Volunteer Program

At-a-Glance

At the urging of Jean Neshiem, the volunteer program had its official start in 1998, with 44 summer volunteers.  Presently, over 400 volunteers come to Medora each summer.

Pre-season workers dig in with spring cleaning, flower preparation, grounds preparation, painting, and general town clean-up. 

In-season volunteers can be found all over Medora - in the Information Center, Chuckwagon, Harold Schafer Heritage Center, Pitchfork Fondue, and Medora Musical, in addition to many other venues.

End-of-season workers pitch in to help fill the void left when college workers head back to school.  They do normal in-season duties in addition to jumping into retail, grounds, maintenance, catering, and other duties.

The Experience, Enthusiasm, and Energy the volunteers bring to Medora are greatly appreciated by both TRMF and the visitors to Medora.  They are excellent ambassadors for Medora and the surrounding area, and we value their presence in Medora.

Located in the rugged and beautiful Badlands of western North Dakota, Medora built its rich history through legends such as Theodore Roosevelt, the Marquis de Mores, his wife Medora and the farmers and ranchers who have lived there. In the 1960's, this now sleepy cowboy town was restored in large part by Harold Shafer and the foundation he later created in 1986. Home to a variety of unique experiences, indoors and out, Medora is most often renowned for the following major attractions:

• Medora Musical: a professionally produced musical extravaganza held nightly in a 2,800 seat outdoor amphitheater, it was enjoyed by nearly 100,000 guests in 2008.
  
• Pitchfork Steak Fondue: an outdoor "restaurant" high on a bluff overlooking the Badlands and Little Missouri River, enjoy the view and a steak (in 2008 we served over 46,000 steaks)!
  
• Bully Pulpit Golf Course: built in 2004 in the midst of the Badlands, it has received numerous national accolades, including Golf Digest's January 2006 ranking as "America's Best New Affordable Public Course."
  
• Theodore Roosevelt National Park: thousands of visitors enjoy the scenery and abundant wildlife as they drive, hike or bike this pristine wilderness, on roads or the nationally recognized Maah Daah Hey mountain biking/hiking trail.

Having begun in 1998 with 44 volunteers, the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation (TRMF) Volunteer Program has grown exponentially. During the summer of 2008, 465 people from 23 states  and two Canadian provinces, were selected from a pool of close to 800 applicants. They served as our ambassadors in Medora, giving over 25,000 hours of their "energy, experience and enthusiasm."

Absolutely vital to our continued success and growth, we are honored that you are considering being a Medora volunteer. The following is a snapshot of what you can look forward to.