July 21, 2010 – The Last Entry – First Some Words and then the Final Pictures.

Our apologies for there being so much time between posts. We did complete the ride hitting the Atlantic just south of Portland, Maine and then drove 56 hours to get back to Montana three days later. First we want to make some acknowledgments before posting our last pictures and ending the story.

We Must First Acknowledge Our Thanks to…

Our donors and supporters: There are scores of people who have already generously supported the Mission Scholarship Foundation with their financial and in kind support. The purpose or the Tour de Mission was to raise money so that more Mission High School graduates would have the opportunity to pursue a post-secondary education. Through the generous contributions, both financial and in-kind, the Mission Scholarship Foundation has a strong base from which to realize the dream.

The Mission Scholarship Foundation Board would like to thank the following individuals and organizations for their support of the Mission Scholarship Foundation.

Endorsements:

St. Ignatius School Board

St. Ignatius MEA/MFT

Salish-Kootenai College

St. Ignatius Indian Education Committee – St. Ignatius, Montana

Denise Juneau – Montana Superintendent of Schools

Donations, Pledges or In-Kind Donations

Businesses and Organizations

Kaleva Law Offices – Missoula, Montana

Joel Kaleva – Missoula, Montana

Blackfoot Telecommunications – Missoula, Montana

St. Ignatius MEA-MFT - St. Ignatius, Montana

Johnson Transportation – St. Ignatius, Montana

The Pizza Café - St. Ignatius, Montana

Hunt’s Timbers – St. Ignatius, Montana

Mission Valley Properties – St. Ignatius, Montana

The Sportsman’s Ski Haus – Kalispell, Montana

The Adventure Cycling Association – Missoula, Montana

Glacier Cyclery – Whitefish, Montana

The Bicycle Hangar – Missoula, Montana

Big Sky Bicycles – Missoula, Montana

Ronan Telephone – Ronan, Montana

Ronan Dodge – Ronan, Montana

Lower Flathead Valley Community Foundation – Ronan, Montana

Mission Valley Security – Polson, Montana

Glacier Bank – Polson, Montana

Insty Prints of Polson – Polson, Montana

Montana School Equipment Company – Great Falls, Montana

Galusha, Higgins and Galusha – Missoula, Montana

Frontier Insurance Adjusters - Great Falls, Montana

The Hostetter-Habib Foundation – Boston, Massachusetts

NAPA Auto Parts – Pinedale, Wyoming

Allied Waste Service – Missoula, Montana

S and K Technologies - St. Ignatius, Montana

Doug Martin-MT Preferred Properties – St. Ignatius, Montana

Mission Valley Old Town Development Corporation – St. Ignatius, Montana

Alpine Artistry – St. Ignatius, Montana

Total Screen Design – St. Ignatius, Montana

Rod’s Harvest Foods - St. Ignatius, Montana

Polson Bay Golf Club – Polson, Montana

Mission Mountain Golf Course – Ronan, Montana

Mission Valley Dental - St. Ignatius, Montana

MHS Football - St. Ignatius, Montana

Mission General Store - St. Ignatius, Montana

Allard’s Trading Post - St. Ignatius, Montana

Bulldog Wear - St. Ignatius, Montana

Lake County Bank - St. Ignatius, Montana

Mission Athletics - St. Ignatius, Montana

Stuart’s NAPA - St. Ignatius, Montana

Mission Mountain Cenex - St. Ignatius, Montana

Pierce Construction - St. Ignatius, Montana

Tribal Health Department - St. Ignatius, Montana

Little Guy Wrestling - St. Ignatius, Montana

Bev’s Bloomers – Ronan, Montana

deVeer Designs – Polson, Montana

TEA Students - St. Ignatius, Montana

Allard Auctions - St. Ignatius, Montana

Sabine Floral - St. Ignatius, Montana

Individuals:

