Stevensville Hall of Fame enters second year

by John Dowd

The Stevensville Hall of Fame project is entering its second year and will be inducting six new members to its fraternity. According to Steve Lewis, a Stevensville 5th grade teacher and board member for the Stevensville Hall of Fame, this year there is an emphasis on those that excelled in their scholastic performance as well as their extracurricular performance.

“We wanted to highlight how their time in Stevensville was a leaping point for how they excelled in life,” said Lewis. 

Lewis also said the Stevensville Hall of Fame is unique in that it does not only include sports performance. He also wanted to highlight how the board is composed of former coaches, graduates and teachers. In fact, two of the Hall of Fame inductees are also former Stevensville teachers. Being that it is a requirement that inductees have gone to, and graduated from, Stevensville, this goes to show, according to Lewis, how tight knit the community is. 

According to Heidi Yaskus, secretary of the Stevi STARS Foundation, which is organizing the Hall of Fame gala event and fundraising dinner where the new inductees will be awarded, “There’re some pretty impressive individuals that have come out of Stevensville!”

According to Lewis, there were a lot of people nominated. However, the board had to pare down the group of inductees to be more practical. Nominees remain on the ballot for five years and can be reconsidered.  

The board has keyed into individual former students and wants to start small, eventually moving towards whole teams and possibly even coaches. According to Lewis, they wanted to showcase individuals that “applied the foundation they got in Stevensville and went on to excel in life.” He also said it’s “important to see them carrying on and going above and beyond in life after school.”

The ceremony will take place Saturday, November 18 starting at 5:30 p.m. There will be a social hour, and the dinner will start at 7 p.m. It will be held at the St. Mary’s Family Center in Stevensville, and the food will be catered by Mission Bistro. Tickets are on sale for the event, and cost $75. Tickets can be purchased by scanning the QR code included with this article. 

Lewis and others are excited about how the event has grown and even expect to put a display in the entrance of the high school gym. So far, 

Following are the 2023 inductees:

Margaux Alvarez:  Stevensville Graduate 2003

While attending Stevensville, Margaux was a standout volleyball and golf player. Margaux was a 3 time all state volleyball player and 3 time all state golfer. She attended college in Hawaii and was part of the canoe paddling team and ran marathons.Margaux competed in CrossFit games seven times and finished first in the “Marathon Row” event. Margaux was a Titan’s Games finalist in 2020 and has also shared her life experiences through motivational speaking. Margaux currently resides in Las Vegas with her husband Alex Cardenas where they run their winery and continue to be a big influence in the fitness industry.

Mackenzie Bloom: Stevensville Graduate 2005

Mac won two state titles in 2005 track and set school records in the process for the 1600 meter and 3200 meter race. His state prowess in the 3200 was ranked #1 for all classes. He also was part of a 3rd place team in the 4×400 relay. He was Cross Country 2004 Divisional Champion and finished 4th place in the state tournament. Mac was Academic All State 4 years in track and Academic all state in cross country. Mac went to the University of Montana and ran track and cross country and was named captain his senior year. He earned the President’s Award (Highest GPA of any student athlete at UM). Mac earned his law degree in 2013, was 1st in his graduating class, and is currently working at the Missoula County Attorney’s Office.

Bridger Chambers: Stevensville Graduate 2007

Bridger was a two star athlete in Stevensville and was selected all conference 2 years in basketball and all state 1 year. In football, he was all conference tight end 1 year, and all conference quarterback 1 year. He was also all state as quarterback and tight end. While attending high school, Bridger was state qualifier calf roping for 4 years. He also did steer wrestling for 3 years and was State champion calf roper in 2005. Bridger went to college at the University of Montana Western and competed in basketball, team roping, and steer wrestling. He played in the Sweet 16 for basketball. Bridger was a champion steer wrestler in 2013, Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association 7x qualifier and circuit champion Southwest 2018. He has been a 2x National Finals Qualifier, 2x National Finals Runner Up, and 2x Canadian National Qualifier.

Kari (Loberg) Jones: Stevesnville Graduate 1988

Kari played 4 years of basketball and volleyball for the lady jackets, 3 years of golf, and 1 year of tennis. She earned 10 varsity letters. Kari was state champion in golf in 1987 and 1988. She helped lead her team to a 3rd place finish in golf in 1987 and 2nd place finish in 1988. She earned All State in 1986, 1987, and 1988 in golf. Kari was All Conference in volleyball her senior year. She was point guard for the Yellowjacket basketball team and helped lead the team to 2nd place at divisionals and a trip to state. Kari was Academic All State all years in golf and Salutatorian of the class of 1988. Kari was a member of Jazz band on baritone and saxophone. Kari then went to Oregon State University and was 1-2 golfer her last two years. Kari won the Colorado State University tournament and played for the Pac-10 golf team in Asia. She also coached for the women’s golf team. Kari is currently a Pediatrician in Spokane and has over 24 years of experience in the medical field. She is affiliated with Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children’s Hospital.

Shaun Ross: Stevensville Graduate 1997

Shaun played basketball, football and track while attending Stevensville High School. He was All-State track from 1994-997. Shaun was All-State football for 1996, as 1st team tight end and 2nd team defensive end. He was all conference in football 1994-1996. Shaun was student body vice president of Stevensville High School and was a National Honors Society member from 1995-1997. Shaun holds the school record in the discus for track and field. Shaun went on to play football and track at Montana State University. Shaun started 3 years as a defensive lineman. He was 3 time Big Sky defensive player of the week. Shaun was team captain in 2000. Shaun was All Conference at MSU in track for indoor weight and outdoor shot and disc. Shaun completed his Master’s in Computer Science from Montana State University in 2011.  

Kecia (Snyder) Bruce: Stevensville Graduate 1981

Kecia ran track as a junior and placed 4th and 5th at state in the 2 mile and mile races. As a senior, Kecia won the state championship in the mile and won the meet of champions for all classes in the mile. She ran in Regional and National Junior Olympics, and placed 3rd in the state in cross country. Kecia was a member of Honor Society, Pep Club, Yearbook Staff, Computer Club, Ski Club, and was first chair saxophonist in stage, concert and pep bands. Kecia ran at Montana State University track and cross country and qualified for collegiate nationals. Kecia earned a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science with minors in Economics and Electrical Engineering. Following college, Kecia worked at Boeing as an applied research and development engineer. She went on to work as the propulsion engineer working on 747-400 critical systems and participating on “Tiger Teams”, helping FAA determine causes of commercial airline accidents. During that time, she was featured on the cover of Woman Engineer. Kecia earned her master’s degree in Software Engineering from Seattle University.  She joined Microsoft as a Senior Program Manager in the early 90s. She was Program Manager on Windows 95, Window XP, and many other projects. Kecia retired from Microsoft in 2011. Kecia and her husband Doug, currently  live in Washington with their daughter Ellie.