Our Staff
Meet Our Staff
David Oien, Co-founder, CEO
David is a third-generation Montana farmer whose Norwegian grandparents homesteaded in the early 1900s a few miles south of the current farm near Conrad.
Influenced by a childhood of riding tractors with his dad and watching the clouds float across the big sky, plus a college degree in Philosophy and Religious Studies focusing on Oriental, Native American, and Judeo-Christian religion, in 1976 he returned to the family farm in his own personal “back-to-the land movement.”
Building a passive solar house, rehabbing a 30s-era wind generator, and converting the farm to organic was the work of the 70s; promoting renewable energy and co-founding Timeless was the obsession of the 80s; and nurturing the business through its formative years was the passion of the 90s.
An avid supporter of renewable energy and sustainable agriculture for 30 years, David was a founding member of the Pondera Solar Alliance, AERO’s Sustainable Agriculture Task Force, two local organic farmers’ chapters, Montana Organic Certification Advisory Committee, and the Montana Organic Association. David received the Alternative Energy Resources Organization (AERO) 40th Anniversary Leadership in Sustainability Award, 2014; the 2008 Lifetime Service Award from the Montana Organic Association; and the 1989 Sustainable Agriculture Award from the AERO.
Ron Newmiller, Operations Manager
With a strong background managing manufacturing operations in the flour and grain industry, Ron keeps the Timeless plant productive and efficient.
Raised in Conrad MT, not far from the origins of Timeless Seeds, he and his wife now live in Great Falls, just a short drive from Ulm.
Jim Barngrover, Co-Founder, Grower Liaison Emeritus, and member of the Timeless Seeds Board of Directors. Retired from Timeless at the end of 2022.
Jim has over four decades of experience in organic gardening and farming and marketing locally grown products, and some not so locally grown. He has spent 24 years marketing Fair Trade and Organic Café Mam Coffee in Montana and elsewhere.
As part time lobbyist for AERO at the Montana legislature, Jim was instrumental in the passage of the Montana Organic Definition Act, 1991, and the establishment of a Weed Ecologist position at Montana State University in 1991. A founding board member of Helena Community Gardens, Jim focuses on the organization’s mission of developing gardens within walking distance of every neighborhood in Helena MT. There are currently 9 gardens under management.
Jim’s awards include the Alternative Energy Resources Organization (AERO) 40th Anniversary Leadership in Sustainability Award, 2014; the Montana Organic Association 2009 Lifetime of Service Award; and AERO’s Sustainable Agriculture Award, 1993.
Joseph Kibiwott, Agronomist
Joseph comes to Timeless with global experience in soil fertility and nutrient management, particularly in organic cropping systems, in East Africa and across the US.
Completing his Masters in plant sciences at MSU Bozeman, Joseph will work in tandem with Jim Barngrover to support Timeless growers, observe field and crop conditions, and make recommendations for planting, crop management, and harvesting.
Joseph and his family moved to the US in 2011 and now reside in Great Falls.
Heather Lewis, Food Safety Coordinator
Heather is one of Timeless’ Preventive Controls Qualified Individuals and holds a Certificate of Training in FSPCA Preventive Controls for Human Food.
As our Food Safety Coordinator, Heather makes sure that every bag of lentils, peas, chickpeas, and grain that leaves the plant is the very best – and safest – for our customers.
Married to James, they stay busy on their family farm while also raising two boys and teaching them all they can about the Montana way of life.
Shawn Yeager, Processing, Warehouse, and Shipping
Shawn joined the Timeless staff in 2012, with numerous years in the grain handling industry. He is responsible for late shift processing, color sorting, bagging and order fulfillment.
An experienced rodeo-rider, Shawn learned early lessons – an accident at 7 left him with a broken wrist.
Shawn is a Montana native and comes from a family of hard workers. A quiet cowboy, he is father of a blended family of seven and likes to hunt in his spare time.
Shauna Roberts, Retail Packaging
Tara Leveque, Retail Packaging
Tara, born in Canada, splits her time between Montana and British Columbia; working here in Ulm during the school year and sharing a hunting business with her husband in Canada during summer break. Always one to keep busy, she ran a little red Java Hut trailer selling coffee for several years while summering with family in BC.
Timeless provides Tara with a job that lets her schedule work around her two boys and their school activities. In her spare time, after achieving one of those “milestone birthdays,” Tara started running half-marathons. “I love the exercise and outdoors,” she says.
