Single parent wins Chrysler in giveaway

A woman from Fort Belknap Indian Reservation won a rehabilitated vehicle after her mother submitted an essay to this year's Custom Collision Repair vehicle giveaway.

Custom Collision Repair announced that Marlayna Snow, 25, a single mother and housekeeper at Northern Montana Hospital, won a 2003 Chrysler Concorde Saturday during the business' annual customer appreciation day.

Karla Bolken of Havre and her brothers last year donated the vehicle that belonged to their late mother.

Nancy Boushie, Snow's mother, said Sunday her daughter was unable to be on the scene to claim her new vehicle because she was working at her job with the housekeeping department at Northern Montana Hospital, where she has worked for a little more than a year.

Boushie said Snow relies on the Fort Belknap Transportation Shuttle and North Central Montana Transit services to make the 90-mile round trip from the reservation to her job in Havre and back four days a week.

"She would get on the shuttle at Fort Belknap every morning at 6:40, rain or shine, sleet or snow, and she would make her job in Havre," Boushie said.

Snow also works alternate weekends, which has forced her to either borrow a vehicle from relatives on the reservation or stay in Havre because the shuttle services do not run on weekends, Boushie said.

Boushie said her daughter has also been sober for one year as an outpatient with the Fort Belknap Chemical Dependency Center, as she raises her 5-year-old son Kingston.

"She just made this huge turnaround, and it's really kind of rare that you see our young people doing that," Boushie said.

Candidates for the vehicle were required to submit an essay or have one submitted on their behalf saying why they deserved to win the vehicle.

A three-person team then looked over the essays and winnowed down the number of candidates before deciding on a winner.

Chris Preputin, owner of Custom Collision Repair in Havre, said about 95 essays in all were submitted.

Wendy Gerky, owner of Bearly Square Quilting who was one of the people on the judging panel, said many of the candidates were families struggling to make ends meet as they face the challenge each day of finding a way to get to appointments.

"It was hard because there were several people who were very worthy of a car," Gerky said.

Preputin said at the event Saturday that he hoped to have three vehicles to give away in next year's contest.

Custom Collision Repair Office Manager Kim Schend said Tuesday that the business already has at least two vans that they plan to give away next year.