Events

David G. Sanders, a fourth-generation Montanan, currently serves as the chief of staff for Montana State Auditor I Commissioner of Securities and Insurance James Brown. Sanders was formerly executive director of the Montana Public Service Commission (PSC). The PSC regulates private investor-owned electric, natural gas, telephone, water and sewer utilities, and certain motor carriers. Additionally, the Commission oversees intrastate railroad safety and natural gas storage and pipeline safety.

Prior to his service in the Montana state government, Sanders founded a governmental and public affairs consultancy specializing in public policy analysis, elections analysis, and political and strategic communications consulting. David provides public policy analysis and strategic advice in the fields of politics, international affairs, international trade, energy, transportation, financial services and regulatory policy. The election analysis service Sanders founded currently provides detailed, daily political and public opinion analysis of the U.S. political environment to more than 80 Fortune 500 firms, national and international industry trade associations, labor organizations and political action committees.

Prior his experience in the private sector, Mr. Sanders was the CEO of the U.S. Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC), the U.S. government-owned corporation that operates and maintains the U.S. sections of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway system, the international waterway that connects the industrial and agricultural heartland of North America to the rest of the world.  While leading the U.S. St. Lawrence Seaway, Mr. Sanders led a reform agenda that dramatically improved the performance of the waterway in the areas of safety, system reliability, competitiveness and economic impact. Policy reforms that Mr. Sanders introduced led to the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation’s designation as the first U.S. government agency to become fully quality-assured under the ISO 9001 quality assurance regime.  

Under his leadership, the SLSDC became the first U.S. government organization to have a "performance-based budget” approved by the U.S. Congress. During his tenure,, Sanders led international trade development missions to more than 25 nations. These trade development efforts to expand U.S. and Canadian trade opportunities spanned six continents and more than doubled the international cargo throughput through the international waterway in less than seven years.     

Having been the architect of the performance management system for his agency that was rated best in the U.S. government, while leading the Seaway agency, Mr. Sanders became a member of the U.S. Department of Transportation's senior management team and the U.S. Secretary of Transportation selected Mr. Sanders to lead the U.S. DOT Systems Change and Accountability Working Group.  There he provided leadership to new strategic planning and performance planning efforts that were rated best in government by the Government Accounting Office and the Government Reform and Oversight Committees of the U.S. Congress.   

Prior to his work at the U.S. Department of Transportation, Mr. Sanders served as the Minority Staff Director of the Committee on Foreign Affairs' Subcommittee on International Economic Policy and Trade in the U.S. House of Representatives.  Sanders was the member of the Committee’s professional investigative staff responsible for international trade policy, international export policy, bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, export administration, export control policy, intellectual property protection, and international development policy and multilateral financial institutions.  While serving in the Congress, he became recognized for his expertise on international trade policy and practice, especially as it relates to the export of U.S. products to Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. 

Hosted by Mike Schauf.

Something new!! Rotary Club of Missoula will hold its monthly Fellowship Luncheon this week at Famous Dave's Barbecue Restaurant, 2915 N. Reserve Street, Missoula. Ask the hostess to be seated with the Rotary Club of Missoula group in the small dining room to your left as you enter the front door. Please RSVP if you plan to attend, as always. You will not be able to pay online this week, so the server will bring you a bill after you have completed your lunch. Pay the server directly. We look forward to shared Rotary fellowship at a new location! See you there!!

‘Tis said that storytelling is an art. Thus, our speaker on May 6 is an artist.

Missoula author Sally Thompson is a gifted storyteller who uncovers the revelatory power of the past by integrating the voices of tribal peoples in a seamless weaving that speaks with integrity to both Native and non-Native cultures of the Rocky Mountain West.

An engaging speaker and experienced workshop leader, Sally's 40+ year career in the Rocky Mountains and American Southwest speaks for itself. She interviewed hundreds of elders from tribes of the Missouri and Columbia river basins and traveled widely in North America and Europe in search of primary documents that reveal first-hand descriptions and illustrations of people and places of our past.

Sally will present her research of St. Mary Mission and Fort Owen. She will engage us in the sleuthing process to determine the relationship between the two centers. Known to the Salish as “Place of Wide Cottonwoods", recognized to be the oldest continuously occupied settlement in Montana.

Hear her recent interview on Montana Public Radio at sallythompsonauthor.com.

Speaker hosted by Tim Furey.

The five-person panel of speakers for May 13 will include young leaders from local chapters of Scouts of America, Girl Scouts, 4-H and FFA. Each speaker will briefly present his or her organization and then answer questions. The session will highlight recognized youth members and explain why their organizations have helped them to become good leaders.

Speakers hosted by Tim Furey.

Rotary Club of Missoula presents the All-Around Youth Leadership awards to C.S. Porter Middle School students.  Their parents and guardians are also invited guests.
 

Speakers and students hosted by Tim Berry and Mary Moe. 

Rotary presents All-Around Youth Leadership Awards to Meadow Hill middle schoolers. Their parents and guardians are also invited guests. Come help us honor them.

Speakers and students hosted by Tim Furey and Mary Moe.

Our speaker on June 3 is Arlene Walker-Andrews, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Missoula County Public Schools. Her background is in Developmental Psychology in which she conducted research and taught at Rutgers University for more than 22 years. She was the associate provost at the University of Montana before retiring in 2014.

Arlene and her husband Dave have two daughters, Rebecca and Eleanor.

Speaker hosted by Mary Moe.

Torrey Ritter, a nongame wildlife biologist with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and our Rotary club speaker on June 10, knows all about the important impacts that beavers make on our landscape. Torrey, based out of Missoula, has worked on a wide range of species and habitats over his career, but beavers really captured his interest when he observed how many different species benefit from their activities on the landscape. Torrey studied beaver dispersal and settlement site selection for his Master's work and has since gone on to work with a variety of partners on efforts to restore beavers to areas of their former range and help people deal with beaver conflicts.

President Shari Rigg will lead her final farewell prior to turning the gavel over to PE Lori Cummings, who will serve as president in 2026-27. 

Speaker hosted by Tim Berry.

Speaker hosted by John Drew.

Join fellow Rotarians for lunch and fellowship. Be sure to order and pay for your luncheon entree online by Monday before the meeting. Visit https://www.rotaryclubofmissoula.org.