Board of Directors 2010-2011
 President
Dave Smaldone
Dave Smaldone is the Director of Long Term Planning for Bridger Coal Company in Rock Springs, Wyoming. Bridger is a subsidiary to PacifiCorp and MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company. Dave has 36 years experience in coal mining and utility fuel delivery and consumption in five of the Rocky Mountain states included in the RMCMI locale. He is married to Sonia, and he has six children and four grandchildren. He has been active in the Institute for the last 10 years, although his attendance to conventions dates back to the early 1980s. Mr. Smaldone is a 1974 graduate of the Colorado School of Mines with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mining Engineering. In 2003, Dave received his Master of Business Administration from Utah State University. He is a Professional Engineer in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. |
 President-ElectDenise Dragoo
Ms. Dragoo is an equity partner in Snell & Wilmer's Natural Resources, Energy and Environmental Group. Prior to joining Snell & Wilmer, she was in private practice and served as Special Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Natural Resources, advising the Utah Board and Division of Oil, Gas & Mining and the Utah Energy Office. As Special Assistant Utah Attorney General, she was responsible for drafting the Utah Coal Mining & Reclamation Act. In 1985, she was named the Natural Resource Lawyer of the Year by the Utah State Bar. In 1996, she received the Utah State Bar's Distinguished Service Award/Energy, Natural Resources and Environmental Law Section. She was the recipient of the 1997 Woman Lawyer of the Year award and the 2003 Dorathy Merrill Brothers Award (advancement of women in the legal profession). Her practice focuses on coal law, environmental law, water law, mineral title and public land matters. Ms. Dragoo practices before the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, the Utah Board of Oil, Gas & Mining, the United States Department of the Interior Board of Land Appeals and other state and federal administrative agencies.
Ms. Dragoo is a trustee and former member of the Executive Committee of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, Chair of the Public Lands Committee, Past Vice-Chair of the Mining Committee, American Bar Association, Section on Environment, Energy and Resources and was recently appointed to the Board of Directors, Utah Mining Association. Ms. Dragoo is a Fellow of the America Bar Foundation and recently completed her fourth term on the Board of Bar Commissioners, Utah State Bar Association. Ms. Dragoo is listed in THE BEST LAWYERS IN AMERICA (Natural Resources Law). Member of Salt Lake County, Utah State Bar and American Bar Associations.
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 Immediate Past PresidentRandy Lehn Randy has more than 20 years of experience in mining and construction engineering in Arizona. His career has included engineering, environmental compliance, and reclamation management positions with Peabody Western Coal Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Peabody Energy Corporation. Most recently, he serves as the Director of Southwest Project Evaluation for Peabody Energy at their Southwest Regional Office in Flagstaff Arizona.
Randy holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering Technology from Northern Arizona University and is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Arizona.
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Administrative Liaison Officer
 Bob BartoshBob is Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Dakota Coal Company and is responsible for the environmental, fiscal and operational matters of Dakota Coal Company and Wyoming Lime Producers. Mr. Bartosh is a registered professional engineer and has a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering from Michigan Technological University. He also completed graduate work at Southern Illinois University towards a mining engineering degree.
Mr. Bartosh was appointed to his present position in 1998 and has 26 years experience in the mining industry. Since joining Basin Electric in 1988 he has held positions that included the responsibilities of fuel supply, real estate, contract administration and lime operations. He also serves on the boards of directors of the National Lime Association and the Greening Earth Society.
Mr. Bartosh is married and is the father of three children and grandfather of two. He coached both soccer and hockey when his children were in school. He is also an avid golfer and bowler.
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 Advisory Board Chair Mark Collett Mark Collett has an extensive background of over 30 years in Project Management, Project Engineering, Executive Management and Electrical Engineering for the Petrochemical, Metals, Processing and Materials Handling Industries. The most common thread of his career has been spent in Coal Mine Surface Facility Engineering and Utility Fuel System Design & Improvements. He also has spent many of those years in Plant Staff Engineering, Plant Operations, and Plant Maintenance Superintendent Positions.
Mark is currently VP of Project Development with Benetech, Inc., and is responsible for development of core-markets in Capital Project Design/Build Services which compliment Benetech’s well-established Technologies and Plant Services groups. He enjoys Benetech’s approach to value-added and performance-based relationships with the majority of Coal-Based Power Plants in the country. He is enjoying the most successful time of his career working in these long-term, performance-based relationships, as it is so gratifying to continue friendships far beyond the initial project or objective.
Mark’s career began simultaneous to his education. While designing and constructing HP&L’s Parish Units for Pullman Kellogg, he was gaining his B.S. in Electrical Engineering at the University of Utah. Further education in Business Management and Engineering was accomplished at UNC Chapel Hill and Columbia Pacific University. After 5 years with AMAX Corporation, he spent approx. 20 years with Roberts & Schaefer Company, with much of the work concentrating on Powder River Basin, Lignite, and Underground Mine Processing Facilities. Of particular note, Mark was one of the original authors for Processing Automation and Automatic Loading and Unloading Systems for many diverse industries, and continues to develop operatorless, yet accurate, system innovations and improvements in this area.
