2019 Hall of Fame Inductees

The SDML Hall of Fame honors thoseelectedandappointedofficialsandemployees whohaveservedmunicipalitiesinSouthDakotafor20ormoreyears.

Mike Wendland, Baltic, 21Years

Mike grew up in Baltic. Graduating from Baltic High School and then Augustana College with a B.S in Business Administration. Mike served on the Baltic City Council for 4 years prior to becoming Mayor. Mike served as the Mayor of Baltic for 18 years. MikeworkedforCitibankfor31years.CurrentlyMikeisthe CityAdministratorandEconomicDevelopmentDirectorfor the City of Baltic. Mike and his wife Dawn have three children: Jadin,ConnorandJacie.

Nora Erhart, Belle Fourche, 20Years

Nora,thetreasuredbabyofherfamily,hermother'smiracle and apple of her daddy's eye, grew up in Platte, South Dakota. She graduated Platte High School as salutatorian and went on to study at the University of South Dakota at Springfield. It was there she met Cal, and after obtaining their degrees they were married and began their life together. While growing their family, they settled a few timesineasternSouthDakotaandMinnesotabeforefinally finding their home in Belle Fourche in 1987. Before beginningherworkwiththecity,Norawassecretaryofthe United Methodist Church and valued employee of Office Emporium as well as occasional part-time gig driving a bus. During this time perhaps her most appreciated (and challenging) job was raising her 4 children, who have now allre-settledintheareawiththeirfamilies,includingher5 grandsonsand4granddaughtersforwhomNorawillgladly doanything.Inhersparetime,shelovescamping(withher furry friends Molly, Maddy, and Misha), reading, baking, and watching (and collecting) movies.

RickBoschee,Bowdle,20Years

In Rick Boschee’s 20 years of serving the City of Bowdle, he has filled the roles of both Alderman and Mayor within the city, as well as serving as the District 6 Vice President. In Bowdle, the City owns our hospital so our City Council also serves as the Hospital Board of Directors. During the last 20 years that Rick has been in public service, he has helped guide the facility from a three million dollar revenue facility to an eight milliondollarrevenuefacility. BoththeCityandHospital are thankful for all of Rick’s hard work!

Diane Haivala, Buffalo, 42 Years

Diane Haivala retired on June 30, 2019 after serving the Town of Buffalo, SD for 42-years. She is deserving of the Hall of Fame award not only because she excelled in her position as Finance Officer, but because her love and dedication to Buffalo is something trulyspecialandunique.Shewouldspendtimeafterwork and on weekends pulling weeds around town. When the recently hired Finance Officer needed to spend time with her husband during his final days, Diane willingly came outofretirementforamonthtoensureBuffalo'sofficewas able to remain open and running.

Karen Leffler, Canton, 26 Years

Karen has worked for the City of Canton for26yearsastheDeputyFinanceOfficer. In that time she has helped navigate the City through growth and several changes. She has been integral part of Planning & Zoning. KarenhaslearnednearlyeveryaspectoftheCity inhertimehere. KarenhaslivedinCantonfor50+years. She enjoys playing cards and spending time with her family and friends.

Dan Bridenstine, Deadwood, 20 Years

Dan began his employment with the City of Deadwood Parks Department as a laborer on January 29, 1999. He transferred to the Street Department as an equipment operator on April 9, 2001 and still holds that positiontoday. DanismarriedtoReneeandtheyhavetwo children and six grandchildren. Dan looks forward to retiring someday.

Karla Dower, Deadwood, 25 Years

Karla began her employment with the City of Deadwood as a part-time custodian on August 8, 1994. She became a full-time employee on January 18, 2017 and still holds the custodial position today. Karla has three sons and two grandchildren.

Donald (Albert) Kryger, Deadwood, 20 Years

AlbertbeganhisemploymentwiththeCity ofDeadwoodintheParksDepartmentasa laborer on April 1, 1999. He became AssistantParksForemanonSeptember30, 2002andForemanonNovember15,2004. After20years of dedicated service,Albert retired onApril 3, 2019.

Diane LeBrun, Dell Rapids, 20 Years

Diane started working part time for the Citythesummerof1999. Shemovedonto full time utility billing clerk in 2005. Her favorite part of the job is the daily interaction with customers. Diane and her husband Dennis have 3 children – Jeff (Carrie), Kirk (Abby) and Lexie (Ryan). She has also been blessed with 7 grandchildren who all live nearby so she is able to spoil them often. Diane is also a life-long fan of the Minnesota Twins and the Dallas Cowboys.

JanetBockorny,Huron,20Years

Janet Bockorny has worked for the City of Huron in the Finance Office for 20 years. She began as an Administrative Assistant, moved to Deputy Accounting Clerk and currently serves as the Deputy Finance Director. Janet and her husband Jerry have two children, and two wonderful grandchildren who are more fun than she could have imagined.

