PRIME Awards 2021 (September)

PRIME AWARDS 2021 / 1

Sixth Annual

A SPECIAL PUBLICATION OF THE BOZEMAN DAILY CHRONICLE

SEPTEMBER

2021

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PRIME AWARDS 2021 / 3

Honoring Those Who Make a Difference The Chronicle’s 24 Over 64 Prime Awards honor those who have made a difference to our community and/or their profession. Each honoree has been nominated by others.

All are inspirations. Enjoy their stories.

All honoree Profiles written by Nora Shelly & Melissa Loveridge Photography by Rachel Leathe.

Improving with Age by Lois Stephens Ed Barry Connie Campbell-Pearson Jim Dolan Norman Dreyer Jim Drummond Old Guy Plumbing by Jim Drummond Norm Eggert Marjorie Fehrer Dr. James Feist Trish Garnick Don Heyden Carla Hill Barbara Keremedjiev Beth Ann Kennedy Tom Klein Susie Larson Ed Lewis H. Wayne Roberts Nancy Rosen Jane Arntzen Schumacher Jan Strout Myles Watts Deb and Rick Wheaton Linda Williams Jim Woodley Dr. Ralph Zimmer Bozeman Senior Center Recreation Meal Service in Senior Centers

4 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 33 34

W E L C O M E TO THE

6 ANNUAL AWARDS GALA TH

AT THE

HILTON GARDEN INN MONDAY, AUGUST 30, 2021

EVENT PROGRAM 5:30PM ........................................ No-Host Cocktail Reception & Gala Entertainment 6:00PM ..................................................................... Dinner, Dessert and Coffee 7:00PM ........................................................................... Presentation of Awards

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4 / PRIME AWARDS 2021

Improving with Age

By Lois Stephens

S

ometimes, after watching some feat of daredevil antic performed by a youngster with more muscles than brains, we older folks fall into the trap of believing that as we age, we no longer excel at anything. We aren’t as strong, we can’t climb as high or as fast, and it often takes us somewhat longer to accomplish tasks now than it did in our younger years. Too many abilities diminish as the years stack up. The list of lessening aptitudes seems to increase on a weekly basis.

Let’s start with balance and my heightened ability to lose it for no apparent reason. I do not have the same center of gravity that I once possessed, so there goes my career as a gymnast. I have perfected the art of falling and/or losing my balance for no obvious reason. I have no problems tripping over twigs, small stones, a blade of grass, or a stairstep. The thought of trying a cartwheel, an activity I performed easily as a youth, leaves me with cold chills and the urge for a nice stiff drink.

Fear not, however. I have discovered that certainly there are activities that I perform a lot more slowly now than I did decades ago, but I am not faltering in all areas as I age. I can think of several circumstances that the older I get, the more my talents improve in those particular situations.

On reflection, I never did have the greatest balance in the world.

Even in high school, a balance beam in gymnastics might just as well have been a tightrope strung between two tall skyscrapers. The beam represented an impossible task when I was ten, never mind the difficulties it would present

today at 70+. I never could close my eyes, touch my finger to my nose, and stand on one foot for longer than a nanosecond. Who needs these skills anyway, unless of course your dream was to become a trapeze artist working alongside the Flying Wallendas.

Fortunately, I had other interests that did not include dangling from a trapeze or balancing on a tightrope..

I can still ride a bike, sled down a hill, and walk around the mountainside without falling, so that is what matters to me. Unless of course there happens to be ice lurking underfoot, or a recalcitrant twig insists on lying directly in my path, then all bets are off. These small little issues simply help me perfect my talent for losing my balance or toppling over.

Factors that affect balance include eyesight, which brings me

to another skill I am perfecting: the art of not seeing very well.

I feel confident I can blame my exquisite non-balancing skills partly on eyesight. I had hoped a new eye prescription would enable me to lose some of my talent for tumbling and taking missteps, but it has not. I need strong prisms to align both eyes so that I don’t see double all the time, and those prisms I think affect the way I perceive the environment around me, and also contribute to the balance issue. My ability to see what is directly in front of me works OK, but peripheral vision and judging distance to the ground can cause many unwanted difficulties.

I generally look at the ground in front of me as I walk to prevent mishaps with small pebbles, ruts in the road, a large leaf, or some other innocent-looking obstacle

Turning 65 soon?

PRIME AWARDS 2021 / 5

I am perfecting another ability as I age. I believe many people call it selective deafness. I am becoming an expert at tuning out conversations that do not interest me. When I’ve heard the same story multiple times, my head can nod every so often, the smile stays on my face, I can add a ‘really’ or an ‘uh-huh’ at appropriate intervals, while my mind is elsewhere. The occasional nod of the head generally satisfies the speaker, and we all are happy. The speaker satisfies his urge to tell me the same story a thousand times in one evening, and I satisfy my own need to plan out the following day or wrestle with a gnawing problem.

Other areas where I continue to improve with age would have to include changing my hair color. It continues to turn an unwanted white without the use of harsh chemicals. It turns whiter on its own with absolutely no effort on my part. My chin sags, the skin on my arms gets looser, my ankles pop, my knees grind, and all these marvels occur on their own. I think the saggy skin on my arms would make a gorgeous alligator purse. Let’s see a youngster top that!

So, when you feel old and defeated, remember there are

areas and abilities where older people definitely improve with age. We all truly do have our own distinctive talents and gifts, not necessarily connected with our changing bodies. Youngsters may outshine us in some ways, but we have our own unique skills available to us that it will take youth years to attain.

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Lois Stephens brings personal experience of the aging process to Prime Magazine.

She enjoys writing about her observations of becoming a member of the senior citizen age group. She lives and works in Virginia City.

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6 / PRIME AWARDS 2021

Ed Barry A

fair amount of hurdles were placed in Ed Barry’s way during his life.

Rather than regard them with negativity, Barry instead chooses to pay it forward.

“I had a lot of challenges in my life,” said Barry, 71.

“Fortunately people showed up in my life to help me get through those challenges, and that’s what I feel like I do now. I’m there if I’m needed.”

Barry was born overseas, but eventually landed in

Bozeman, where he graduated from Holy Rosary School. He spent two years stationed in Germany while serving in the Army, and ended up back in Bozeman.

Barry, who prefers to stay in the background and doesn’t like attention, has worked for 30 years with Bozeman School District as a special education paraeducator, and volunteers with a program for children with cancer at Eagle Mount.

The program, which gives the kids a chance to enjoy outdoor

activities around Bozeman, hits home for Barry.

treatment that Barry decided he wanted to become a coach.

When he was 28, and a self- He ended up graduating from described health nut, Barry Montana State University was suddenly diagnosed with in 1983, the same year he leukemia. He was sick enough started volunteering with the that he went to a hospital Special Olympics. in Seattle, and eventually Eventually, that led to a had to have a bone marrow job with the school district, transplant. where he’s put in 30 years.

He’s volunteered at Eagle His brother was the donor.

Mount for longer.

“That’s the only reason I’m sitting here talking to you,” “I’m a long timer, I guess, with most everything I Barry said. do,” Barry said.

It was when he was undergoing

PRIME AWARDS 2021 / 7

Connie Campbell-Pearson A

fter serving in the Peace Corps, working for 25 years as a nurse and getting a degree in computer science, Rev. Connie CampbellPearson finally found her calling in 2014 when she became a deacon in the Episcopal Church.

As deacon, Campbell-Pearson, 69, said her part of her job is to work with those who are marginalized without a voice and help them find one. The other part is to shine a light on need in the community.

“People who we don’t see very often, or who are faceless, or who are without a voice … that’s my job to

help bring attention to some needs that maybe they can’t voice themselves,” CampbellPearson said.

with Montana Interfaith Pearson said.

Power and Light, which is Though Campbell-Pearson focused on raising awareness likes playing golf, she also around climate change. finds reading theology and Rather than just respond computer science books fun. to the impacts of issues like She also works as an organist at the housing crisis or climate three churches, does database change, Campbell-Pearson consulting work and helps train said her mission is to address people to become deacons. the root causes.

Campbell-Pearson doesn’t

As part of her work, Campbell-Pearson helped get the Housing First Village off the ground, which is an underconstruction development of tiny homes being run by the Human Resources “It’s the same way with Development Council for those getting to the roots of poverty, experiencing homelessness. getting to the roots of climate Campbell-Pearson said part change, getting to the roots of the goal is to create a central of homelessness, what are the location where people who are things that we need to really homeless can access services, be changing because it’s not be it help finding a job or enough to just feed people, drug and alcohol counseling. you have to teach them how Campbell-Pearson also works to grow food,” Campbell-

blink twice at her busy life.

