EDITORIAL: Nystuen deserving of FVCC honor

Flathead Valley Community College bestowed its 2016 Eagle’s Award on longtime board trustee Bob Nystuen this week.

The award honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the college, and in that regard Nystuen has gone the distance for FVCC. He has served on the Board of Trustees for 13 years, always mindful of the importance of partnerships between the college and the local business community.

Seeing the local work-force needs in areas such as health care and manufacturing, Nystuen pushed for expanded FVCC curriculum in those areas. He was instrumental in FVCC establishing a tuition waiver for eligible high school students to earn credits through the Running Start program, and most recently pushed for student housing on campus.

Last year Nystuen resigned from the FVCC board after being appointed to the state Board of Regents. He has also been an effective business leader for the Flathead as president of Glacier Bank and in many other capacities. Congratulations, Bob. This award is well-deserved.

Freshman phenom

Another well-deserved honor goes to freshman phenom Ryggs Johnston of Libby, who not only won the Class B state golf championship but also did it in record style.

With a closing 8-under-par round of 63 on Wednesday, Johnston carded a 36-hole total of 131 to set an all-class state record. His score was five strokes lower than the previous all-class mark (set by Glacier High’s Larry Iverson III in 2008) and a whopping eight strokes lower than the previous Class B record.

Such a sensational performance by Johnston as a freshman makes one wonder what heights he will reach during the rest of his high school career.

Kudos also is due to the Bigfork Vikings, who took the Class B team title, the first golf championship in school history.

Seniors ‘Give Back’

Speaking of kudos, some should go to seniors and the student council at Flathead High School for today’s Give Back student service efforts.

In addition to serving as a way to say thanks to people who support the school, it’s also a timely effort to make amends for the unfortunate vandalism incident at Flathead last week.

The day of outreach and service projects capped by a community barbecue are meant to counter the May 10 incident. “We wanted to show that’s not who we are,” senior organizer Wyatt Dykhuizen said.