“There is immense power when a group of people with similar interests gets together to work toward the same goals.”
- Idowu Koyenikan
We in Winnett have found this to be true.
In August of 2017, a small group of volunteers sat down to discuss the need for a local place to gather. The logistics of using the school gym for events was often difficult, and the courthouse basement was small and dark with steep stairs. There was also a need for a modern, large venue for weddings, funerals, and other life celebrations. The idea took hold, gained momentum, and on a crisp day in Fall of 2021 we broke ground on the Petroleum County Community Center.
In February of 2023 the center began hosting events, such as workshops, a play, and athletics. The center is also the new home for the Winnett Senior Citizens (every Thursday) as well as the Youth Program - an after school and summer program for school age children.
Sign on the PCCC lots
Pitchfork Fondue Dinner Fall 2019
PCCC Float in the Winnett Parade
Co-Chairs, Sue McKenna and LuAnn Knutson
Groundbreaking Ceremony, Fall 2021
Under Construction in 2022
Our Benefactors
The PCCC building and the youth program were built by YOU - our community volunteers and donors. But we would be remiss if we didn’t recognize two major donors who made this project possible.
Larry & Kathi Carrell
Larry grew up in Cat Creek and Winnett, graduating from WHS in 1958. His grandfather and father both worked at the Cat Creek Oil Field, his father for 40 years. Larry worked his way through the University of Wyoming, earning his BS and MS degrees in Petroleum Engineering. After a successful career in the oil industry, the Carrells have retired near Lewistown.
This project has garnered an incredible amount of enthusiasm from the community, as well as from friends and family outside of Petroleum County. Larry says, “The sense of community that I remember in Winnett still exists.” By providing a place for people to gather, that sense of community will continue for future generations.
Larry and Kathi Carrell have donated $4,500,000 to the Petroleum County Community Center along with an additional $500,000 match.
This incredible gift not only provides funds for building the community center but will allow us to create an endowment to maintain the structure. We cannot begin to express our gratitude for Larry and Kathi’s generosity to our community and the impact it will have for generations to come.
Sometimes all it takes is a helping hand to change the course of individuals’ lives. When Bruno and Evelyne Hill Betti were starting out in business, they received such a helping hand, which directed their path as business owners and community members towards philanthropic interests. One can only imagine that like most country kids in the 1920s and 30s, Evelyne Hill spent a great deal of her time daydreaming while riding her horse to school, learning the value of working hard, and playing with her brothers in the hills around Sand Springs in Garfield County. However, unlike most country kids of the time, her future would one day lead to a foundation in her and her husband’s names.
Bruno and Evelyne Betti Foundation have gifted 1.6 million to fund the startup and long-term sustainability of the Bruno and Evelyne Hill Betti Youth Program in Winnett and an additional $1.4 million in a permanent endowment to the PCCC through the Central Montana Foundation.
The Winnett community is thrilled to carry on the Bettis’ tradition of ensuring that underserved youth have access to a safe place for structured enrichment programs when school is not in session.