Besides Mark’s 15+ years with RMCMI, he is also one of the founders and Board Members of the PRB Coal User’s Group.
Mark is based in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he enjoys an “abundant” family life, with his wife Lisa, his 4 boys, triplet 17 yr. old girls, and 2 grandchildren.
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 DirectorThomas G. Durham P.E.
Tom is Vice President of Planning & Engineering of Westmoreland Coal Company where he has been employed for seven years. Tom has over 37 years of experience in engineering and operations management in coal mining. Tom has been a member of RMCMI since 1996. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from University of Missouri at Rolla School of Mines and Metallurgy. He is a registered professional engineer in Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky. In addition to RMCMI, Tom is a member of SME, ASCE and NSPE.
He has worked for production and consulting companies in all major coal regions in the United States. His operations and engineering experience has been focused mainly on large highly productive surface mine applications. His consulting experience includes international work in Colombia, Mexico and Indonesia. Tom and his wife Pam have three grown children and reside in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
 DirectorBrad Lewis
Brad is currently the Director of Marketing and Sales for ICG ADDCAR Systems and blends his prior experiences in engineering, manufacturing, mining operations and consulting. His career progression from union laborer to board member is highlighted with opening markets (12 countries), launching new products (up to a $7,500,000 price tag) and closing profitable deals ($300 million acquisition).
Previous employers include: CONSOL Energy (summer employment during college); National Mines Corporation & Eastern Associated Coal (3 years)-underground mine foreman); John T. Boyd Company (14 years)-Consulting engineer and then head of sales and marketing; Joy Mining Machinery (4 years)-Product/business development and acquisitions; Hilti (2 years)-Product development and launch; and ICG ADDCAR Systems (since 2005)-Director of Marketing and Sales.
Academic credentials include MBA from the University of Pittsburgh and a Mining Engineering Degree from West Virginia University. Certifications include registered professional mining engineer and a certified mine foreman in West Virginia and Colorado.
Also serves as a Board Member for the National Mining Association's Manufacturers and Services Division and Holy Family Learning Institute.
Director  Bruce LindsayBruce Lindsay is the Manager of Human Resources for Arch Western Bituminous Group, LLC (AWBG), a wholly owned subsidiary of Arch Coal Inc. based in Grand Junction, Colorado. He has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Occupational Safety and Health from Utah State University and has over 30 years of experience in the mining industry having held managerial positions in health and safety, coal handling and human resources.
He has served on the board of the Tri County Health Foundation in central Utah for several years and has served as the RMCMI Golf Committee Chair on several occasions. Married to Dee, an elementary school teacher, they have two grown children, Krysta and Kyle. They enjoy sports, outdoor activities and traveling with family and friends.
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 Regional DirectorRich Bate Rich has over 28 years experience in the coal industry, primarily in the western United States. He joined the John T. Boyd Company in 1975 as a mining engineer, and currently holds the position of Vice President and manager of Boyd’s Denver, CO office. During his tenure at Boyd, Rich has worked with both surface and underground coal mining operations throughout the world, consulting in a variety of areas including design and feasibility analysis, economic evaluation, property appraisal, and operations performance. Rich has an intimate knowledge of the western coal industry, with experience with every coal mining area in the 8 RMCMI member states, (and virtually every mine), and having worked with the mining, utility, transportation, and government people who are the industry.
A native of Denver, Colorado, Rich holds a Bachelor of Sciences degree in Mining Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. He is former Continuing Education Committee Chairman for the RMCMI, as well as being a member of the American Institute of Minerals Appraisers, the Colorado Mining Association (Coal Committee), the Society of Mining Engineers, and the National Society of Professional Engineers. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Colorado, and is a Certified Minerals Appraiser.
Rich and his wife, Janie, live in Denver with their two teenage daughters, Jenny and Laura (both of whom are experienced Mine Rescue victims) and two golden retrievers. The Bates are regulars at RMCMI functions, and count the convention, along with the opportunity to meet and visit with members and their families, among the highlights of the year.
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Regional Director
 Dick BaileyDick Bailey is currently president of his company, CONetic Resources, Inc., a manufacturers’ representative agency serving the coal and metals mining industry in the area of bulk materials handling conveyors since 2002. Dick stays busy with 1 employee covering 7 western states. Prior to forming his own company he worked for over 20 years for Continental Crushing & Conveying, (A Joy Global Company) formerly Continental Conveyor & Equipment Company, Inc. At Continental he worked in various capacities as Regional Manager and District Manager serving customers in the coal and metals industry in the Western Half of the USA. Earlier in his career he worked for Applied Physics Lab with Johns Hopkins University and worked with Stearns Roger in the Power Division in Denver and spent some time with his own construction company building Log Homes in the Montrose, Colorado area.
