Kalispell mother named Montana Mom of the Year

One of the best things about raising children, according to Kalispell mother Tiffany Geer, is experiencing life through their eyes. 

A natural educator, Geer speaks about the joy she feels when something clicks for a child, when a new lesson, concept or thought makes sense. 

“I think it's just the way I am wired,” Geer said, “spending time with kids has just always been something I’ve enjoyed.” 

As an educator and mother of five children, Geer has spent a lot of time with bright, curious sets of eyes. As a homeschooling parent, Geer meticulously encouraged and taught her children to be confident and kind. As a now part-time school librarian, Geer gets to continue to spend time among interested minds, inspiring younger generations. 

Geer has been recognized as the 2024 Montana Mother of the Year through American Mothers, Inc., a national nonprofit with the goal of valuing mothers through service and education, a testament to her work within her family and her community.

Sabrina Wisher-DeWitt, a Kalispell mother and the second vice president for American Mothers, Inc., nominated Geer for Mother of the Year 2024. Once a mom is nominated, they fill out and submit a profile. There is a mom for nearly every state and United States territory including Puerto Rico. 

The winning mothers attend a conference at the end of April in Omaha, Nebraska, where they will have a chance to meet and form a community, connecting mom’s from across the states. At the national convention, a final mother will be announced as the National Mother of the Year.

Last year’s National Mother of the Year was Lucy Keen Johnson from Georgia. This year’s winner will be named on April 27.

“It’s just a tribe of women that I think you learn to lean on,” Wisher-DeWitt said this week. “Tiffany is just so amazing and deserves to be honored.” 

GEER GREW UP in East Oregon with one younger brother. After graduating high school, Geer attended Northwest University in Washington to study elementary education. It wasn’t long until she met Kevin Geer, her future husband who she would marry following her sophomore year of college. 

Throughout college, Kevin worked as a youth pastor at a nearby church, something that Tiffany would help with often. Tiffany graduated from college in 1999, and the pair had their first child in 2001 in Washington, followed by three more before moving to Kalispell in 2012. 

The couple’s fifth and final — their Montana baby – was born in 2014. The kids are now in varying locations, such as college, but Tiffany said the family remains a strong unit. 

Kevin is from Montana and the two spoke of one day returning to the Big Sky state. For their honeymoon, the couple explored Glacier National Park. The beauty enchanted Geer and she knew she could see herself living in Montana further down the road, she said. 

From Washington to Montana, the Geer family remained strong, Geer said. 

“I just enjoy being able to be with my kids,” Geer said. 

Geer homeschooled her children for many years, which she says garnered self-confidence, family unity and a sense of individuality as she decided what they were taught and how they were taught. 

For the past several years, the Geer family has also opened their doors to foster care. They have temporarily housed seven children. It was something that she always wanted to get involved with. 

“The way I raise my kids is how I impact the world,” Geer said. “They can go out and be kind to others.”

Further, Geer is also attending Montana State University virtually, working toward getting her library certification.  Her husband is finishing his doctorate of ministry and is the lead pastor at Canvas Church in Kalispell. 

America Mothers, Inc., along with the Mother of the Year program, also hosts a fifth-grade essay contest. They also donate to nonprofits that provide health and human services and civic and community projects that impact mothers or children, known as the Golden Rule Grant. 

The organization, according to Wisher-Dewitt, sits on the principle of the Golden Rule — treat others how you would want to be treated. 

“Tiffany lives by that,” Wisher-DeWitt said.

Reporter Kate Heston can be reached at kheston@dailyinterlake.com or 758-4459.