Hometown Power

This is the most diffi  cult article that I have written for  the SDMEA. My journey with this great association  began Oct. 4, 2016. From day one I met so many  great people. It was the SDML annual conference  in Rapid City and the fi rst person I met on that day  was one of my board members at the time, Bill  Lewellen. I was interviewed by Todd Chambers  and Paul Melby and they offered  me the position three days later. I  had a decision to make at the time  and I chose the SDMEA for many  reasons. I wanted to challenge  myself and I was excited to travel  around the state and meet the  association members.

This was a great opportunity for  me and I learned so much in these  past six-plus years. I have had to  endure several changes in faces  throughout my time. I was lucky  enough to learn and grow from  one of the best leaders that I have ever seen in  Yvonne Taylor. I have also had several changes  in my board as it once consisted of great guys  like Todd Chambers, Paul Melby, Bill Lewellen,  Dennis Poppen, Jay Nordquist, and Vern Hill. Yes,  my dad was a board member of mine at one time.  He did resign his seat when I was hired, which  was probably for the best because the only one  to yell at me more than he did was my high school  football coach.

The current SDMEA Board is made up of a very  similar team. The only difference is the average  age. I know that Todd and Bill were on the board for  years and I hope that the current board continues  to be part of this SDMEA Board for the next several  years. President Russell Halgerson, Vice President  Jerry Jongeling, Trustees Mike Antonson, Monty  Munkvold, and Bert Magstadt have been excellent  leaders for me. They have let me create my own  path and have supported that path. They have been  very active in making our association better and  creating a presence of the SDMEA. I cannot thank  them enough for being supportive and creative in  our roles with the SDMEA. I am excited for the  future of this association, and I know that these  fi ve board members will ensure that the SDMEA  continues to grow and excel.

I already mentioned Yvonne Taylor, but there are a few other ladies in the league offi  ce that I have  grown very close to over the years. Lisa Nold and  Sara Rankin both started within a few months of  me, and Lori Butler was already on staff when I  was hired. We have been extremely close over the  last six years and I have looked to them for advice  and wisdom and they never fail to tell me how it  actually is. Emilie Miller has been at the league  for two years now and she has been a wonderful  asset as she does all of my promotional signs and  ensures that I complete this article (usually late)  every month. Sandy Larson who recently retired  also made the league a fun place to work! I also  got to work with David Reiss, who stepped into  Yvonne’s role last November, and Mindy Sargent  and Jackie Lopour who were both hired just  recently as well.

With all of that being said, I asked Russell if I could  do two jobs. He laughed, so I had to choose. All  jokes aside, I did put in my resignation from the  SDMEA. It had nothing to do with anything other  than a personal goal. For those of you who don’t  know, my background is in education, and I have  a master’s degree in PreK-12 Principal. Long story  short, I was forced in to coaching 12U girls softball  this year and I was so excited to be helping kids  learn and grow again. The night of our fi rst game,  a teaching position came open in my hometown of  Plankinton and I felt like I had to apply. Honestly,  I never thought I would get back into education  again, but something pulled me toward this  position. I was offered the position and quickly  realized that I had a very diffi  cult decision to make.  I said it 1,000 times already, I love my job, I love  the people I work with, I love the municipalities and  traveling and visiting with all of you. In the end, my  decision came down to a couple of goals. I want to  make my school and my community better. That’s  it. There is nothing else to it. It was heartbreaking  to leave so many great people, but I feel like it is  time to step up in my community and work harder  to make it the way I envision it. I am also excited  to be watching kids learn. I told myself that if I  am going to sit here and wish things would get  done that I better start BEING that wish. After all,  “some people make things happen, some people  watch things happen, and some people wonder  what has happened.” (Eleanor Roosevelt). I just  decided that I need to be one of the people who  make things happen.

Alright, alright, enough about me.

