Sometimes bad things happen to good people. Recently we learned that our friend, Mark Dundas, was facing a battle with leukemia. We were as shocked as he was, since he’s one of the strongest, healthiest people we know. Through his adult life, Mark chose career paths that supported outdoor recreation, and helping others enjoy the outdoors safely. He serves as a forecaster for the Flathead Avalanche Center. He works trails in Glacier National Park that have been enjoyed by millions of visitors, and he served many winters on Whitefish Mountain Resort Ski Patrol helping skiers in need.
Now that Mark is in need, friends came together to assure that he gets support to face a challenging year of treatment, recovery and strength rebuilding.
We held a fundraiser last month at Glacier Guides/Montana Raft in West Glacier. It was amazingly successful, which was directly attributable to the generous nature of the Flathead Valley community. Because everything was donated for auction or raffle, we had no overhead costs. Every dollar raised was direct support for Mark. Our business community deserves a round of applause for their support. We’d like to recognize and thank local businesses for providing items to auction, or food and beverages for the attendees who numbered well over 300.
Thank you to: Glacier Guides/Montana Raft, Friends of Flathead Avalanche Center, Last Chair Kitchen and Bar and all of our local breweries. Many other businesses, too many to list in this letter, were also donors. Please see our blog site for the full list: markdundas.home.blog.
Many private individuals provided items to auction or raffle, including their creations as artists, craftsman, painters, knitters, potters and more. The Belton Blues Band provided great music and auctioneer Mark Vessar created a fun live auction.
Our support for Mark will continue until he’s back on his skis climbing up mountains to dig pits for avalanche analysis. You can still donate to a great person in need by visiting GoFundMe, and enter his name in the search field.
Biddy Simet
Columbia Falls