I originally met Courtenay Sprunger when we served together on the Kalispell Chamber Executive Board. During our shared years of service, Courtenay and I collaborated on numerous strategic planning matters and community initiatives. I came to immensely respect Courtenay’s wisdom, insight and leadership skill. She demonstrated, time and again, the ability to engage participants, synthesize input, negotiate respectfully, and move to a workable outcome. Those abilities have been particularly impressive in the context of large groups of differing opinion. In her 2021 role as the Kalispell Chamber’s Board Chair, Courtenay proved to be an articulate and exceptional officer.
As the Representative for House District 7 in her first session, Courtenay brought those same skills to the table and accomplished tremendous things for Kalispell including the SAFER Act, which will provide the state match dollars for the significant upgrade on West Reserve Drive starting this summer. She also passed legislation to bolster high school apprenticeships and education in the trades, and had three separate bills signed into law that will directly help fight rising crime and drug trafficking in Kalispell. These accomplishments alone are impressive to anyone who appreciates a problem solver. However, I know Courtenay would undoubtedly say that the Montana Adoption Tax Credit, which will make adoption more accessible for Montana families, was the most important thing she accomplished.
Altogether, Courtenay’s record stands as a testament to her commitment to our community and her ability to get things done – it’s an impressive resume. She is a powerful advocate for common-sense conservative values and has served her community faithfully. She is an articulate, strong voice for our community, someone well-qualified to be a legislator. I hope you will join me in supporting her again for Montana House District 7.
Tom Ray
Whitefish