Tim Hess, Lemmon, 26 Years

Tim Hess began working for the City of Lemmon on June 14, 1993. Tim is currently theAssistant Superintendent for the City of Lemmon as well as serving on the Board of Directors for the Northwest Regional Landfill. Tim has servedasaboardmemberinthepastfortheSDSolidWaste ManagementAssociation. Tim currently works in all areas of the city including: streets, water, landfill, pool, mosquito control,sewer,parksandgeneralmaintenanceofbuildings, parks, and equipment. Tim is a valuable employee to the CityofLemmon.

Dave Huber, Lemmon, 33 Years

Dave Huber began his employment with the City of Lemmon on April 22, 1986. Dave is currently the City Superintendent which he has held since January 2010. Dave works in all departments including: streets, water, landfill, sewer, parks, and general maintenance of buildings, parks, and equipment as well as budget and orderingofsupplies.DavehasseNedhiscountryaspartof theNorthDakotaNationalGuardfrom1976-2017.Daveis anassettotheCityofLemmonandwearsmanyhatsasall employees do in a small community.

Brian Pearson, Philip, 20 Years

Brian Pearson started his career with the CityofPhilipinApril1999.Hehasserved in various capacities of general maintenance with his main focus in the water department. In 2010, he also took over utility billing. He has and continues to hold water certifications as well as other certifications. He is also an active volunteer with the Philip Volunteer Fire Department.

Matt Reckling, Philip, 20 Years

Matthew "Matt" Reckling started his career with City of Philip as a "volunteer" and was later hired as the Assistant Street/Sewer Superintendent in August 1999. In May 2009, he was promoted to Public Works Director. He oversees and works alongside three public works maintenance personnel. He is also a very active volunteer with the Philip Volunteer Fire Department; and, served as the chief in 2016. He is married and has two daughters.

JohnUthe,Presho,23Years

Twenty-three years ago, John and his family returned to his hometown to become one of the city ’s two full-time street and water crew. For the past seven years, he has been the city superintendent and is currently overseeing almost $6 million of street, sanitary sewer and storm sewer improvements. In his spare time, he operates a lawn care business and encourages his children’s sport activities. His two sons became teachers and eldest daughter attends Lyman High School. John and his partner Kristen share a daughter and her son.

Angela Ehlers, Presho, 21 Years

Angela Ehlers represents Ward 3 and serves as president of the Presho City Council. Her experience as executive directoroftheSouthDakotaAssociationof Conservation Districts allows her to bring a unique perspective to her council. A strong believer in community involvement, she is in her 43rd year volunteering with the Lyman County Ambulance and serves as secretary-treasurer of the Medicine Creek Golf Course. She is also a member of the Presho Chamber and Medicine Creek Lions Club.

Jeanette (Jan) Ervin, Spearfish, 20 Years

Jan started with the City of Spearfish on May 5, 1999 in a temporary position with the parks department. In March of 2000, she applied for a regular position with facility maintenance and served there until she retired on June 14, 2019. During her employment with the City of Spearfish, Jan’s dedication and willingness to help wherever and whenever needed was incredible. From lawn care to shoveling snow, Jan helped do it all. Her upkeep and maintenance of the historically significant TrethewayPavilionandtheSnappersClubmadethemtwo of the most sought after buildings for hosting events in Spearfish including meetings, weddings, and family reunions. Jan is now retired and spends her time enjoying each day bike riding, traveling (especially her annual trip to Hawaii), cooking, and spending time with her family. She can still be found weeding different parks and community garden areas throughout the city.

Verla Little, Spearfish, 21 Years

Verla started with the City of Spearfish Police Department on April 21, 1998 as a part-time dispatcher. She moved to a fulltimepositiononJanuary4,1999whilealso servingasacertifiedreservepoliceofficer. Verla was promoted to a police officer for Spearfish on July 23, 2001. In July of 2002, Verla graduated from the South Dakota Law EnforcementTrainingAcademy where she earned the Coler-WilliamsAward. Verla was the first female certified reserve officer for Spearfish and the first female police officer for Spearfish. On April 4, 2010, Verla was promoted to police corporal. Verla is a: • DAREinstructorforthe5thand7thgradeDARE programs • PoliceTraining Officer (PTO) • DefensiveTactics and OC instructor • RapeAggression Defense instructor • Teen Court instructor • Board member of the Victims of Violence Intervention Program • Past member of the Lawrence County Child ProtectionTeam Verla has a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Black Hills State University. She attended South Dakota State University where she worked toward a Master of Science in Biology with an emphasis on Botany and Germination Ecology. Verla enjoys being active in the community and promoting a safer environment for our children, residents, and visitors.

Distinguished Service Award Presented to Britzman

The South Dakota Municipal Attorney ’s Association (SDMAA) presented a Distinguished Service Award to Steve Britzman, City Attorney, City of Brookings on Thursday, October 10th during the Excellence in Municipal Government Luncheon at the SDML Annual Conference. The award was presented by SDMAABoard member Lisa Marso, City Attorney, City of Brandon “In recognition of and appreciation for outstanding contributions and commitment to the South Dakota MunicipalAttorney'sAssociation” .