Kurt Stoehr

About Us:

There were two personal highlights in the past twelve months worth mentioning: First, we made our fourth move in four years. Although we liked so many things about our stay above Peggy's Barn, we are relieved to be back in town and enjoy being only a block from the river. Second, we celebrated our second wedding anniversary. Amazingly, we met 40 years ago this coming summer.
Instead of hiking, biking, canoeing, fishing, camping, or visiting relatives and friends, what
we did this year was work on growing our small businesses. This is our main focus, and where all of our energy goes. We are passionate about working for ourselves, and so excited about the promise of the future.

HamiltonStore and Cocao Pod shared a booth at the Farmer’s Market this year. Kurt is on the Board of Directors for the Market and volunteered to be the information booth and water station. The final evolution of the booth looks
like a gypsy wagon, with all our stuff crammed into a 10 x 10 foot space! Sadly, our Cocao Pod sales were disappointing – the graphs showed a decidedly downward trend. We learned a lot and have plans to change our menu for next year. We will be making S’More kits with our own chocolate bars, handmade marshmallows and graham crackers. We will also be selling sourdough bread, starter house plants, and walking staffs. We are enthusiastically working on developing a S’More kit prototype and eagerly anticipating the focus groups reaction. We do need a name for our marshmallows and welcome submissions for ideas. The winner gets a free bag of hand made marshmallows!

Turtle Gap is in it’s second year of private practice and growing steadily. Kris was awarded a Soroptomist scholarship, which allowed her to travel to the Washington, DC area in July to attend five days of play therapy training. Kris rented a car, drove on the beltway, stayed at a hostel, and rode the Metro – all grand adventures. Turtle Gap was also awarded it’s first contract from Ravalli Head Start. Kris currently has fourteen clients and counting. Unlike Cocao Pod, Turtle Gap’s graph shows a steady upwards trend in revenue. Kris absolutely loves that she gets to play with 2 -11 year olds for a living!

HamiltonStore continues its online consignment business, primarily on eBay – including as usual, vehicles. We have noticed a slight cooling of the online market, reflective of the economic climate in general. In response to this, HamiltonStore has expanded (see enclosed newsletter). In May, Kurt attended Conolle-Morton training, passed the real estate test in June, and joined Greater Montana GMAC Real Estate in July. Kurt is very excited about his new venture and has been working hard to learn a whole new industry.
Kurt plans to publish a quarterly newsletter updating events related to HamiltonStore and it’s two subsidiaries – Cocao Pod and Turtle Gap. We are looking forward to 2008 - wishing you the best of the new year and peace on earth.
Kris & Kurt Stoehr
P.O. Box 58
Hamilton, MT 59840
406-375-5147 home/406-369-0536 cell
kstoehr@bresnan.net
hamiltonstore@hamiltonstore.biz
www.hamiltonstore.biz

A Veteran Owned Co.