Montana Gift Corral celebrates 25 years in Bozeman with a yearlong giveaway.

The generosity of Montanans is a badge of pride, right next to their independent streak and ability to make a good, strong cup of coffee. Local gift shop Montana Gift Corral has been honoring ideals like these for over two decades, selling souvenirs and gifts which savor Montana culture, its artists, the landscapes, and wildlife. Visitors and locals visit their three Bozeman locations for tangible reminders of a trip to Yellowstone, or another backroad journey in Big Sky Country. But as 2018 marks their 25th anniversary, Montana Gift Corral wanted to do something special in commemoration.

Based on the philosophy that getting a gift feels good, and giving one feels better, Montana Gift Corral is helping its customers do both with a yearlong giveaway. Names go into a hat and are drawn every two weeks. The winners receive a gift card, and Montana Gift Corral then makes a donation—which matches their gift card dollar amount—to any nonprofit of their choice.

The winning charities have ranged from beloved local animal shelter Heart of the Valley to international organizations like VETPAW (Veterans Empowered To Protect African Wildlife). Since January, when the giveaway began, Montana Gift Corral has been able to donate to conservation groups and animal shelters, family and women's’ support organizations, and senior care. Every donation is meaningful—for the individual drawing winner and the donation recipient, as well as for the team at Montana Gift Corral. Manager Les Gundersen shares her sentiments, “The best part of this giveaway celebration is that the money’s going out into communities. Supporting our community organizations and nonprofits is good for all of us.”

In the early 1990s, Sharon and Bert Hopeman opened the first Montana Gift Corral location in downtown Bozeman. July marked Montana Gift Corral’s 25th Anniversary month and fell just past the halfway point in the 2018 giveaway. Hundreds of dollars have been awarded to winning names drawn from the hat, and hundreds more donated to 14 charities and nonprofits thus far during the anniversary celebration. Montana Wildlife Federation, one of Montana’s oldest conservation groups and the party responsible for the state’s famous stream access fishing regulations, was one of the many nonprofits to receive a donation from Montana Gift Corral.

As Les Gundersen reflected with gratitude on the chance to share $6,500 with dozens of different charitable causes by year’s end, the conversation turned to being part of the Main Street Bozeman landscape for more than two decades, sharing Montana memories with gift-givers and receivers all over the world. “The truth is, we never take it for granted that we’re still here in Bozeman, after 25 years. We’re really grateful to be here in this community, and we’re grateful to share this opportunity to give back to—and with—our customers.”

To learn more about how these donations have positively impacted nonprofits, or information on how to participate, please contact Montana Gift Corral at GiftCorral.com or visit one of its three Bozeman locations, downtown, in the Gallatin Valley Mall, and inside Walmart.

200 community volunteers unite to build a new playground at Bozeman Sports Park Volunteers from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana, the City of Bozeman Parks and Recreation Department and the community will join KaBOOM! on Saturday, August 18 to transform an empty site into a kid-designed, state-of-the-art playground in just six hours at Bozeman Sports Park.

The new playground will help make play the easy choice for kids and families in Bozeman.  Play is essential to physical, creative, cognitive, social and emotional development. The Bozeman Sports Park master plan includes a site for an all-inclusive play area for children of all ages and abilities. The play area will be utilized for the city’s day camps as well as by visiting families participating in soccer, lacrosse, and other field sport tournaments.

Through this playground project, the City of Bozeman Parks and Recreation Department, together with the Bozeman Sports Parks Foundation, will work with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana and KaBOOM! to make a difference in their community and address the most urgent needs of kids. In June, kids from throughout Bozeman came together to draw their dream playground.

The 2,500 square-foot playground is based off their drawings and will provide thousands of kids in Bozeman and beyond with an accessible, safe and fun place to play. Future features to be built in the Sports Park will include picnic pavilions, trails, open play areas, and a splash pad. This playground is part of a broader effort led by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana and KaBOOM! to ensure communities have great PLAYces for kids and families. It will be the fifth build by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana. Through this partnership, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana is creating an oasis where kids feel valued and loved, and where their potential is supported, nurtured and celebrated.  

WHEN: Saturday, August 18 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.   
Kick-off ceremony 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Congregation Beth Shalom invites all Jews, their families, and those seeking a Jewish spiritual path to High Holiday services this September.

• 9 September, 6 PM, Rosh Hashanah Evening Service
• 10 September, 10 AM, Rosh Hashanah Morning Service
• 18 September, 7 PM, Yom Kippur Evening Service
• 10 September, 10 AM, Yom Kippur Morning Service

The Bozeman Beautification Advisory Board is now accepting nominations for beautification projects of note within city limits in the past year. The board will be accepting nominations from the general public now through Friday, September 21st . Nominations can be submitted online at www.bozeman.net/beautificationawards. Winners will be honored at the 2018 Bozeman Beauitifcation Award Ceremony on Wednesday November 7th in the Baxter Hotel Ballroom. 

Nominations can include a variety of beautification projects that have been completed within the Bozeman city limits.  These projects can include but are not limited to exciting residential design, neighborhood revitalization, new or improved commercial design, exceptional landscape, public art and much more. There are many categories listed on the online nomination form as a reference but new categories are always welcome. Past winners include Wilson Residences, Larkspur Commons, and a unique “Little Library” designed and created by a local resident for their backyard.  

The Bozeman Beautification Advisory Board  has been recognizing outstanding beautification efforts undertaken by individuals, businesses, organizations, and service groups since 1997. Chair of the Board, Terry Quatraro says, “One of the goals of this board is to identify, investigate, and recommend community beautification projects to the City Commission.  The response to these annual awards over the years has had a tremendously positive effect for our community.  By recognizing meritorious efforts of groups and individuals within our city it helps us all have a sense of pride and respect for the beauty that surrounds us.” Community members are encouraged to submit nominations for projects big and small at www.bozeman.net/beautificationawards.