“When you are not taking the time to have to raise a family and send kids to school, you have the opportunity to develop your gifts, that’s what I did, I just simply use the gifts I was given and develop them,” Campbell-Pearson said.

8 / PRIME AWARDS 2021

Jim Dolan T

he herd of buffalo in Jim Dolan’s backyard is supposed to be there.

The 111 buffalo sculptures some larger than life - are part of a years-long project that is his most ambitious in his 50 years of sculpting. Add it to the list of sculptures Dolan has created that can be seen all over the Gallatin Valley and across the world.

Dolan, 73, was born and raised in Livermore, California, in what was an agricultural town now turned into a Silicon Valley suburb. He was always artistically talented, but didn’t think artists

estimates he has about 200 So, he packed up and moved pieces that are public. to Bozeman for college to “Public art is really the key to things, because not everybody study agriculture.

“I always thought Montana can afford to buy art, but was home, I couldn’t wait to you can go by my pieces or somebody else’s pieces or get here,” Dolan said. sculpture or paintings and you While on campus, Dolan can get a good feeling out of started sculpting; and after it, a smile or some reaction,” graduating he started to do Dolan said.

“It makes it on the side while making people a little more aware a living as a school bus of what’s going on.” driver. After a few years, he had enough work to start A half-century later, Dolan is still experimenting with new sculpting full time. techniques, and still enjoys Dolan’s life has brought him his work. work as far as Japan and as close as Three Forks. Dolan He has three kids and three could make a living.

grandkids, and enjoys fishing, hiking and going to concerts when he’s not in the studio.

Even though it can sometimes be tiring, Dolan plans on working until he can’t any longer - he jokes that he won’t wear out, he’ll rust out.

“It’s been really fun. When I stop and I say, ‘hey this is work, that’s when I know I have to stop and sit down for five minutess and get myself centered again, because it’s not supposed to be work, it’s supposed to be fun,” Dolan said. “It’s been a great life, I’ll sculpt til I can’t move.”

PRIME AWARDS 2021 / 9

Norman Dreyer A

fter being diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease when he turned 60, Norman Dreyer decided to fight back.

An occupational therapist by training, Dreyer moved to the Bozeman area from Ohio in 2008 to change a long-distance relationship to a short-distance one. He had been working as a lobbyist for nursing homes in Ohio, which wasn’t exactly transferable work to Bozeman.

So, Dreyer decided to use his healthcare background to start a home healthcare company. Through his work on home healthcare in Gallatin County, Dreyer noticed the prevalence of Parkinson’s patients in the area.

Things got more personal, boxing as beneficial exercise of course, when he was for Parkinson’s patients. diagnosed himself.

He decided to start a chapter “Like most people when in Bozeman. The group you’re diagnosed with a new meets a few times a week for disease, you want to learn as a workout, which involves much about it as you can. And stretching and shouting I was reading everything,” loudly, a lot, to help with their Dreyer said. “I stumbled voices which can weaken over across this book called time due to the disease.

Rock Steady Boxing and ...

I knew exercise was good for Parkinson’s, and there was evidence that this particular type of exercise, boxing was even better,” Dreyery said.

He hadn’t heard of Rock Steady Boxing when he was diagnosed, but Dreyer travelled to its headquarters in Indianapolis to learn more about the program, which touts

The non-contact boxing is therapeutic for other reasons than just physical, Dreyer said.

Dreyer said. “I tell people it’s like a support group and a work out group wrapped in one. There’s something cathartic about beating the hell out of a bag and pretending it’s Parkinson’s.”

Now 65, Dreyer is still working and still enjoys riding his Harley motorcycle, though he can’t ride for long distances too comfortably anymore.

With two kids and “The biggest plus for Rock seven grandchildren, Dreyer Steady is the camaraderie that feels blessed. develops amongst the members, “I love Montana, I love this the boxers, because it’s only area, I feel blessed to be able for Parkinson’s patients, and to live and work and live in this everybody knows that they’re part of the country and part of there with somebody likewise, the world,” Dreyer said. and they commiserate and we can support one another,”

10 / PRIME AWARDS 2021

I

n his own words, Jim Drummond got his start in Bozeman, and he’ll get his finish here too.

The Bozeman native has seen the city grow from one of around 10,000, where the last paved road was 8th Avenue, to a city of over 50,000.

But as a longtime banker and president of the local branch of Stockman Bank, Drummond also recognizes how important it is to support younger people in Bozeman.

“My parents were very insistent I get involved in the community, like Boy Scouts, Eagle Scouts as a kid, and it just became a way of life,” said Drummond, 67.

Drummond was heavily involved on campus while getting an agriculture business degree and a master’s in public administration at Montana State University, and had mentors early on in his career who also encouraged him to give back to the community, which he did throughout his career.

After retiring about four years ago, Drummond spent a few months without much to do. Bored, he decided to heed the advice of his parents and business mentors and dive back into the community.

Drummond has helped with the Human Resources Development Council’s capital campaign for a new

food bank facility, and is on the board for the Bozeman Veterans’ Court nonprofit, which raises funds to help finance things not covered by other grants, like cash to help a veteran buy a bike or some Ubers to get to work.

Drummond is also a counselor for SCORE, a mentorship program for people in business. Whether advising someone who is trying to start a business or someone who is trying to get one off the ground, Drummond enjoys watching what he calls the “lightbulb moment,” when a mentee has a breakthrough.

“That’s so rewarding, and each time you meet someone new in an organization like this you make some friends … you find out it’s not how much money you have, it’s how many friends you have,” Drummond said.

Indeed, Drummond measures his success in smiles and friends made rather than dollars.

He still plays in what he calls an “old man golf group,” is on the statewide board of Stockman Bank and enjoys camping and fishing.

“When you reach my age, my status - my stage in life, you look back and see what you accomplished. You recognize so many things, but you really recognize the friendships you’ve made.”

Jim Drummond

PRIME AWARDS 2021 / 11

Old Guy Plumbing

By Jim Drummond

O

ne of the regulars at the old guy waterhole was covered in grime as he wandered in this week. Somebody asked him if he was working on a house project.

The bedraggled fellow responded, “I’ve been doing plumbing. We had a leak in the kitchen faucet and my wife wanted it fixed. Apparently she found the ‘drip,drip,drip,’ sound annoying. I bought her some flowers, but she still wanted the noise to stop. I’ve been working on installing a new faucet for three days now.”

“Why didn’t you hire a plumber?” someone asked.

“I watched a YouTube video and it didn’t appear very difficult,” was the response.

Somebody else asked,”So the project wasn’t as easy as it looked on YouTube?”

The first fellow answered, “It really wasn’t. Nothing fit together like it does on YouTube. I’ve made three trips to the hardware store to match up fittings, gaskets, and water lines. Then I had to make one more trip to get the right kind of wrench to put it all together.

The worst part was fitting myself under the sink. I had to lie on my

back, and suck in my stomach, and squeeze myself into the cupboard.

Then I had to let out my breath and force one hand up behind the sink to tighten the fittings, and tuck my other hand into a trouser pocket to keep it out of the way.

While I was all scrunched up in the dark I had to hold a wrench in my mouth to keep it handy, and I chipped a tooth.”

“Does the faucet work now?” somebody asked.

Our handyman friend responded, “Not yet. The drip has stopped, but the hot water is on the right side, and the cold water is on the left side. I still have to switch that around, but I’m near the end. I came here to take a break.”

Another one of the old guys commented,”I had a plumbing project last week when the sink backed up. I watched a YouTube video demonstrating the ease of pushing a steel plumbing snake down a backed up pipe. I tried it, but then the snake got stuck. I found another video about un-sticking stuck plumbing snakes.

The fellow on YouTube used a small flashlight to look down the pipe for obstructions. I followed

his instructions, but dropped the flashlight. It slid right down the pipe.”

“How did you get the the snake and the flashlight out?” Somebody asked.

The first responded,”I didn’t. I finally called a plumber and he got the snake out. He couldn’t reach the flashlight and it’s still somewhere down the pipe. I can hear a wet rattle every time we run water down the drain. Based upon the sound, the flashlight is slowly moving through the pipe and is about halfway across the house now. It’s kind of sad. It was a good flashlight.”

One of the fellows at the end of the table commented, ”I’ve learned to just hire a plumber.

YouTube videos are never the same as a real life plumbing project. I watched one last year about fixing a gas connection on a barbecue grill. After I fixed it, it exploded and almost killed the cat. My wife and the cat are both still angry.”

Finally, one of the fellows commented, “Thankfully my plumber hasn’t retired yet so I call him for all my projects.”

Somebody

asked,

“How’s

his work?”

The first old guy responded, “He’s too old to get on his knees to operate under a sink, but he’s very good at standing behind me and telling me which wrench to use. It’s much quicker than watching a plumbing video, and he only charges half price when we’re working on a plumbing task together.”

