Oil Executive Donates $20,000 to Billings Homeless Shelter

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The president of a Texas-based oil and gas exploration company made an impromptu $20,000 donation to a women's shelter in Billings on Mother's Day.

Sam Tallis tells The Billings Gazette he was eating breakfast at a cafe Sunday where other families were celebrating. He said he was missing his mother, who lives in Texas, and looked across the street at the shelter, where he didn't see the same smiles.

So Tallis, the president of Shale Exploration LLC, walked over and wrote the Montana Rescue Mission Women's and Family shelter a $20,000 check.

Rescue mission executive director Perry Roberts says the donation couldn't have come at a better time, with demand up and donations down.

The shelter provides temporary housing and other services for women and families who are facing homelessness.