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10 ALL ABOUT MONTANA
LISA TATE | CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9
“I vowed to learn that art one day, too,”
she said.
After graduating from high school, Tate
researched places where she could fly a
hang glider year-round and moved to Boise,
Idaho, her home for the next three decades.
She juggled hang gliding, creating and
selling her glass art, and working for non-
profits. She studied nonprofit management,
ultimately receiving her master’s degree.
“The weather there is mild enough, so
you can fly year-round, even during win-
ter,” Tate said.
For two decades, she organized glider
fly-ins at internationally renowned King
Mountain in central Idaho and flew to a
personal record of 17,000 feet. She also
served as president of the National Hang
Gliding and Paragliding Association for
eight years.
When she was not flying, she worked as
a nonprofit consultant for the City of Boise
and with Zoo Boise. She also worked as the
executive director of the Red River Zoo in
Fargo, North Dakota, a museum special-
izing in conservation of the world’s rarest
cold-climate species. During this time, she
served as an accreditation inspector for the
Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
She also studied glass blowing and
engraving at the Bay Area Glass Institute
in San Francisco, Pratt Fine Art Center in
Seattle, and Corning Studio in Corning,
New York.
BY DON WALTERS
The dog days of summer are flying by,
and September is in reach. Fall golf can be
spectacular. Most years by now I expect
my game to be on point. I’ve played dozens
of rounds this summer, some good some
bad, but always an adventure. With all the
anticipation of the arrival of golf season,
right now we’ve reached the peak and are
heading down the other side.
Courses are still packed with golf enthu-
siasts. You’ll find lessons on the practice
range and kids gathering to spend the last
days of vacation out on the course hanging
with friends. I’ve tried my best to squeeze
in as much as I can.
I’ve also spent the twilight hours in
my backyard with every late-night TV golf
gadget available. With it being light until
late, my backyard transforms into a driving
range, complete with orange whiffle golf
balls, aiming sticks, a tri-pod, my smart
phone for video, and, of course, several
“training devices.”
Several times my family has wandered out
into the backyard, wondering what exactly I
am doing and how long I’m going to be out
there. Some nights the sun will set, and I’ll
still be out in the yard muttering to myself.
MONTANA SENIOR NEWS • AUGUST | SEPTEMBER 2022
Bowl made by Lisa Tate, called “Soaring Dreams.”
Photo by Aaron Beck.
Needing a place to hone her craft,
she converted her Boise garage into a
glass-blowing studio and began renting it
to local artists.
“I kept learning techniques from the
artists who rented time in my studio,”
she says. “It took more than eight years to
become proficient.”
With her blended skills of pilot, artist,
and nonprofit manager, she returned home
Dog Days of Summer
With all the anticipation of the arrival of golf season, right now we’ve reached the peak and are heading
down the other side. Don’t despair, golf addicts. Fall golf can be spectacular. © Mikdam, Bigstock.com.
I like to call it “geeking out” over golf.
Either alone or with a fellow addict, some-
times a golf professional or two, we take
on certain aspects of the swing. Breaking it
down to the smallest minutia can make us
feel like we know what we’re doing.
These “geek out” sessions keep my
addiction fed. I’m in control of golf vs.
golf controlling me. Personal accounts
on social media provide plenty of fuel for
discussion and consideration. Many pros
and golf schools post quick clips of concepts
and drills they find to help their students
become better players. For an addict, it’s a
treasure chest of information.
to Missoula after finding her current job in
a trade publication for museums.
“I always knew I’d come home to
Missoula,” she said. “My parents live here,
and I wanted to be closer to family. It just
took longer than I originally thought. Life
takes you in different directions.”
Back in her hometown, life continued to
lead her in different directions. She opened
a studio and teaches glass-blowing classes.
She says it is gratifying to see interest and
support grow for her glass classes as well
as the new conservation history museum.
“I’d like to see a community of local
glass artists here,” she says. “It’s exciting,
too, to see the support growing for the new
conservation center. I’ve been lucky in life
to always have jobs I’ve loved. I’m grateful
for that.” MSN
Take a virtual tour of the museum’s exhibits at forestser-
vicemuseum.org/exhibits/ or of her glass art gallery at
lisatateglass.com.
Glass blower Lisa Tate designed gingko leaves into
a bowl. Photo by Aaron Beck.
As the days get shorter, so does the time
for “geeking out” over golf. In return we get
golf courses with fewer golfers, beautiful
fall colors, and crisp mornings. The kids
are back in school, and most of the tourists
have headed home. Sometimes during the
week, after a busy summer, it feels like you
have your own private golf course.
Although we’re not close to the end of
the golf season yet, we have more behind us
than in front, and it shows. I look forward to
next season. I look forward to every season
of golf. I am a golf addict! MSN