BILLINGS — The annual Billings Clinic Classic, an event that's become significant in gathering funding for Billings Clinic, will happen on Aug. 24 at Henry's Garage, gathering many in the community to support the positive transformations of the clinic.
Days before the event, Jim Duncan, the Billings Clinic Foundation president, was out at the location ensuring everything was where it should be. But every inch Duncan measured and every marker he placed into the ground felt bittersweet, as this will be the last Classic in his role ahead of his retirement.
“It’s part of who I am,” Duncan said. “People are asking me, what are you going to do? Well, I mean, I've been saying this, 'I'm looking for a dimmer switch,' because I don't shut this place off ever.”
This will be Duncan's 30th Classic as president, and as he looks back on his years, starting in July 1995, he said he feels grateful for the community and donors.
"In 1995 at the first class I attended, I think I had this feeling like it was a great cause, it was a great effort, but it didn't have the energy behind it to really inspire people to want to come," he said. "So, we tried to create something that would be an event that people wanted to go to. The very first year we did it we went downtown, we closed the street, we rented the Alberta Bear Theater and we had the Temptations and it was so awesome."
After Duncan's initiatives to change the Classic format, it continued to sell out over the next three decades. Lending to more opportunities for upgrades to Billings Clinic.
“If you look at the campus downtown today versus 30 years ago, what we've accomplished, building a new cancer center, expanding the cardiac and building a new cardiac center, pediatrics, diabetes, the work in mental health,” Duncan said.
In his tenure as the Foundation President, the assets and endowment in the Foundation have grown from $3 million to $150 million, with the Foundation awarding over $125 million for programs and projects to better serve patient care.
The critical care services director, Christy Baxter, has seen firsthand the impacts Duncan and the Foundation have had on the hospital.
“So many of the areas that I manage and the differences I've seen in the care we deliver to our patients has come from the dollars that Jim has helped us raise,” Baxter said. "He's done so much for our region, this health care organization, but overall we're very proud of our health care organization and to improve the circumstances around how we deliver care here in Billings month."
Every year, the Classic benefits different initiatives, from residency programs and Neurosciences to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. This year, the focus is on a pediatric initiative.
"This year we thought, you know, we're reflecting on the legacy of the classic and all we've been able to accomplish. But we really wanted to focus on the future and that's our kids and pediatrics. So, we haven't done a lot of work to improve our downtown pediatric clinic in a long time. And it's been a great opportunity for us to be able to do that," Duncan said. “It needs updating and it needs enhancements that will better serve our special needs patients.”
Duncan also serves as Billings Clinic's Chief Communication Officer. His retirement is planned for July 5, 2025, and he will serve in his official role through December 31 of this year.
“I’ve given it everything I’ve got over the years,” Duncan said. “Yet, I’m not going away. I will always help this organization. I love this community.”