June 13 was our fi fth annual SDMEA Golf Tournament and  we had an absolutely wonderful day for golf. We had 17  teams and raised money for a good cause. Last year we  started a scholarship to help encourage students from our  member municipalities to enter the Energy Production and  Transmission program at Mitchell Technical College. We use  some of the proceeds from our events to fund that scholarship  and our events seem to be growing each year. Our vendors  and associate members make all of those events a possibility  and member engagement has been growing with each event  as well. The golf tournament is always during the summer,  which is construction season, so we are very thankful that our  members are allowed and encouraged to attend our events.  The events are for those members. We need our members  to be involved and if you were’t unable to attend the golf  tournament, we hope you’ll make the next event on Sept. 8  for the second annual SDMEA Sporting Clay event!

I want to thank you all for your trust in me to lead our  association over the last six plus years. It has been an honor  to visit your HOMETOWNs and to get to know all of you. ■

SDML Snapshots

SDMEA Golf Tournament

June 13 | Madison Country Club

TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS! Phil Clement from NextEra  Energy, Bill Van Camp from Olinger Law, Nate Jones from  Heartland Energy, and Casey Crabtree from Heartland  Energy.

SDMEA Board Trustee Monty Munkvold, SDMEA President  Russell Halgerson, Shawn Miller from ElectroTech, and Todd  Swanson from BMU.

Charlene Swanson from Border States, SDMEA Board Trustee  Mike Antonson, Kevin Kruiter from WMU, and Justin Routh  from Border States.