One of the old guys stood up to leave, “Fellows,I have to head home for a project. I watched a YouTube video about installing a kitchen sink disposal. Our old one is making noise. The fellow on YouTube said that it shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to put in a new one, but I want to set aside a half hour and not feel rushed.”

We all wished best of luck.

him

the

Jim Drummond is a retired banker and Bozeman native.

12 / PRIME AWARDS 2021

Norm Eggert W

hen he retired from Montana State University in 1998, Norm Eggert and his wife, Jeanne, were looking for something to do with their newfound free time.

After spending a year teaching at a new American university in Kazakhstan, of all places, the Eggerts returned to Bozeman, their home since 1967, and decided to start volunteering.

The Red Cross was appealing to them - they had a friend who was involved, and wanted to do something big.

So, they signed up, and Eggert became heavily involved with the organization until his wife died in 2013.

During his time with the Red Cross, Eggert was deployed to disasters in Montana, wildfires in California and to a hurricane that wreaked havoc in New York and Pennsylvania.

But, his deployment to Houston in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina changed Eggert’s life.

As thousands of hurricane survivors headed west from New Orleans to the city, Eggert was assigned to work in a shelter at one of the facilities in Houston, near where the Astrodome is located.

There were several thousand people living in the shelter Eggert worked at who were reeling from the destructive

hurricane. In a booklet Eggert recorded his memories in, he talks about the chaos of setting up and running the shelter, challenges in managing all the different agencies involved in the hurricane response and the interactions he had with hurricane survivors.

Almost two decades later, Eggert, now 82, still gets emotional when talking about his time in Houston.

town are the result of some of his handiwork; and he volunteered with winter search and rescue on his cross-country skis.

When his wife died, many of the activities he did with her became difficult. Eggert volunteered at the cancer center for a bit before that, too, became difficult. Now, he volunteers at the Gallatin Valley Food Bank and the Museum of the Rockies, where he is a “blacksmith.”

“Seeing the people there, how positive they were yet they lost everything. I just don’t “When people ask ‘how did I comprehend it,” Eggert said. learn that?’ I claim I learned Eggert has left his mark in the same way that the old blacksmiths did. I watched Bozeman, too.

YouTube,” Eggert jokes.

Many of the trails around

PRIME AWARDS 2021 / 13

Marjorie Fehrer A

s a mother to two disabled children, Marjorie Fehrer never accepted the status quo for the care of disabled people in Montana.

Fehrer has a daughter, Stacy, with Down syndrome and took in a son, Ty, with developmental disabilities when he was 6. During her life, she has not only been a mother to those children, plus three additional sons, but also worked to ensure disabled people in Montana were receiving quality, safe care and services.

Fehrer says she was so involved because she had a

vested interest in the quality their son, Ty, after meeting of support for disabled people him on one of their visits to a home. The Fehrers took because of her children.

But, what she worked for him in, and he became an certainly reached far beyond energetic addition to the just the normal actions of a family, fitting in right at home with their three sons. concerned parent.

Fehrer served on the board of REACH for years, and worked with a statewide board that checked in on homes for handicapped people in every corner of the state.

After years on that board, Fehrer only decided to call it quits after getting caught in a particularly intense ice storm while driving home from a visit.

could walk to school by herself when she was only five.

She graduated from the Willson School and briefly moved to Nebraska to become a flight attendant before returning to Bozeman, where she raised her The Fehrers remained close family. She has always loved with Ty’s birth mother, and to spend time outdoors and, reunited the two frequently. after raising all her children, Now 87, Fehrer has two finally took up art. grandchildren and six great Fehrer paints with watercolors, grandchildren. She’s lived in silk on dye, and acrylic paint, Bozeman all her life, having focusing mainly on flowers and grown up in town with a scenery and some wildlife. younger sister amongst her “I always wanted to do it, but large extended family.

I had kids and waited 25 years

Fehrer remembers a quieter to do it,” Fehrer said.

Bozeman, one in which she The Fehrers came to take in

14 / PRIME AWARDS 2021

Dr. James Feist D

r. James Feist has never been content watching a problem fester from afar.

Instead, he’s spent his 36 years as a pediatrician in Bozeman advocating for children’s health on the local, statewide and national level on issues ranging from breastfeeding health to vaccines and protecting abused and neglected children.

He says it’s all just part of what he signed up for when he became a doctor.

“In medicine, your job is to help people. I mean, that’s it. Help people, alleviate suffering, take care of their

health. And so, all of the volunteer programs were just spin offs of that same concept,” Feist said. “When those opportunities came up.

I thought it was important to be there and speak for kids.”

has kept busy. He helped advocate for an interstate agreement that allows doctors in dozens of states to more easily obtain licenses in different states, a multi-year effort that culminated just Feist, 73, served on the before the pandemic set-in.

Gallatin City-County Health A long-time advocate for Board for a few years, and also vaccines, Feist didn’t hesitate worked for the department to sign up when he found out for a time, consulting on there was a trial being run infectious diseases, vaccine locally for the Pfizer vaccine. issues and even dog bites.

“The vaccines have improved He was on national committees on breastfeeding and vaccines and worked at the statewide level as well.

due to infectious disease,” Feist said. “I thought it was the appropriate thing for me to sign up.”

Born and raised in North Dakota, Feist had his sights set on Montana after high school. He attended Carroll College, and ended up in Bozeman after graduating medical school.

He skis, hikes, camps and boats, and shared with his three daughters his love for the outdoors. Now, he gets to share it with his grandkids.

the lives of children in many ways, eradicated some terrible diseases. So, I deal with those “My hobbies are spending every day. We deal with people time in the mountains every Even since he retired, Feist who were not vaccinated way possible,” Feist said. who lost their children

PRIME AWARDS 2021 / 15

Trish Garnick T

rish Garnick wakes up with gratitude every morning.

Garnick, 74, retired in 2012 after over four decades working in education, where she wore a few different hats: English teacher, journalism teacher, school counselor and school psychologist.

While working as a school psychologist, Garnick worked in classrooms to empower students and improve their self esteem. A rewarding part of the job was helping kids - especially those who didn’t learn traditionally gain confidence.

“Kids, they are amazing, they are our future,” Garnick said.

“It’s just a wonderful thing to help kids realize that they are important to our future.”

Since retiring from full-time work in education, Garnick has worked with college students to evaluate them for any educational accommodations they might need, like additional time for tests.

The Ohio native started her career as a high school teacher in Columbus, Ohio, and has been in Montana for decades.

helping hand she got sticks out. When Garnick was in 5th grade and her family was struggling, a teacher offered her a job of sorts helping out Garnick has two daughters around her house. and six grandkids, and The teacher would pick she enjoys skiing, biking, her up, have her help kayaking, hiking and doing with cleaning, and give her river floats with her husband, some money she could take Brad. Garnick is also an active back to her family. member of the Bozeman Garnick is still paying forward Women’s Activity Group. that kindness today.

The reward is seeing students realize that they are just as Garnick is heavily involved in “I think just seeing how kind the First Presbyterian Church, she was, how grateful I was, intelligent as their peers.

“I get so much joy out of and frequently volunteers and grateful her family was hearing people say ‘Oh, through the church. makes me want to just help thank you so much, I thought All the volunteering is a way others,” Garnick said.

I shouldn’t be in college,”’ for Garnick to give back for all that she’s received. One Garnick said.

16 / PRIME AWARDS 2021

Don Heyden D

on Heyden and his wife are kept pretty busy during wedding season - not just thanks to the handful of grandkids they have between them, but also due to the dozens of “adopted” grandkids they’ve met over the years hosting Montana State University students for dinner.

Starting over a decade ago, the Heydens started inviting MSU students to occasional dinners - at first it was just two juniors they jokingly call their “firstborns.” Then, through friends, roommates, boyfriends and girlfriends, the crowd grew, and now numbers over 50 or 60.

For the students, they get a home cooked meal and a chance to meet other students. But for Heyden,

they get a lifelong connection decided to stay. with young people.

They dove right into the Over the years, students Bozeman community. who’ve met at their dinners “We got here on a Friday, have married (the Heydens add found a church on Sunday their kids into their fold of great- and bought season football grandchildren). Others have tickets on Monday,” Heyden invited them to their weddings, said. “We said ‘Hey, we’re or visit them when they are back here, you can like us or not in town for a football game or a like us but we’re here and camping trip. we’re going to be involved.’”

