As an anchor and vital business presence in Great Falls, N.E.W. Customer Service Companies is also a very good friend to Special Olympics Montana.  Chairman and founder Fred Schaufeld from corporate offices in Dulles, Virginia, leads the athlete parade this evening in a display of N.E.W.’s commitment for the third consecutive year as State Summer Games premier sponsor.

Mr. Schaufeld founded N.E.W. in 1983 while in law school with an initial $79 investment that has mushroomed into a progressive company recently recognized for “an outstanding customer service experience” by the JD Power and Associates – the first service plan administrator ever to receive this recognition. His vision  and penchant for superior customer service has helped N.E.W. develop a blue-chip client list of industry leaders in retailing, financial services, and manufacturing.  N.E.W. currently operates eight call centers across the country, including the Great Falls site, and has plans to open two more in 2008.

Mr. Schaufeld takes an active role in the company’s day-to-day operations.  In 1998, Ernst & Young named him its Entrepreneur of the Year in the Washington, D.C. Service Industry category.  A graduate of Lehigh University, Mr. Schaufeld is an industry leader who also aspires to serve the greater good.  Special Olympics Montana applauds and appreciates his dedication, and that of all N.E.W. employees, to the athletes and the mission.

Elected in 2004, Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger is a Montana native and former businessman from Billings, Montana who is also a veteran of the Montana legislature.  Beginning in 1992, Mr. Bohlinger was elected to three terms in the Montana House of Representatives.  In January 2005, he resigned his seat in the Montana Senate to serve as Lt. Governor.

During his 33-year career as a small businessman, Lt. Gov. Bohlinger also worked for many organizations in the Billings area.  He served as chairman of the St. Vincent de Paul Society Board of Directors, and was a member of the Board of Directors of the Billings Chamber of Commerce, First Interstate Bank West, the Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch, and the Billings Studio Theater.  He has also served as president of the Board of Directors of the Yellowstone Art Museum and president of the Billings Symphony.  He is currently a member of the Helena Rotary and Helena Cathedral.

Lt. Gov. Bohlinger is a graduate of the University of Montana and a veteran of the US Marine Corps.