White to resign as undersheriff

Flathead County Undersheriff Jordan White is hanging up his badge to go to work in the private sector.

White is resigning later this month to take a new position working for Two Bear Management, a Whitefish property management company owned by venture capitalist Michael Goguen.

White will be replaced as undersheriff by Detective Commander Dave Leib.

White’s new job is a way for him to pursue a passion that recently blossomed with the creation of Flathead Emergency Aviation Resources.

“In the process of trying to promote and fundraise for this nonprofit, I had the opportunity to pitch the whole proposal to Two Bear Management,” White said. “We had several meetings, which became more specifically interested in what the program could become and what steps it could take to become truly professional.”

The funding was always the most difficult aspect to try to nail down, he said, along with finding the time to truly pursue that funding as well as training and other necessities.

“Two Bear embraced that and offered me a position working with them that would give me the time, availability and support to be able to bring this to fruition,” he said.

It also brought stable funding for the program from Goguen.

FEAR was developed over the course of several years by White, along with Jim Bob Pierce of Red Eagle Aviation and others, to provide additional airborne resources for search and rescue and other law enforcement efforts. Its creation was officially announced in December 2011.

White’s move into further involvement with the program is the culmination of a long career in emergency services.

He began his career as an emergency medical technician with Bigfork ambulance and the Ferndale Fire Department in 1996.

White first joined the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office as a reserve deputy in 1999. He was recruited by the Montana Highway Patrol, working in West Yellowstone until he returned to the Sheriff’s Office in February 2002.

He was promoted to corporal in 2005 and was appointed as the search and rescue coordinator in fall 2007 by then-Sheriff Jim DuPont. After Chuck Curry was elected sheriff in the 2010 election, White was promoted to undersheriff.

His last day as undersheriff will be March 21.

Leib, the new undersheriff, was born in Kalispell before moving to Eureka, where he graduated from high school. He began his career with the Sheriff’s Office as a detention officer in the jail for two years before becoming a sworn deputy.

Leib celebrated his 20th anniversary of that swearing-in on Thursday.

He said Curry offered him the undersheriff position last week.

“I’m glad to do whatever the sheriff thinks I can do,” Leib said. “If he has confidence in me enough to move me into the undersheriff position, I’m honored and I hope I can do something close to the job that Jordan did because he did an outstanding job.”

Curry said he looks forward to working with Leib but also is sad to see White go.

“Jordan certainly has been a great asset to both me and this department. He’s a great guy,” Curry said. “He just has a very amazing opportunity in the private sector and I certainly understand his wanting to take that.”

Curry said White will continue to be involved with the sheriff’s office through his work with FEAR.

For his part, White said he is sad to say goodbye to the department but is looking forward to his new opportunities.

“The only thing that’s really been on my mind through this whole process is how honored I’ve been to serve my community through the Sheriff’s Office, the friendships I’ve had through that work and how excited I am to work on a new endeavor and provide a new resource not only to the first responders but also to the community itself,” White said.