Accomplished engineer Jim Weatherly inducted into Montana Professional Engineers Hall of Fame

BOZEMAN — Jim Weatherly, whose career includes leading an influential Montana-based engineering firm for nearly 30 years, will be inducted into the Montana Professional Engineers Hall of Fame on Nov. 6.

Montana State University’s Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering houses the hall of fame, which was founded in 2002 to recognize engineers who have made outstanding contributions to the profession and public welfare of Montana.

“There is no greater honor for a professional than to be recognized by their peers for contributing to the profession and for improving the lives of their fellow man,” Weatherly said. “As a young engineer, I was guided by so many of the previous inductees to the Montana Engineers Hall of Fame.”

Weatherly earned a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from North Dakota State University in 1967. He served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army and was recognized with the Army Commendation Medal and Bronze Star for meritorious service in the Vietnam War.

Weatherly served as partner, shareholder and president of Sorenson and Company from 1975 to 1989, when the company changed its name to WGM Group. He would then serve as president of WGM until 2004, helping the company broaden its services to include land use and transportation planning. The company also became an adviser to the city of Missoula.

Weatherly was responsible for the engineering and services provided to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Forest Service. Related projects include work around the Dworshak Reservoir in Idaho, final construction stages of Libby Dam on the Kootenai River and design phases for nearly 3,000 miles of forest development roads that spanned multiple national forests in Montana.

Weatherly was a member of Montana Society of Engineers and recipient of its Young Engineer of the Year award. He also served as the organization’s president and national director. He was the Montana director of the National Society of Professional Engineers, a representative of the Montana Technical Council, president and national director of the Montana Consulting Engineers Council, and a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

His civic involvement includes serving as board member and president of the United Way of Missoula County. He also served on the boards of Missoula Bank of Montana, Norwest Bank and Wells Fargo Bank. He was an adviser for four new facilities at the University of Montana. He also served as director and founding member of Five Valleys Chapter of Safari Club International, and board president and executive director of Montana Wild Sheep Foundation, where he earned the Duncan Gilchrist award for outstanding service.

He also provided pro bono engineering services for the YMCA of Missoula, making contributions in the mid-1980s for the infrastructure relocation of the Washington-Grizzly Stadium on the University of Montana campus, as well as the design of UM’s football practice field, track and field facilities, and the university’s intramural and soccer fields.