About NativeWinds

NativeWinds LLC

If you are looking for a giant corporation with impersonal service, you have come to the wrong place. NativeWinds is a small Montana company that is owned and operated by everyday people, just like you. We have a firm commitment to friendly service, quality software and reasonable prices.

NativeWinds is located near Whitehall, Montana in the Highland Mountain Range of the Rockies. The small town of Whitehall is situated in the southwestern part of Montana in the Jefferson Valley. Lots of mountains are nearby. To the southeast of Whitehall are the Tobacco Root Mountains, Bull Mountain is directly to the north and the Highland Mountains sit to the west. This is a small farm and ranch community of around 1,200 people where kids can still stop in at the local movie theater and catch the latest release (for us anyway) for a mere $2 dollars. Adult prices are $3 dollars. Traveling through the town of Whitehall in the spring and fall can take awhile. You never know when you'll sit at a stop sign for 30 minutes waiting for a cattle drive to clear the intersection.

You have to travel a ways from here to find any large centers of population. The closest town with a population of 50,000 plus is 126 miles away in Great Falls, Montana. To reach a city with a 200,000 plus population, you'll have to travel 648 miles south to Denver, Colorado.

The home of NativeWinds Software sits at an elevation of 6,500 feet above sea level and near the top of the Continental Divide in the Highland Mountain Range. We are surrounded on all 4 sides by the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. In addition to the standard fare you'd expect to find here - multiple computers in every room, bookshelves lining the walls, thousands of backup CD's and coffee cups within arm reach no matter where you stand; if you take the time to venture outside you'll see horses in corrals or pens to the north, east and south. Deer, elk, moose, coyotes, wolves and black bear are regular visitors who are kept at bay by 2 dogs of questionable descent who also consider this home.

Our logo design was derived from our western location and Cherokee heritage. Jack, daughters- Ronnie and Cassandra, and son Shawn are all of Cherokee descent. The eagle stands for freedom. The small image above the eagle represents the seven clans of the Cherokee and has the letters NW mirrored in the center. The letters 'NW' of course, stand for NativeWinds.

Jack started his programming experience on an old "Trash-80" in 1982 using Basic as a programming language. His first program was a small address database that a local veterans organization in Colorado Springs had requested. As computer technology advanced, Jack upgraded his equipment and programming software. When Borland released their 'Turbo Pascal' language, Jack switched to using Borland (now called CodeGear) products and has stayed with them ever since. Jack was soon writing custom software for companies all over the western United States, specializing in database and pdf technologies using Borland's Delphi language compiler. As the demand for his services and software increased, Jack realized that he could no longer operate the business by himself and keep up with the demand. What had started out as a small sideline business to earn extra income had suddenly developed into full-time occupation that demanded a staff and real office space. Jack had to put his job as a freelance photographer on the back burner and devote full time to software development. NativeWinds LLC was founded in 1998 by Jack Lewis and Pamela Bean. After Pam talked him into showcasing his software on the web, a real explosion in sales occurred as soon as NativeWinds released a small program called Tomahawk.

Tandy TRS80 - affectionately known as a Trash-80.

NativeWinds has now gained worldwide recognition for our software products. If you have a comment, suggestion, or would just like to drop us a line and say 'Howdy', we welcome your correspondence. You can email us here.

One of our daughters, Ronnie on her favorite horse - Dolly. Ronnie currently attends Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana.

Ronnie has made us proud once again! She has just had her first article published in Rocky Mountain Rider magazine. Her's was a feature article in the May 2008 issue. She talks about the horse you see to the right (Dolly) and her relationship with Jack. You can read it online here.