DAILY

SUNs

MONs

WEDs

RED CLOUD INDIAN ART SHOW, Pine Ridge

MOUNT RUSHMORE EVENING LIGHTING CEREMONY, Keystone

LEGENDS IN LIGHT® LASER LIGHT SHOW AT CRAZY HORSE MEMORIAL, Crazy Horse

DAKOTA PRAIRIE WILD WEST SHOW, Goodwin

OUTLAW SQUARE MONDAY MOVIE NIGHT, Deadwood

ALL JULY LONG 05

OUTLAW SQUARE SUMMER CONCERT SERIES, Deadwood

WILD WEST WEDNESDAYS RODEO, Rapid City

BLACK HILLS FARMERS MARKET, Rapid City

THURs

CANTON OPEN AIR MARKET, Canton

FRIs

FOOD TRUCK FRIDAYS, Rapid City

DAKOTA PRAIRIE WILD WEST SHOW, Goodwin

SATs

FALLS PARK FARMERS MARKET, Sioux Falls

MARKET AT THE MERIDIAN, Yankton

BLACK HILLS FARMERS MARKET, Rapid City

02 03 04

ENDS JULY 2 (JUNE 30-JULY 2) SISSETON WAHPETON OYATE WACIPI, Agency Village

JULY 2-4

SITTING BULL STAMPEDE RODEO, Mobridge

MINA LAKE FREEDOM FESTIVAL, Mina

JULY 3-4

GOLD CAMP JUBILEE DAYS, Lead

JULY 3-4

FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION, Custer

JULY 3-4

4TH OF JULY PARADE, RODEO & FIREWORKS, Fort Pierre

4TH OF JULY PARADE, Watertown

LEVITT AT THE FALLS: SIX-STRING SOLDIERS, Sioux Falls

UNCLE SAM JAM, Brookings

ENDS JULY 4 (JUNE 30-JULY 4) BLACK HILLS ROUNDUP, Belle Fourche

06 07

JULY 5-9

BOSS COWMAN RODEO & CELEBRATION, Lemmon

LEVITT AT THE FALLS: FIDDLES & FRIENDS, Sioux Falls

LEVITT AT THE FALLS: FRANK WALN, Sioux Falls

1ST FRIDAY ON MAIN, Mitchell

JULY 7-9

LAURA INGALLS WILDER PAGEANT, De Smet

JULY 7-22

NORTHERN FORT PLAYHOUSE, Lake City

JULY 7-28

WILD WEST CIRQUE, Rapid City

SPEARFISH CANYON HALF MARATHON & 5K, Spearfish

SANFORD LAB NEUTRINO DAY, Lead

LEVITT AT THE FALLS: INDIGENOUS, Sioux Falls

JULY 8-9

SUMMER ARTS FESTIVAL, Brookings

JULY 8-9

NATIVE POP: PEOPLE OF THE PLAINS-A GATHERING OF ARTS AND CULTURE, Rapid City

1880 TRAIN OLD WEST SHOOTOUT, Hill City

JULY 9-14

3-WHEELER RALLY, Deadwood

JULY 9-22

BHP JR. CAMP, Custer

JULY 12-15

BLACK HILLS CORVETTE CLASSIC, Spearfish

LEVITT AT THE FALLS: ULTRA VIOLET FEVER, Sioux Falls

JULY 13-16

DANISH DAYS, Viborg

JULY 13-16

CORN PALACE STAMPEDE RODEO, Mitchell

LEVITT AT THE FALLS: DEE-1, Sioux Falls

JULY 14-15

RANCH RODEO & GUMBO RIDGE BRONC RIDE, Murdo

JULY 14-15

COOKIN' ON KAMPESKA, Watertown

JULY 14-16

FESTIVAL IN THE PARK, Spearfish

JULY 14-16

BADLANDS ASTRONOMY FESTIVAL, Interior

JULY 14-16

LAURA INGALLS WILDER PAGEANT, De Smet

JULY 14-16

STAMPEDE RODEO, Burke

JULY 14-16

WACIPI, Flandreau

GRASSLAND GRAVEL, Fort Pierre

LEVITT AT THE FALLS: KINGS & ASSOCIATES, Sioux Falls

JULY 15-16

HILLS ALIVE, Rapid City

1880 TRAIN OLD WEST SHOOTOUT, Hill City

JULY 16-20

DAKOTA 600, Keystone

MOONLIT MOVIE, Rapid City

DOWNTOWN IN MADTOWN, Madison

SUMMER CONCERT SERIES, Aberdeen

LEVITT AT THE FALLS: THE BUCKMILLER SCHWAGER BAND, Sioux Falls

JULY 20-23 GET ON! ADVENTURE FESTIVAL, Sturgis

JULY 21-22

STORYBOOK LAND FESTIVAL, Aberdeen

JULY 21-23

GOLD DISCOVERY DAYS, Custer

JULY 21-23

LAURA INGALLS WILDER PAGEANT, De Smet

JULY 21-23

GOLD DISCOVERY DAYS, Custer

JULY 21-23

MILK'S CAMP COMMUNITY WACIPI, St. Charles

FALLS ART MARKET, Sioux Falls

LEVITT AT THE FALLS: JUSTIN ROBERTS & THE NOT READY FOR NAPTIME PLAYERS, Sioux Falls

LEVITT AT THE FALLS: TIERA KENNEDY, Sioux Falls

BIERBÖRSE, Rapid City

1880 TRAIN OLD WEST SHOOTOUT, Hill City

BRULÉ LIVE AT OUTLAW SQUARE, Deadwood

DOWNTOWN IN MADTOWN, Madison

JULY 26-30

DAYS OF '76 RODEO AND PARADES, Deadwood

DOWNTOWN AT SUNDOWN #1, Brookings

ZOOFARI, Sioux Falls

LEVITT AT THE FALLS: THE ARCADIAN WILD, Sioux Falls

LEVITT AT THE FALLS: BLOOD BROTHERS, Sioux Falls

JULY 28-29

MEADE COUNTY FAIR & 4-H ACHIEVEMENT DAYS, Sturgis

JULY 28-30

HONEY DAYS, Bruce

SOUTH DAKOTA CHISLIC FESTIVAL, Freeman

LEVITT AT THE FALLS: IAN FLANIGAN, Sioux Falls

JULY 29-30

AIRSHOW, Sioux Falls

1880 TRAIN OLD WEST SHOOTOUT, Hill City

Featuring Keynote Speaker

Matt Lehrman: INSPIRATION AND INSTRUCTION IN TIMES OF DISRUPTION AND DIVISION

• Keep current on timely topics.

• Network and share best practices.

• Find inspiration.

• Attend business meetings.

• Discover new products.

• Recharge with socials and activities.

SDML Members

$125/person

Non members $225/person