Former GM Board Member Receives Peace Award

Former GM Board Member Receives Peace Award

Press Release – Public Service Announcement

From:
Institute for Peace Studies
PeaceStudies@rocky.edu 
406-657-1042

Contact: Cindy Kunz, Administrator

Re: 2010 Jeannette Rankin Peace Award Recipient

Joining the ranks of impressive peacemakers from Montana (or with strong ties to Montana) Mr. Chuck Tooley, former mayor of Billings, has been selected as the Institute for Peace Studies 2010 Jeannette Rankin Peace Award recipient. Mr. Tooley follows U.S. Senator Mike Mansfield, Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen, Margaret Ping, Walter and Margaret Huffman, Carol Williams, Reverends Bob Freeman and Phillip Caldwell, Benjamin Pease, Jr., Montana Logging & Ballet members (Bob FitzGerald, Tim Holmes, Rusty Harper, and Steve Garnaas-Holmes), Edith Gronhovd, Clare Sinclair, Eve Malo, U.N. Ambassador George McGovern, David Morales, Greg Mortenson, Dr. Tom and Jean Sutherland, Ruth Curtis, Dr. Lawrence F. Small, Dr. Arthur H. DeRosier, Terry Fettig, and Marietta Jaeger Lane as a recipient of this honor.

Chuck has the distinction of having been nominated by an entire class of upper level political students at Rocky Mountain College. Following a two hour presentation to the Bross Peace Seminar, students collaborated and unanimously decided to put forth their nomination. The closing paragraph reads – “It is clear that Mr. Tooley is proud to  be a fourth generation Montanan. And, we are proud to put forth a Montanan from the political arena who still believes in dreams and who builds them on consensus and compromise in the finest sense of those words. His charisma and compassion have led him through a life of community service while actively serving the community in which he lives. He has remained true to himself as a private citizen and as a politician. His inner passion to inform and prepare his fellow citizens for a better life and a brighter future is inspiring. It is with great pleasure that we, as a class, nominate Mr. Chuck Tooley for the 2010 Jeannette Rankin Peace Award – an award presented to a Montanan whose life has been dedicated to peacemaking at every level.”

The presentation will take place on November 19th at the Alberta Bair Theater in downtown Billings as the highlight of the Institute for Peace Studies annual benefit concert and awards ceremony. In addition to the Jeannette Rankin Peace Award, the evening features the Edith Gronhovd Peace Essay Award winners from area high schools and colleges. Entertainment will be energetic and fast paced with the Wildwood Cloggers dance troupe and the young performers from Venture Theatre.

Founded in May of 1990, the Institute for Peace Studies at Rocky Mountain College operates under a 25 member Board of Advisors with a mission of “seeking through education to explore and promote alternatives to violence in the behavior of individuals, groups, communities, and nations”…. a mission supported by programs that include the Festival of Cultures, Peace Village Day Camp, the Bross Peace Seminar, an annual women’s conference, a two county wide cultural diversity outreach, in addition to the programs noted above: the Jeannette Rankin Peace Award and the Gronhovd Peace Essay Competition.

To view the article in the Billings Gazette, click here: http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/article_153ad41a-b157-11df-be16-001cc4c002e0.html