You are hereby invited to attend the Annual Membership Meeting of the Red Lodge Area Community Foundation.

The meeting will take place on WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 2025, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM, ROOSEVELT CENTER,  519 S. BROADWAY AVENUE, AND VIRTUALLY VIA ZOOM.

The Annual Meeting of the Members is held in March for the purpose of electing Directors, reporting on the most recent year’s activities and financial report, and any other matter requiring member approval.

Key reasons to attend our annual meeting:

• Transparency and Accountability: We will present out financial reports, accomplishments, and challenges from the past year, providing transparency to members and stakeholders about how funds are being used.
• Strategic Planning: Learn about our future goals and strategic direction, including new initiatives and areas of focus for 2025 and on.
• Leadership Engagement: Meet and interact with the board members and executive staff, gaining insights into their vision and leadership style.
• Member Participation: Vote on important matters like board elections. We do not have any Bylaw or policy changes this year.
• Networking Opportunities: Connect with other supporters, volunteers, and community members who share an interest in the Foundations’ mission.
• Celebration and Recognition: Celebrate the Foundation’s achievements and recognize the contributions of volunteers, donors, and staff members.
• Voice your Concerns: Provide feedback and ask questions directly to our staff and Board members regarding the Foundation’s operations and activities.

For those unable to attend the Annual Meeting, a member may have a valid proxy if made in writing or email and filed with the Secretary, sahanson49@gmail.com, or Executive Director of the Foundation, tracy@rlacf.org, before or at the time of the meeting.

We request that you register for the meeting so that membership can be confirmed in advance of the meeting. Please click the button below to register for this event. We look forward to sharing the highlights of 2024 with you. As is our tradition, we are hosting our famous community table which is a diverse sampling of food by our local chefs.

Join Via Zoom

Topic: Red Lodge Area Community Foundation 2025 Annual Meeting

Time: Mar 26, 2025, 11:00 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85891728863?pwd=xOX6bT0qPxUlFJ6Vist9zGDtgH74W6.1

MEET THE PROPOSED MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE RED LODGE AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION:

For Re-Election in 2025, Board Member Since 2003

Merv Coleman

“We’ve gone from a Fun Run committee to a full-fledged organization that’s fully engaged in the community in the short time of about 20 years. Great organizations don’t just happen. It takes time, vision, leadership, and willing people to serve. We have all of that energy and then some, with Tracy and Jo Ann, board members, staff, and a host of volunteers. I am especially proud of the Fun Run but also that we are involved with youth, poverty, veterans, affordable housing, the Roosevelt Center project, swimming pool, and other aspects of community, interacting with many nonprofits. I always tell people that when I go to a board meeting, I have to take a seat belt along to stay in my chair because there are so many good things happening.”

For Re-Election in 2025, Board Member Since 2007

Jo Ann Eder

“RLACF is involved with so many projects that make our community such a vital, resilient place. We want to invest in people who are building interconnections for the long term.”

When asked to list special projects during her lifetime, Jo Ann, a retired astronomer, answers modestly “mapping the universe.” After earning her Ph.D. in astronomy from Yale University, Jo Ann was a career research scientist at the world-renowned Arecibo Radio Observatory in Puerto Rico. She also has a master’s degree in cross-cultural education from the University of New Mexico. In addition to serving as a past RLACF board chair, she is Treasurer of the O. P. and W. E. Edwards Foundation. Edwards is a family foundation, which grants to organizations serving youth at risk primarily in Montana and Indian Country. Jo Ann was the Red Lodge Citizen of the Year in 2011. She was married to the late Bert P. Eder, Sr.

 

Affiliations: Current board service with the Montana Community Foundation, Trust Montana; past board service with Philanthropy Northwest, Baretooth Cupboards, Montana Children’s Trust Fund, Yellowstone Public Radio; member of Leadership Montana

 

For Re-election in 2025, Board Member Since 2019

Janet Peterson

“RLACF is a leader in our community and sets a commendable example for local organizations. I greatly admire the passion, energy, and commitment of RLACF Board and staff and appreciate that RLACF includes a diverse group of individuals at the Board table. Our community is very fortunate to have this group support our nonprofit and, sometimes, for-profit efforts.”

Janet Peterson worked for many years in for-profit businesses, focusing on management and accounting. She enjoys brainstorming ideas, seeing the bigger picture, and connecting with people with similar interests.  

The wild and beautiful mountain environment near Red Lodge continues to inspire.  She believes in the power of nature to restore an individual’s spirit. Grateful for the amazing community in which she lives, Janet completes her lifestyle with fulfilling volunteer work.

 

Affiliations: Carbon County Resource Council, Kids’ Corner

Returning to the Board, Board Member from 2012-2020

William (Bill) Foisy

“RLACF continues to be a reliable and resourceful organization that identifies and addresses community issues and needs in cooperation with multiple countywide nonprofits and local governments. I am honored to be considered to participate again as a board director and am confident I can make meaningful contributions.”

Bill’s willingness to rejoin our board is a demonstration of his overall commitment to the Red Lodge community and his passion for volunteer service. During his previous time on the RLACF board, he made significant contributions on multiple committees including the Finance Committee, Governance Committee (Chair), and the Roosevelt Center Steering Committee. He continues to serve on the Transit and Housing subcommittees. He enjoys helping during the Fun Run and between 2011-2023 served in a variety of roles including on the steering committee, as race director, setting up the finish line, and as drink/food coordinator representing the Beartooth Recreational Trails Association. Bill’s background in community and regional planning continues to be an asset in our community.

 

Affiliations: Beartooth Recreational Trails Association 2011-2023 with last five years as treasurer; Red Lodge Lions Club 2011-2024 to include president and treasurer; Red Lodge City Council 2012-2016 to include chair of public works committee; Red Lodge Parks and Recreation Board 2012-2016 as council representative; Recycle Electronic Waste Into New Devices (annual event coordinator) 2012-2020; Red Lodge Climb for Cancer Steering Committee 2014-2017 to include responsibility for memorial flags; Beartooth Resource Conservation and Development Area, Inc. 2014-2021 including secretary and chairman. Red Lodge Citizen of the Year 2015. Current technical advisor to the Red Lodge Area Chamber of Commerce and the City of Red Lodge regarding Montana Mainstreet Program and wayfinding/gateway signage

 

For New Director

Rod Fordahl

“The importance of serving your community cannot be overstated.”

Rod Fordahl earned a bachelor’s degree in business with an emphasis in construction management from Mankato University in Minnesota. He put the degree to good use throughout his 31-year career, owning and operating Fry Construction in Sheridan, WY, which did a lot of commercial work, building hospitals, college buildings, schools, and some custom housing. His knowledge will be an asset to RLACF, particularly for workforce housing projects. While he lived in Sheridan, Wyoming, he was a member of the Rotary for many years and helped with Christmas in April for about a decade in the 1990s and early 2000s.

 

Current Affiliations: Red Lodge Parks and Recreation Board since 2023
Past Affiliations: Rotary Club of Sheridan, Wyoming

 

For New Director

Marc Geraci

“We very much enjoy being a part of this little town. Red Lodge is full of people with an incredible sense of community. RLACF serves these people and the organizations they support. It is a privilege to be part of that service and grow it.”

Marc became an important part of RLACF in 2024 when he became an initial member of the newly launched Investment Committee. His experience as the treasurer of a small public company that grew into a multibillion-dollar company, small business owner and operator for many years, and licensed CPA in Illinois are valuable assets to our financial team. His education includes post-graduate study in Taxation at DePaul University. Marc’s wife, Sally, grew up in Billings, and they have been visiting Red Lodge almost every summer for the past forty years. When they purchased their home in Red Lodge in 2012, they began spending summers and part of the winter here as well. They support a variety of local organizations including Beartooth Clinic, Carbon County Resource Council, Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Foundation and the pool. Marc and Sally enjoy working with RLACF’s workforce housing initiative and are willing to do what it takes to advance the program. He is a Master BBQ Judge, having judged over 80 contests in the United States and Europe.

 

Current Affiliations: Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Past Affiliations: Board Member of Chi Delta Tau Alumni Association at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas; Member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants; Member of the Illinois CPA Society; Registered Broker-Dealer with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and California Securities Commission

For New Director

Max Maynard

“I have been lucky enough to witness and be a beneficiary of the great work the Red Lodge Area Community Foundation takes part in. Their efforts with the Roosevelt Center, CART, the Fun Run, and affordable housing are just a few examples of how they’ve positively affected our community. I look forward to working with the amazing people who have given so much to this town!”

Max Maynard brings his youth, connection to the working class, and experience as a well-traveled military kid to our board to diversify its membership and add perspective to how we approach issues in our area. After attending multiple high schools, as a military kid might do, he graduated from Patch American High School in Stuttgart, Germany. He came to Red Lodge in 2016 when Red Lodge Mountain was the only ski area to offer both him and a friend a job. He now works as a teacher aide and cook at Mountain Bluebells Preschool and Nursery Center. After Max ran for city council in 2024 and lost by a narrow margin, he was approached by RLACF board member Steve Hanson (2017-2025) at a Home Brewed Harmony rehearsal about serving on the board of the community foundation. Max is a huge advocate of expanding active transportation and walkability in Red Lodge, a few concepts he came to love and appreciate during his travels to Europe.

 

Affiliations: Maxwell and the Headchange – Local band, Bassist; Homebrewed Harmony – Barbershop Group, Tenor; Red Lodge Disc Golf, Member

For New Director

Jese Stetson

““My exposure to the RLACF was through a fundraiser that I drove for the Ag community in Carbon County during the historic flooding. I couldn’t have accomplished what we as a community were able to without the phenomenal help of the RLACF.”

Living in Fromberg and ranching from Red Lodge to Silesia, rancher and custom knife-maker Jese Stetson has a unique opportunity to see and address needs in corners of the community that might otherwise be overlooked. RLACF and Jese made their acquaintance after the historic flooding in 2022 when he fundraised for the Ag community of Carbon County (One Valley Relief Fund) and the money he raised flowed through RLACF as one of their field of interest funds. Jese graduated from Earlham College with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. He is passionate about building a strong future for our community by creating safe places for families to flourish and grow. Educational opportunities, play areas for children, and community gardens are just a few ways for this to be done. He is especially passionate about getting young people excited about agriculture, sustainability practices, as well as the trades.

 

Affiliations: District 4 Director for the Montana Farm Bureau Federation State Board since 2024; Carbon/Stillwater County Farm Bureau Vice President since 2023.

For New Director

Kirstin Sweet

“I feel that Red Lodge Area Community Foundation is doing a great job supporting their community and county, and I would like to be a part of those efforts going forward.”

Kirstin Sweet is the city clerk in Bridger and is passionate about her community. She’s lived in Bridger over twenty years, the longest she’s lived in a place in her life, and loves the town. It is home for her and always will be. She holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and is an EMT with the Clarks Fork Valley Ambulance in Bridger, volunteering with them since 2009. Her three children are the center of her world and the reason she volunteers in her community. She wants to make the world a better place for them and show them that volunteering is the best way to have an impact on the community around us.

 

Affiliations: Bridger School Board trustee since 2023; Bridger Schools Facilities/Planning Committee (2015-2022)