Memorials

Jeff Rupp was one of the three founders of MCC. As the longtime director of the Bozeman HRDC, he and his colleagues in Billings (Carl Visser) and Kalispell (Larry Dominic) pooled their funding and hired MCC's first executive director, Steve Nelsen, to launch the corps. Initially, MCC had been created as a state program within the Montana Dept. of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks. However, when state funding failed to materialize, Jeff, Carl, and Larry took the initiative to incorporate MCC as a nonprofit, and they put up the first dollars and offered office space to launch MCC in 1991. In addition to being a pioneer in community development, launching the food bank, public transportation, and affordable housing solutions, Jeff remained a longtime champion for MCC's mission, supporting the evolution of the organization into what it is today.