Football changed Rick’s life, so his goal is to give back as much as possible to the sport.

Rick Halmes, Chairman

Rick Halmes was born in the Highwood Mountains in 1949. His father and mother worked a small 560-acre ranch. There was no indoor plumbing, electricity, or TV until 1959. It didn’t seem to matter to Rick or his four sisters because chickens, baby deer, calves, and colts all seemed to have fun playing with them.

Rick went mostly to one-room country schools through 6th grade, and then, due to his parents' divorce, there were many moves to different schools between Belt and Great Falls.

In 1966, Rick met Coach Sonny Holland, who had been hired by Great Falls High School to coach football. Great Falls High was Holland’s first head coaching job. Later, Sonny became an icon of football at Montana State. Coach Holland encouraged Rick to attend Great Falls High for his senior year, which he did. Rick would tell you that decision changed the course of his life.

That Great Falls High team was picked to finish last in Montana AA, but they ended up winning the state championship with no five-star recruits. Sonny Holland cared about his players, and they played hard for him. Rick became the starting center for the Bison.

Halmes had not planned to go to college, but that year at GFHS led to a scholarship. Rick attended Eastern Montana College, where he became a four-year starter at center and captain of the Yellowjackets his senior year. Rick’s family had no extra money, so he worked each winter quarter to earn money.

After four years at Eastern, Halmes worked, saved, got married, and enrolled at Montana State to finish his education degree and participate as a roper and bulldogger at MSU. Rick has a son, Cord, and a daughter, Brittany. He and Janet live back near his hometown of Belt, MT.

Tom Oberweiser - Incoming Chairman

Tom Oberweiser is a football “lifer” in Montana. Born in Anaconda, Tom was born on the night his father, Jack, was coaching the Anaconda Central Saints to a conference championship. In high school he played quarterback for Anaconda’s Copperheads. Tom’s brother, Jim, is a Hall of Fame Coach from Drummond where he won five state Championships with the Trojans. Tom is a retired football official of over 40-years’ experience, including 32 years as a high school official and 18 years at the college level.

He spent seven years in the Frontier Conference, twelve years in the Big Sky Conference, and officiated a dozen seasons of professional indoor football in Billings. He currently serves as a clinician and film evaluator for the Frontier Conference and has taught a class on football officiating at Rocky Mountain College in Billings for twenty-five years. Tom has been married to Pam (Dufner) Oberweiser of Glendive for forty-two years. They have three sons and eight grandchildren. Tom is a retired criminal investigations supervisor from the Montana Department of Justice where he specialized in Organized Sports Gambling investigations. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and has spoken on the issue of illegal sports gambling across the country and in Canada.

Jim Hauck

Jim has been a MTFHOF board member and volunteer since 2019. He and his wife Carol have twin boys. He is a University of M graduate and has worked as a CPA in Billings for the last 30 years. Always a sports fan, Jim is passionate about watching Montana athletes advance to the professional level.

Ed Garding

Ed spent 44 years at First Interstate Bank, where he held several management positions, and retired as the CEO in 2016. He continued to represent First Interstate in as a part time Government Relations Officer until 2021.

Ed also served as the Interim Dean at the Montana State University Billings College of Business from 2018 through 2023. Ed is married to Becky and has four grown children and three grandchildren.

Bill Dolan

Bill has been on the MFHOF board since 2020. He is an East Helena native and played wide receiver for the University of Montana from 1978-1981. He graduated with a degree in physical therapy and has been practicing for 40 years, the last 30 at the Billings Clinic. He is married to Nikki and has two daughters, Shea and Ryan. 

Bob Barone

Bob was born and raised in Anaconda, MT. He spent much of his youth participating in various sporting activities, including football, basketball, track, and baseball. He played high school sports and went on to college on a football and track scholarship at MSUB, formerly Eastern Montana College.

Bob has been married for 54 years to Roxanne Billingsly from Glasgow. They have two daughters and four grandchildren. After college, he became involved with officiating sports—mostly football and basketball. He officiated for 42 years in high school and college basketball and spent 11 years officiating arena football. Bob earned a teaching degree and worked in education for 44 years, including 12 years as an elementary teacher and 32 years as an elementary principal. He has now been retired for 10 years and volunteers for the MTFHOF and as a crew member at the scorers table at MSUB basketball games.

