Downtown Missoula Partnership Board

Charlie Beaton opened Big Dipper Ice Cream on the Hip Strip in 1995 and has grown the business from a simple wholesale manufacturer into a significant retail outlet, mobile vending operation, and a franchise with additional outlets in Billings and Helena. Big Dipper has garnered national attention in multiple publications and was selected in 2012 as the Best Ice Cream in America by USA Today and Good Morning America. Most recently Big Dipper was selected as the sole ice cream product sold by Xanterra, the management company for both Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks. A native of Helena, Beaton earned a B.S. in Business Administration in 1991 from the University of Montana. He was a financial services agent with Prudential for two years before becoming an entrepreneur. Beaton has also served in leadership roles with the Missoula Food Bank, the Hip Strip Society and the State of Montana Small Business & Downtown Network. Charlie is married to Barbie, and they have two daughters, both students at Hellgate High.

For over 15 years, Libby worked in academia, giving her extensive experience in creating engaging professional development, program development and management, public speaking training, personnel supervision and evaluation, branding and promoting new programs, event organization, solution orientated problem solving and building efficient and effective teams. As a senior consultant with Cascadia Business Development, she reviews, designs and facilitates change management initiatives to create lean, conscious growth through operational and team excellence.  Building organizational capacity helps businesses take the right actions, at the right time for the right reasons. In addition to her commitment to organizational capacity development and design, as well as professional development training, Libby actively volunteers for numerous local non-profit organizations, including the Missoula Downtown Foundation, and is also a member of Leadership Missoula 34.

A native of Billings, Mont., Ashley Larkin started working at First Montana Bank in 2011 and is currently AVP Commercial Loan Officer. She earned a B.S. in Business Finance from the University of Montana and more recently completed the Pacific Coast Banking School program.

Larkin joined the board in 2018 and served as board president in 2021 and has served as a volunteer for Downtown event and committees for several years.  In addition to the MDA, Larkin serves on the Jadyn Fred Foundation and Missoula Chamber Red Coats.

Christine Littig joined the Missoula Downtown Foundation board of directors in April 2018 and served as its chair in 2022.  But her commitment to downtown Missoula began in 1993 when in 1997 she served as president of the Missoula Downtown Association. Littig has a history of successful business ownership having spent 25 years working in the food service industry as a manager, chef-owner, and owner of Missoulaʼs Old Post Pub, RedBird, and Berniceʼs Bakery respectively.  Currently, Littig is the Business Development Director at the Missoula Economic Partnership; a position working in partnership with Missoula’s Business Improvement District to continue outreach, innovation, and resource for businesses in Missoula County seeking new opportunities while evaluating what works and what doesn’t.