REMEMBERING GEORGE: HABITS OF THE HEART WITH JOHN ALLEN

George Dennison, (originally printed in the Spring 2010 Montanan)

In January, we lost a dedicated, visionary leader when George Dennison passed away. Since then, we've put the call out to friends and colleagues of George to send us pieces about working with him and what it meant. This piece comes from John Allen, who worked as Montana state director for the Corporation for National and Community Service office. John's retired now, but he served on the Governor's Commission on Community Service with George. John helped establish MTCC's VISTA program and wrote this piece on the occasion of George's retirement. It ran originally in the Spring 2010 issue of the Montanan, UM's alumni magazine.
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"I know President Dennison as a builder who has made Montana a better place. One can easily see all the growth at UM—the new stadium, the powerhouse football team, increased student enrollment, the rise of the University’s academic reputation, and other milestones. From my personal experience and knowledge, Dennison’s legacy also is about building foundations that we can build on to create more and better volunteer programs, a more civically engaged population, and, consequently, a stronger democracy.

During my thirty-five years working in community service, civic engagement, and volunteerism, and ten years as the Montana director for the Corporation for National and Community Service (known as the domestic Peace Corps), I worked with Dennison to encourage civic engagement and volunteerism. He is a builder—a visionary with a can-do attitude. I can’t count the number of times in meetings where he would say, “Let’s get it done.” He is able to connect seemingly unrelated issues while fostering relationships between far afield entities, like college volunteers working with senior volunteers to collect for food banks or young volunteers teaching senior volunteers about computers. Dennison realizes a successful democracy depends on an educated and civically engaged population. 

John Allen

Often he would lead dialogues among leaders in community service about the importance of volunteerism. Building civic engagement to him was not only an academic interest; it was about something bigger and getting it done. Dennison provided the vision and leadership at the University, in Montana, and nationally to increase civic engagement. He served on the national Campus Compact board and was instrumental in building, in Montana, one of the most successful branches in the nation. Campus Compact promotes civic engagement at the university level. Year after year, UM ranks among the top universities nationally for civically engaged students, outranking many prestigious schools. For fifteen years Dennison was the chair, visionary, and leaderof the Montana Commission on Community Service, which promoted civic engagement. With his leadership, the commission developed and implemented more programs and created an environment that encouraged collaborations not often seen in larger states. Civic engagement experts considered the Montana Campus Compact and Montana Commission on Community Service as models for the nation, a direct result of Dennison’s longtime commitment and leadership. He gave tireless effort and always made himself available." 

John Allen

VOLUNTEER OF THE GAME NOMINATIONS OPEN.

MSU-Northern's Chancellor Kegel and VOTG recipient Joseph Vernon.

Every year, Montana Campus Compact (MTCC) collaborates with the Montana Governor’s Office of Community Service to support volunteerism and service in Montana. We believe in supporting college students who make a difference within our communities. Through this collaboration, the Volunteer of the Game award recognizes five student volunteers from college campuses in Butte, Havre, Helena, Dillon and Billings.

Two examples of the student leaders recognized with Volunteer of the Game distinctions include Joseph Vernon and Mathew Foster. MSU-Northern Chancellor Greg Kegel awarded Joseph Vernon the Volunteer of the Game at the Northern October 18 home game. Joseph was recognized for his coordination of the recycling program at the university and his volunteerism in the community of Havre. 

Montana Tech’s Mathew Foster served as Circle K International club president and helped organize Tech’s inaugural Student Veterans’ Association. Both students embody Campus Compact’s core values of community engagement and social responsibility. 

Montana Tech's Mathew Foster

Recommendations for student nominees must be submitted or three weeks prior to the game day presentation. The nominee must be enrolled at a Montana Campus Compact affiliate institution. Recommendations for student nominees are sent to ServeMontana, the Governor’s Office of Community Service via email or fax. Check out the application here or on the www.mtcompact.org website!

Below are the dates the 2015 Volunteer of the Game Awards will be made:

October 24: Carroll College, Helena and Montana State University Northern, Havre         

October 31, 2015: Montana Tech. Butte       

November 7, 2015: Rocky Mountain College, Billings and   University of Montana Western, Dillon