Maury Graham Honored by Montana School Boards Association

When the Montana School Boards Association celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 1976, Maury Graham was serving as President of the Association.

Fifty years later, at age 100, Graham returned to help celebrate MTSBA’s Centennial.

There is something remarkably fitting about the connection.

Maury Graham was born in February 1926, just months before the Montana School Boards Association was founded in October of that same year. His life spans the entire history of the Association. Every president who has ever led MTSBA has done so during Maury Graham’s lifetime.

Association leaders believe Graham may be the only living person with a direct connection to both MTSBA’s Golden Anniversary and its Centennial Celebration. He served as President of the Association during its 50th Anniversary year in 1975-76 and joined fellow trustees and former presidents on June 9 as MTSBA celebrated its 100th Anniversary.

“Maury is a living bridge between two historic moments in the life of this Association,” said MTSBA Executive Director Lance Melton. “Few people are ever given the opportunity to personally connect an institution’s 50th anniversary and its 100th anniversary. We are profoundly grateful that Maury was able to be with us.”

Graham’s life of service extends far beyond his leadership of MTSBA.

He enlisted in the United States Navy at age 17 during World War II and served in the Pacific, including assignments in Saipan, Tinian, Pearl Harbor, and post-war Japan. He was later recalled to military service during the Korean War.

Following his military service, Graham spent 43 years with First National Bank of Glasgow, ultimately retiring as Senior Vice President. He later embarked on a second career of service as a Christian missionary, working in Russia and other countries following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Closer to home, he served the people of Glasgow as a school trustee and chairman of the Glasgow School Board before rising to leadership within the Montana School Boards Association.

His century of life has spanned virtually every major chapter of modern Montana history, from the Great Depression and World War II through the Association’s Centennial Year.

During the Centennial Celebration, Graham was recognized alongside 24 former MTSBA presidents representing generations of educational leadership across Montana.

“As we celebrate MTSBA’s first century of service,” Melton said, “Maury Graham reminds us that enduring institutions are built by extraordinary people who spend a lifetime investing in others.”