Bozeman Watch Co. chief executive Christopher Wardle presented Doug Houston, president of the National Smokejumper Association, with a check on behalf of Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer. Schweitzer, a committed conservationist and outspoken advocate of the Smokejumpers, was in Bozeman, Mont.to receive the first-ever “Montanan of our Times” award from Bozeman Watch Co. for his dedication to serving the people and interests of the Big Sky State.

Montana governor Brian Schweitzer, NSA president Doug Houston, 
and BWC officials John Tarver Bailey and Christopher F. Wardle 
with NSA check.

“We’re proud to have the governor inaugurate this award and are happy to present the Smokejumpers with this additional funding,” Wardle said.

Nearly 8 million acres have burned across the U.S. this year, and the Ahorn, Jocko Lakes, and Chippy Creek fires across Montana were some of the worst.

The Bozeman Watch Co.’s SmokeJumper Chronograph is the official timepiece of the Missoula-based NSA—which is dedicated to preserving the history and lore of smokejumping, maintaining and restoring the nation’s forest and grassland resources, and responding to special needs of smokejumpers and their families.

“The Smokejumpers are the unsung heroes of the West, sacrificing their very lives to fight the most dangerous fires imaginable, and we’re honored to work so closely with them,” Wardle said.

In 2008 the Bozeman Watch Company will release the limited-edition Zuli Chronograph, a dedication to Houston’s homebase, and home of the National Smokejumper Association, the firebase in Missoula, as the second in their collection of mechanical chronographs, and bringing the “Montana Class Watch Collection” to eleven models.

JCK