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FROM THE BUSINESS MANAGER
I hope everyone had a pleasant Memorial weekend. As you all know, Memorial Day is our nations annual holiday to honor and mourn America’s military men and women who lost their lives in service to our country. This is also that time of year when our weather is turning warmer and soon schools will adjourn for summer break. As I sit and write this message, mother nature is opening the flood gates with some much-needed rain and the moisture is wonderful. However, the soggy wet conditions do make working outside a bit of a challenge for our members. You are all used to it though and as true professionals you move forward without missing a beat.
I’d like to mention a couple important dates to circle on your calendars this summer. One is the upcoming Lineman’s Rodeo scheduled to be held once again in Townsend at the Broadwater County Fairgrounds with evening festivities kicking off Friday July 18 and then the main competitions Saturday July 19. Secondly, our annual Local 44 Golf Tournament will be held Saturday August 16 at Fairmont Hot Springs. Please contact Boe and get your foursome signed up and if you know of someone or a company who might want to become a sponsor that would be awesome and appreciated as well. We really want both events to be family oriented so please bring your families and let’s spend some quality time together and have some fun!
The overall work picture is slowly picking up and is projected to remain steady throughout the rest of the year. The Mountain States Gas Program has recently been granted approval to transition from a Training Program into a registered Apprenticeship Program. This is exciting news from my perspective and I’m looking forward to future growth within this part of our industry. I will have more information to report on this transition as things progress. Brother Cliff McKay has worked hard on this situation, and I thank him for his diligence! Way to go! Stay safe out there and hope everyone has a good summer.
In Unity,
Scott Klungland
FROM THE ASSISTANT BUSINESS MANAGER
I would like to give a shoutout to Bob McCormick and Kory Boggess for winning the unit meeting raffle. Each one of them has a nice new knife compliments of MKC, Benchmade and RENEW Raffle. The next prize being raffled is an awesome Stone Glacier backpack valued at $650. For those of you who don’t know how this works, RENEW has sponsored a unit meeting raffle for all Members. The catch is the only way to get one of the 44 tickets per prize is to show up to a meeting. Tickets are $20 and you may purchase one per meeting. 1 in 44 chance of winning is good odds. When the 44th ticket is sold we hold the raffle, and a new raffle starts with a new prize.
RENEW was also able to donate an awesome Benchmade Knife to the MSLCAT Gas Program. This prize is for an event that will be held on May 31, 2025, at the MSLCAT Training Facility. I have talked with Cliff about it, and it sounds like it will be a great experience!
Good job RENEW!
Your Brother,
Kyle Hintz
(406) 565-3250
khintz@ibew44.org
MEMBERSHIP ORGANIZER
I would like to take this time to remind everyone of the upcoming summer events. July 18th & 19th is the annual Montana Lineman’s Rodeo in Townsend, MT. August 16th is the annual Stan Dupree Memorial Golf Tournament at Fairmont Hot Springs.
A few members of the Rodeo committee asked me to extend an invitation to anyone interested in getting together on Friday morning, July 18th, to play in a Golf scramble in Townsend. If interested, please contact me or Tim Newman (406) 475-2024. We did this last year, and it was a great way to start off the Rodeo weekend with some fun competition on the greens.
Your Brother,
Boe Shuman
(406) 533-8170
RETIRED MEMBERS
Local 44 would like to congratulate the following members who have retired from the trade:
Suzette Olson
Justin Shatto
Best wishes for a long and happy retirement!
YEARS OF SERVICE
The following is the list of Years of Service Pins for 2025. We will once again have a pin presentation at the Montana Lineman’s Rodeo on July 19th at the Townsend, MT Fairgrounds. Please RSVP to the Hall at 406-723-3203 if you would like to receive your pin at the rodeo. If you do not RSVP for the rodeo, then your pin will be mailed to the address that is currently on file in the Hall. If you think you have a pin coming and you are not on this list, please contact the Hall and we will look into it for you. Thank you for your cooperation and congratulations to all of you.
25 Years 30 Years 35 Years 40 Years 45 Years________
Bryan Anderson Mike Christensen William Beckley Mike Colvin Ronald Davis
Flint Baker Ryan Gibbs Michael Boylan Richard Dors Thomas Earhart
Jayden Bunch Ross Hasler Brian Cassidy Scott Scheeler Don Hendrickson
John Dietrich Jeffery Kunda Jay Long Roger Hinther
Scott Erickson Steven Lueck Russell McNeel Torleif Pedersen
Tad Gillen Ryan Nelson Mark Niemi Mark Quinn
Michael Kadrmas Larry Rattray Cary Norling Michael Schwenk
Trevor Keune John Richards Alice Woodring Rick Yurek
Michael LaFountain William Welch
Dan Moden John Williams
Gary Oksness
Denis Stickley
Waco Worts
Michael Zilch
50 Years 55 Years 60 Years 65 Years 75 Years
Robert Atkinson Robert Bryson Jordan Anderson Keith Barnett Fred A. Raunig
Charles Deshner Samuel Clayton JC Laurie Leonard Ehlang
Terrance Fonk Richard Grundhauser Lyle Nielsen
Mike Glueckert Jack “John” Harris
Jerry Greene Wade Simonson
Ronald Hendrickson
Robert Lindeman
David Zacha
JOURNEYMAN UPGRADES
Local 44 would like to congratulate the following members for achieving Journeyman status:
Blaine Baker – Journeyman Lineman
Blake Machado – Journeyman Lineman
Tanner Smith – Journeyman Lineman
Great job and best wishes for a great career!
IN MEMORIAM
Local 44 mourns the loss of the following retired member:
Michael Wise – Journeyman Lineman – passed away 4/29/25
Our sincere condolences go out to his family and friends.
JUNE UNIT MEETINGS
We will be holding one General Unit Meeting in the months of June, July & August, on video, via the Zoom App. You can easily access Zoom by downloading the app onto your home computer, laptop, iPad, tablet or cell phone. Please see below and use the login info to access Zoom and attend the meeting. The call-in number to join by phone is (253) 215-8782.
Executive Board will be scheduled throughout the summer. Have a good and safe summer!
June 25, 2025 6:00 PM ID – 841 4125 4135 Passcode – 229066
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