We had a panel of engaging women speakers including Vickie Amundson talking about the Silent Witnesses Initiative (see article below), Lori Botkin from the Flathead Food Bank, Debi Strong speaking about recycling and global warming and Rebecca Metteer, Flathead Public Health Educator.  Lori equated the amount of food distributed in the Flathead Valley last year as 70 elephants (they weigh 10,000 pounds each)! Rebecca alarmed us about teen sexually transmitted diseases (1 in 4 girls) and even HIV-AIDS in Montana, and increasing teen pregnancies (the US rate is 2 times Canadian rate). She told us that the Federal “abstinence only” programs are not working, but research shows that comprehensive sex education in schools and parental involvement is successful. Debi told us that Glacier National Park original 150 glaciers have melted down to 26 remaining and they are projected to disappear by 2030. Plant, tree and animal species are not able to move or adapt to the changing climate and so we are losing many species. Polar bears are projected to be extinct in 30 years. Recycling saves energy; the amount of aluminum cans thrown out equals the US air fleet X 4; 20 million Hersey kisses wrappers are thrown out daily, equivalent to 133 square miles of aluminum foil. “See the September issue of Simple Magazine for lots of ideas for recycling and lead by example,” says Debi.

     We had three political talks: Brittany MacLean from Whitefish and Flathead BPW Co-Vice President is running for the Montana Senate; Denise Juneau is running for OPI, and Governor Schweitzer is running for re-election. Brittany is concerned about balancing work/family, increasing quality day care, the number of providers, and on-site child care at work. Denise says “OPI is the most important office in Montana because their goal is for every child to get a quality education and to believe in each child’s brilliance, creativity and talents.”

The afternoon Experiential Leadership Training session was led by Michelle Skaletski-Boyd of Soul-Felt Words. We did lots of musical chairs while switching groups to do the exercises addressing “Leadership Courage”, thus meeting/networking with women we didn’t know before.

 “Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer spoke to women from all over the state at a Business and Professional Women of Northwest Montana conference. The visit was covered by the local television station .” (click on the link)

He gave a Power point presentation, reporting growth statistics in Montana’s economy, as reported by independent surveys. Some highlights are:

- Montana’s Cowboy Boot (Flathead-Missoula-Gallatin-Billings) has the fastest growth in the US

 -Montana is 7^th in the country in overall business climate

-Montana is 6^th in the country in overall tax climate

-New Jobs up 71% in 2005-2008 from last Governor

-Montana has 4^th fastest export growth

-Montana’s oil production is up 40%, coal is up 35%

-Education (primary/secondary) from $3,000/student in 1991 to $4,500/student; higher education from $5,500 to $8,500/student

-More women in his administration than before and is highest percentage women than any state

In the morning, we had a Montana State Board meeting led by state president Pat Simmons from Bozeman.