Greg Gianforte

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Seasonal Interpretive Ranger Doug Follett of Whitefish for guiding countless visitors through Glacier National Park, one of our nation's natural wonders, for 70 years.

Ranger Doug has spent decades in and around Glacier National Park. His family moved to Whitefish, Montana when he was a toddler, and he's made the area his home ever since. Before working at Glacier National Park, he worked for the railroad and served the United States in the Air Force during World War II. He began working seasonally in Glacier National Park during the summer while he taught high school history in the winter.

Ranger Doug has spent 58 seasons as an interpretive ranger in Glacier National Park, making him one of the longest-serving employees of the National Park Service. He has led thousands of visitors through trails in the park's expansive forests and beautiful glacier-carved mountains and valleys.

Ranger Doug greets visitors with a fist bump and is known for reciting his original poetry dedicated to the park. An ambassador of Glacier National Park, he shares his knowledge and experience with the thousands of visitors he guides each year. Those who cross Ranger Doug's path each season walk away from Glacier with his infectious passion and enthusiasm for the park.

A well-known figure in Glacier National Park and in the community, Ranger Doug has no plans to slow down and retire anytime soon, saying, ``I'll never know until it's over.''

Many more stories and experiences will come from those who cross paths with Ranger Doug.

Madam Speaker, for serving 70 years as an ambassador of Glacier National Park and Montana to the millions of visitors who visit the park each year, I recognize Ranger Doug Follett for his spirit of Montana.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank the members of the House Armed Services Committee for their hard work on this year's National Defense Authorization Act.

Malmstrom Air Force Base is home to the 341st Missile Wing, which maintains and operates one-third of the U.S. ICBM force. Servicemembers at Malmstrom protect our country, but the base can do more to keep America safe and secure. With some work, the base's runway can, once again, host flying missions.

I especially thank and recognize Mr. Turner from Ohio. We worked on a measure that could reform the basing process to focus on improving existing facilities like Malmstrom instead of building new ones.

This bill begins the process of including Malmstrom in future Air Force basing decisions to host aircraft, potentially increasing the number of men and women serving there.

I appreciate the Montana Defense Alliance for its advocacy on behalf of Great Falls and all the servicemembers at Malmstrom and elsewhere who keep our country safe.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Ellen Crain of Butte for her 29 years of service as the Director of the Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives and for transforming the public archives into a renowned source of research and community pride.

Ellen, a native of Butte, began her work as director of the archives in 1990. She immediately set out to acquire additional collections of historical documents, maps, books, and articles. Outgrowing their current location, the old Butte Fire Station No. 1, Ellen led an expansion project in 2007. Butte-Silver Bow voters overwhelming supported her efforts and passed a $7.5 million bond for the archives.

The project included the renovation of the historic fire department station that had been home to the archives since 1981, and an expansion of two archival vaults and a community meeting space.

Under Ellen's leadership, the Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives has become a recognized source for research. Approximately 5,000 academic and family historians visit each year from all over the world. The community room is a busy place with bi-weekly brown bag lunches attracting large audiences and well-known speakers. Outreach efforts include workshops on preserving family archives and connecting with various ethnic populations in the community.

``Butte has had such a historic impact'' said Ellen. ``Much of the copper that electrified the country came from Butte. Hand-in-hand with that is the historic contributions to organized labor from a diverse ethnic population. It is such an honor for me and my staff to represent Butte. We are always uncovering new ways to look at old stories.''

Madam Speaker, for her leadership and dedication to preserving Montana's historic impact on the country and the world, I recognize Ellen Crain for her spirit of Montana.