Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1364218
32 TEXT BY HEATHER BODE PHOTOGRAPHY JENNY MATTHEWS GIVING BACK ith lile more than a dream of being a big-league baseball player and a formal rejection leer from the Cub Scouts, a youthful Mike Matury did not know what a chiropractor was, so you can bet he never dreamed of becoming a philanthropist either. But time is powerful. It tends to change life's pathways and morph rejection into affirmation. For Great Falls Chiropractic Clinic's Dr. Matury, the road to philanthropy had a definite trigger: "A high school friend was diagnosed with breast cancer. She and her husband were self-employed at the time of her diagnosis, so they didn't have insurance," he says. Together with former classmates, Matury helped organize a fundraiser that raised $30,000. His classmate passed away six months later, but the money raised helped pay off the family's medical bills. Following the draw of clean air and wide-open spaces, Dr. Matury moved to Great Falls in 2005. His clinic partner had already started the pain clinic at the Rescue Mission, so Dr. Matury started serving there almost immediately. Sixteen years later, you can still find him there over his lunch hour every Wednesday. " W hat I got involved in was also driven by my kids' interests and my own interests," says Matury. "e first summer we lived here, my son got invited to 4H's Camp Rotary. I thought I would just get away into the mountains, pitch a tent somewhere and maybe go check in on my son. e moment I showed up, I was put to work helping. I've been going to 4H Camp as an adult chaperone ever since!" In 2009, when his oldest enrolled at CMR High School, Matury got involved at freshman orientation. Selling 50/50 raffle tickets at the football and basketball games takes a certain personality-one that doesn't mind climbing through bleachers filled with thousands of spectators to sell raffle tickets. Today, in addition to selling the 50/50 tickets, Matury is the president of CMR Partners, the parent-teacher organization which uses its funds to help teachers and the school with non-budgeted items. Dr. Mike Matury: SiG MT 32 SiG MT Kids&Community For the Love of W Making volunteerism a priority can be a challenge. Dr. Matury makes use of every spare moment. Here, he is seen caring for a patient at the Rescue Mission where he volunteers most every Wednesday during his lunch hour.