Leadership

ARLA JEANNE MURRAY OF MONTANA CHAIR NFRW CARING FOR AMERICA COMMITTEE WEB SITE E-mail:

Arla Jeanne Murray was raised on a ranch outside of Miles City, Mt as the eldest daughter of eight siblings. She graduated from Presentation School of Nursing as a Registered Nurse and her nursing career included Georgetown University Hospital in Washington D.C., the University of Minnesota Hospital, and Swedish Hospital in Seattle Washington. She became a Flight Attendant for Northwest Airlines and combined her nursing and flying careers. She was chosen by Northwest to fly the White House Charters during the Administration of President Ford. She holds a Real Estate license for the State of Washington.

In 1985 she married Bill Murray of Georgetown, Texas and they ranch south of Miles City. She became involved in Montana State Politics in 1988 serving as Pres of Custer County Republican Women, eventually being elected MFRW State First Vice President. In 1998 she was forced to resign as she was appointed to fulfill the unexpired term of Rep Ellen Bergman. In 2000 she was again elected to her former position with MFRW and became State President and served from 2004-2007.

In 2004 she received a “Certificate of Achievement” from NFRW President Dianne Thompson for successfully increasing membership by more than twenty percent. In 2005 she was nominated as one of five State Presidents as a contender for the Ronald Reagan Leadership Award. In 2008 she was appointed by NFRW President Shirley Sadler to Chair the “Caring for America” committee. She served on the NFRW Credentials Committee in 2005 and on the NFRW Credentials Hearing Committee in 2007.

She has also served as the Central Committee Chair for Custer County, Co Chaired the Friends of Senator Conrad Burns Committee, and was appointed by two Governors to the Montana Committee for the Humanities. She was a voting delegate to the GOP National Convention in Houston in ’92, where she served on the Rules Committee with Haley Barbour. She attended the National Convention in San Diego in ’96 as an alternate, and then New York in’04 as a voting delegate.

"I am most grateful to the Federation of Republican Women for all the friendships and mentoring I have received. My idealism is fulfilled in working to elect good candidates to higher office, as good governance is the underpinning of NFRW," she says.