SUSTAINING RURAL COMMUNITIES – Breakout Sessions I

Ballroom C - Practical Strategies For Making Policy and Environmental Changes to Increase Healthy Eating and Physical Activity - Ninia Baehr, Program Manager, MSU Nutrition and Physical Activity (NAPA) Program; Cathy Costakis, Physical Activity Coordinator, NAPA; Lynn Hellenga, Nutrition Coordinator, NAPA; Shelly Sutherland, Evaluator, NAPA; Robin Mochi, Co-Coordinator, NAPA.

NW Lounge - Bridge to Prosperity: Anaconda Horizons Project - Jim Davison, Director, Anaconda Local Development Corporation; Barbara Andreozzi, MSU Extension Agent, Deer Lodge County; Dave Fenchak, Retired Director, PCA/Family Resource Center; Dan Villa, State Representative; Adam Vauthier, Co-Owner, Vaulthier- Ferguson Design.

SUB 233 - One Stop Shopping for Information and Resources on Nutrition, Family Finances, Parenting, Caregiving, Housing, Emergency Preparedness and Many Other Health Topics - Lynn Paul, Food/Nutrition Specialist, MSU Extension; Mike Vogel, Housing and Environmental Health Specialist, MSU Extension; Sandy Bailey, Family and Human Development Specialist, MSU Extension.

SUB 235 - Schools as an Opportunity for Food System Change in Rural Communities - Mary Stein, Nutrition Specialist, MSU Dept. of HHD; Christine Emerson, Director of School Nutrition Programs, Office of Public Instruction;; Kevin Moore, Grow Montana Farm-to-Cafeteria Connections.

Theater - Community Foundations: Preserving and Strengthening your Town through Philanthropy - Linda Reed, President/CEO; Cathy Cooney, Program Director, Montana Community Foundation.

Union Mrkt Rm - Rural Energy: Community Needs and Energy Opportunities - Joel Schumacher, MSU Extension, Economics Department; Al Kurki, Energy Program Specialist, NCAT; Gordon Britton, Professor Emeritus, Former Director of the Wheeler Center; Dan Lloyd, Alternative Energy Resources Organization (AERO).

SUSTAINING RURAL COMMUNITIES – Breakout Sessions II

Ballroom C - Innovative Childcare Solutions for Rural Communities - Jean Wallace, Daycare Supervisor, Wheatland Memorial Healthcare, Harlowton Montana; Mary Jane Standaert, State Collaborative Coordinator for Early Childhood System, Head Start; Kristi Wilson, Daycare Supervisor, Kristi's Kiddie Korner; Karen Thomas, Director, Childcare Resource and Referral, Havre.

NW Lounge - What Do You Do With an Empty School – or Any Other Empty Building, For That Matter? - Bruce Smith, MSU Extension Agent, Dawson County, & Farm-to-Table Project.

SUB 233 - Troubleshooting Grant Proposals: Common Pitfalls - Patricia McGlynn, MSU Extension Agent, Flathead County; Dave Young, Community Resource Specialist, MSU Extension; Mike Vogel, Housing and Environmental Health Specialist, MSU Extension.

SUB 235 - Projects to Strengthen your Community Food System – Diana Taylor, Mayor, Big Timber; Mark Rehder, Executive Director, Farms for Families.

Theater - Building Rural Philanthropy in Troubled Times - Mike Schechtman, Executive Director, Big Sky Institute for the Advancement of Nonprofits; Laurie Bishop, Board Member, Solid Rock Foundation; Tawnya Rupe, Program Director, Mountain Sky Guest Ranch; Gerald Sherman, President/CEO, Indian Land Capital Company; Mary Peterson, Board President, Big Sky Institute for the Advancement of Nonprofits.

Union Mrkt Rm - Walking Trails 101 - Ted Lange, Community Trails Planner, Gallatin Valley Land Trust; Mandie Reed, MSU Extension Agent, Wheatland County; Gene Townsend, Mayor, Three Forks, MT; Steve Gilbert, Fish Wildlife and Parks Recreational Trails Program.

