Chamber honors Ivan ONeil as Great Chief
The Daily Inter Lake
Longtime business leader Ivan ONeil was named the 34th annual Great Chief by the Kalispell Area Chamber of Commerce at its awards banquet Thursday.
His accomplishments have spread themselves over 50-plus years in giving back to the community. Hes a modest individual. He works behind the scenes and gets things done, said Cathy Mercord, who introduced him to roughly 375 people attending the banquet at the Best Western White Oak Grand Hotel.
He always got his hand in everything. He was not hard to talk into doing good for the community, said his best friend, George Ostrom.
ONeil, 77, founded Western Building Centers in 1954, growing it into a $60 million company with 200 employees. In 1974, he formed Kalmont Distributors. And he helped found what is now Three Rivers Bank in 1976.
ONeil also helped create and nurture Immanuel Lutheran Home and Buffalo Hill Terrace. For a long time, he served on the Flathead Municipal Airport Authority Board and was a key player in upgrading Glacier Park International Airport. He played key roles, too, in the Evergreen Lions Club and the Evergreen Business Association.
A University of Montana graduate, ONeil serves on the universitys advisory council and its foundation board.
An avid outdoorsman, he belongs to the Over-The-Hill Gang, a group that routinely hikes and climbs in Glacier National Park. ONeil visits the park every Thursday with the group.
As the Great Chief recipient, ONeil was given an original painting by Kalispell artist Marshall Noice of a scene from Glacier National Park.
Other awards presented Thursday included:
-Businessman of the year Bob Nystuen, president of Glacier Bank. Nystuen was the Chambers board chairman in 2001 and a key member of its 1999 and 2005 air-show committees. He also is on the Flathead Valley Community College Board and is involved with the United Way, the local food bank, Montana Ambassadors and the Montana Bankers Association.
-Businesswoman of the year Debbie Snyder, owner of Flowers By Hansen. She heavily supports downtown activities and the Womens Network for Entrepreneurial Training. She is a board member for Teleflora Montana.
-Members of the year Shannon and Denise Nalty of Nalty Real Estate. They support many Chamber activities, including the air shows. Denise Nalty also is on the ambassador committee.
-Chairman of the year John Vander Laan of Corp-Kit NW, who was chairman of the Mountain Madness 2005 Air Show. That effort involved roughly 1,000 volunteers and 40,000 people in the crowd, while helping about 40 community groups raise $50,000.
The chambers 2006 officers will be Carol Nelson of Carol Nelson Design, chairwoman; Jeff Wilson of Properties Northwest, vice chairman; Mark Lalum of Cenex Harvest States, secretary/treasurer; and Steve Clawson of Wells Fargo Bank, immediate past chairman.