Brenda Arlint - St. Ignatius, Montana

Tammy Demein - St. Ignatius, Montana

Dan Durglo - St. Ignatius, Montana

Adam Hawkuluk - St. Ignatius, Montana,

Jo Phillips - St. Ignatius, Montana

Mary Lou Keast - St. Ignatius, Montana

David Keast - St. Ignatius, Montana

Ken Scott – St. Ignatius, Montana

Mel Krantz - St. Ignatius, Montana

Lloiyd Phillips - St. Ignatius, Montana

Jackie Spidel - St. Ignatius, Montana

Lyle Cronk – St. Ignatius, Montana

Justy - St. Ignatius, Montana

Backy Ashley – St. Ignatius, Montana

Trail Bundy – St. Ignatius, Montana

Gene Posivio – St. Ignatius, Montana

Kay Krantz - St. Ignatius, Montana

Dylan Evans – St. Ignatius, Montana

Loren Erickson – St. Ignatius, Montana

Ken Hill – St. Ignatius, Montana

Geraldine Felix, St. Ignatius, Montana

Izzy – St. Ignatius, Montana

Mary Kudlouk – St. Ignatius, Montana

Jamie – St. Ignatius, Montana

Monte Wicka – St. Ignatius, Montana

Fred Gariepy – St. Ignatuus, Montana

Amanda I – St. Ignatius, Montana

Jackie Spidel - St. Ignatius, Montana

Rose Bow – St. Ignatius, Montana

Cody and Bakely Phillips – St. Ignatius, Montana

Trudy Samuelsen – St. Ignatius, Montana

Guy Gies – St. Ignatius, Montana

Monte Azure – St. Ignatius, Montana

Raymond Matt – St. Ignatius, Montana

Nerby Family – St. Ignatius, Montana

Lois Dumont – St. Ignatius, Montana

Jim Durglo – St. Ignatius, Montana

Aileen Plant – St. Ignatius, Montana

Gary Hill – St. Ignatius, Montana

Peter Matt – St. Ignatius, Montana

Ken Ahlbourn – St. Ignatius, Montana

Spencer Ahlborn – St. Ignatius, Montana

Briar Ahlbourn – St. Ignatius, Montana

Maurie Ahlbourn – St. Ignatius, Montana

JaNeal McDonald – St. Ignatius, Montana

Spike Grant – St. Ignatius, Montana

Phillilp and Monique McDonald – St. Ignatius, Montana

Sierra Esslinger and Claire Stefanatz – St. Ignatius, Montana

Marilyn and R.C. Murchie – St. Ignatius, Montana

Walt and Louise Shock – St. Ignatius, Montana

Lou Rice – St. Ignatius, Montana

Stacey Pule – St. Ignatius, Montana

Stuart Morton – St. Ignatius, Montana

Stephanie Trudeau – St. Ignatius, Montana

Lane Wheeler – St. Ignatius, Montana

Dennis and Gaye Wheeler – St. Ignatius, Montana

Jill Valley – St. Ignatius, Montana

Steve Allard – St. Ignatius, Montana

Andy Fisher – St. Ignatius, Montana

Isabel Seery – St. Ignatius, Montana

Jim Newberg – St. Ignatius, Montana

Karen Kleinklaus – St. Ignatius, Montana

Carol Harbin – St. Ignatius, Montana

The Hawkaluks – St. Ignatius, Montana

Rob and Erin Allard – St. Ignatius, Montana

Bella Dally – St. Ignatius, Montana

Chelsea Kay – St. Ignatius, Montana

Greg Shock – St. Ignatius, Montana

Justin and Christy Krantz– St. Ignatius, Montana

Andrew and Karen Fisher – Arlee, Montana

Dave and Lindy Wordin - Montana

Mr. and Mrs Tom Ross - Missoula, Montana

Allen Tabish – Missoula, Montana

Lynn Delacaris – St. Ignatius, Montana

Joann Roullier – St. Ignatius, Montana

Michael and Teri Dinnell – St, Ignatius, Montana

Jerry Berseth - Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin

Jack Rockser - Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin

Tom and Shirley Mlsna - Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin

Larry and Kristi Milligan - Great Falls, Montana

Roger and Marleen Clark - Fall Creek, Wisconsin

Wally Walter – Fall Creek, Wisconsin

John and Lynn Gunderson - Fall Creek, Wisconsin

Dick and Michelle Krueger - Fall Creek, Wisconsin

Crow and Claudia Niemuth – Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Janet and Bert Wagner – Kearns, Utah

Jack Marlette – Fall Creek, Wisconsin

Andy Niedzweicki – Fall Creek, Wisconsin

Von Melville - Fall Creek, Wisconsin

Dr. Steve Kimball - Green Bay, Wisconsin

Terry and Emily Nolan - Ponte Verde, Florida

Rita Jugoditz - Cincinnati, Ohio

Tom and Sandy Nolan - Havre de Grace, Maryland

Gerry and Lisa Nolan - West Glacier, Montana

Dennis and Chris Cramer – Pinedale, Wyoming

Mark Hostetter and Alex Habib – Boston, Massachusetts

Special thanks to all who attended the Mission Scholarship Foundation Chili Feed and Silent Auction. *SPECIAL RECOGNITION TO DENISE MARKS FOR PREPARING THE FOOD!!! ALSO TO MEL KRANTZ AND LETA WICKA FOR SERVING!!

The support drivers: A special thanks to Gary Edington, Lisa Nolan and Tom Nolan for their support of the riders along the Tour de Mission. Without their generous, kind and timely support we could have never accomplished the ride. Each brought a unique contribution to the ride that has greatly appreciated by the riders.

The school boards: The Tour de Mission does not happen without the full support of both the St. Ignatius and Dubois School Boards. Both boards were gracious in their support understanding and supporting the commitment to the foundation.

My partners: Riding across the country in support of a worthy cause with two of my children was an experience and a gift for which I am greatly appreciative. Having Mackey along for the first 900 miles was a treat. Mackey chose to return home to work and spend the remainder of the summer with Mary and Lisa. That was the right decision for him and he made the decision right by following through and working hard all summer.

I am so proud of Katie for her accomplishment and grateful for her company along the way. I can’t imagine having done the ride without her company. Katie has all the attributes of a great team player. She is tough, supportive, smart, funny, wise and dependable. Through the good times and the occasional hard times Katie was a steady influence of optimism and reason. Thank you Katie for going the distance.

All the Help Along the Way: One of the impressions we came away with all along the ride was the fact that we live in a great country filled with wonderful people who are always willing and able to lend a helping hand. It would be impossible to mention all those folks here and hopefully we have referred to them throughout the blog. In any event we are eternally grateful for all the fine folks who helped us along the way with food, shelter, directions, advice, insight, local history flavor and culture as well as encouragement. What a country !!!

God: With God on our side all came out well in the end. Our biggest concern was safety. We are so thankful that God kept us safe while riding over 3,500 miles with cars, trucks and semi’s. We consider the safe and successful journey that we took a gift from God.

A Look Forward for the Foundation: Though the hard work and generous contributions of scores of people and organizations the Mission Scholarship Foundation has a very strong base to build from. The work of the foundation is far from over but I am sure has a very bright future in providing hope and opportunity for many deserving young men and women. There are already plans and action taking place to have an alumni donations board in the new Joyce Easter Commons in St. Ignatius High School. For anyone wishing to make further contributions or to find out more about the Mission Scholarship Foundation please contact Cody Philips (Executive Director) at the Lake County Bank in St. Ignatius or Jason Sargent the principal at Mission High School.