s not allowing failure that gets you success,” he said.

This is a method Feffer thinks can be applied to building Bigfork for the future.

On May 7 community members gathered at the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts and opened a dialog about the future of Bigfork. Feffer was key presenter at the meeting, and with the success of the Crown of the Continent Guitar Foundation he has shown he knows how to take an idea and grow it into a reality.

More than just creating a great event, Feffer wanted to build something that would benefit the local economy.

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the Crown of the Continent Guitar Foundation. Feffer said that in the first four years of the event they’ve given away a $250,000 in scholarships. And it’s estimated the event, which draws musicians from all over the world, has brought $4.5 million to the local economy. Feffer wants to do everything he can for community, which is why he’s interested in organizing for the future.

After hatching the idea for the Crown of the Continent Guitar Foundation Feffer spent the next several months assessing the idea to see if it was realistic. Then he assembled a team and set to work.

They set out with the idea of making Bigfork a world-class center for the guitar instruction, and intended to create a highly regarded event.

“Everything we did was shooting toward that,” he said.

He brought on a board of people who were passionate and skilled — people with entrepreneurial backgrounds who were willing to go above and beyond.

His goal the first year of the festival was to make sure that everyone who attended had a “10 plus experience.”

The key for success, he said, is to decide what you want to achieve, then to block and tackle. He said that’s something people forget: the need to narrow the focus and take on a project piece by piece.

He thinks that’s something to keep in mind, as Bigfork moves forward with its plans for the future. Feffer said you start out with something manageable and do it well. Perhaps that first thing could be hiring a staff to work with volunteers, to build on everything that Bigfork already has to offer, Feffer suggested.

“Everywhere you turn there are special people and special things to do,” he said. He said Bigfork has an incredible amount of resources and amazing volunteers. But he thinks without someone who can dedicate all of their time to improvement efforts, the Organizing Bigfork for the Future initiative that’s begging to gain steam, will fail.

For two and a half years Feffer worked every day, putting in 12 to 16 hours to get the Crown of the Continent Guitar Foundation built and established. 

“This is organizing for our future, not next year,” he said. “The future will happen with or without us doing something.”

Feffer thinks building on existing strengths is often the best approach. He built the guitar festival around the natural beauty of the area and the friendliness of the community. “It’s always easier to build on something than create something from scratch,” he said.

Expanding on already existing events and assets could be an easy win. For example, he cited the Fourth of July parade and asked, what could Bigfork do to get people to stay for the whole day? There is already Bigfork Elves and the Nutcracker, could you put those together and sell Bigfork at Christmas time? He notes that reorganizing one project might only benefit one part of the community, but that’s okay. It’s little successes that will keep people energized about progress.

“There is some energy now,” he said. “How do we capture that energy?”

He also noted the efforts of Kalispell and Whitefish and the growth those towns have seen. Feffer feels for the last few years Bigfork has sat idly by and just let things happen. He fears what might happen if Bigfork doesn’t do something while Whitefish and Kalispell are thriving. 

He said people don’t just come to Bigfork. They come to the whole valley, and Bigfork, Feffer said, should “be part of all ships rising in the Flathead.” He noted that  through the Spartan Race and the Dragon Boat races Kalispell is bringing thousands of people to Bigfork’s doorstep. He asks “How do we capture that?”

Collaboration is another component Feffer stresses for success. Last year the Guitar Foundation began working with the Glacier Symphony and Chorale by having the organization co-sponsor the event. This year, they’ll join in a performance.

Feffer and his wife, Judy, moved to Bigfork nine years ago, but knew it was somewhere they wanted to be since visiting in 1978 for the Fourth of July.  Originally from Washington, D.C., he moved to Missoula in the 1970s to work as the director of county health. It was there, in 1983 he co-founded Health Incentives, the first nurse support company. In 1993 he joined Aetna Health Plans to found Informed Health and in 1997 he joined Health Dialog.

When he moved to Bigfork he had been living in Key West, but after a little while decided they wanted to live in Bigfork full time. Last year Feffer and Judy completed their dream home along the Swan River. “Bigfork is very special,” he said.