The 2^nd (annual?) ‘70s get-together happens on Thursday, April 13, 7:30pm, in the Alloway Dining Hall. Be there! Encourage classmates to join you. Catch up, visit, enjoy some snacks—to the background of ‘70s music.

Join us for Alumni Homecoming April 14-16, 2023!

Honor Classes: 1943, 1948, 1953, 1963, 1973, 1983, 1993, 1998, 2003, 2013, and 2023.

This year’s special guest speaker will be Gene Dotolo, ’73.

We are looking forward to having you return to campus! If you would like to reserve a room in our Guest Services Building, please contact Miriam Wright, Guest Services Director at 406.587.5178 ext 115. Rooms are limited so call to reserve your room today! Any questions regarding Alumni weekend, please contact Kebrina Vinglas at 406.587.5178 ext 105 or email alumni@mtellis.org. Please check the website here to register and for any updates: https://mtellis.org/alumni/

One of our core missions at Mt. Ellis Academy is to help our students develop their God-given gifts. For some of our students, this means preparing them for the academic rigors of college, but that isn’t the case for all our students. With the major labor shortage around the country across all trades and the rising cost of college education, there is an increasing need to equip our young people with usable skills to enter the work force.  It is for this reason that we have taken the first step in developing our trade programs so that we can fulfill our mission to develop all our students’ God-given gifts so that they may be more prepared to charge into adulthood and serve in His Kingdom.

Mt. Ellis Academy (MEA) has launched its first cohort of HVAC training.  Today, there are less than 100 Certified Master HVAC Educators around the country, and MEA has partnered with Montana Trade School (MTS) to offer dual-learning opportunities for our students.  Program participants will work toward both their high school graduation and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certification.  Students will learn advancements in technology to enhance HVAC training, skills, and marketability to employers. Upon completion of this 2-year program, students will receive EPA certification, enabling them to enter the workforce as a level 1 technician with a starting wage of $25-$30/hour.  

The Junior and Senior level course is taught by Framo Rimoni, an RSI HVAC/R graduate with over 31 years of experience in residential, commercial, and industrial HVAC service. He is assisted by Randy Wright, a licensed general contractor with over 35 years’ experience in the industry.  The six students in this first cohort (four boys and two girls) meet 4 afternoons/week on campus as they gain practical knowledge towards their certification.  

As we look to the future, we recognize the need to continue to offer a variety of training opportunities so that our students can be prepared to enter college, or if they choose, to further their training in a trade.  Some ideas that we are looking to develop in the future include auto mechanics, welding, plumbing, coding, electrical, and construction sciences.

Attention all 7th-11th graders! You are invited to join us for Ski the Summit and Academy Days February 5-7, 2023. We are excited to combine two fun events into a 3 day experience. Pastor Douglas Elsey is returning as our special Guest Speaker, and we have lots of fun activities planned for those who don’t ski/snowboard. Come for Sunday’s Academy Days event and Bear Canyon, experience Bridger Bowl’s Cold Smoke and Big Sky’s epic runs, or if you’d rather not ski/board you can participate in the mini courses that we will be offering on campus. Whichever option you choose, you won’t regret adventuring with us! Registration deadline is Wednesday, January 18. Questions? Contact the school at 406.587.5178 or email alumni@mtellis.org.

MEA students cliff jump and play in the water in the Crazy Mountains. We like to get out and experience creation! Our weekends may include rest, but they also provide opportunities for adventure! #AdventureStartsHere

April 14 and 15

Ditch the virtual life of the past 2 years and come to an honest-to-goodness reunion!  We are in need of in-person reconnections!  Join your classmates for ‘70s events Thursday and Friday before the official all-class Alumni Reunion.  

Thursday, the 14^th, 7:30pm ‘70s Party 

Dress for it!  70s music (DJ’d by Bill Kirkpatrick), food, giveaways. 

Friday, the 15^th, 10a-2pm Farmers’ Market BBQ-style lunch

Bring your creativity to display or sell:  photo albums of MEA days, artwork, pottery, photography, quilting/stitchery, woodworking, etc. 

Lodging — Option 1: find lodging in Bozeman using any of the many options available to those who are connected to cyberspace. Option 2: Stay in the MEA Guest Dorm (aka old girls’ dorm). Call 406-219-8559 to check availability and make a reservation—$40 includes linens and towel. RV parking/Tents: Call 406-487-5178, ext 102 to make arrangements.

Meals — $7.50/meal

RSVP, please — Facebook Event: Click “going/maybe” to register your intent to attend [click on either category to see who has already RVSP’d]. If you are not on Facebook, please go to https://mea70sreunion.weebly.com/ to RSVP. We need a head count for planning purposes. 

Additional Info: https://mea70sreunion.weebly.com/

All-class Alumni Reunion 2022 (April 15-17) — https://mtellis.org/alumni/ 

MEA Newsletter — https://mtellis.org/newsletter/ 

If your class hasn’t set up a formal method of communication or you don’t see someone’s name on the Facebook Event, contact them. Since Google knows everything about us, it’s not too difficult to find people. Try Whitepages.

