About
Proudly ROOTED in our community's heritage of excellence in education, BEF was founded in 2001 to support the students and staff of USD 348. For the past 21 years, BEF has been committed to providing financial assistance and organizational support to champion USD 348 public education.
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Branching into the future- TOGETHER.​
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Our Board of Trustees
Marilee Beins, President
Lori Markley, Vice President
Jeff Hill, Treasurer
Mark Dodge, Superintendent
Lacy Kellerman, BOE Representative
Emma Bailey
Jason Drummond
Blake Glover
Kim Harvey
Jason Heffner
Kyle Pattrick
Jeremy Rodrock
Madeline Schuster
Casey Simoneau
*Trustees are dedicated members of the USD 348 community representative of education, business, alumni, and service.
A Note From BEF's Executive Director
When beginning this new position
July 1st, my strategic goals included the following:
1.) shine a light upon how long BEF has served this community and raise awareness about the outreach BEF provides;
2.) further cultivate local-supporting-local BEF business, organizational, and educational partnerships that would create a win-win for the students and teachers we work to serve; and
3.) LEARN from and with donors to help align passion with purpose as it relates to giving and serving.
I am thankful for this opportunity to support kids and public education, as it has been a joy to live, work, give, and learn in this generous community!
With gratitude,
Kelley Bethell-Smith, Executive Director
