Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R 2 0 1 9 70 F O R T H E L o v e O F . . . ANOTHER OUTSTANDING MONTANA NONPROFIT. R E D A N T S PA N T S F O U N D AT I O N With the mission to develop and expand leadership roles for women, to preserve and support working family farms and ranches, Calhoun wraps her efforts around enriching and promoting rural com- munities, with the ripple effect reaching across the country from her home base in Montana. e route to the Foundation's $100,000 in grants awarded across rural Montana through 2018 began with Calhoun's move to Montana and her inspiration to cre- ate work pants for women. Springing from a marketing campaign called, "Tour de Pants", the idea for her RAP Music Festival became a reality, with this year's event, held in a now famous cow pasture in White Sulphur Springs each July, now celebrating it's 9th year. e Foundation, funded through private dona- tions and proceeds from the music festival, specifically identifies the values of strong work ethic, self-reliance, women's leadership, the maintenance of traditional work skills, and providing opportunities, "for people with different perspectives to connect, build bridges and discover common ground." Red Ants Pants Work Wear for Women, available on line, and in the small White Sulphur Springs retail store on Main Street, sparked Calhoun's ideas that would germinate and inspire businesses and communities far beyond her small town. Calhoun's attendance at a small business summit at the White House in 2017, afforded her the opportu- nity to network with others at the national level. She summed up three of the biggest challenges: A long-term investment strategy for our rural infrastructure, work- force training and making the tax code less complicated for small businesses. e Red Ants Pants Music Festival, which added nearly 20,000 music lovers to the town's normal popula- tion of 1,000 during last year's four-day event, directs a portion of its proceeds to the Foundation. Several of the eight recipients of the 2018 Red Ants Pants Foundation Community Grants include: Rural high school juniors received travel expenses to attend the American Legion's 70th annual summer Girls' State leadership conference. H ARD, INTENSE WORK! ROCKIN', AMAZING FUN! Simple formula, but one that has worked since 2011 for Sarah Calhoun, her work associates and volunteers, bringing her White Sulphur Springs- based Red Ants Pants Foundation, Music Festival and Work Wear for Women, national and international attention. by MARY ELLEN HENDRICKSON CONTACT INFO: RED ANTS PANTS FOUNDATION 206 East Main Street PO Box 637 White Sulphur Springs, MT 59645 (406) 209-8135 info@redantspantsfoundation.org TONY DEMIN TONY DEMIN Kindness project. Pictured is 2018 grant recipient Quinn Phillips, with his family. DAVE RUMMANS Sarah Calhoun backstage at the Red Ants Pants Festival The Foundation's Timber skills workshop Fashion show

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