On a sunny morning in October at a popular Billings restaurant, Billings philanthropist Bernie Rose and Billings TrailNet‘s executive director, Kristi Drake met over lunch. While the two chatted and caught up with life events, Bernie quietly reached across the table and handed Kristi a letter which took her breath away: he was making a planned gift from his estate of $100,000 to Billings TrailNet.
This long time philanthropist has given to many organizations over the years, and his dedication to the Billings community and to the outdoors has been evident in his involvement with organizations such as Wild Montana (formerly Montana Wilderness Association), Yellowstone River Parks Association, the Billings Public Library Foundation, Yellowstone Public Radio, the Western Heritage Center, Billings TrailNet and the Billings Community Foundation.
The retired economics professor knows how to make private money work for the benefit of the community, and wants to share that knowledge with others who would like to see their taxable earnings go toward the betterment of Billings and causes for which they find compelling.
We celebrate Bernie for his devotion to our community! Thank you Bernie Rose!
For information on the Montana Tax Credit/Billings TrailNet endowment campaign, please see our story here.