Mountain West Bank is closed on Juneteenth each year, but for the employees, it’s an ideal day to give back to their communities, and it’s become a bank tradition in branch offices throughout the American West to don work clothes, boots and work gloves and undertake projects in their communities far bigger than most suspect can be accomplished in a day. On Wednesday, the ladies of the Bonners Ferry branch did it again.
With Boundary County School District 101 Board Vice Chair Teresa Rae tending to both the logistics and joining in on the endeavor, the Bonners Ferry Bankers arrived on the field at Kenny Mendenhall Stadium eight strong at about 9 a.m. Wednesday, led by Branch Manager Patti Solt; Jayna Fitch, Heather Kunsky, Terisa Dunson, April Halvorson, Chelsea Banning, Hanna Worrell and Shanna Noble, and they were joined in the huddle by Rae, school board member Mary Fioravanti, maintenance supervisor Mike Smith and student Logan Thorne.
Swathed in Badger blue, the rows of bright, fresh lumber that made up the seats in the brand new bleachers stands looked like they stretched for miles. Undaunted the intrepid crew set to work on a day with weather close to perfect for such a strenuous task and by about 3 p.m., the new bleachers shone with a beautiful stain finish that put the perfect finish to a project that will welcome Badger fans for decades to come.