“They’re our kids - we’ve A lifetime gardener, Heyden become very, very close. It’s joined the Garden Club right a wonderful feeling,” said away, and is still involved, Heyden, 80. helping at their farmers’ Originally from New York, market stand. Heyden also Heyden and his wife landed sells his own irises at the in Bozeman 20 years ago. market and donates the Heyden was retiring from proceeds to charity. (This the Navy, and they bought a year the funds are going to plot of land in California and Fork and Spoon). planned to build a house. Heyden jokes that as the He came up to Montana for oldest son on a western New one last fly-fishing trip, and York grape farm, he was forced

to be a gardener. But, he’s gardened by choice his whole life, save for the years he was in the Navy and he didn’t have a flowerbed on the carrier ship. Some of the irises he grows now are from his mom’s flower beds on that farm.

An avid fly fisherman, Heyden doesn’t go out as much as chemotherapy impacted his balance. But, he still spends the winter tying flies, which he gives away or donates to charity.

Heyden doesn’t regret filling his retirement by volunteering in his adopted home.

“We came here with no relatives, no family, no nothing, so it was a good way to meet people,” Heyden said.

“It’s a great community. We’ve never regretted being here.”

PRIME AWARDS 2021 / 17

Carla Hill C

arla Hill likes to say she grew up in the back of a church.

Her parents, both musicians, always seemed to be singing somewhere, so Hill was always surrounded by the arts when she was a kid. And though her adult life took her from Europe to Nebraska, Chicago to Bozeman, Hill has always found a way to work in the arts.

She helped run a community theater on an international NATO base in Europe, worked for a symphony orchestra in Omaha and was the president and CEO of the West Michigan Symphony in Muskegon.

Throughout it all, Hill has performance Hill saw of doing Pilates, but working always worked to make the arts the show “Fun Home” with Verge is almost a fullconfirmed to her that she time job for Hill. accessible and meaningful.

It’s her way of paying it “My vision was always to wanted to work with Verge. connect arts and community,” “I wanted to do something forward for all the support Hill said. “It wasn’t satisfying where I could have an impact. she received from mentors to me to just work in the And I found that with Verge during her career. arts. There had to be that Theater,” Hill said.

“People were willing to take a connection back to the Soon enough, Hill was chance on me early on when community and in the recruited to be on the I was doing theater,” Hill community back to the art.” board of directors, and she said. “So you know I think Hill, 75, moved to Bozeman in 2017 to be closer to three of her grandkids. She tried to act retired for awhile, but gave up on that after seeing a show by Verge Theater in January 2019.

is now helping the theater get through the COVID-19 pandemic and a transition period as it searches for a new physical home.

She still gets to enjoy some of A friend had told her the benefits of being officially about the theater, and the retired, like walking and

I owe a lot of people for my experiences, that they were willing to share their expertise with me. I’ve loved what I’ve done. So keeping that just to myself didn’t make sense.”

18 / PRIME AWARDS 2021

Barbara Keremedjiev A

mong those who Barbara Keremedjiev can count as her fans are Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, renowned Harvard scientist Edward O. Wilson, and a vast majority of the people who have visited the American Computer and Robotics Museum.

Keremedjiev and her late husband George opened the museum in 1990, but its origins are actually in the early 1980s, when George came across a Brunsviga mechanical calculator in an antique shop in Florida. That calculator began his love of collecting early computer technology, and that collection is what makes up the museum.

“Somebody jokingly said, it’s like a museum in your house,” Keremedjiev said. That really got the wheels turning for

both of them.

The two moved to Bozeman in August of 1988, during the historic Yellowstone fire of ‘88, only a few months after George had first visited.

“On one of his trips, he landed in Bozeman, spent a few hours, called me a few hours later and said he found a place for us to move,” she said.

After moving to town, they spent about a year getting the museum set up as a nonprofit before it officially opened, then under the name the American Computing Museum.

The museum holds much more than just computer parts -- it begins at the advent of the written word, the very, very beginning of the modern computers we have today. Exhibits move through

history, from stone tablets and how brains work to very early calculators to modern computers and beyond, exploring the possibilities of the future of burgeoning technologies like artificial intelligence.

man considered by many to be the father of the modern computer.

Since 1997, the museum has hosted an annual awards ceremony to honor innovators in the technology world, namd the George R. Stibitz Computer and Communications Award after Dr. George Stsibitz, a

“I am trying to make sure that George’s passion and imagination and the spark that he inspired in so many people lives on,” Keremedjiev said. “This is his legacy.”

“Behind every gadget, there was a person, and people didn’t realize that,” Keremedjiev said. Both the Stibitz award and the museum emphasize “The more research you that all of this technology was do, the more fields you find created by a human. that connect to this. It’s not a The museum recently straightforward line, there are celebrated its 30th year of really very many different fields operation, and Keremedjiev that have to converge to bring us said she’s looking forward to the technologies that we use to sharing her and George’s today,” Keremedjiev said. “And passion with museum visitors that’s what the museum is.” for the next 30 years, too.

PRIME AWARDS 2021 / 19

Beth Ann Kennedy B

etween the East Coast and Montana and through moving 35 times throughout her life, Beth Ann Kennedy has always found community through volunteering.

do,” Kennedy said.

It was a lifestyle modelled

by Kennedy’s mother when she grew up in New Jersey and Connecticut. Though her father was busy working enough to provide for Kennedy and her five siblings, her mother was always giving back to the community.

As a girl born in the 50s, Kennedy never considered a career in show business beyond acting - directing or producing didn’t seem like something that was open to her. But a spur-of-the-moment decision to volunteer to direct a show when she was in her 40s set her off on a new path.

To Kennedy, who now runs the BZN International Film Festival, it seemed like a “wonderful way to fill out a life.”

“Just doing things for the community, it’s not even a question of whether to do it, it’s just a matter of what to

Kennedy, 68 is an actress turned director and producer, and has experience producing shows that have gone up across the country.

“From that bloomed this whole career of directing and producing and occasionally getting a chance to act,” Kennedy said.

over running a film festival when she moved to Bozeman from Santa Fe in 2016. She thought about trying out retirement for awhile, but and this probably wouldn’t surprise anyone who knows her - she knew someone who knew someone who thought she’d be perfect for the role.

Now, Kennedy is planning for this year’s festival.

Kennedy tries to select films for the festival that will resonate with people, educate them, and spur them to action. She’s shown films about domestic violence, climate change, child hunger and other topics during her years at the helm of the festival.

“I think films are an incredible She didn’t intend to take way to move people to action, because they touch you with the

visual images,” Kennedy said.

“If you touch someone’s heart, right there, it’s more probable that they’ll go and make a decision to do something.”

Kennedy believes being joyful and caring is a decision people can make. So whether she is screening films for the festivals or auditioning for one herself, it’s a decision she makes every day.

“I just love doing what I’m doing, so it’s amazing how that makes whether you’re doing volunteer work or working in the Chamber of Commerce or you’re into political work, you bring that,” Kennedy said. “You’re not going to do those things just because of what they will bring you, but because doing is a joy.”

20 / PRIME AWARDS 2021

Tom Klein E

ver since his childhood dog, Tom Klein has loved animals.

“The satisfaction of helping animals is just profound,” said Klein, the President of the board of directors for the Heart of the Valley Animal Shelter.

Klein and his wife moved to Bozeman in 1999 and began volunteering at Heart of the Valley the following year.

The organization had been around since 1975, but it was outgrowing its original facility and needed a lot of community support to continue to grow into the shelter it is today.

Klein joked that he was only the board president in the early 2000s because nobody

else wanted to do it. He spent six years in that position, and rejoined the board again as president a few years ago.

For the most part, Klein said, the volunteer position exists to support the staff. It’s not a governing board -- the shelter staff are the ones who do the day-to-day running of the shelter, and do a great job of it at that.

his collie, Klein might be found at Scott Lake Lodge, the fishing lodge he owns and runs in Northern Saskatchewan. Ever since purchasing the lodge in 1996, Klein has spent every summer except the past two living and working there along with the roughly 30 employees.

most pristine wilderness left on earth,” he said. “It’s exciting to be in a place that remote.”

While the pandemic has hindered Heart of the Valley’s ability to do in-person fundraisers, Klein said some community favorites like the Dog Ball will be returning this year. He’s looking forward to “I was a customer at this lodge seeing shelter supporters and way back, 26 years ago,” he said. animal lovers all together again.

“It was pretty rough around “There’s nothing like having the edges, and we turned it all your supporters together into a very refined place.” and feeling the commitment

“You just try to keep tabs on what’s going on there and help where needed, with fundraisers in particular,” Scott Lake Lodge is right on Klein said. “Just do what you the 60th parallel, which Klein can to keep the organization says is something of a divide healthy and wealthy.” between two worlds.

and the excitement,” he said.

“We’re really fortunate in the Gallatin Valley to have a facility like Heart of the Valley, When he’s not busy with “If you get north of the 60th with really caring staff.”

