Miles Community College (MCC) and the MCC Endowment Board are pleased to announce that they have received a $100,000 gift from the Bair Ranch Foundation for the Ag Advancement Center. The current amount fundraised for the Ag Advancement Center now exceeds the $2.2 million mark.
The Bair Ranch Foundation is the legacy of the Charles M. Bair family from Martinsdale, Montana, near Harlowton. The Bair family was very involved in agriculture in eastern Montana and at one point, Charles M. Bair ran an estimated 300,000 head of sheep on eastern Montana rangeland. The Bair Ranch Foundation is the umbrella entity that supports two trusts dedicated to philanthropic purposes: the Charles M. Bair Memorial Trust and the Charles M. Bair Family Trust.
“It is unusual for the Bair Ranch Foundation to directly support a project, however, the Board of Directors felt that the Ag Advancement Center project was important enough to the continued development of ag education in eastern Montana to warrant this funding,” says Wayne Hirsch, President of the Bair Ranch Foundation Board of Directors.
The Endowment Board and Miles Community College began the fundraising campaign in February 2014 to raise the necessary funds to build a state of the art agricultural and equine educational center. Dr. Stacy Klippenstein, President of Miles Community College, is extremely grateful for this gift, “We appreciate the Bair Ranch Foundation’s wonderful contribution to this project. The Bair family has a rich history of participating in agriculture across the state and even in Miles City. The Foundation recognizes the value of our Ag Advancement Center to MCC and eastern Montana.”
The MCC Ag Advancement Center will have an indoor arena, three classrooms, seating for over 500 people, and will be set up to host rodeo and community events. Currently, without appropriate learning environments for the agriculture and equine programs, especially indoor facilities for equine, potential students leave the area and Montana for other institutions out of state. President Klippenstein states, “Our goal is to provide the best learning environments for our students and, as a community college, provide quality space for community use. The facility will do both.”
If you wish to learn more about the Ag Advancement Center or wish to give to this project, please visit the MCC website at milescc.edu or contact the President’s Office at 406.874.6165.
