Betsy Mulligan-Dague has a 30 year history as a clinical social worker helping families and individuals address challenges in their lives.  From 2005 until 2021, she was the Executive Director of the Jeannette Rankin Peace Center, where she has continued to focus on ways people can increase their communication skills to become better at peacemaking and conflict resolution, believing that our difference will never be as important as the things we have in common.  She was featured in the 2015 full-length documentary, Beyond the Divide: The Courage to Find Common Ground about her efforts to build bridges between peace advocates and veterans. Betsy is a past president of the Missoula Sunrise Rotary Club and currently serves as the Chair of the State Peace & Conflict Resolution Committee for Rotary as well as Secretary of the Waterton Glacier International Peace Park Association Board of Directors. She enjoys spreading peace on her Harley Davidson as well as time with her family, her dog and her cat!

Our speaker last week was Special Agent Monte Shade, FBI Missoula Resident Agency.   He started to say that he was blessed and been to a lot of places and thanks us for doing what we can.  Appreciate Rotary for support.  
 
Monte went to school in Montana but lived in North Dakota.   He ended up doing a case near his home town about a school teacher that was kidnapped and led that investigation and got more information in 10 minutes because he was from that area.  Sister called his brother who contacted him.  He was able to do more because he knew the victim as well. 
 
Monte played football in high school and college.  His first job was with Probation and Parole.  While in that job he learned about the FBI and job opportunities, and he applied and got in.  He met his wife before he was in the Academy in Quantico.
 
Monte shared about some of his cases.  Army Rangers Robbery was a big case for him and he figured it was a military group and located them within 24 hours and had arrested them by 70 hours.  Task force was set up and now they want to write a book and movie about it.  He also shared about the DC sniper in 2002 and the agent around there and looking for share casing and bullets in Washington DC.   He knew John Mohamad before became a criminal.  In that case the death penalty was administered.
 
Many of the cases he served on were violent and he was able to serve and put some of these evil folks in jail and sentenced through his service.   He gave us more grewsome details about cases he did.
 
He has travelled to several countries as well.  He shared about a Tactical AF Program – Biometrics high speed operations and missions with the military.   Tracts down people and collected DNA and evidence.   Showed pictures and combat cameras and cases.  Shared about Afghanistan cases and tracking down military targets.   Lots of gruesome things happened overseas.  He collected DNA from body parts.  Military stuff goes back to US lab and got results quickly.  Worked there until 2010 and very involved until Director said no more war coverage.    Monte did a lot of counter terrorism research and work.  Worked with the Rangers and collected lots of information.  He used a backpack to carry most of his tools.  He showed several pictures of him while in Afghanistan.   He shared that the local tribes don’t want to change, don’t want West in their area which was hard for them to do their job. 
 
He showed pictures of several cases in Missoula, Frenchtown and this area.  2016-today.  The stats is that drugs are out there and drug users are biggest criminals today.  Addicts don’t feel regret or pain for what they do.   It also takes all fear and responsibility away.  Drug dealers can make more money in Montana and have higher margins of sales which brings them into the state.  Drug problem is the biggest issue and steeling guns and trade for drugs. 
 
The questions “what should Rotarians do to help?”  He said the best thing we can do is report to Crime Stoppers anything you see that affects you and people in your area.    

Pictured Patricia and Nathan

 

Patricia Jackson shared that she was born in Missoula.  Moved to Arkansas, Idaho and Alaska, stayed until 2018.  She has a  Degree in Civil Engineering, minor German (she was a Rotary Youth Exchange student) and Math.  She moved to Arizona and worked for an engineering company and helped do plans for a factory for the business.  After two years decided to move to Montana and got hired in Missoula with DJ&A and does structural engineering on bridges for Forest Service and other industries.  She now started a Masters program through Oklahoma University and taking one class per semester.  Patricia loves outside activities, cross country skiing, hiking, arts and crafts.  She is engaged and planning for wedding in October of 2022 and making a lot of decorations and hand made invitations.   She even has an online invitation.  Congrats Patricia.

Pictured above are the students from Meadow Hill School who were awarded certificates of accomplishment in service and kindness this month.  Thanks Kathy Schulte and Leslie Laird for being there to share this experience with the students.