Heart of the Valley or walking parallel, you’re in, really, the

PRIME AWARDS 2021 / 21

Susie Larson S

usie Larson got into volunteering with the Elks Lodge because her brother told her about all the good things he did as an Elks volunteer. Now, after 12 years of volunteering and hundreds of lives touched, Larson has a few stories of her own about how the Elks Lodge does good for veterans and for local kids.

The Christmas parties and Memorial Day parades are highlights, but she’s stuck with it for more than a decade because of the people.

“I love people, and I am inspired by them,” Larson, 71, said.

Born and raised in Bozeman, Larson spent her career in Rapid City, fulfilling her dreams first as a music teacher and then as a counselor. But Bozeman was always in the back of her mind, and she always dreamed of coming home.

“I’m a dreamer, it’s who I am,” Larson said. “I always wanted to come back home, so I did.”

Since moving back home in 2010, Larson has helped write more than $100,000 in grants from the Elks to local organizations like HAVEN, planned six Christmas parties

for kids complete with presents from the organization, has helped local kids go all the way to national Hoop Shoot basketball competitions, and was instrumental in installing seven prescription take-back boxes around the county.

“It energizes me. It’s just good to give back,” Larson said. “I think we’re wired to give back.”

Larson has two major mottos that she lives by; the first, an inspiration to make the most of every day. “Life is short, no day comes back,” Larson said.

She was also elected President of the Bozeman Elks The second is a reminder to Lodge in 2014, 2015 and again keep sharing love and light in 2017 and, this year, was a with those she comes across. recipient of the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award “Let us do good unto others, for we pass this way but once,” for volunteerism. she said.

While the awards and accolades are nice, it’s the feeling of helping people that keeps Larson at the Elks.

22 / PRIME AWARDS 2021

Ed Lewis A

fter graduating from law school in 1969, Ed Lewis began his legal career at a law firm in the Phoenix area. While there, he began exploring the outdoors more than he ever had before.

“I was wowed by the West,” Lewis said.

Eventually, his love for the outdoors led him to a major decision: he was going to change careers and make conservation his full-time job. After a 20-year career as a commercial litigation lawyer in the Phoenix area, Lewis made a major career change.

The year was 1986. Lewis moved to Montana and began working full-time in conservation and

work, protecting public lands “I wanted to dedicate my time from greed and working to and my life to protecting these keep the West pristine for amazing places, the public future generations. lands, the wildlife, and I’ve “It’s up to us who are alive been doing that full time since today to protect this place,” 1986,” Lewis said. “It was very Lewis said. exciting. I’ve never regretted Lewis has spent 17 years on the change, it was the smartest the board of Earthjustice decision I ever made.” and 15 on the board for the conservation law.

Lewis worked from 1986 to 1994 as the executive director of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. After leaving the organization, Lewis consulted for major conservation organizations and helped bring millions in conservation funding to the area.

Jazz Festival, bringing worldclass musicians to the state, and is actively involved in Bozeman’s Jewish community.

Combating climate change and striving to save the earth’s biodiversity of species is a never-ending fight, Lewis said, and one that is becoming more and more urgent as Greater Yellowstone Coalition. time goes on.

He’s filed pro bono legislation “(Climate change) is here. for the Sierra Club and other It’s not a future event,” he conservation organizations and said. “Now more than ever was a founding board member we really have to come of the Montana Outdoor together and deal with the Science School, or MOSS. two major environmental Even outside of conservation, crises: climate change … and Lewis is an active member in biodiversity of species.”

He also continued to put the Bozeman community. He his knowledge of the law to helped establish the Montana

PRIME AWARDS 2021 / 23

H. Wayne Roberts H

e didn’t originally plan to take the job.

When Pioneer Balloon Company offered H. Wayne Roberts a job in its sales department, they were a small company just getting started in Wichita, Kansas. They had around 80 employees, and they had offered Roberts a job in the sales department on the spot after his interview.

When Roberts left the job more than 3 decades later, after working his way up the ranks all the way to vice president, the company had more than 1,000 employees and operated in four countries.

“It’s one of those things that people never think about, but we could manufacture about 5 million balloons a day,” Roberts said.

Roberts, who moved to Bozeman after his retirement in 2014, did a lot of different jobs during his time at the balloon company. He’s also done a lot of different kinds of volunteer work, from taking care of feral cats to tending a community garden and participating in activities to support a U.S. military base.

restaurant, ran for mayor of the town. He lost by less than 10 votes the first time, and won the following election and the election after that.

WalMart,” Roberts said. “They did a lot of really good work.”

Locally, Roberts has also volunteered for the Gallatin County Election “I think at the time, the Office, a community youngest person on the city nonprofit garden that raised council was 55 years old, and food for the food bank, and at I was 26,” he said.

Fork and Spoon, Bozeman’s Roberts also volunteered pay-what-you-can restaurant. with a Wichita feline rescue, He was drawn to Bozeman Friends of Felines, for almost after visiting on a work trip.

10 years.

He and his wife stayed at a “One night we were taking a hotel in Gallatin Gateway and shortcut through the WalMart just fell in love with the area.

parking lot on the way home, “We just kind of decided that, Immediately after graduating this was in mid-winter and it when we retire, this was the college, he moved home to was really cold, and saw these right place for us,” he said.

Clarksville, Virginia and, in black cats living behind the addition to running his family’s

24 / PRIME AWARDS 2021

Nancy Rosen N

ancy Rosen’s standard poodle is a big hit with kids.

Rosen brought Intermountain Therapy Animals, or ITA, to Bozeman when she moved from Salt Lake City 20 years ago. ITA trains people and their dogs -- or cats, or other animals -- to participate in programs like the reading program, where kids can read to pets to improve their reading skills in a low-pressure environment.

“The one experience I had with a child in the library, he came over and brought a book and said, I’m not a very

good reader,” Rosen said. “I ITA in Salt Lake City, Rosen said, ‘that’s okay, (my dog) took on a paid role with the organization, teaching isn’t either.”

The boy sat down with a workshops and vetting pets book and read it to Rosen’s and people who wanted to dog. Afterwards, he stood be involved to make sure up and told Rosen that this they would be a good fit. was the first time he had ever After moving to Bozeman in 2002, she’s been a completely finished a book. unpaid volunteer.

“It’s things like that that make everything worthwhile,” “I’m not patting myself on she said. “Not every visit is the back, it’s just to show going to be that a-ha visit, you how passionate I am about but so many of them are and the mission and what we do,” animals can touch people in she said. ways that are pretty poignant Rosen, who also worked as a bookseller at Country and amazing.” and other After getting involved with Bookshelf

bookstores prior to her retirement, decided to take a step back from the day-to-day operations of ITA last fall.

“After 22 years, last fall, I decided that it was time for me to retire, plus the fact that we live in another place half the year,” Rosen said.

While she’s no longer as heavily involved as she once was, Rosen continues to participate in ITA as a dog owner with her dog.

“It’s just a really amazing thing for someone to be able to do that with your best friend,” she said.

PRIME AWARDS 2021 / 25

A

s executive director of Child Care Connections, Jane Arntzen Schumacher works in just about every aspect of the childcare world - she advocates in Helena, helps with licensing and training providers and makes sure hundreds of kids have safe car seats and helmets to wear when they bike.

Schumacher can talk about all the challenges related to childcare for hours, and is so busy with work she’s beginning to worry about what hobbies she’ll do once she is retired.

But Schumacher, 66, feels fortunate to be able to do the work she does.

“Childcare is really the answer to many of our societal problems. If we can just have healthy adults, lots of these things will go away and that healthiness comes from early experiences,” Schumacher said. “We want kids to have healthy experiences so that they’re ready for school, not just academically but socially-emotionally, ready for school. And that is going to grow healthy kids who become healthy adults and that’s what we want to see,” Schumacher moved to Bozeman in 1977. She and her husband spent a few days staying at the Baxter Hotel when they got to town, and have loved it ever since.

Jane Arntzen Schumacher

Schumacher has always worked in non-profits, starting with the Help Center, where she helped get the first GED program going in the county. She also worked on a board focused on domestic violence and was on a statewide board working on childcare before taking over as CEO of ChildCare Connections.

Schumacher credits her parents, who were a teacher and a librarian and were active in the community and politics, with getting her start in non-profits.

“I just think it’s just incredibly important and I’m lucky to be able to do that work,” Schumacher said.

26 / PRIME AWARDS 2021

W

hen Jan Strout began organizing in the 1970s and 80s, there were women in their 80s and 90s there too, folding newsletters and sharing stories about what feminist organizing looked like when they were young.

“It keeps Strout said.

you

young,”

She saw those women and thought, “I am never going to stop, because I want to be as young as they are when I get old.”

