Roundup Record Tribune & Winnett Times -

A large new artwork has been proudly placed in the First Security Bank of Roundup for display during the next two weeks till Labor Day weekend. The artwork, by Jerry Locati, named "Royal Guardian", is a very large scale giclee of an Elk, that will be raffled as a donation for the Petroleum County Community Center, (PCCC). It will be on display for two weeks in Roundup, two weeks at The Breaks Store in Winnett, then it will move to Lewistown for a tour of businesses, then to the Garfield County Bank in Jordan for its final showing. Finally, it will return to Winnett before the raffle drawing in December this year.

Winnett, my hometown, is well deserving of this generous donation for a new community center. The senior citizens currently meet in the basement of the courthouse for their gatherings and meals. This new center will be a focus point for a small but tight knit community. Petroleum County is the least populated county in Montana with a current population of 517 souls. It is also the 7th least populated county in the entire United States. All but 195 of these residents live outside of Winnett, the county seat. Some living as far as 50 miles from the town, possibly further. Winnett is critical to this rural population, and they depend on each other for social, educational, and emergency services, as well as supplies. A community center in Winnett will be more like the old show "Cheers", because "everybody knows your name and their always glad you came." In a county of only 517 people, outside help with donations helps relieve the cost burden for such a necessary project.

Information to donate or purchase a raffle ticket can be done through the webpage https://www.pcccwinnett.org/ or call Leslie Iverson, committee member at large, or Gari King, board member, treasurer, and co-chair of Capital Campaign Project. There will only be 250 raffle tickets sold for $100 each.

PCCC by Brenda Brady

In August of 2017, with encouragement from the Winnett ACES, a volunteer committee formed with the dream of building the Petroleum County Community Center. Our community needed an easily accessible structure that could be a place for youth activities and adult education. It would provide a room for confidential medical services, house our senior citizens' center, and serve as an event center for weddings, funerals, reunions, etc.

Since that time, land parcels have been donated and purchased for the building site, a Preliminary Architectural Review was completed in April of 2020, and nearly $135,000 in donations and grants have been gathered. The most incredible donation of $4,500,000 has been pledged by Winnett High School alum Larry Carrell and his wife Kathi. Along with their initial donation pledge, they have promised to match an additional $500,000 of other funds raised. An endowment fund has been established with the goal of raising funds to sustain the PCCC for years into the future.

Currently the committee is hard at work with SLATE Architecture on the final design, developing a youth program to offer in the PCCC, planning with the Senior Citizens for their move into the center, setting up asbestos abatement of the buildings currently on the PCCC site. We are all looking forward to opening the PCCC and being able to gather as a community. We hope to break ground in the Summer of 2021 and open the doors Summer 2022.

Jerry Locati by Leslie Iverson

Jerry Locati and his wife, Kari, are Petroleum County landowners; they purchased the Sikveland Ranch in northern Petroleum County in 2003. The Flying Arrow Ranch remains in production agriculture to this day but serves as a hunting getaway for Jerry. With a Masters of Architecture from Montana State University, Jerry is the founding partner of Locati Architects, located in Bozeman, Montana where he and his wife call home. Locati Architects is an award-winning firm that focuses on the luxury residential market and believes that experience, innovation, and vision are key to great design.

A Montana native, Jerry is also an artist and photographer. As an artist, his preferred medium is graphite, and he uses architectural grids as a foundation to capture the fine details of his drawings of nature and wildlife. As a photographer, he enjoys capturing the human form and its interaction with light and shadow.

Jerry and Kari have been huge supporters of the Petroleum County Community Center and have generously donated $5,000 to our fundraising campaign. The Locatis have also issued a challenge to all Petroleum County landowners and sportsmen to match---or better, their donation. As an additional incentive, Jerry has graciously donated one of his Elk limited edition giclees entitled, "Royal Guardian", which will go to one lucky donor.

The PCCC is forever grateful to the Locatis and all our donors who have contributed to the Petroleum County Community Center dream.