House District 100: Willis Curdy

DEMOCRAT

AGE: 59

OCCUPATION: Retired rancher, former teacher, smokejumper and pilot; taught government and Montana history at Hellgate High School for 30 years

HOMETOWN: Missoula

FAMILY: Wife, Gloria, and two grown sons.

EDUCATION: Master's degree in education, the University of Montana.

POLITICAL OR PUBLIC SERVICE: Big Flat Irrigation District Commission, 1983-1988; Missoula Rural Fire District Board of Trustees, 1990-1993 (one year spent as board chair); smokejumper, 1971-2000; U.S. Forest Service pilot, 2000-2006.

CAMPAIGN WEB SITE: http://www.curdyforhd100.com/

Curdy aims to promote higher wages, lower energy costs

By KAREN GARCIA

When Willis Curdy was in the fifth grade, his father broke his arm on the belt used to grind grain on their family farm. For the next six weeks, Curdy took over many of his dad's farm duties.

Waking up at 5 a.m., he milked cows for two and a half hours before his mother drove him to school. He would return seven hours later, only to face more chores.

“From that I learned that success comes through hard work and long hours,” recalled Curdy, now 59.

Running as the Democratic candidate for House District 100, which encompasses 525 square miles of western Missoula County, Curdy said he would apply that life lesson if he were elected to the Montana's Legislature. -MORE-
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