MEA’s Got Talent!

Vote for your favorite acts here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1gW6FlIMfMD2HBNYAx-2F9JOX8QmN5MectUumWulUO7I/edit?usp=sharing

“Home is where the heart is” or so the saying goes.  Everyone’s version of home is a little bit different, but at the end of the day, the idea of home conjures up thoughts of peace, respite, a safe haven from the assaults of a bustling world, and a place where memories, meals, and time is shared with the ones who mean more to us than anyone else.

They come in all shapes, sizes, and designs.  There are those that make their inhabitants feel snug as a bug with their neat and tidy lines, white picket fences, and manicured lawns calling out a warm welcome to all who would cross their thresholds; others provide space for multiple families and stretch tall towards the sky; while some are mansions, with more rooms than people to fill them.  Whatever form they take, they all provide a singular purpose – to provide a safe solace for their people.

While Mount Ellis Academy has a rich history, our buildings are starting to show their age.  Our newest house is about 20 years old, and our oldest is at least 80 years old, maybe even older.  Many of our staff homes are wearing their age like a tattered shawl across their weary shoulders.  Some have fallen into disrepair  – of no fault of their own or their inhabitants.  Age has not been kind to most of them, and while they do provide respite for the educators and their families that live there, most of them have seen years of deferred maintenance or “band-aid” fixes due to limited funding to perform the required maintenance and appropriate repairs.  MEA is facing a housing crisis.  We are at the point where we do not have adequate housing for our staff.

This was made evident this past summer when we didn’t have safe housing available for incoming and existing staff. We had a house that required significant repairs and was unsafe for its inhabitants, and new staff moving to campus with no place to call their own.  It was at this point that a vision began to take shape and a dream was born.

Jared Rasmussen, MEA church member, parent, and chair of the Building and Maintenance Committee saw this need first-hand and began to brainstorm to find a solution to MEA’s housing crisis.  After much prayer and sharing his vision with a group of local church members a plan began to take shape.  “This isn’t my plan, or even my idea,” Rasmussen states, “but this project belongs to God.  It isn’t something meant for MEA and the local Bozeman community, but it’s a vision to bring our Montana Conference community together in a common project to serve the Conference”.  The plan is to begin construction on a new house.  Once that home is built, fundraising will begin to build another, and this will be repeated until all of the houses are replaced or we have adequate housing for all of our staff. The fundraising will include funding a specific account dedicated to maintenance of the new structures so that the new homes don’t fall prey to deferred maintenance due to a lack of funding. What started as a small seed planted in Rasmussen’s vision for MEA is taking shape and growing into a real project with a goal to eventually include curriculum so that students can be a part of the building process and know what goes into building a new house from budgeting, choosing a house plan, to framing and finish work.  We want our students to be involved and learn about the process.

The Montana Conference Board of Directors has already made a statement of support for the initiative and has pledged the initial $120,000 and several of the local churches have also pledged funding to support the project.  The Adventist Education Foundation stands behind the project as well, and has already issued a check for $65,000.  We are still short $75,000 to complete the first house.  

Want to join us in our initiative?  There are several exciting ways for you to be able to participate. 

• You can pray. This is always the most powerful way to have the biggest  impact.  It may seem like the smallest gesture or easiest route to take, but it allows us to partner with God in doing big things.
• You can donate to the initiative, or you can help to promote the project with fundraising in your local community.  MEA is your school.  It belongs to God and serves all of us.  
• You can join us for the final work-bee once construction is completed and help with landscaping and clean-up.
• Best way yet, do all three:  Pray, help with fundraising, and join us on campus for the final work-bee!

Won’t you join in the vision?  God is doing great things, and we invite you to participate with us.  We are excited about the future of MEA.  For the past 119 years we have been in the business of educating students for eternity. We are looking forward with hopeful anticipation to educating young people until Jesus returns.  Help us provide adequate housing for our staff.  Together we can share the love of Jesus with the young people of Montana and beyond.

Donate here:

https://factsmgtadmin.com/give/appeal/UNrMcyWmQ

~Kebrina Vinglas, Director for Development

Alumni Weekend looked different this year. Due to local COVID restrictions, we were unable to host an alumni reunion on campus. On Sabbath, April 17th, Tim Weber, ’81 delivered an inspiring message “If I Should Die Before I Wake” based on Isaiah 41:10 to our students, local church family, and alumni who watched the livestream from the comfort of their own living rooms. Dynamics, Choir, Strings, and Bellisimo shared their talents with musical praise. Afternoon Zoom Reunions were well attended for several of the honor years and people were able to catch up with one another. While not ideal, the virtual service did provide an opportunity for alumni to experience a small taste of campus life today, and the Zoom sessions gave the opportunity to chat with classmates later in the afternoon. We are grateful for each and every one of our alumni who has shaped our history and created a legacy of greatness at MEA. We look forward to the time when we will be able to meet together in person once again.

Recognizing Honor Classes of 2011, 2001, 1996, 1991, 1981, 1971, 1966, 1961, 1956, 1951, 1946.

In case you missed it, you can view the livestream worship service here: