b'2023 WPMA State Report MPMCSA continuedmembers include Lucci Tuttle and Elisa Toms. Kary Tonjum and Steve Haase are both stepping down from their positions on the board. We thank them for their time and service. Following the meeting we welcomed aemployee of number of important guest speakers. TheCentral Montana morning started withPropane. MPMCSA Speaker of the Housetook a few minutes Matt Regier sharingto honor and thank his experience regard- Jeff Smith for the ing the 2023 legislativeyears of service session. He highlightedand dedication he some of the successeshas given to the of the session as well asindustry and the some of the challengesassociation. He will they faced. Representa- be sorely missed, tive Kerri Seekins-Crowe also shared herbut we wish him the experiences from her time in the legislature.best in his retire-She stressed thement. As always, importance ofthere was fabulous grassroots effortsparticipation in both to connect withthe live and silent your local repre- auctions. We are sentative outsidevery grateful for the of a session anddonations of auction commendeditems and for the MPMCSA for itsgroups ongoing strong relation- dedication to the ships across the states. Congressman Mattscholarship fund. Rosendale joined the group via Zoom to highlight his work representing MontanaI would like to in DC. The meeting was timely as thepersonally thank standoff over the budget and the debt the WPMA staff ceiling had just ended the week beforefor their efforts in with passage of the Fiscal Responsibilitypreparation and Act lifting the debt ceiling until 2025.execution of the Wally Jemmings, Brownfields Coordinatorconference. We for the DEQ addressed the group regard- hope to see every-ing accessing and utilizing Brownfieldsone again June 4th funding. Sal LoMagro from Federatedand 5th, 2024. Insurance talked about Federateds triple protection plan as well as strategies forBrad Longcake employee retention. Lieutenant GovernorExecutive Kristen Juras joined us after lunch to shareDinner on Wednesday night, includingDirector her experience with the 2023 session. the presentation of our scholarship winner She spearheaded the Red Tape Reliefand the live and silent auctions, is always initiative looking to reduce unnecessarya good time and did not disappoint again regulation across all state agencies. Thethis year. The winner of the MPMCSASwork included legislators from both partiesscholarship for 2023 was Kaitlin Fester and was overall considered successful. from Lewistown. Kaitins father is an22 www.wpma.com / Scholarship 2023'