Giving many needed resources to Bakken-area charities has heretofore gone unadvertised and unpublished for one oilfield company. It has not been a calculated business decision that has led Loenbro to give so generously to organizations in Richland County, and so there have not been press releases or photo opportunities with giant checks being handed to the happy recipients of their generosity. According to Loenbro’s Business Development Officer, Lee Haven, their considerable giving to faith-based and humanitarian causes is not primarily about public relations, but is an ethos and value deeply held within the company, from the founders to the employees.
Founded by two Montana brothers, Jon and Paul Leach, Loenbro is a home grown business that has spread to cover contracts throughout the United States, with field offices from Great Falls (where Loenbro is headquartered) to Odessa, Texas. In the Bakken, Loenbro specializes in various kinds of pipeline work, as well as providing other oilfield services. Loenbro is so titled because in the early days of Paul and John Leach’s business, they worked on welding projects at the refinery in Great Falls, and Spanish-speaking workers referred to Paul as Pablo – or Lo, for short – and Jon, Paul’s brother, simply as “Bro.” The name of their company was soon Lo-N-Bro, and changed to Loenbro in 2011.
Since the incorporation of Loenbro in 2001, the company has valued what they call “stewardship,” a term that they mean with certain religious connotations. Both of the Leach brothers are evangelical Christians, and combined with a renowned work ethic, the principle of stewardship has formed the unique fabric of their company’s culture and mindset. “Giving back is just something,” according to Lee Haven, “that they do as a part of who they are.”
Every location of Loenbro field offices engage in charitable work in some capacity, blessing those in the community already trying to make a difference. For example, the Great Falls operation – and Paul and Jon Leach in particular – are responsible for hosting the annual music festival called The Downpour Festival, which the website says has the mission of offering “unique interdenominational ministry experiences sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost and encouraging believers through Christian entertainment.”
In Richland County, the contribution of the Loenbro company has been deep and meaningful, as well as substantial. Because Loenbro operates under the principle of stewardship in which you “don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” (a reference to Matthew 6:3, a text about selfless giving), amounts contributed to local churches and charities are not publicized. Nonetheless, their help has been appreciated.
Stephanie Ler, who is the Director of the Fellowship Food Pantry associated with Fellowship Baptist Church, says, “We are truly grateful for the assistance given us by Loenbro, and many hungry families have been fed because of their help.” Paul Richter, an elder at Fellowship Baptist Church told The Roundup, “We are grateful for this company, not only because it assisted us in feeding the hungry, but because we are careful to always give away a Bible and the Gospel along with that food. And that is what,” Richter continued, “in the end, makes the biggest difference.” In total, Loenbro assistance has allowed the Fellowship Food Pantry to give away 24 thousand pounds of food in the last years and feed over 800 families, as well as engage in other Gospel-related enterprises in various communities throughout the Bakken oilfield.
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