By The dance floor was packed all night long.
On Thursday, April 3, Brent Northup’s Intro to Public Relations II class hosted a swing dance at The Union to raise money for Wild Montana.
This class is offered every other year, and students work with a non-profit organization to help them raise awareness and raise money.
This year, Wild Montana was chosen by the students because of the organization’s love for the outdoors and the nonprofit’s need for increased awareness. Wild Montana is a nonprofit that creates and grows a conservation movement around a shared love of wild public lands and waters.
The Union, a new restaurant in downtown Helena owned by Cole Mannix, was very generous in allowing the Carroll class to host this event, which required the restaurant to offer shorter dining hours on the night of the dance. The swing dance ran from 8-10 p.m. and provided complimentary gluten-free chocolate cheesecake dessert and live music from Cole Mannix’s Copper Queen Band.
Wild Montana handed out stickers with QR codes on the back and had pamphlets for anyone interested in Wild Montana and its mission.
“This event was an incredible opportunity for Carroll students and the community to come together,” said Munguia. “It was inspiring to see The Union and Wild Montana collaborate to make it happen. Copper Queen’s live music set the perfect vibe, and watching everyone dance and genuinely enjoy themselves made the night unforgettable.”
The Union is a fairly new restaurant, so they were excited about this opportunity. They have grown in popularity quickly, but are still trying to reach a bigger audience, so this event was beneficial to Wild Montana and The Union.
By the end of the event, $550 had been raised for Wild Montana and 110 tickets sold to the swing dance. Dancers started twirling the moment the music started, and kept moving for almost three hours.
The Union, Wild Montana, and the students were all proud of the outcome which had far exceeded their goals.
Class Notes: There are only six students in this PR class, and this project would not have been possible without the contributions of every student.
These students included Landon Humphrey, a junior communications major from Fresno, California; Emilie Munguia, a business management and marketing student from Yakima, Washington; Annika McCulloch, a business management and marketing student from Logan, Utah; Devon Baney, a junior business management and marketing student from Conrad, Montana; Sarah Harper, a sophomore business management and marketing student from Castle Rock, Colorado, and Chloe Raats, a junior business management and marketing student from Bigfork, Montana.
