In 1985, Peter Rosten came to Montana for what he thought was just a vacation; little did he know that this visit would leave a permanent impression.

Today Peter and his wife, Susan (she’s a fourth generation Montanan) live in Darby. Her four children, and now Peter’s as well, are grown. Two attend MSU in Bozeman, one lives and works in Great Falls and their oldest is married and living in New York City.

Best known as the President and Founder of MAPS: Media Arts in the Public Schools’ (www.mediarts.org), the program is now in five Montana locations (Corvallis, Missoula, Bozeman, Red Lodge and Wolf Point) and has received local, state and national recognition. Recently honored with the 2008 “Award of Excellence in Education” from the San Francisco based, Society of New Communications Research, the program has evolved into a profitable business run by high school students. “We currently have TV spots running in 38 states and the Center for Disease Control is broadcasting our tobacco-prevention PSA’s nationwide,” says Peter. “Our clients pay us, we pay the kids in stipends and scholarships - it’s the real world.”

Peter believes that addressing important issues like creating quality jobs, improving education, providing affordable health care, managing growth and implementing a balanced forest management policy requires cooperation across party lines. “I think the partisan divide is a false argument and the business-as-usual style of politics has to change,” says Peter. “Good ideas aren’t property of either party, getting them done is what matters most.”