Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, August 26, 2015
RUNNING FOR BEEF
ing, ‘Maybe this wasn’t
such a great idea.’ But it
was a lot of fun,” he says.
Born and raised in Se-
attle, Rollins’ connection
to the Montana Team Beef
isn’t immediately obvious.
It all started after he grad-
uated from West Seattle
High School and moved
to Bozeman, MT to play
football for Montana State
University.
“While I was in college
I was in the Alpha Gamma
Rho fraternity, which was
the agricultural fraternity,
and my degree was in agri-
cultural business,” Rollins
explains. “Five members of
the current relay team were
associated with the AGR
house.”
After graduating from
Montana State, Rollins
spent a decade working as
a banker in Whitehall, MT.
He also married college
sweetheart Tricia, herself a
Montana native. The couple
has two sons, ages 12 and
10.
The family moved to
Ione in March of 2004, soon
after the birth of their old-
est son. Both Ed and Tricia
Rollins now work for Bank
of EO, a bank with undeni-
able agricultural roots.
“That (agriculture) is
a lot of the business we do
here (at Bank of EO), and
we don’t do it just for the
business. We do it because
we like the industry,” he
says.
Through the years and
the moves, Rollins kept his
connection both with his
Montana friends and with
agriculture. In fact, Rollins
says he feels a deep con-
nection with agriculture,
both in his work as an ag-
based banker and on a more
philosophical level. It was
that connection, more than
anything else, that he says
moved him to join the relay
team.
“From the time I started
college to today, I have
believed one of the great-
est issues in our country is
the belief that food comes
from the grocery store, and
the need to educate and
inform (people) that there’s
a whole lot more to it than
that,” Rollins says.
Knowing his convic-
tions concerning agriculture
and his relationship with
members of the Montana
Beef Council that landed
him on the relay team this
year.
The Montana Beef
Council serves as a support
group for the demand side
of the beef industry. Rollins
says that, in researching,
he’s discovered a couple
dozen states whose beef
councils have a Team Beef
in running or some other
sport. In fact, one of the
sponsors of the Washington
relay was noted Oregon
cattlewoman Sharon Liv-
ingston, former Oregon
Cattleman’s Association
President and current di-
The team’s vans were decorated in Team Beef logos and brands
from area ranches who sponsored the trip, which often served
as a conversation starter with other relay teams. –Contributed
photo
rector for the Oregon Beef
Council.
“One of the reasons
the beef council is going
that direction is that beef
really is a part of a healthy
diet,” says Rollins, adding
that “a lot of them, a lot of
runners and other athletes,
they’ve all at some point
been exposed to the idea of
non-meat diets. They get
a lot of exposure to vegan
diets, but they don’t get a
lot of exposure to the other
side.”
Members of the Heppner class of 1975 at their 10-year reunion. –Contributed photo
Saturday, Aug. 29, at 8
p.m. there will be music and
dancing in the Spur ‘Em
Barn at the Morrow County
Fairgrounds.
The class is asking for
a $5 donation to help pay
The Northwest Passage
relay gave the beef team a
chance to remedy that. With
about 15 minutes of down
time between each leg of
the relay, the Montana Run-
ning Ranchers were able
to mingle with the other
teams, handing out beef
Shared Ministry plans
outdoor worship
The Shared Ministry of Hope Lutheran Church and
All Saints Episcopal Church will have its annual outdoor
worship service at Hager Park this Sunday, Aug. 30, at 10
a.m. Guest musicians Gary and Rita Bowne from Bend
will lead the singing, and everyone is welcome.
Worship will be followed by a potluck barbecue.
Those who attend are asked to bring their own meat to
grill, and either a salad or a dessert to share. Dinnerware
and beverages will be provided. More information about
Shared Ministry activities is available by calling the
church office at 541-676-9970.
Neighborhood Center
sale this week
HHS class of ’75 plans high
school reunion
The Heppner High
School Class of 1975 would
like to invite all Heppner
alumni to join them Friday,
Aug. 28, at 7 p.m. for a no-
host social at the Heppner
Elk’s.
-Continued from PAGE ONE
for the DJ.
Those attending are
also asked to bring their
own beverages.
Questions, contact
Teresa Bedortha or Judy
Healy.
jerky and talking about
the importance of protein.
High Country Snack Foods
supplied beef jerky and
pemmican for the team to
share with runners along
the course.
Rollins said that most
of the other teams were
there purely for fun; many
of them seemed to want to
show off crazy costumes,
but not many had a message
to share like Team Beef did.
