EXPECTATIONS

As we put the finishing touches on the opening session for the Class of 2019, I can’t help but think about my own Leadership Montana journey and it’s evolution from Big Sky to Billings…and clearly well beyond graduation.

It has taken years to fully understand the lessons provided to me. I learn every day that what I get out of Leadership Montana mirrors the effort that I put into it. That was true as a class member, a volunteer, and now as President and CEO.

I believe we all have different reasons for saying “YES” to the Leadership Montana invitation. We each have distinct expectations for what that experience will entail and while we share many common outcomes, each individual experience is unique.

Some may say that Leadership Montana “changed my life”, while others may have had a less than momentous adventure. Either way, we recognize that no two experiences are the same.

As Anna and I meet with new class members across the state, we are encouraged by their excitement and enthusiasm for the journey that lies ahead.

As you meet these remarkable folks listed below, we hope that you can feel it, too.

MEET THE CLASS OF 2019

We are excited to announce the selection of 44 community, business, education, healthcare, nonprofit and government leaders from across the state for the Class of 2019. These influential community members make up the 15^th class of this prestigious program. Throughout our competitive process our Selection Committee, made up of alumni across the state, diligently reviewed each application to curate this group out of more than 100 applicants. If you’d like to serve on the Selection Committee, kindly email Chantel.

This year’s class will begin in September 2018 at Big Sky for the Orientation and Retreat and conclude with Graduation in Billings in April 2019. Other program sites this year will include Philipsburg, Butte, Hamilton, Missoula, Helena, White Sulphur Springs, Great Falls, and Glasgow. We hope to see you when we visit your town.

BELGRADE
David Loessberg – Campbells’ Plumbing and Heating

BILLINGS
Jim Beal – CTA Architects
Amy Carter – First Interstate Bank
Chad Hanson – Great West Engineering, Inc.
Ric Heldt – A&E Architects, PC
Dennis Sulser – St. Vincent Healthcare Foundation
Vicki-Lynn Terpstra – PayneWest Insurance
Eric Wood – Billings Clinic
Misty Kuhl – Rocky Mountain College

BOZEMAN
Andi Baldwin – Profitable Ideas Exchange
Jay Fischer – Morrison Maierle
Julie Jackson – U.S. Bank
Carl Nystuen – DA Davidson & Co.
Penelope Pierce – Gallatin Valley Land Trust
Danielle Scharf – Sanderson Stewart
Clark Sherman – Saint James Episcopal Church
Andrea Surratt – City of Bozeman
Bridget Wilkinson – Bozeman Area Community Foundation

BUTTE
Courtney McKee – Headframe Spirits

CONRAD
Kody Farkell – Pondera County
Joan E. Kronebusch – Town Pump Hotel Group

ENNIS
Sunni Heikes-Knapton – Madison Conservation District

GLASGOW
Lisa Koski – Glasgow Area Chamber of Commerce & Agriculture, Inc.

GREAT FALLS
Susan Wolff – Great Falls College MSU

HAMILTON
Owen Robbins – First Interstate Bank

HAVRE
Brad Baldwin – Baldwin Insurance
Jennifer Dees – Northwest Farm Credit Services

HELENA
Craig Aasved – Shodair Children’s Hospital
Hannah Cail – Montana Legal Services Association
Nate Linder – NorthWestern Energy
Christopher Oliveira – Crowley Fleck PLLP
Jan Stoddard – Montana Department of Commerce
Lisa Troyer – PacificSource Health Plans
Mark Meredith – Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana

KALISPELL
Chance Barrett – Rocky Mountain Bank
Chris Clouse – Flathead Valley Community College

LODGE GRASS
Samuel Enemy-Hunter – Enemy-Hunter Designs

MISSOULA
Michael Basile – Montana Rail Link, Inc.
Matthew Mellott – Sterling Commercial Real Estate Advisors
Tung Pham – Submittable

THREE FORKS
Haylee Folkvord – Sacajawea Hotel

VIRGINIA CITY
Sheri Jarvis – Sheri Jarvis Art & Design

WHITEFISH
Diane Conti – BNSF Railway
Jennifer Cloutier – US Forest Service