REAL Montana Class V travels to Washington D.C. for national trip
Members of Class V at the U.S. Capitol with the Montana delegation. U.S. Senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines, and Congressmen Ryan Zinke and Matt Rosendale host Montana Coffee each week. This bipartisan weekly meeting provides an opportunity for Montanans visiting Washington, D.C., to meet face-to-face with their representatives over a cup of coffee. (Photo provided)
Flathead Valley residents Shauna Dunn, Shelby George, Brian Hogue and Cameron Wohlschlegel just returned from six days in Washington, D.C., as part of REAL Montana (Resource Education and Agriculture Leadership). For REAL Montana Class V, this was the fourth seminar in their two-year educational program.
The focus of the seminar was “Federal Policy.” The group began their week in D.C. with a Monuments by Moonlight tour, where they learned they will be traveling to Vietnam for their international trip in March of 2024. The following day they visited the American Farm Bureau Federation office, where they heard from speakers representing a wide range of interests, including agriculture, oil and gas, energy, and infrastructure, followed by a visit to the Embassy of Vietnam. Class V spent Wednesday on Capitol Hill where they met with the Montana congressional delegation, received briefings from legislative staffers, toured the Capitol, and observed a Senate floor session. The following day, class members arranged small group meetings with representatives from the National Mining Association, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, U.S. Forest Service, Foreign Agricultural Service, Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC), and staffers from the Senate Finance Committee. The group then traveled to the White House where they were welcomed at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and received briefings on natural resource industry issues, followed by a visit to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association headquarters. The week wrapped up with a guided tour of the Gettysburg Battlefield focused on leadership lessons.
“Our REAL Montana Washington D.C. session was one of my favorites,” said Brian Hogue of Arable Media. “The combination of diving deep into the history of our nation while also meeting with our current elected leaders left me with a great appreciation of the importance we all play in making sure our communities, our state, and our nation prosper in the future.”
Twenty of Montana’s top natural resource industry leaders from across the state were competitively selected to take part in REAL Montana Class V. The program’s mission is to build a network of informed and engaged leaders to advance the natural resource industries in Montana. The two-year leadership program features eight in-state seminars, a six-day national study tour in Washington, D.C., and a 12-day international trip. Seminars include training in natural resource development, agriculture institutions and agencies, public speaking/media, economics, state and federal policy, international trade, urban/rural relationships, water issues, and other current industry topics.
REAL Montana is funded through a partnership with Montana State University Extension and private industry. An advisory board of industry leaders provides oversight.
Complete program information is available at www.realmontana.org.