Greg Gianforte

Montana Democrats re-elected their party leadership and heard pep talks about the coming election at their party convention over the weekend in Bozeman. 

Not everybody's summer road trip around Montana generates headlines at every stop, but Greg Gianforte's does, and Gianforte is not just anybody. He's been meeting with local chambers of commerce, like a group of about 10 people at the Sport Club restaurant in Shelby recently.

Bozeman technology entrepreneur Greg Gianforte is asking Montanans who live out of state to come home, and to bring their high paying jobs with them.

He launched what he’s calling his “Bring our Families Back tour,” Monday visiting economic development agencies in northwest Montana to promote telecommuting as a way to drive up Montana’s average income and improve the economy.

As many as 1,000 students in Montana’s two-year colleges could find their path to a career just got a little bit smoother, thanks to Greg Gianforte, who made a fortune in Montana and is putting some of that money back into the community.

“Montana needs more high wage jobs. And one of the things we’ve learned is that manufacturing creates high wage jobs. Yet, not everybody in Montana that’s seeking work has the skills to get these jobs," says Gianforte.

Greg and Susan Gianforte started a hi-tech business in a spare bedroom of their home in Bozeman. Fourteen years later, they sold RightNow Technologies, Inc. to Oracle for $1.5 billion.

Backlash is growing at Montana Tech in Butte over the choice of the school’s commencement speakers this Spring.

Opponents say Right Now Technologies founders Greg and Susan Gianforte promote extreme religious viewpoints and discriminate against homosexuals. A small group of students and faculty are considering a boycott of the ceremony in mid-May.

Tech is standing by the choice, citing the Gianfortes’ business success and emphasis on getting young people involved with computer science.