The Spirit of Wyoming – and a generous Rotarian

Governor of Wyoming (U.S.A.) Ed Herschler was on hand in February 1983, when B.T. McManus (a member of the Rotary Club of Lander) and his wife, Marie, presented a $52,000 (U.S.) single-engine Maule airplane to the “Wings of Hope” – a U.S.-based, aviation-oriented organization which provides planes and pilots to ferry personnel and supplies in undeveloped and inaccessible areas in Asia, Africa, and Central and South America. B.T.’s contribution, The Spirit of Wyoming, (see photo) currently is in ambulance service in Belize.

In December 1982, B.T. and Marie celebrated his then almost 50 years as a Wyoming businessman by donating a 24-hectare (6-acre) tract of land, a favorite habitat of deer and moose, to Lander’s parks.

From pharmacy to banking to savings and loan associations, B.T. has launched dozens of businesses, all successful. A pilot for over 35 years, he operated a free flying ambulance service in conjunction with his drug store chain, and flew many of these missions himself. His current venture, a company that mints its own silver coins, is flourishing.

The McManuses recently presented a permanent pharmaceutical tuition fund to the University of Wyoming. As to his future, B.T., at age 74, has no plans to slow down. He has “retired” so many times he refuses to say the word anymore. “I never have any spare time,” he says, “and I never go anyplace without learning something.”