Strout, 72, is a co-founder of HAVEN, Bozeman’s domestic abuse survivor shelter. She was the inaugural director of the Women’s Center at Montana State University, chosen through a national search, and helps lead Bozeman for CEDAW, or the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. She also taught firstyear students at MSU as an adjunct faculty member until her retirement two years ago.

She’s dedicated hundreds of hours to educating people on gender-based violence and advocating for the survivors of gender- and relationship violence.

“Most violations of women’s rights are in the dark. They’re unseen,” Strout said.

Strout, a survivor of genderbased violence herself, first realized how many collegeaged people were facing

similar violence when she was working on campus at MSU in the 1970s. She and a group of 15 other women reached out to resources all around town and found that, at the time, there simply weren’t many resources for those living through domestic violence, stalking or other forms of discrimination.

So they got to work. The women fundraised and helped purchase the first HAVEN house, which served the organization for years and will soon be replaced by the under-construction shelter.

“It was important to not only meet the need … but also because it empowered all of us, many of whom were survivors ourselves,” Strout said.

Strout said she’s learned much about organizing from Black, Indigenous and Women of Color and LGBT+ people, as well as women living and organizing in the Global South. It’s important to listen to the lived experiences and knowledge of women of all walks of life, she said.

Recently, Strout has been very involved in Bozeman for CEDAW. But nothing she does is ever done alone.

“This is not a ‘me,’ it’s a ‘we,’” Strout said. “No one can do it alone … it’s always been a feminist collective for me.”

Jan Strout

PRIME AWARDS 2021 / 27

Myles Watts M

yles Watts teachers.

teaches

Watts, a retired Montana State University economics professor and longtime cattle rancher from Eastern Montana, works with the Montana Council for Economic Education to teach economics to junior high and high school teachers around Montana, so they in turn can teach it to their students.

He’s volunteered with the council for more than 20 years.

“What we want to do, of course, is to help students have more fulfilling lives,

and we think that economic knowledge helps them do that,” said Watts, who has a Ph.D. in economics. “Now the challenge is for these teachers to make economics relevant to their students.”

Prior to the pandemic, Watts was doing around 50 presentations per year on economics for educators, primarily in Montana but with some out-of-state excursions.

“We provide people the skills so that they can think about issues as an economist and as independent thinkers,” Watts said. The workshops are nonpartisan -- “We’re just

trying to provide them with the economic tools so they can think about problems and the choices that they make in life.”

financial institutions,” he said.

That work was primarily in the Ukraine, but also included some work in Poland, India and Mexico.

Watts began teaching at MSU in 1978 and retired from teaching full-time in 2015.

During his time as a professor, he also served on the state property tax committee and worked for national and international finance institutions.

“I really enjoyed that work,” Watts said. “These countries, as they develop, they have to make sure those financial institutions remain sound.”

When he’s not volunteering with the economic education council or consulting with the agricultural financial “I worked for World Bank institution Farmer Mac, Watts and was primarily teaching is working on his ranch in developing countries how to Eastern Montana, very near to regulate banks and insurance where he grew up. companies and other

28 / PRIME AWARDS 2021

Deb and Rick Wheaton H

igh school sweethearts Deb and Rick Wheaton started experimenting with gluten-free foods after Deb learned she had a severe gluten allergy. What began as a lifestyle shift out of necessity grew into Gluten Free Prairie, the Wheaton’s completely gluten-free food business.

“I am my customer,” said Deb, who discovered she had the gluten allergy while still working in her previous career acting in commercials.

She had long ago made a promise to herself about that career, which she knew had

an expiration date.

completely delicious.

“I had already decided that “The demand was growing healthy gluten-free I was going to leave the on- for camera business before it left options, and I saw the demand,” Deb said. Deb and me,” she said.

But what the next step Rick’s daughter, also unable after that would be wasn’t to eat gluten without getting clear until the Wheatons sick, was another inspiration to continue developing more moved to Manhattan. gluten-free products so she They bought a 113-year-old and her children could eat building to manufacture in foods like pizza and pancakes and, using Deb’s specially- without concern. developed, oat-based gluten free flour, began to create The Wheatons noticed how a everything from pizza crusts lot of gluten free foods were to grab-and-go cookies, gluten free, but full of other completely gluten-free and unhealthy fillers. They strive to make Gluten Free Prairie a

trusted brand that people can rely on to not have any gluten at all, something that’s very important to those who have a gluten intolerance.

On top of everything else, Gluten Free Prairie is just downright popular. People especially love the grab-andgo cookies and the brownie mix, Rick said, but everything they create for the brand sells.

“The brand has expanded significantly to meet demand for the mixes and to meet demand,” Deb said.

PRIME AWARDS 2021 / 29

Linda Williams L

inda doesn’t quit.

Williams

The founder of the Bozeman Art Museum has been hard at work at getting the museum up and running for almost a full decade. The museum moved into its first physical space in 2019 and has run kid’s art programs for public school and homeschool kids since 2017.

But before all of that was Williams, 68, and the tenacity to keep going.

During its early years, when

Bozeman Art Museum was barely more than an idea, Williams did a presentation in an attempt to lease a space.

During the presentation, and through the questions asked by the city commission, she had a realization -- she was going to need even more education to get this thing up and running.

master’s program, which is no small feat, Williams and the Bozeman Art Museum began the school art program. It grew exponentially year-to-year. The program brings art classes, supplies and education to kids who might not otherwise have access to it. It taught more than 1,000 kids prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and “I realized I needed a master’s Williams said it’s expected to (degree),” Williams said. “So continue to grow. the next day I signed up for a The pandemic was tough on master’s program.” everyone, but Williams took it After completing the as a sign to do a lot of grant writing and continue to bring

in funding and support from the community.

“We’re really excited about this year,” she said. “We just keep moving forward.”

While the museum moved into its space on West Main Street just a few years ago, Williams said it’s likely it will need to expand sometime in the near future.

“I think that we will be growing pretty quickly,” she said. “We have people believing in us.”

30 / PRIME AWARDS 2021

Jim Woodley J

im Woodley isn’t quite sure how he first heard about the Child Advancement Program run by Thrive.

Despite not remembering what exactly got him into volunteering with the CAP program, he did so for two full decades.

“It’s probably one of the best programs I’ve ever seen for students,” said Woodley, a longtime real estate agent.

“You learn things by working with the students. When you try to help them, it can also help you.”

The CAP program pairs adult volunteers like Woodley to school-aged kids and has them spend one hour every week together doing whatever

boy struggled to express emotions without being volatile. By the end of their time together, he had grown a lot and had even started a When thinking about his support group at his school time with CAP -- Woodley’s for kids in similar situations. last year volunteering with “We became good friends. I the program was in 2019 -- had him until his junior year one particular kid comes to in high school,” Woodley mind. The boy he was paired said. “Once you get them with had family trouble talking, relaxing, you can that caused him to act out. find out things that nobody’s Woodley taught him cribbage, going to find out just by which he learned from his asking questions.” grandfather as a kid, so they A Navy veteran, Woodley could have something to do got his start in real estate at together to take his mind off his family’s real estate and of things. And, slowly, the boy construction business in began to open up to Woodley. Ohio in 1968. He and his wife the student would like to do.

Woodley has done everything from helping with homework to playing basketball with the kids he’s paired with.

When they first started Andi moved to Bozeman meeting, Woodley said, the with his wife and their kids

in 1983, drawn to the city like so many by its proximity to world-class skiing.

In addition to his volunteering with the CAP program, Woodley volunteers on the Professional Standards Committee with the Gallatin Association of Realtors, sitting on panels and working as a mediator. He’s volunteered his time for leadership positions with the association, as well.

“I’ve done a little bit of everything with the association,” he said.

Woodley also enjoys playing racquetball in the mornings and watching his seven grandkids play sports.

PRIME AWARDS 2021 / 31

Dr. Ralph Zimmer D

r. Ralph Zimmer always knew he was going to be involved in public service.

“I feel and I’ve always felt since youth a drive, a need, to be involved in public service,” Zimmer, 80, said. “I saw my parents do it, and I just followed in their footsteps.”

Zimmer has a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in transportation engineering, the public service sector that called to him the most. After growing up in Colorado, he spent much of his career working for the Federal Highway Administration, working to make highways safer for everyone from his office just

a few blocks away from the an MSU professor, Zimmer began losing his vision.

White House.

“I loved that job, I loved the work, Now retired from teaching but I had grown up in Colorado and legally blind, he no and I wanted to get back to the longer drives himself, but he lower humidity … and the Rocky continues working to make streets, sidewalks, bike lanes Mountains,” he said. and trails safer for everyone, So Zimmer and his wife no matter their ability level.

