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Northwest Montana Historical Society Director Steps Down

Gil Jordan said he planned for retirement, but Trump's election spurred it on faster

By Molly Priddy
The Museum at Central School Executive Director Gil Jordan. Beacon File Photo

The executive director at the Northwest Montana Historical Society has announced his retirement, a move he expected to make next year but hurried up after Donald Trump was elected president.

Deciding to retire from his post, Gil Jordan, 71, said the Nov. 8 election spurred him on, due to the desire to volunteer and work at different organizations, especially those focused on environmental issues.

“I was thinking about it hard all night; lying awake (election) night I was thinking about it,” Jordan said. “I gave myself 48 hours to calm down and not make an emotional decision.”

He talked about it with his wife of 40 years, Kimberly Pinter, who works with Jordan at the Museum at Central School as the office manager and volunteer coordinator for the historical society. They both decided to leave, Jordan said, and told the museum’s board on Thursday, Nov. 10.

Jordan’s retirement will take place March 31, giving the museum and historical society four-and-a-half months to find his replacement. Pinter will likely retire sooner, he said.

Prior to the election, Jordan said he planned on serving as executive director for at least one more year. He’s held the job for 12 years.

There was nothing about the historical society or the museum that sped up his decision, Jordan said, even if there were ideological differences on the board and within the staff.

“It has absolutely nothing to do with anything going on here,” Jordan said. “We have conservative members of our board; we have some folks here who voted for Trump. But we’re all good friends and we talked about it. I love this place, that’s why I stayed so long and it’s treated me well. That’s why I was planning at 71 years old to stay another year.”

Jordan said he plans to work for more environmental organizations, such as Green Peace, as well as local outdoors-focused groups. He also wants to work with groups supporting women, minorities, and immigrants, three groups he believes will be “hurt” under the Trump administration.

“I want to do what I can to help those folks,” he said.

Jordan said he’s been working since he was 13, with 58 years spent at a job of some sort, usually based in the nonprofit or community-building sectors. Retiring will give him more time to pursue other passions, including his wife’s desire to travel around more. The couple plans on spending the Thanksgiving break traveling to the protests over the oil pipeline on the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota.

The executive director job will be advertised on local and statewide nonprofit list serves, as well as with two national organizations, the American Association for State and Local History and the American Alliance of Museums.

Though it will be a nationwide search, Jordan said he hopes to find someone local to replace him. But if that doesn’t pan out, the national candidates will come into play.

Jordan and Pinter have no plans to leave the Flathead Valley, he said, just live in from a different perspective.

“We’re not going anywhere,” Jordan said. “We’re going to stay in our home in Coram, where we’ve been for 35 years.”