Montana Ambassadors Announce Award Winners – Annual Meeting on February 15th in Helena.

The Montana Ambassadors will be recognizing four annual award winners during their annual meeting in Helena February 15th and 16th. Governor Brian Schweitzer will be on hand to present awards to the Ambassador’s Educator of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year, Ambassador of the Year, and Business of the Year.

The Ambassadors will present Dr. Geoffrey Gamble, President of Montana State University since 2000, with the Michael P. Malone Educator of the Year Award. This award recognizes a Montana educator who has demonstrated outstanding accomplishments, excellence and leadership in the field of education and embodies the values of Michael Malone, PhD, former MSU President.

Larry Noonan, CEO of AWARE, INC. will be honored with the award for Entrepreneur of the Year for his commitment to the development of statewide services for the developmentally disabled, youth, seniors and families. A five year member of the Montana Ambassadors, Noonan possesses a true entrepreneurial spirit and a keen knowledge of the people of Montana.

This year’s recipient of Ambassador of the Year is Rick Edwards of NorthWestern Energy in Butte. Edwards is the Director of Key Accounts and Customer Education for NorthWestern, and is currently First Vice President of the Montana Ambassadors. He also serves as President of the Montana Economic Developers Association (MEDA), and is a member of the board for the Montana State Chamber of Commerce, the Butte Chamber of Commerce, the Butte Local Development Corporation, Headwaters RC & D and the International Utility Economic Developers Association (UEDA).

The Ambassadors will present Blue Rock Products, a Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company, with its Business of the Year Award. Blue Rock Products was established in 1913 at Fairview, Montana. In 1978, Blue Rock Products Company moved its entire central production center and general offices to Sidney. Today its Sidney facility features a modern production warehouse and office complex. Blue Rock is the largest family-owned soft drink and wholesale beer and wine distributor in the Eastern Montana/Western North Dakota area and presently employs more than 90 people at its five locations.

Governor Brian Schweitzer will be making the awards presentations to the recipients during the annual Montana Ambassadors Banquet in Helena on February 15th. This year’s annual meeting will also include a keynote address by Rich Karlgaard, Publisher of Forbes Magazine. For more information about the annual meeting or to register to attend visit the Montana Ambassador website at http://www.montanaambassadors.com or call their office at (406) 563-5353.