2025 Recipient: Parker Phipps, Yellowstone Ice Foundation/Signal Peak Energy
Our Billings Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence awards honor the incredible individuals and organizations that impact us all.
Our next award celebrates the bold—the boundary-pushers. The Groundbreakers Award is for those who don’t wait for permission to lead; they roll up their sleeves, reimagine what’s possible, and spark lasting change.
A new award for 2025, the Groundbreakers award is awarded to visionary individuals, businesses, projects, or organizations that serve as catalysts for growth and innovation. They challenge the status quo, introduce bold ideas, transformative projects, and groundbreaking solutions.
This year’s recipient has done just that—and then some. When a community center bond failed, he didn’t see an ending. He saw an opportunity. He thought differently, acted decisively, and helped chart a new course for public-private partnership in Billings.
Thanks to his vision, persistence, and drive, the Signal Peak Energy Arena is on track to become a reality in early 2026—a transformational project poised to generate millions in economic impact and provide a vibrant new gathering place for our region.
But here’s the thing: he did all of this while also leading a major energy company, raising four kids, coaching youth hockey, and volunteering on multiple philanthropic boards. All the while, he’s the first to deflect credit, insisting he’s just a coal guy.
Let us set the record straight: this is not just a coal guy. This is a game-changer. A leader who mobilized over $11 million in just five months. A strategic mind who builds trust, commands respect, and earns results—not with flash, but with authenticity, grit, and heart.
His leadership has paved the way for the future of how we think about capital campaigns, collaboration, and community-scale solutions.
It is our honor to present the 2025 Groundbreakers Award to Parker Phipps, of the Yellowstone Ice Foundation and Signal Peak Energy.
Parker Phipps, Yellowstone Ice Foundation/Signal Peak Energy will be honored during the 2025 Billings Chamber of Commerce Annual Business Celebration on September 18, 2025 from 3:30 – to 6 p.m. at the Billings Hotel and Convention Center. Tickets for this event can be purchased at BillingsChamber.com.