Gloria went on a tour of universities all the way from He’s the chairperson of the Bozeman Area Pedestrian New Mexico to Montana. and Traffic Safety Committee, “I received the warmest and has been for about 40 welcome, the greatest amount years. Zimmer and the rest of interest, at Montana State of the PTS help the Bozeman University,” Zimmer said.

City Commission, the Gallatin He got his Ph.D. at the County Commission and request of the department the Bozeman school board head, received a formal offer, to make traveling around and began teaching at MSU. the area safer. Recently, the About 35 years ago, while committee lobbied for and won an additional $500,000 in

the City of Bozeman budget for pedestrian walkways and bike lanes.

Now retired from MSU, Zimmer said his work with the PTS committee and the many others he’s been involved with over the years began as a way to fulfill MSU’s land grant obligation to serve the community. In recent years, he was selected for MSU’s Distinguished Faculty Award.

MSU is a land grant university, and he wanted to make sure he was fulfilling the public service part of a land grant college’s mission.

“I just stayed involved” after retiring, Zimmer said.

32 / PRIME AWARDS 2021

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Benefits include exclusive members-only courses, free lecture series, special events, tours and more.

Curious? Join us for our free reception on September 1 and view our fall semester programs at montana.edu/olli/offerings Become an OLLI at MSU member at montana.edu/olli/register Questions? 406-994-6550

Premium Cataract Surgery • LASIK • Corneal Transplants • Glaucoma Patricia A. Cosgrove, M.D. • Lisa A. Herrygers, M.D. Kristy L. Moeller, M.D. • Joseph P. Sheehan, M.D. Angela S.Watkins, M.D. • Colin McInnis, M.D. Callie E. Harberts, O.D. • Shannon R. Currier, O.D. BELGradE

205 W. Main St.

BOZEMaN

LIVINGSTON 587-1245 300 N. Willson ave.

422 S. Main St.

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EXPERIENCE THE ART OF DELICIOUS Dining is so much more than meal preparation; it's consideration of food sources, relationships with local farmers, tending to special dietary needs and creating food experiences based on the best seasonal choices and freshness.

Call 406-556-8000 Stop by and see how we're changing the way people think, feel and experience senior living.

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101778-1

PRIME AWARDS 2021 / 33

Bozeman Senior Center Recreation Our Bozeman Senior Fitness Classes ALL EXERCISE CLASSES ARE HELD IN THE FITNESS ROOM WITH THE EXCEPTION OF LINE DANCING (Dining Room) AND STRONG PEOPLE –MORNING CLASS (Rec. Room)

*Strong People: (M, W 8:30 am) (Tues, Thurs 1:00pm Strength

training class focused on increasing bone density and muscle mass. Class follows accepted protocol for people with bone loss. Participants work at their own level, increasing weights as they build strength. Each class also includes exercises to strengthen the core and finishes with stretching. All are welcome, you may borrow weights from the Senior Center if you wish.

*Aerobics with Rina Donaldson: (M,W 9:30 a.m.) This is a full

hour’s workout. We do 35 minutes of cardio (which can vary in intensity depending on your own ability).

After that we do 10 minutes of targeted weight lifting and 15 minutes of stretching. Come join this dynamic workout!

*Core on the Floor with Rina: (M, W 10; 45 a.m. Pilates inspired.

Gentle mat work and stretching

*Yoga and Balance with Melanie Simmerman: (M, W 1:00 p.m.)

Yoga is based on classic Hatha Yoga poses and appropriate for all levels.

Focus is on physical, mental and spiritual balance as we practice poses that challenge and enhance posture and balance, strength and flexibility.

Balance focuses on strength and flexibility to gain and improve good posture and balance.

*Sun Tai Chi: (Tues, Friday, 11:00a.m.) Designed to relieve

arthritic discomfort and achieve greater mobility and balance through the slow, gentle movement of all joints and muscles. Improves balance, coordination, concentration. It is

moderately aerobic. Recommended to gain and maintain good health.

(Beginning Tai Chi meeting at 10:30a.m. Tuesdays and Fridays)

*Cardio and Weights with Priscilla: (Friday, 9:30a.m.)

Rapid-fire exercise using upper and lower body plus core for strength, balance and flexibility. For cardiorespiratory strength and endurance.

*Modern Line Dancing with Judy: (Tues. Thurs. 10:00, Fridays 9:45a.m.) Modern line dancing is

a fun form of exercise with physical, mental, emotional and social benefits. Learn and practice common line dance steps. Then dance to a variety of music including rock, Latin, country and waltz. Beginners welcome during the first hour and are encouraged to arrive 15 minutes early for some pre-instruction. The last 30 minutes will be advanced and intermediate dances.

(Thursday, 11:00a.m.) Tai Chi

is a graceful form of exercise characterized by slow, methodical, gentle movements and deep breathing exercises that are low impact, relaxing and somewhat aerobic. People of almost any age and fitness level can participate. In this class you will be learning the Enlightenment Tai Chi Form, some other easy short forms, warm-up and deep breathing exercises, and Tai Chi positions. Tai Chi can be a positive part of an overall approach to improving and maintaining your health. Taught by Valerie Watson.

Join us for the Governor’s Conference on Aging!

This is a wonderful opportunity for everyone to attend the Governor’s On Aging for free. Please see the following information and register online. The Bozeman Senior Center will stream the conference in the dining room for those who can’t

watch at home. Please note that all classes will be cancelled in the dining room during the conference.

Come join us and get in the know!

You can find out more information on educational sessions and register with the following hyperlinks! Hope to see you there. https://www.facebook.com/Aging406/ https://whova.com/web/mgca_202104/

The Bozeman Senior Center will be closed September 6th for Labor Day The Board meeting is held on the third Friday of each month at 10:00 a.m.

Bozeman Senior Center’s Second Hand Rose is open on Monday through Friday from 10:00 – 2:00 p.m. The Book Store is open Monday – Friday 9:30a.m. – 3:00p.m.

These dates and times are subject to change dependent upon volunteer and staff availability. Please call 5862421 to be sure before you come to the center to shop!

Bozeman Senior Center Travel Department Judy Morrill, Travel Coordinator Bozeman Senior Center

1 406 586 2421 14judymorrill@ gmail.com Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays, 10:00 to 12:00 a.m.

PLEASE NOTE: Our travel policy states that if you sign up for a trip and do not cancel within 5 working days of departure, we cannot issue a refund unless someone is on the waiting list for that trip. We appreciate you traveling with us but the BSC still has to pay for the shortfall if someone cancels last minute.

DAY TRIPS: We have one more overnight trip this summer: The Charlie Russell Chew Choo, Sept 11 and 12, 2021. Get your name on the waiting list in case there are any cancellations. A great way to

enjoy the Chokecherry Festival in Lewistown on Saturday and the Chew Choo vintage train with a delicious prime rib dinner, great scenery and fun entertainment on the train.

Overnight included at the Yogo Inn in Lewistown.

MAJOR TRIP: MACKINAC ISLAND AND NIAGARA FALLS Oct. 17 - 24, 2021 - Orientation for the trip will be: Monday, October 4, 1:00 p.m., in the Bozeman Senior Center basement rec room. After the orientation, slides of a possible trip, in the future to Iceland will be shown

Slide presentation on Scandinavia Friday, Sept. 24, 10.00 a.m., in the Senior Center basement rec room.

These slides will showcase the Spectacular Scandinavia trip going July 14 - 27, 2022 through Collette Vacations. At the same time, Jay Fehan, from Collette, will also show a slide presentation on the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta trip going Sept. 30 - Oct. 5, 2022. Then at 1:30p.m., on September 24th, Jay will show slides on Croatia, South Africa and Japan, all possible future trips.

Ecuador and Galapagos Islands: February 15 - 22, 2022 Final payments are due by November 15, 2021.

Italian Vistas: March 5 - 17, 2022 Deposits are due now to hold your space on this great trip.

There will be a Smoky Mountain Christmas trip in December, 2022.

More information as it becomes available. Get your name on the interested list.

Travel through the Bozeman Senior Center is open to current Bozeman Senior Center members. Membership dues are $20.00 per calendar year.

COME TRAVEL WITH US

34 / PRIME AWARDS 2021

Meal Service in Senior Centers: Bozeman Menu 807 North Tracy • (406) 586-2421 • www.bozemanseniorcenter.org Shannon Bondy, shannon@bozemanseniorcenter.org (Executive Director) Kristi Wetsch, krisi@bozemanseniorcenter.org (Director Program & Marketing) Allergy statement for all Meals-On-Wheels foods: Menu items may contain or come into contact with WHEAT, EGGS, PEANUTS, TREE NUTS, FISH, SHELLFISH, SOYBEANS, and MILK

Meals are now being served at the Bozeman Senior Center.

This menu is subject to change due to the availability of food. Call us at 586-2421 by 3:00 p.m. the day before you want your meal.

