POLSON — After 19 years of service at St. Joseph Medical Center, president and CEO John Glueckert looks to the horizon with excitement and dedication to community and family.

Glueckert was born and raised in Missoula, the son of a laundry and dry cleaning business owner. He grew up hunting antelope and elk with his eight brothers and father, and has since held onto the love of the sport and family.

“I come from a small business owner family incredibly involved in the community,” he said.

Diverging from the laundry industry, but keeping his family roots of community service, he was the first in his family to enter the medical field.

“I thought I might lose my close relationship with my brothers . . . so I was very cautious to go into business with them,” Glueckert said.

He went on to earn his bachelors degree in sociology at Walla Walla College, where he met his wife Nancy who was majoring in political science. Following his bachelors degree, he worked in social work for 6.5 years, then earned his masters of business administration at the University of Montana and began working for St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula.

“I got into health care because it’s a complex, challenging and ever-changing environment,” Glueckert said.

Since coming to St. Joseph, Glueckert has been influential in several projects, including: the addition of 60,000 square foot, $11.5 million modernization to the then outdated 1959 hospital; upgrade of the emergency department; building of a 30,000 square foot assisted living facility, completed in 1998; the acquisition of advanced imaging equipment capabilities such as a new MRI and high speed CT scan; and the development of a chemotherapy clinic.

Glueckert is a gracious man who believes in the value of teamwork.

“It takes a team of people to accomplish these things,” he said. “It’s an honor and a privilege for me.”

Jeff Fee, President of St. Patrick Hospital and CEO of the Western Montana Region of Providence Health and Services, said Glueckert’s work at St. Joseph - St. Patrick’s sister hospital - has been crucial to the hospital’s continual growth and success.

“He has been instrumental in moving the hospital forward to a new era in healthcare,” Fee said. “John will be missed by many and has certainly left the organization in better shape then when he arrived.”

As Glueckert has always been involved in the community, serving for four years as Polson’s mayor from 1994-1998, he said where ever his next position may take him, it will no doubt involve helping others.

“What’s the next chapter for me? Nancy and I are walking by faith, not by sight,” John said. “This isn’t the first time we’ve faced uncertainty.”

Soon after his family’s move to Polson 19 years ago when his daughters Kristen and Erin were just 5 and 12, he said he was overwhelmed by the community’s warmth when his wife was diagnosed with leukemia.

“We were really fortunate to be in this community at that time,” he said. “Mission Valley holds a very special place for us. They reached out to us in a difficult time, and I think that will be hard to find anywhere else.”

John has hopes that the hospital will continue the undergoing process of hiring additional, highly qualified physicians; advancement of imaging and MRI capabilities; and expanding the clinic while pushing forward toward a more electronic record division.

John said that although he is leaving the hospital, he will continue his community efforts, and will have more time to focus on his family, as he is awaiting the arrival of his second granddaughter in a few months. He calls his little granddaughter Grace a “dynamo” and said he tries to see her every couple of months, as they live in Spokane.

John’s hobbies will no doubt receive more attention as well. He enjoys music, backpacking, hunting and fishing. This past Friday, he played with the Irish band The Shamrockers.

“They are the Irish goodwill ambassadors for the community,” he said. “Even though that’s not our official title, we’ll keep saying that until someone tells us we can’t.”

John sings and plays the bazooka and banjo in the band.

His favorite place to backpack is the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, by Yellowstone Park, and said everyone should visit it.

“Don’t be in a hurry,” he said. “It’s some of the most beautiful country in the world.”

John has a legacy of doing good in the community and hospital for a number of years. It may be wise to take his advise and not rush life: stay the course, treasure those around you and have faith in the future . . . wherever it takes you.