Jason Walker

Jason is the host of The Jason Walker Show. Walker is a 30+ year veteran of Radio/TV having worked at numerous radio stations in Montana and Oregon, as well as TV in Montana and Colorado. Walker was the public address announcer for Montana State athletics for 16 seasons before moving to Helena in August of 2013.

Prior to becoming the Voice of the Carroll College Saints from 2014-2019, Walker served as Play-by-Play announcer for the Bozeman Hawks, Helena High Bengals and Montana State Bobcats women's basketball. Walker was also named the 2013 and 2016 Montana Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters & Sportswriters Association, and has been a finalist 5 times in 7 years.

Walker married his wife Tori in 2017 and is the proud dad of 3 kids, daughter Faith, son Bob, who is serving in the U.S. Army, and little daughter Winnie.

Colter Nuanez

Colter is the co-founder and senior writer for Skyline Sports. After spending six years in the newspaper industry with stops at the Missoulian, the Ellensburg Daily Record and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the former Washington Newspaper Association Sportswriter of the Year and University of Montana Journalism School graduate (’09) has cultivated a deep passion for sports journalism during his 13-year career covering the Big Sky Conference. In August of 2014, Colter and brother Brooks merged their passions of writing and art to found Skyline Sports.

Marty Mornhinweg

Mornhinweg was a four-year starter at quarterback for the University of Montana in Missoula, where he set 15 passing records.  During his junior season in 1982, Mornhinweg led the Griz to its first Big Sky Conference championship in a dozen years.

Because of Mornhinweg's notable performance, U of M inducted him into the Montana Hall of Fame.  He earned his bachelor's degree in health and physical education/coaching, then went on to earn a master’s of science in health and physical education/sports administration from the University of Texas at El Paso. Mornhinweg was not selected in the 1985 NFL Draft.

A knee injury in an arena football league game cut  Mornhinweg’s playing career short.  However; his NFL coaching resume is as long as your arm, including a term as head coach of the Detroit Lions, offensive coordinator in Philly, New York (Jets) and Baltimore where he coached Joe Flacco and Lamar Jackson.

Mornhinweg and his wife Lindsey have built a home in Missoula.

John Lagerquist

John, former “Voice of the Fighting Saints” and Helena broadcaster, was behind the call when Helena Capital defeated the Fort Benton football dynasty in its first high school football game 50 years ago on Sept. 8, 1973.

“They won their home opener 7-6 and they won another game that year, too,” Lagerquist recalled.

Helena Capital would win its first Montana state title five years later 1978. Lagerquist would go on to become the "Voice of the Carroll College Fighting Saints" for years, working alongside NAIA and Montana legend Bruce Parker in the early days of Montana sports. He covered the Saints in eight national championship football games, six of which resulted in national titles, and 15 trips to the Men’s and Women’s NAIA National Basketball Tournaments.

But his efforts aren’t limited to athletic-related events. He also supports numerous student groups and charities in the Helena community and is currently a commercial realtor in the Helena area.

Chris Byers

Chris has been a cornerstone of sports broadcasting in Montana for over four decades. His journey in the Treasure State began in 1983 when he moved to Billings, Montana as the Sports Director at KULR-TV.

In 1999 with Omega Sports, Byers was a key figure in producing local live high school and college sports programming throughout Montana, helping elevate the state’s sports scene to new heights. This included Montana and Montana State Football, as well as other

Division II and NAIA programs.

Over the years, Byers has earned numerous accolades, including being named Montana's Sportscaster of the Year for eight consecutive years from 2004-2011. In 2009, Byers was inducted into the Montana Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall

of Fame for significant contributions to amateur football. Most recently, Byers won a Regional Edward R. Murrow Award for Sports Reporting in 2024 for his story on Bill Lazetich, "From the Battlefield to the Playing Field.”

Despite retiring from his nightly sports duties in 2021, Chris continues to contribute part-time to KULR-8 and SWX as a play-by-play announcer and feature reporter. He sits on the board for the Montana Pro Football Hall of Fame in Billings. His primary responsibility

is producing the Hall of Fame inductees video that are shown at the annual induction ceremony.

Byers is a proud family man, married to his wife, Lynn, for over 44 years. Together, they have two children, Tyson (wife Kristie) and K.C., as well as two grandchildren, Adysen and Trestyn, who continue to bring joy to his life.