Jill Cohenour: Public Employee Member of the Year
MEA-MFT’s first Public Employee Member of the Year, Jill Cohenour, is a “master of science and chemistry and a master of networking, a mom, community volunteer, wife, and my mentor in politics,” said MEA-MFT member Debbie Willis of Billings as she introduced Cohenour.
Cohenour works as a chemist at the state Dept. of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) environmental lab, part of a team that keeps Montana’s drinking water safe. She has served as president of MEA-MFT’s largest local affiliate for state employees (around 570 members) for 11 years.
Cohenour has served four terms as a state legislator and is now seeking election as a state senator in the East Helena-Jefferson County legislative district. “She has made a mark on the Montana Legislature that will stay for a long, long time,” Willis said.
“I accept this award with the understanding that it’s about all of you, public employees doing good work every day,” Cohenour told the gathering in Billings. “You understand what ‘government’ really is. It’s the common good and Montana values. You not only do work that matters, you do the work that matters most.”
Other public employee members nominated for the award were Beth McKenzie and Angie Haller, both employees at the state Dept. of Revenue.
Feaver asked all nominees to “help MEA-MFT spread the word that part of our Work that Matters campaign is to recognize internally the great work our member do. One way to show this is through our Public Employee Member of the Year program.”