January 2008
Montana Western Grad Receives Sales Award
Wednesday, January 30 2008
Randy Gerringa, a 1994 graduate of the University of Montana Western was named Salesperson of the Year by the Northern Broadcasting System (NBS), Inc.
The NBS is a radio and television network headquartered in Billings, Mont.
The award was presented at the Northern Broadcasting System's annual company retreat.
As a Marketing Specialist for NBS, Gerringa works with businesses across the Montana and Wyoming creating targeted marketing campaigns that utilize radio, television and the Internet.
Gerringa, a native of Dillon, Mont., has been with NBS three years.
The Northern Broadcasting System, via the Northern Ag Network and the Northern News Network, has over 90 radio affiliates in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon and the western Dakotas and a dozen television affiliates in Montana and Wyoming.
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Mann Gulch Fire and Smoker Jumpers Subject of Free Speaker Presentation
Tuesday, January 29 2008
Mann Gulch, Montana, 1949. Sixteen men ventured into hell to fight a raging wildfire and only three came out alive. Not until 1999, the fiftieth anniversary of the fire, did people begin to talk openly about Mann Gulch.
Mark Matthews has gathered those thoughts in his book “A Great Day to Fight a Fire, Mann Gulch, 1949”. Mathews is featured in the first Free Speaker Presentation of the 2008 Spring Semester.
The presentation will be held Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008 in the Swysgood Technology Center in Room 005 from 7-8:30 p.m.
In his presentation, Mathews will look at the first ten years of smoke jumping and will remember and discuss the Mann Gulch Fire.
His discussion of smoking jumping includes interviews of smoke jumpers from that era.
In retelling the story of Mann Gulch, he draws on the testimony of the three survivors, including never before published insights from the last living member of the team.
Mathews, a Missoula, Mont. writer, is also the author of “Smoke Jumping on the Western Fire Line: Conscientious Objectors During World War II.” He is a former wildland firefighter and Forestry Technician.
For more information, please call the Montana Western School of Outreach at 683-7537.
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Native American Poet Featured at "Dances With Words"
Thursday, January 17 2008
Native American poet M.L. Smoker was featured at this semester’s first installment of the University of Montana Western’s acclaimed “Dances with Words” series.
Smoker read selected poems in “The Cup,” the university’s coffee shop located on the lower level of the Swysgood Technology Center.
Smoker is a member of the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes of the Fort Peck Reservation in northeastern Montana
She holds an MFA from the University of Montana in Missoula, where she was the recipient of the Richard Hugo Fellowship. Smoker is also a graduate of Pepperdine University. She was a Battrick Fellow at the University of Colorado.
“Another Attempt at Rescue”, her first collection of poems was published in 2005. Smoker’s poems have also appeared in “South Dakota Review” and “Many Mountains Moving.”
Montana author Debra Magpie Earling had this to say about “Another Attempt at Rescue”, "These poems are like a collective soul, not just mythical, but the voice of myth itself.”
Her poems were translated for “Acoma,” an Italian literary journal published by the University of Rome. She contributed a short story for the anthology “Hozho - Walking in Beauty: Native American Stories of Inspiration, Humor and Life.”
Montana Western’s English department sponsors “Dances With Words” which features visiting writers and poets. The university and local patrons fund the series.
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Celtic Band Finnegan Ridge to Perform at Montana Western
Thursday, January 10 2008
Bozeman, Mont. Celtic band Finnegan Ridge will perform a fund-raising concert Sunday, Feb. 10, 2008 at the University of Montana Western.
The concert begins at 7 p.m. in the Lewis and Clark room. Tickets are $20 with only 200 tickets available.
In addition to the music, there will be a variety of appetizers and a no-host bar featuring beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages. There will also be a special raffle held during the event featuring a variety of prizes.
Proceeds from the concert will help cover expenses for Montana Western students traveling to Ireland for the Experience Ireland Honors Class.
Since its inaugural performance in 1998, Finnegan Ridge has been spreading its captivating brand of Celtic music to audiences around Montana's Gallatin Valley and beyond.
Finnegan Ridge plays a blend of traditional and original Celtic music. The band's music certainly isn't rigidly confined to a particular genre, and tunes from songs from other world and folk music traditions slide easily into their repertoire.
Listed among the band's standout performances have been the "Hot Celtic" show at the Northwest Folklife Festival in Seattle and their yearly performances at Butte’s wildly successful An Ri Ra Irish Festival.
Finnegan Ridge members include: Bob Waters: flute, whistles, and vocals; Hobart Collins: bouzuki, mandolin, tenor banjo, and backup vocals; Mike Videon: guitar, mandolin and vocals; Marlene Schuman: vocals and percussion; Rich Morse: concertina, flute, percussion, and backup vocals and Michelle Terwillinger: fiddle and backup vocals.
Tickets are available in downtown Dillon at Bert’s C.D.’s and on the Montana Western campus at the Foundation Office located in the Roe House.
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Spring Semester "Dances With Words" Schedule Announced
Thursday, January 10 2008
The University of Montana Western English department announced the 2008 spring semester schedule of "Dances With Words."
"Dances With Words" is a series of readings from authors and poets.
All readings will take place Thursday nights at 7:30 p.m. at The Cup, located on the lower level of the Swysgood Technology Center.
Jan. 24, 2008, M. L. Smoker of Helena, Mont., poetry reading
Feb. 21, 2008, Judy Blunt, Missoula, Mont., non-fiction reading
March 27, 2008, Julianne Spahr, San Francisco, Calif., poetry.
April 24, 2008, Mary Clearman Blew, Moscow, Idaho, nonfiction and
fiction reading.
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Montana Western Grad on Denny Rehberg's Staff
Wednesday, January 9 2008
Montana's Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today announced the addition of two new members to his staff to serve constituents in western Montana. Maren Olsen, from Chinook, and Jessica Anderson, from Missoula, will be based out of Rehberg’s Missoula District Office.
“Western Montana is a fast-growing, diverse part of the state, and keeping up with its changing needs is critical,” said Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee. “My field representatives develop important relationships with the people of Montana, and help me better serve our state in Congress.”
Olsen is a 1999 graduate of Chinook High School, with a degree in Business Tourism from the University of Montana Western. She is currently in the Masters of Education Program at MSU-Billings. Olsen is the daughter of Don and Marian Olsen, now living in Boulder.
Her duties as a field representative will involve frequent travel to 14 counties in western Montana, keeping in touch with the needs of the public by attending meetings, corresponding with local and state officials, and staying involved with a variety of issues affecting western Montana.
“I’m pleased to welcome Maren and Jessica to our team, and encourage all the people of Montana to contact my offices to share their thoughts and concerns,” said Rehberg, who also has state district offices in Billings, Great Falls, and Helena.
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