HOMECOMING: AN INTERBEL STORY

IT’S THE MIDDLE OF SEPTEMBER, AND EUREKA IS ABLAZE IN ORANGE AND BLACK.

Balloons tied to light posts and posters hung in the windows along Dewey Avenue announce to all who pass by: this is Lions territory.

It’s Homecoming week for Eureka Public Schools and the entire town is celebrating. But for some locals, like Joel Graves and Trevor Utter, the event carries an even greater significance.

“Homecoming means a lot of different things to different people,” Joel said. “To me, it’s a special thing because I got to come home. I never really thought I would have that opportunity.”

Joel and Trevor both grew up here in Eureka. Like many, they left their small hometown shortly after graduation in pursuit of bigger things–but after several years away, neither could resist the call to come home.

Today, Trevor serves as principal of Eureka’s lone middle school. He also coaches the high school football team on the very field where he once played, leading the Lions to four consecutive state championships. As for Joel, he served as the principal of Lincoln County High School for 15 years. Now, he’s the superintendent of Eureka Public Schools.

“Home is where the heart is, right? And this is where my heart is. This is where I feel most at peace,” Joel said. “This is where I feel like I belong, in Eureka, Montana.”

Unlike Joel and Trevor, Kevin Hodik is a transplant to Eureka. While living in the Flathead Valley and working for an electric cooperative, Kevin always had an eye on the work that InterBel was doing up here in Eureka.

“InterBel had a very good reputation statewide because of how progressive they were in getting communities connected,” Kevin said. “When the opportunity presented itself to move to Eureka and join InterBel, I had to take it.”

Today, Kevin serves as Chief Financial Officer at InterBel–but the opportunity to work for the cooperative wasn’t the only thing that drew Kevin and his family up north. Kevin received a call from Coach Utter asking him to coach youth football, and as a sports enthusiast with three young sons, he immediately knew the answer.

“Eureka has had a very good football program for the past several years, which was a good recruitment tool when my family was looking to move,” Kevin said.

“When you get an opportunity to be part of a great tradition such as InterBel or the Eureka Lions football program, you jump at those opportunities.”

The Pride of Lions

The Eureka Lions are a proud bunch.

“A group of lions is called a pride,” Trevor said. “We talk about this a lot with our students. What does it mean to be part of the pride? What does it mean to be a lion? What does it mean to be a group of lions? We are the lions and we are proud to be the pride.”

This Homecoming Week, the Lions have a lot to be proud of–including their technology.

“When other schools are talking about technology, I guarantee the name Eureka will come up in that conversation because they know what we’re doing up here,” Joel said. “We’re the envy of the school world in Montana.”

With fiber-optic internet, all 800 students across the district can be connected at the same time without buffering. They can complete assignments, communicate with their classmates, and explore a world beyond their rural hometown.

“They have the opportunity to learn things in this remote location that they wouldn’t otherwise,” Joel said. “We may not have a French teacher or a German teacher, and we can’t offer forensic science, but there are schools in Montana that do. With the internet connection we have, students are able to take those classes online. And we have InterBel to thank for that.”

InterBel is proud to provide Eureka Public Schools and the broader community with more than just technology. While Kevin coaches youth athletics, his teammates serve on the volunteer fire department, drive ambulances, and sit on boards across the community and state.

“We are a larger business in a small community, and I believe that as a result we have an obligation to serve in a greater capacity than just to provide a service,” Hodick said.

“I’m not from Eureka originally, but I take a lot of pride in calling Eureka my home now,” Kevin said. “I want to create a community which my kids wanna return home to. So wherever they go, they can always be proud to call Eureka home.”