Keynote speaker and Olympic gold medalist, Nikki Stone, inspired guests with a motivating speech about being like a turtle: have a tough shell, a soft inside, and be willing to stick your neck out. “When turtles fly, success won’t pass me by,” she said. She challenged Dubois residents to strive for great things, write goals down, carry them with you, and bounce back from setbacks and obstacles. “To accomplish great things, you can to strive for great things,” she said.

Nikki experienced this personally after a chronic back injury prevented her from standing–much less walking or skiing down a slope at almost 40 miles per hour. Nikki came dangerously close to being sidelined from aerial skiing indefinitely. The words of her grandmother guided her, “The brave do not live forever, but the cautious don’t live at all.”

A $2,000 scholarship was presented by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Wyoming Foundation to Dubois High school graduating senior, Jorie Hess, for her essay on her personal laws of life and for her involvement with the Boys & Girls Club of Dubois. Having joined the Club in the fifth grade, Jorie worked as a Youth Development Professional in her last three years of high school. She assisted members with homework, helped run Club programs, and even taught kids baseball.

The Millers have built their lives around vision, volunteering, and honey. “The whole family is a volunteer family, and Milt’s the leader of it. We are the worker bees,”said Peggy. Together, Milt and son Kyle Miller run the third-generation Wonderful Wyoming Honey business, along their “queen bees”–wives Peggy and Nicole.

In addition to operating Wonderful Wyoming Honey, Milt helped start Dubois Search and Rescue, served on the school board, and is a member of Mount Calvary Lutheran church. Peggy, a retired kindergarten and physical education teacher, was instrumental in opening the Boys & Girls Club of Dubois and served as the first Club Director and on the board for many years. Filled with energy and vision, she empowered girls by starting and coaching women’s sports in Dubois when Title IX was introduced. 

Their son Kyle works in the family honey business and coaches boys’ basketball for Dubois High School, taking the team to the State Tournament for the third time this year. Kyle started an obstacle race to raise money for the Chance Phelps Foundation for wounded veterans.

An Advisory Council member and a special education teacher for Dubois schools, Kyle’s wife, Nicole, expanded the family business with Kyle by opening The Honey House Store, which impacts the local economy, draws tourists and provides education through a learning station with a live hive. She and Kyle have two children.