Montana Ambassadors Spring 2007 Newsletter

President’s Message:

Well, as they say, ‘Spring has Sprung’. And,
with that, a new year for the Montana Ambassadors. I am
truly humbled to have been selected as the 2006 Montana
Ambassador of the Year, and I look forward to serving as
your President in 2007. I would be remiss without acknowledging
my predecessors including Craig Herbert,
Emil Ehrhardt, Liz Marchi, and Jon Marchi. As a result of their tutelage, I believe
that we are poised to move forward.

Additionally, for those of you who
took the time to attend our Annual Meeting, ‘Thank You’. It was an awesome
meeting, climaxed with our keynote speaker, Rich Karlgaard, the publisher of
Forbes Magazine. Rich provided some thought-provoking comments and
shared his insight for the future.

The success of the meeting was largely because
of the efforts of our Coordinator, Gloria O’Rourke. Jan Shanahan also
committed a great deal of time and energy to make the meeting a success.

My hat’s off to all of you!

As we look back on the Annual Meeting, I would again like to acknowledge
our 2006 award winners. They were: Business of the Year – Blue
Rock Products of Sidney, Entrepreneur of the Year – Larry Noonan of
AWARE, Inc. of Anaconda, and Educator of the Year – Geoff Gamble of Montana
State University in Bozeman.

As I look forward to the upcoming year, I have three major goals for
our organization.

First, we have heard loud and clear that our members want
a clear focus and some tangible projects to work on. Based upon the Governor’s
direction and our strategic plan, I believe that we have some things to
‘sink our teeth into’.

Next, I want to improve the visibility of our group. This
will be accomplished through our efforts in genuine projects, the establishment
of additional out of state chapters, the promotion of our golf tournament, and
proudly wearing our Ambassador apparel.

Finally, at the conclusion of my
term, I hope that the Ambassador’s are just a bit better off financially than
when I took over. This will happen through prudent management of our resources
and the identification of opportunities that will make a difference.

In conclusion, I look forward to working with each of you. This is a
group, for the members, tasked with improving the economic livelihood of the
state. Please contact me anytime with your thoughts and suggestions.

Rick Edwards

Full Newsletter: http://www.montanaambassadors.com/spring2007news.pdf