Montana’s Affordable Housing Champions Receive Awards
HELENA, Mont. – Representatives from the Montana Department of Commerce and NeighborWorks Montana presented awards to Montana affordable housing champions during the annual Housing Partnership Conference on Wednesday in Missoula.
“These outstanding individuals are true leaders who have put forth enormous amounts of time and effort to help provide safe, sustainable and affordable homes for Montanans,” said Paul Green, Director of the Montana Department of Commerce. “We are honored to celebrate and acknowledge their significant contributions in addressing this pressing issue with dedication, creativity and innovation.”
Each year, these awards are presented to individuals who have shown extraordinary commitment to increasing access to attainable, affordable housing for all Montanans.
2024 Housing Champion Award Recipients:
Lifetime Achievement Awards
The Lifetime Achievement award recognizes leaders who have made significant and sustained contributions to advance affordable housing in Montana.
Bob Oaks, founding Executive Director of the North Missoula Community Development Corporation (NMCDC), received a Lifetime Achievement Award. The NMCDC has been a neighborhood-led and community-focused organization since its inception in 1996, working as a grassroots force for equitable growth of the Northside and Westside neighborhoods of Missoula. Under Bob’s leadership, the organization created and preserved over 50 homes through the NMCDC community land trust and engaged in countless community projects and initiatives.
Greg Gould, of the Jackson, Murdo & Grant law firm in Helena, also received a Lifetime Achievement Award. Greg has served as general counsel to the Montana Board of Housing since 2010. Greg’s work, often invisible to the broader affordable housing community, involves training board members and staff on governance matters and applicable state and federal laws, highly detailed contractual work on complex real estate transactions, preparing administrative rules for adoption, providing legal opinions on highly nuanced areas of regulatory interpretation, and helping update the Qualified Allocation Plan.
Changemaker Awards
Changemaker Awards recognize leaders who have made significant contributions to the field of affordable housing in Montana. Changemakers are collaborative innovators who address community needs with creativity and humility.
Andrea Davis received a Changemaker Award in recognition of her 15-year career as the Executive Director of Homeword. She led the organization to empower more than 1,000 people annually through homebuyer education, financial skills building, one-on-one counseling and expanded housing development, which now includes 32 properties housing over 2,290 Montanans across the state. Andrea served in many leadership roles in her time at Homeword, including Chair of the Montana Board of Housing Coalition, advocating for state support of affordable and attainable homes, as a board member for Mountain Line and as a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines Affordable Housing Advisory Council.
Tracy Menuez received a Changemaker Award in honor of her 20-year career as the Community Development Director for the Bozeman Human Development Resource Council (HRDC), where she led housing development projects from low-income housing tax credits to community land trusts, to homes for previously unhoused residents. Tracy’s work has been not only about developing homes, but also building community and creating pathways out of poverty. She led countless community collaborations, including as a champion of the Frequent Users System Engagement Initiative to address homelessness, and as a partner to communities throughout the region.
People’s Choice Award
Each year, conference attendees have the opportunity to vote on a People’s Choice Award, selecting one organization from among their peers doing exemplary work. The awardee receives $3,000 to use toward making a short film to highlight its work. This year’s awardee is NeighborWorks Great Falls, which has worked to build strong neighborhoods, create successful homeownership opportunities and develop quality, affordable housing throughout Great Falls and Cascade County since 1980.
Community Give Back
In addition to the awards, each year the Housing Partnership gives back to the conference’s host city or regions through a “Community Give Back” sponsorship. The Seeley Lake Community Foundation, a hub for local charitable giving, was awarded $2,500. A clearinghouse for knowledge on community needs and opportunities, this organization inspires collaborative solutions to local issues, including housing.
The Montana Board of Housing Partnership is a group of housing professionals in business and government from across the state who share information and experiences while creating opportunities for peer exchange and collaboration. Conference attendees included affordable housing organizations, housing developers, government agencies and other housing stakeholders.
“These outstanding individuals are true leaders who have put forth enormous amounts of time and effort to help provide safe, sustainable and affordable homes for Montanans,” said Paul Green, Director of the Montana Department of Commerce. “We are honored to celebrate and acknowledge their significant contributions in addressing this pressing issue with dedication, creativity and innovation.”
Each year, these awards are presented to individuals who have shown extraordinary commitment to increasing access to attainable, affordable housing for all Montanans.
2024 Housing Champion Award Recipients:
Lifetime Achievement Awards
The Lifetime Achievement award recognizes leaders who have made significant and sustained contributions to advance affordable housing in Montana.
Bob Oaks, founding Executive Director of the North Missoula Community Development Corporation (NMCDC), received a Lifetime Achievement Award. The NMCDC has been a neighborhood-led and community-focused organization since its inception in 1996, working as a grassroots force for equitable growth of the Northside and Westside neighborhoods of Missoula. Under Bob’s leadership, the organization created and preserved over 50 homes through the NMCDC community land trust and engaged in countless community projects and initiatives.
Greg Gould, of the Jackson, Murdo & Grant law firm in Helena, also received a Lifetime Achievement Award. Greg has served as general counsel to the Montana Board of Housing since 2010. Greg’s work, often invisible to the broader affordable housing community, involves training board members and staff on governance matters and applicable state and federal laws, highly detailed contractual work on complex real estate transactions, preparing administrative rules for adoption, providing legal opinions on highly nuanced areas of regulatory interpretation, and helping update the Qualified Allocation Plan.
Changemaker Awards
Changemaker Awards recognize leaders who have made significant contributions to the field of affordable housing in Montana. Changemakers are collaborative innovators who address community needs with creativity and humility.
Andrea Davis received a Changemaker Award in recognition of her 15-year career as the Executive Director of Homeword. She led the organization to empower more than 1,000 people annually through homebuyer education, financial skills building, one-on-one counseling and expanded housing development, which now includes 32 properties housing over 2,290 Montanans across the state. Andrea served in many leadership roles in her time at Homeword, including Chair of the Montana Board of Housing Coalition, advocating for state support of affordable and attainable homes, as a board member for Mountain Line and as a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines Affordable Housing Advisory Council.
Tracy Menuez received a Changemaker Award in honor of her 20-year career as the Community Development Director for the Bozeman Human Development Resource Council (HRDC), where she led housing development projects from low-income housing tax credits to community land trusts, to homes for previously unhoused residents. Tracy’s work has been not only about developing homes, but also building community and creating pathways out of poverty. She led countless community collaborations, including as a champion of the Frequent Users System Engagement Initiative to address homelessness, and as a partner to communities throughout the region.
People’s Choice Award
Each year, conference attendees have the opportunity to vote on a People’s Choice Award, selecting one organization from among their peers doing exemplary work. The awardee receives $3,000 to use toward making a short film to highlight its work. This year’s awardee is NeighborWorks Great Falls, which has worked to build strong neighborhoods, create successful homeownership opportunities and develop quality, affordable housing throughout Great Falls and Cascade County since 1980.
Community Give Back
In addition to the awards, each year the Housing Partnership gives back to the conference’s host city or regions through a “Community Give Back” sponsorship. The Seeley Lake Community Foundation, a hub for local charitable giving, was awarded $2,500. A clearinghouse for knowledge on community needs and opportunities, this organization inspires collaborative solutions to local issues, including housing.
The Montana Board of Housing Partnership is a group of housing professionals in business and government from across the state who share information and experiences while creating opportunities for peer exchange and collaboration. Conference attendees included affordable housing organizations, housing developers, government agencies and other housing stakeholders.
Tags:
