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Spring 2026 Newsletter

Shelby Schneider | Published on 11/3/2026
Big Sky SHRM Newsletter
Spring 2023
2026 Member Event

Event Details:

  • What: Big Sky SHRM Member Appreciation Night
  • When: Thursday, August 6th from 7:15-8:45pm (after public hours)
  • Where: Splash Montana (3001 Bancroft St, Missoula, MT 59801)
  • Food and Beverage: We will have pizza and Dippin’ Dots available.

Registration Information:

  • Cost: This event is FREE for Big Sky SHRM members and families!
  • Guests: You are welcome to bring your immediate family or one nonfamily guest for free.
  • Registration: Please register to help us get a headcount for food.
Get Ready to Cast Your Vote! 🏆

The moment is almost here—it's nearly time to vote for this year’s Circle of Excellence nominees!

Stay tuned and keep an eye on your inbox for the next email, where you'll find everything you need to submit your vote and help recognize our outstanding nominees.

Your voice matters—don’t miss your chance to celebrate excellence!
      Big Sky SHRM is sponsoring Opportunity Resources Inc. this year for our Community Outreach partner.The current need of the organization right now is doing informational interviews or practice interviews with job seekers. If you are interested in helping out this summer, please contact Martha Ripley at 406-329-1727 or marthar@orimt.org.

      Updates From Our VP of Education and Certification

       

      Greetings,

      The spring/summer SHRM-CP/SCP certification testing has closed. Congratulations to those who earned their certification! The next testing window is 12/1/26 – 2/15/27. Here are some specifics to remember:

      • The early bird application window is 6/3 – 8/31/26. Early applicants can test for either certification for the early bird price of $350.
      • The standard application window is 9/1 – 12/24/26. Standard applicants can test for either certification for the standard price of $399.
      • Application/exam fees are $450 and $499 for those who are not members of SHRM.
      • There are online and physical options and prices for your study materials, along with discounts that are offered to SHRM members. Study materials are not included in the exam fee. Information on these options can be found at shrm.org.

      Big Sky SHRM will set up a study group that can meet on a regular basis to support those testing in the second window. Missoula’s Lifelong Learning Center is also offering a class that meets weekly, both in person and virtually, from 9/30 – 12/16/26. This class is led by a certified instructor. You can find information about the class at missoulaclasses.com.

      *Did You Know* - SHRM regularly offers discounts for services, certifications, and SHRM swag. For example, SHRM members can receive a 25% discount for some purchases made during the month of their birthday and the code BIRTHDAY26 is automatically applied at checkout!

      If you have any questions, please reach out to me at education@bigskyshrm.org.

       

      Jason Prinzing

      VP of Education/Certification

      Big Sky SHRM
      Have you checked out National SHRM's 2026 Civility Data?
      • The SHRM Civility Index gauges the current climate of civility across the U.S.
      • The current score is the highest recorded since tracking began.
      • U.S. workers are experiencing the most daily acts of incivility in their everyday lives since the beginning of 2024.
      Top 5 Contributors:
      1. Political Differences
      2. Different Opinions on Social Issues
      3. Racial or Ethnic Differences
      4. Age or Generational Differences
      5. Concerns About Cost and Affordability in the U.S.
      A Letter from the Chapter President
      Hello Big Sky SHRM members!
      I hope that everyone is enjoying the summer months and the beautiful Montana weather. The Big Sky SHRM Board is enjoying a brief summer hiatus, but we look forward to seeing everyone for our summer social at Splash Montana on the evening of Thursday, August 6th. Thank you so much to our VP of Membership, Erin Focher, for planning this fun event. Then we will kick off our fall Professional Development Hour with our September Legislative Update. Noah Hill from Wordan Thane will provide us with any relevant employment law updates. Our Past President, Charlene Nyberg, is planning our annual Circle of Excellence program to celebrate one of our very own HR professionals for their excellence in the field.
      Starting August 17th, we will transition the chapter to a different membership model that connects our local membership to the SHRM national chapter. We will provide much more detailed communication to ensure members are aware of their options with both Big Sky SHRM and National SHRM. Supporting HR Best Practices in our area of Western Montana is so important to us, and we will continue this practice. Please reach out directly to me with any questions as we move through this process.
      I hope everyone enjoys the end of their summer season and I'm looking forward to a fun fall! Thanks for all you do to make our community thrive.

      Sincerely,

      Paige Judnich
      Big Sky SHRM - Chapter President
      Big Sky SHRM - Membership Renewal Changes
      Our Chapter is excited to join with SHRM National on the Dual Membership Release (DMR) program.We will launch this program starting in August 2026. This change will allow our Big Sky SHRM members who are also national members to join and renew their membership via the SHRM national website.

      This program enables us to jointly sell and renew our Chapter membership along with SHRM’s membership in one transaction with one profile – all handled by SHRM’s robust systems. Chapter members will no longer pay separate Chapter membership dues directly to the Chapter but will instead renew their Chapter membership at the same time that they renew their SHRM membership.

      Renewal Date Alignment: To make this program work, your Chapter membership renewal date must align with your SHRM membership renewal date. The SHRM renewal date will be the only renewal date going forward. This alignment means that your member renewal may look different going forward. After this one-time alignment, whenever you renew in the future, you will be able to renew both memberships seamlessly and simultaneously!

      What if I'm a local-only member? You will still have the opportunity to attend our Professional Development Luncheons and network with us as 'Colleagues of SHRM.' We will also offer an exciting opportunity to join our National SHRM Chapter at a significant discount during this change. We will email our local-only members with their options for moving forward.

      We will provide more information as this process evolves. Again, this will not affect our ability to meet, but it will change how you renew your membership with SHRM. If you have any questions, please let us know.

      Thank you for your support during this conversion process.
      Big Sky SHRM
      PO Box 2105, Missoula, MT 59806

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