That, Rollins says, made
them easy to talk with dur-
ing the breaks.
“We were a pretty pop-
ular bunch with our bright
red jerseys and our beef
jerky and our cowboy hats,”
he says.
Other members of this
year’s Montana team in-
cluded team captain Aeric
Reilly of Great Falls, Ryan
Goodman of Helena, Casey
Coulter of Brusett, Sarah
Nash of Harlowton, Billie
Jo Holzer of Moccasin,
Christy Gerdes of Huntley,
Evelyn Halverson of Big
Timber, Rachel Keaster
of Belt, Christy Pletan of
Harlowton, Rex Reilly of
Stanford, and Ronnie Hal-
verson of Big Timber.
Despite running a beef
campaign in their down
time, the Montana Running
Ranchers team finished the
race in just under 27 hours,
placing 26 th in the division,
out of 354 teams.
“We felt pretty good
that we ended in the top 10
percent as a bunch of meat
eaters,” Rollins adds.
And, despite reserva-
tions going in, Rollins says
he would do it again.
“(It’s) a great opportu-
nity to spread a good word,
and really a lot of fun.”
The Neighborhood Center will have a sale with 50
percent off all clothing and shoes this Thursday, Aug. 27
through Friday, Aug. 28, as well as Monday, Aug. 31.
The food pantry is open from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mon-
day through Friday. For new clients, proof of residency
in South Morrow County is needed (such as a utility bill
or rental agreement).
Regular store hours are Monday through Friday, 9:30
a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The Neighborhood Center is located at
441 N. Main St., Heppner.
For any questions, contact Executive Director Lisa
Patton at 541-676-5024.
Lexington Grange to
meet Sept. 2
The Lexington Grange will hold its next meeting on
Wednesday, Sept. 2, at the Grange Hall.
The evening will begin at 6 p.m. with social hour and
Bingo; participants who bring a treat to share will get a
free Bingo game card. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m.
Members are encouraged to show up and check out
the new windows recently installed, as well as to bring
in their completed questionnaires.
Kinzua Lunch Group
The monthly Kinzua lunch was held at Service Creek
recently. Those attending were Bonnie Campbell, Hep-
pner; Theda Phelps, Monument area; Bill Ledford, son
Jimmy and great-grandson Colson Mathews, Prineville;
Windy Liptak, Condon; and John and Midge Geer, Rol-
lene Allen, Pat Hyatt and Marilyn Garcia, Fossil. The next
lunch will be September 18 at 11:30 at Service Creek.
Morrow County
Chronicles available
even after the fair
If you missed buying a copy of this year’s Morrow
County Chronicles during the fair last week, copies of
the 2015 Chronicles are now available in Heppner at the
Heppner Gazette-Times, the Bank of Eastern Oregon,
Murray’s Drug, Community Bank, Heppner City Hall,
and the Morrow County Museum. Each copy costs $7.
Previous editions of the Chronicles are also available at
the museum.
Weed Advisory Board
to meet
The Morrow County
Weed Advisory Board will
hold a quarterly meeting
Tuesday, Sept. 1, at the Ag
Boise, ID was found guilty
-A 17-year-old female
-Stacy Shelton, 44, of Service Center Conference
of Failure to Obey Traffic in Heppner was found Ione was found guilty of Room, 430 W Linden Way,
Control Device and fined guilty of Failure to Drive Violating the Basic Rule Heppner, beginning at 6
p.m.
$260.
in Lane and fined $260.
79/55 and fined $260.
The Morrow SWCD
regular monthly meeting
will follow immediately
after.
Time will be set aside
at the beginning of the
SWCD meeting to receive
comments from the public.
The agenda for the
weed advisory meeting
includes a Weed Coordina-
tor report of activities and
Justice Court Report
Morrow County Justice
of the Peace Ann Spicer
has released the following
Justice Court report:
-Julia M. Gibbs, 45, of
- THREE
HEPPNER
LES SCHWAB
CONGRATULATES
MORROW COUNTY
RODEO ALL AROUND
BUCKLE WINNER
progress on County Code
Enforcement requirements.
The agenda for the
SWCD meeting includes
review and approval of the
June 2, June 30 and July
29 meeting minutes, trea-
surer’s report for June, July
and August, appointment
of Umatilla/Walla Walla/
Willow Small Grant Team
representative, staff reports,
partner reports and review
of agreements.
A board position repre-
senting the Irrigon area is
currently vacant.
Meetings of Morrow
SWCD are open to the
public.
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