SUSTAINING RURAL COMMUNITIES – Breakout Sessions III

Ballroom C - What Does Worksite Wellness Have to Do With Our Community? - Linda Krantz, Health Education Specialist, Montana Cardiovascular Health Program; Lynn Paul, Professor and MSU Extension Food and Nutrition Specialist, Montana Worksite Health Promotion Coalition; Chelsea Fagen, Health Benefits Director, Montana Chamber of Commerce; Rachel Hess Meech, Preventive Health Strategist with TwoMedicine Health and Financial Fitness; Kirk Keller, Wellness and Innovative Product Coordinator, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana; Kristin Juliar, Director, and Shalina Mirza, Project Coordinator, Montana Office of Rural Health, Area Health Education Center (AHEC).

NW Lounge - Initiating Creative Partnerships in Natural Resource-Dependent Communities in Montana - Liz Shanahan, Assistant Professor, MSU; Jill Belsky, Professor, University of Montana; Laurie Yung, Director, Wilderness Institute, University of Montana.

SUB 233 - The Center for Native Health Partnerships: Reducing Health Disparities of Native Americans in Montana through Community-Based Health Projects - Deborah LaVeaux, Program Coordinator, MSU Center for Native Health Partnerships (CHNP); Vickie LaFromboise, Associate Scientist, CNHP; Annette Sutherland, Community Organizer, Rocky Boy Reservation; Mike Todd, Community Organizer, Fort Peck Reservation.

SUB 235 - MSU Extension SNAP-Ed - Buy Better. Eat Better. An Opportunity for Community Nutrition Education - Coleen Kaiser, Extension Nutrition Education Coordinator, MSU Extension; Dana Thompson, Assistant Nutrition Education Coordinator, SNAP-Ed; Stephanie Daigle, Fiscal Manager, SNAP-Ed; Shirley Schermele, Assistant Nutrition Education Coordinator, SNAP-Ed.
Growing Resources and Sustaining People - Minkie Medora, Registered Dietician and Licensed Nutritionist, Montana Food Bank Network.

Theater - Don't Feel Like the Lone Ranger: Help Available and Lessons Learned in Addressing Community Housing Needs - Nancy Leifer, Homeownership Program Manager, Montana Board of Housing, Department of Commerce; Sheila Rice, Executive Director of NeighborWorks Great Falls and of NeighborWorks Montana; Gene Leuwer, Executive Director, Rocky Mountain Development Council; Gus Byrom, Program Manager, Community Development Block Grant Program, Montana Department of Commerce; Deborah Chorlton, Montana Housing Program Director, USDA Rural Development; Andrea Davis, Executive Director, homeWORD.

Union Mrkt Rm - Getting on the Same Page: Organizing a Community-Wide Reading Program - Paula Beswick, Director, Bozeman Public Library Foundation; Sarah Glover, Founder, One Book - One Bozeman.

SUSTAINING RURAL COMMUNITIES – Breakout Sessions IV

Ballroom C - Youth Leadership Programs: Engaging Teens in Community Service - Liz Mack, Youth Programs Coordinator, Hopa Mountain.
The Challenges of Bringing Best Practices to Rural Communities - Sue Chvilicek, Chief Juvenile Probation Officer, 6th Judicial District, Park and Sweet Grass Counties.
Do You Know How 2 Go? Helping Students Plan and Prepare for College - Emily Flemming, MSU Campus Outreach Manager, Student Assistance Foundation.
Developing School Skills Using Common Household Items as Toys - Ann Marshall, Director, Bright Lights Tutoring for Young Children and Their Parents.

NW Lounge - Tapping into the Creative Arts Economy - Cindy Kittredge, Folk Arts and Marketing Development SpecialistMontana Arts Council.

SUB 233 - Native American Nonprofits: Successful Models for Working in Indian Country - Heather Miller, Program Coordinator, Native Nonprofit Leadership Program, Hopa Mountain; Richard and Helen Horn, International Games Society; Tina Begay, Executive Director, National American Indian Business Leaders (AIBL) Program; Peggy White WellKnown Buffalo, Executive Director, The Center Pole; Susan Kelly, Program Director, The Center Pole.

SUB 235 - Communities in the Rural West in a Global World - Don Albrecht, Director, Western Rural Development Center; Carol Mulford Albrecht, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology, Utah State University.
The Draw of Rural Hometowns – Christiane Von Reichert, Professor, Department of Geography, University of Montana.

Theater - The Economic Profile System - Ray Rasker, Headwaters Economics.

Union Mrkt Rm - Using PA's for Health Education in Schools - Roman M. Hendrickson, Physician, Ruby Valley Hospital and Clinic; Carey Byers Wilson, Physician's Assistant, Ruby Valley Hospital and Clinic.