Schweitzer promotes the Big Sky in the Big Apple

Gov. Brian Schweitzer cruised the streets of New York City in a semi-truck last week promoting Montana as a vacation destination.

In a 48-foot delivery truck wrapped in scenic Montana photos, Schweitzer drove through downtown yelling out the passenger window, “Come visit us in Montana. We’re open all year.”

He helped hand out Montana beef and bison jerky, huckleberry jam and mountain goat stuffed animals while visiting with crowds in Times Square.

The governor was working with the Montana Office of Tourism to promote a new direct flight between Newark, N.J., and Bozeman. The flight will be offered June 9 through Sept. 1. 

The Office of Tourism has had successful marketing campaigns in other cities with direct flights to Montana, including Chicago, Minneapolis and Seattle. The direct flight from Newark presents a new market to tap.

Dozens of delivery trucks wrapped in Montana photos will travel through the New York metro area as part of the campaign. Five trucks will be in the broader New England area of New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.

While in the Big Apple, Schweitzer made an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman. He talked about growing up in Montana and politics, and he hyped the state as a tourism destination.

“We actually have wilderness,” Schweitzer told Letterman. “Places where we haven’t built roads, where it hasn’t changed since God put his hand out and created it.”

Letterman, who has a ranch near Choteau, closed the interview by asking Schweitzer what he plans to do after his term ends this year.

“I think I’m going to go fishing in the morning, drink whiskey in the afternoon, and if somebody calls me with a problem, I’m going to give them a phone number of somebody who cares,” the governor joked.

Schweitzer was born in Havre and went to college at Montana State University-Bozeman. He and his family moved to Whitefish in 1986 and lived off KM Ranch Road near the Stillwater River.