As we come to the end of our Rotary year, please allow me to say thank you to so many of you for allowing me to serve with you. This club has a great opportunity everyday to grow and be more relevant to Billings. I am looking forward to our next chapter as the Downtown Billings Rotary Club!
The 2nd Annual Billings Rotary Memorial Parade was held May 23, 2026 to honor military and Veterans. Rotarians Jonathan Mauger and Ken Callahan organized the amazing event, complete with flag bearers, horseback riders, and the Billings Mustangs - with Rotary members leading the way.
Local news stations covered the event.
Hundreds honor military and veterans in downtown Billings parade
BILLINGS— Hundreds honored the military and veterans in downtown Billings Saturday morning with a Memorial Day weekend parade.
Six graduating seniors from area high schools have been awarded $1,500 scholarships from the Rotary Club of Billings. The scholarship winners are:
Luke Monson of Billings Christian School
Brynn Sogaard of Billings Central
Carli Seymour of Lockwood
Maclain Olson of Billings Senior
Ava Green well of Billings Skyview
Kellen Edward of Billings West
All scholarship winners were nominated by their schools as the best of the best, and invited to be a part of the Rotary Outstanding Student Guest program. The scholarship winners were selected based on an application and essay about how they live Rotary's motto of Service Above Self.
Dr. Hansen, a 93-year-old retired Air Force flight dentist, shared a remarkable personal story from 1961 at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls. He recounted a top-secret incident involving a UFO sighting, scrambled jets, and the subsequent disappearance of personnel who were debriefed at the Pentagon. While the Air Force has never confirmed the event, Dr. Hansen emphasized the bravery of those who served and the importance of remembering their service.
Becky Jeter, the new Executive Director of the Western Heritage Center, gave an engaging overview of the museum’s mission, exhibits, and programs. The center is housed in the historic Parmly Billings Memorial Library, built in 1901 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. It also includes the J.K. Ralston log cabin studio, currently in need of preservation. Current exhibits include: - “Having a Beer in Billings” – exploring the city’s brewing history - “Hope in Hard Times” – Depression-era photography - “Delegations: Diplomacy and Daily Life” – ledger art from an 1880 Crow delegation - “Prisoner of War: Ben Steele’s Personal Chronicle” – artwork from a Bataan survivor
The center offers walking tours (Hoof It with a Historian), High Noon Lectures, traveling exhibits, and community events like Play-A-Palooza and Voices of the Past.
Becky confirmed they are exploring expansion possibilities, including potential use of the old Billings Hardware building, due to space constraints. They also plan to continue hosting traveling exhibits, including future collaborations with national institutions.
The Western Heritage Center relies heavily on volunteers (over 20 active members) and welcomes new members. Benefits include free admission, discounts, and special event invitations. They are especially in need of both front-desk hosts and behind-the-scenes archival support.
The club welcomed Dr. Bob Wilmouth, the President of Rocky Mountain College, beginning in April of 2013. Dr. Wilmouth spoke about the Higher Education system as a whole being under a microscope, and because of that pressure, we have lost over 90 private colleges in the United States over the past six years. The College has responded to these pressures by making hard sacrifices to keep its budget balanced. They consider carefully what coursework to provide, and work to obtain funding before building the staff and curriculum for new programs. He believes the value of an education goes beyond what is learned in the classroom and is grounded in the relationships that students build over their time at the College. Dr. Wilmouth believes they have great staff in place to continue to build a strong sports program to attract top talent. This is a driver for growth for the campus and academic achievement. The President spoke briefly on updates to the campus and the cost of the average tuition costs, after scholarships have been granted. He believes expanding and updating the campuses, along with more timely granting of scholarships, will boost enrollment in the future.
The meeting began with the introduction of the Billings Central Catholic High School's winning boys' basketball team. The team had a very impressive year, and their coach spoke about those successes and the future plans for the seniors on the team.
Rotarian Jock Michelotti introduced Amanda Boerboom, Hospital Development Coordinator for LifeCenter Northwest. The center works to coordinate the donation and distribution of organs and tissues. Amanda gave a brief overview of how her organization works before asking Jock to return to speak to his personal experience with organ donation.
Jock and his family have been affected by a genetic kidney disease. Jock spoke about the disease and how it had significantly shortened the lives of his relatives. He spoke about how the donation process has improved over the years and his own story of his sister-in-law donating a kidney to him, and how it has changed his life.
Amanda concluded with information about how the donors and their families are cared for and the process for donation. She spoke about her own experience with tissue donation and the impact it has had on her mobility.
The Northern Hotel