The cost of the meal is a suggested donation of $5.00 for people 60 and over and $7.00 for people under 60 (this is not a suggestion donation).

1 - Green Salad, Beef Stroganoff over Noodles, Brussel Sprouts, Dinner Roll 2 - Ham, Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans, Coconut Cream Pie 3 - Grapes, Tomato Basil Soup, Chicken Salad Sandwich, Chips, Jell-O 6 - CLOSED LABOR DAY 7 - Pears, BBQ Chicken Breast, Potato Salad, Corn, Ice Cream Sundae 8 - Tossed Salad, Tuna Casserole, Carrots, Dinner Roll, 9 - Apple, Chicken Piccata, Steamed Rice, Brussel Sprouts, Bread, Peach Crisp 10 - Fresh Fruit, Roast Beef/Swiss Hoagie, Lettuce/Tomato, Macaroni Salad, Chips, Cookie 13 - Fruit Cocktail, Stuffed Bell Peppers over Rice, 5 Way Vegetables, Bread, Cookie 14 - Blueberries, Italian Sub, Pasta Salad, Chips, Jell-O 15 - Green Salad, Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes with Gravy, Buttered Corn 16 - Mandarin Oranges, Sloppy Joe, Steamed Green Beans, Tater Tots, Chocolate Ice Cream 17 - Cottage Cheese with Pineapple, ½ Turkey/Bacon, Provolone Cheese, Pea Salad, Chips 20 - Green Salad, Pepperoni Pizza, Stewed Tomatoes, Bread Stick, Sherbet 21 - Watermelon, Hotdog, Sauerkraut, Baked Beans, Pecan Chip Bar 22 - Tropical Fruit, Breaded Cod, Coleslaw, Fries, Ice Cream Cone 23 - Peaches, Chicken Pot Pie, Pickled Beets, Dinner Roll 24 - Pineapple, BBQ Pork Sliders, Hash Browns Casserole, Cucumber Salad 27 - Mandarin Oranges, Corned Beef Hash, Mashed Potatoes, Buttered Cabbage, Dinner Roll, Devil’s Food Cake 28 - Carrot/Raisin Salad, Chicken Tenders, Tater Tots, Pinto Beans, Strawberry Pie 29 - Green Salad Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, Green Beans, Garlic Bread 30 - Applesauce, Pork Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Mixed Vegetables, Dinner Roll, Brownie

Belgrade Menu Call by 10:00 am to sign up for lunch: 406-388-4711.

Menu subject to change without notice!

92 E Cameron Ave, Belgrade, MT • (406) 388-4711 Call in to order to go meals by 10:00 the day before! . Menu subject to change without notice!

1 - Salad, Pork Enchiladas, Vegetable, Dessert 2 - Salad, Meat Loaf, Potatoes, Vegetable, Dessert 3 - Salad, Chicken Alfredo Pasta, Vegetable, Dessert 6 - CLOSED LABOR DAY 7 - Salad, Pork Chops, Potatoes, Vegetable, Dessert 8 - Salad, Breakfast Casserole, Vegetable, Dessert 9 - Salad, Chicken Fried Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Vegetables, Dessert 10 - Salad, Chili, Cornbread, Dessert 13 - Salad, Bacon Mac & Cheese, Vegetables, Dessert 14 - Salad, Chicken & Dumplings With Vegetables, Dessert 15 - Salad, Roast Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Vegetables, Dessert 16 - Salad, Tamale Pie, Refried Beans, Vegetables, Dessert 17 - Let’s Eat Apples Waldorf Salad, Rosemary Chicken with

Apples & Potatoes, Vegetables, Apple Crisp 20 - Salad, Swedish Meatballs, Rice, Vegetables, Dessert 21 - Salad, Lasagna, Vegetables, Dessert 22 - Salad, Fried Chicken, Cheesy Grits, Vegetables, Dessert 23 - Salad, Roast Pork, Potatoes, Vegetables, Dessert 24 - Salad, Fish & Chips, Vegetables, Dessert 27 - Salad, Smothered Beef Burrito, Rice, Vegetable, Dessert 28 - Salad, Chicken Pesto Penne, Vegetables, Dessert 29 - Salad, Sweet & Sour Pork, Vegetables, Dessert 30 - Salad, Pot Roast, Vegetables, Dessert Meals on Wheels Delivery: Monday – Friday. Call to find out how to qualify for this program.

Center meals: Monday-Friday 12:00 EXERCISE: Line Dancing: Monday 10:30 Body in Motion: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday Thursday 9:30 Zumba: Wednesday 1:00 SOCIAL ACTIVITIES: BINGO: Thursday 12:45 Card Games: Hand & Foot: Wednesday: 10:30 Pinochle: Friday 8:30 Needleaires: Friday 9:00 Quilting Day: September 25th. Call the center for more information Breakfast Club is back! 4th Thursday of each month from 7:00-8:30 am.

PRIME AWARDS 2021 / 35

Manhattan Senior Center Menu 102 East Main St., Manhattan, MT • 284-6501

1 - Cottage Cheese, Turkey Noodle Soup, 1/2 Ham /Swiss Wrap, Chips, Fruit 2 - Cucumber Salad, meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes with Gravy, Vegetables, Cake 7 - Green Salad, Hamburger, Cinnamon Apple, Vegetables, Brownie 8 - Pickled Beets, Chicken Strips, Baked Beans, Vegetables, Cake 9 - 3 Bean Salad, Baked Fish, Rice, Vegetables, Brownie 14 - Green Salad, Sausage/Peppers, Rice, Vegetables, Cake 15 - Coleslaw, Polish Sausage, Vegetables, Chips, Fruit 16 - Carrot Raisin Salad, Beef Stroganoff, Vegetables, Dinner Roll, Brownie 21 - Green Salad, Chili, Corn Bread, Vegetables, Cake 22 - Apple Sauce, Clam Chowder, ½ Turkey/Cheese Wrap, Vegetables, Brownies 23 - Jell-O, Pork Stir Fry, Rice, Vegetables, Cake 28 - Green Salad, Spaghetti, Garlic Bread, Vegetables, Brownie 29 - Cottage Cheese, Tomato Soup, ½ Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Vegetables, Cake 30 - Jell-O, Baked Chicken, Mashed Potatoes with Gravy, Vegetables, Brownie

Three Rivers Senior Menu

19 East Cedar St., Three Forks • 285-3235 • Director: Jean Farnam • 570-0800 1 - Green Salad, Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta Casserole, Broccoli 2 - Pickled Beets, Meatloaf, Mashed Potato, Cauliflower, Ice Cream 7 - Green Salad, Pork Roast, Potatoes, Carrots, Applesauce 8 - Salad, Split Pea Soup, Sandwich, Jell-O with Fruit 9 - 3 Bean Salad, Roast Beef, Potatoes, Carrots, Ice Cream 14 - Green Salad, Ham and Cheese Casserole, Bacon, Sliced Tomatoes 15 - Green Salad, Goulash, Corn, Cake 16 - Deviled Egg, Chef Salad, Bread Stick, Ice Cream 21 - Pea Salad, Chili Dog, Baked Potato 22 - Cheesy Mexican Rice 23 - Green Salad, Ham and Scalloped Potatoes, Peas, Ice Cream 28 - Green Salad, Spaghetti, Garlic Toast, Jell-O, Fruit, Cake 29 - Coleslaw, Cod, Baked Potato, Green Beans, Ice Cream 30 - Green Salad, Sloppy Joe, Pickled Beets, Baked Beans, Fruit

West Yellowstone Senior Center

The Board meeting is held on the third Friday of each month at 10:00 a.m.

1 - Green Salad, Tuna Casserole, Green Beans, Biscuit, Cake 3 - Green Salad, Hamburger or Hotdog, Tater Tots, Baked Beans, Brownie 8 - Green Salad, Chicken Fajitas, Rice, Refried Beans, Cake 10 - Green Salad, Cod, Coleslaw, Tater Tots, Brownie 15 - Green Salad, Pulled Pork, Baked Beans, Mashed Potatoes, Cake 17 - Green Salad, Beef Stroganoff, Green Beans, Biscuit, Brownie 22 - Green Salad, Chicken A La King, Egg Noodles, Mixed Vegetables, Cake 24 - Green Salad, Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Brownie 29 - Green Salad, Lasagna, Italian Vegetables, Garlic Bread, Cake

Congratulations Jim Drummond, Stockman Bank Board Member and former Southwestern Market President, for being honored as a Prime Award winner. Jim’s deep Montana roots and long history of service to the Gallatin Valley make us proud to call him a member of the Stockman Bank Family.

JIM DRUMMOND Stockman Bank Board of Directors

CONGRATULATIONS JIM!

Montana’s Brand of Banking Member FDIC | Equal Housing Lender