Montana Entrepreneur Talks Policy and Pants at White House [YouTube]
Montana Entrepreneur Sarah Calhoun, owner of Red Ants Pants in White Sulphur Springs, recently returned from a small business summit at the White House in Washington, D.C.
Calhoun said she was the only small business owner in Montana to be invited to the summit, presented by the Small Business Majority. She said, even though White Sulphur Springs is considered to be extremely rural, her concerns were similar to those of business owners in much larger cities.
"We're all having workforce challenges, infrastructure challenges and trying to simplify the tax code," Calhoun said. "Plus, we're trying to roll out a new framework on simplifying taxes for the small business owners. I did speak up during a panel on tax reform and said since I choose to keep my manufacturing here in the USA, what can the government do from a tax perspective to keep manufacturing in America rather than moving it to China, and I got lots of applause on that."
When she knew she would be visiting the White House, Calhoun immediately began planning to introduce her line of Red Ants Pants to the nation's First Gardener, the First Lady Michelle Obama. KGVO News asked the delicate question about what size the First Lady would wear.
"We did some research with her staff," she said. "Surprisingly, a lot of that information is available online. A lot of famous people have their measurements online through fashion designers or whatnot. Since we offer both a straight and a curvy cut, we gave her the curvy cut."
It is not known if the First Lady has received the gift from Red Ants Pants, but time will tell if she is spotted in the White House Garden in those signature work pants.
Calhoun said the store is beginning a statewide campaign to advertise the red Ants pants Music Festival, with metal cutouts of red ants in front of iconic Montana scenes.