Access to mental health care services is available to more individuals in the Gallatin Valley thanks to a grant from the Montana Healthcare Foundation and a partnership between Montana State University and the Gallatin City County Health Department.

With the grant, which is worth nearly $70,000, MSU counseling professors Anna Elliott and Rebecca Koltz from the MSU Department of Health and Human Development in the College of Education, Health and Human Development have partnered with the Gallatin City County Health Department’s Healthy Gallatin Home Visiting program. Through the collaboration, health department home visitors with the program may refer individuals and families to an MSU clinic for counseling services.

“Currently in the Gallatin Valley, there is a shortage of services for low-income residents to receive counseling services, so our grant aims to help attend to this gap,” Koltz said. “We hope that we can increase our ability to provide meaningful mental health services to an underserved population in the Gallatin Valley.” 

Montana State University counseling professors Anna Elliott, left, and Rebecca Koltz are pictured outside the Human Development Clinic near MSU's Bozeman campus. MSU photo by Kelly Gorham

The counseling services will be offered for a low cost through the Human Development Clinic, a community mental health agency that is affiliated with MSU's graduate counseling program. Counseling sessions offered through the clinic are staffed by MSU graduate counseling students who are supervised by licensed mental health professionals.

"Each year the graduate counseling students (at MSU) provide approximately 14,000 hours of free or low-cost counseling to the community,” Elliott said. “We want to increase our ability to offer mental health care to clients who may not be able to access services from other sources.”

There is no restriction to the number of counseling sessions participants may receive, said Koltz, who added that the client and counselor will collaboratively determine the number of sessions to best meet the client’s treatment plan goals. 

Elliott said even though the sessions are offered at a low cost, individuals sometimes face logistical barriers to counseling. To try to help reduce those barriers, the Human Development Clinic will offer transportation to the clinic – which is located on South Third Avenue near the MSU campus – as well as child programming on site while the child’s or children’s caregiver/s are engaged in counseling sessions.

“Additionally, we are providing a range of services to tailor what each participant in this program would benefit from - individual, couples counseling, family counseling, and/or parent/child relationship counseling,” Elliott said.

According to Koltz, five to six interns work at the clinic, and in addition, she and Elliott are hoping to hire a post-master's intern who could also provide addictions counseling at the clinic. 

Koltz and Elliott hope the grant and collaboration with the Gallatin City County Health Department will provide benefits for both the clients and the MSU graduate counseling students.

“We hope that we can increase our ability to provide meaningful mental health services to an underserved population in the Gallatin Valley,” Elliott said. “We also hope that this collaboration will provide an intensive training opportunity for our counseling interns, increasing their exposure to working with higher-need clients so that they can serve a range of clients in our community upon graduation.” 

“The College of Education, Health and Human Development is committed to integrating community services with our teaching and research missions, consistent with being a land-grant university,” said Alison Harmon, dean of the college. “This new project is a great example of serving the community while also serving our students and adding to the country’s knowledge base.”

In additional to the new referral program, the Human Development Clinic offers counseling services upon request on a sliding fee scale for individuals and families in the Gallatin Valley. To receive a free, confidential beginning session, individuals are invited to call the Human Development Clinic at 406-994-4113.

A huge welcome to Evan Weiss, BSF's new executive director, who started on July 9. Evan has been spending his first days at BSF meeting with BSF's program directors, board, and staff, and learning the ins and outs of the club's programs. 

Rebekah Bunting, president of the BSF board, noted, “Evan is a bright, energetic and well-qualified individual. I look forward to seeing him infuse those qualities in BSF as our new Executive Director.”

Most recently, Evan was the head coach for the Snow Summit Race Team at Big Bear Mountain in California. A former U.S. Ski Team member, he has more than a decade of experience in athletic program management and brings a diverse skillset to the table, from managing financial operations to raising money and developing programs.

Evan skied on the U.S. Alpine Ski Team from 1999 to 2006 and was a three-time NCAA All American at Dartmouth College. As the head alpine coach at Western State College and then University of Nevada, Reno, he led recruiting efforts and managed student athletes. During a five-year tenure as the program director and head coach at Alpental Snoqualmie Ski Education Foundation in Washington, he managed a successful youth alpine program, boosting membership and athlete retention and developing a scholarship program. 

Evan and his wife, Lauren Summers, recently relocated to Bozeman.  Lauren also grew up alpine racing and currently works in  cancer research. They plan to take full advantage of Bozeman’s beautiful mountains and rivers. “Bozeman has a great tradition of winter sport with outstanding venues and a community that is engaged in skiing,” Evan noted. “I’m looking forward to helping the BSF programs continue to succeed and to bring new energy into the fundraising and capital projects that will take this team to the next levels.”

REACHING OUT

Evan is looking forward to meeting parents, athletes and friends of BSF. He encourages BSF members to reach out. "We're working on our strategic plan and U.S. Ski & Snowboard club recertification, so I'd love to meet people before the snow flies," he said. He can be reached at evan.weiss@bridgerskifoundation.org. Or call the BSF office (406-587-2445) and set up a meeting.

Evan succeeds former Executive Director Swithin McGrath, who resigned in December 2017 for personal and family reasons. From December through July, board members Pat Flowers and Rebekah Bunting served as interim executive directors. A huge thanks to Pat and Rebekah for their hard work during the transition.

Bridger Ski Foundation is a nonprofit ski club providing educational and competitive programs in Nordic, Freestyle, Freeskiing, Snowboarding and Alpine skiing. They also groom an incredible network of Community Nordic Trails in Bozeman. www.bridgerskifoundation.org