He has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University and is a registered Professional Engineer in Colorado. He has served RMCMI as the VP of Colorado and assisted in some committee activities since joining RMCMI in 1984.
Dick is an active member of SME and serves on the Bulk Materials Handling Committee as he has since its inception in 1992. He has served in the community of Golden, Colorado, where he resides, on the Parks and Recreation Advisory committee from 1984 thru 1997. He has also been active in his local church serving on the Vestry Board and as Chair of the Building Committee to oversee a new construction addition.
He has been married to Karin for over 25 years and has 5 wonderful children, Kirsten, Janet, Steven, Derek and Kyle (the latter two currently in college) and 5 grandchildren. He loves to work out at the gym, run the Boulder Boulder, ski, golf and mostly vacation with his family when he is not at work.
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Regional Director
 Summer BeldenSummer earned her MBA in International Business from the University of Denver in 2005 after earning a B.S.B.A. in International Business from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2003. During her studies, she worked as a summer intern for the IT Department of Powder River Coal Company, a Peabody subsidiary, in and around Gillette, Wyoming. After graduate school, Summer was a Banking Officer for FirstBank of Colorado before joining the Sales & Marketing team of Westmoreland Coal Company. Based out of Colorado Springs, Summer is the Manager, Contracts & Business Analysis. Her role with the Company includes contract negotiations and facilitation, cost analysis at operations, special projects management, government relations and marketing. Summer has been an active member of RMCMI since 2007, but she has been involved with the Institute for most of her life; attending the annual conventions with her family as a child, working for the Institute during graduate school and now being actively involved as a member. She is currently the Chairperson for the Public Relations & Marketing Committee of RMCMI. She also participates in many other industry groups including the American Coal Council (ACC), the Colorado Mining Association (CMA), the Montana Coal Council (MCC), the National Coal Transportation Association (NCTA) as well as being a Task Force member of the Partners for Affordable Energy (PAE), the marketing arm of the North Dakota Lignite Energy Council (LEC).
 Regional DirectorJoe Micheletti Joe Micheletti is President and General Manager of Texas Westmoreland Coal Co., a lignite surface mining operation located near Jewett, Texas and a wholly owned subsidiary of Westmoreland Mining LLC. Joe is the officer responsible for the day-to-day operations of TWCC’s Jewett Mine, which for many years has been Texas’ largest surface lignite mine. The commitment of TWCC’s miners to sustain a strong safety culture and their dedication to Safe Production are the attributes of the Jewett Mine that Joe is most proud to be a part of. A mineral processing engineer by education, Joe graduated with honors from Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology. Joe has worked in the mining industry for 23-years, starting his career with Pegasus Gold Corporation working at the Montana Tunnels and Beal Mountain mines, but has spent most of his career in the coal mining industry. Prior to coming to Texas Westmoreland, Joe was Coal Production and Quality Control Manager for Western Energy Co., another Westmoreland Mining LLC subsidiary located in Colstrip, Montana.
Joe and his beautiful wife Jenni are blessed with three children, Joey, Alyssa and Nico. The Micheletti family resides in Bryan, Texas, with all three children attending public schools and participating in various academic and athletic programs.
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 Executive Director Karen L. Inzano
Prior to Karen's appointment to this position in 2000, she owned and operated an advertising agency for 27 years. Her company received a four-page write up in Colorado Business Magazine. She received the Small Business Person of the Year Award from the Jeffco Chamber and Champion of Free Enterprise from SWAP.
In 1988 she was Chairman of the Board of Lakewood/Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce. Listed in four different Who's Who publications, she has served on the Board of Directors or Advisory Boards of numerous business, government, educational, and non-profit entities. Karen has taught classes in business, management, personal growth and advertising at the local Community College and numerous high schools.
Her volunteer work has included DECA, PTA, Sister Cities International, AMC Cancer Research, American Cancer, Jeffco Action Center, Church, Youth Baseball, YMCA, many local election campaigns, and Jefferson County Children's Court School.
Karen and her husband Al have three wonderful grown children and five grandchildren. They live in Littleton, CO and enjoy time with their family, travel and golf.
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Treasurer
 Tarra NussTarra graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Accounting from University of Nebraska and a Master's in Business Administration in Finance and Accounting from Regis University. She has worked with Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute since 2004.
Tarra operates her own accounting firm specializing in QuickBooks consulting and bookkeeping/accounting support. She also works full-time as Administrator for a two physician ophthalmology practice in Denver, Colorado.
Tarra and her husband Christian, both originally from Nebraska, moved to Colorado in 2000 and currently reside in Castle Rock. Their first child, Regan William, was born in January of 2008.
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