President’s Report

I am so excited about the upcoming District Meetings and seeing all of you on your home turf! And I can’t wait to hear from each City/Town in attendance to tell us a unique, interesting, or little known fact about their City/Town. So be thinking and ready to deliver some entertaining local knowledge to us. See you later this month!

“Men do not differ much about what things they will call evils; They differ enormously about what evils they call excusable.” — G.K. Chesterton (An English writer, lay theologian, poet, philosopher, dramatist, journalist, orator, literary and art critic, biographer, and Christian apologist.)

This is one of the quotations hanging on my husband’s workbench. Does make you stop and think doesn’t it? With me it is so many ways to go with the thoughts and of course the events of the day that form those thoughts.

We are all human and people, circumstances, and life’s events all direct us. We try to be fair, nonjudgmental, and impartial with the decisions we must make while following the ordinances in place. I said we, but I do realize it is the trustees, council, and commissioners who have to sort through each issue presented and try to find the resolution to this issue. But we, the worker bees, have to carry out the decisions made and try to make it palatable to the citizens.

I know this is sounding depressing, but it is not! We must always look at all the reasons given for the decision and realize why they are delivering this motion. I caution all of you to try to remain impartial with each decision you make, it doesn’t matter the who, it matters the why and how it will affect your community. What you dictate and deliver affects people’s lives. What an awesome responsibility!

Thanks to all of you, the public servants, in every office and department, for the service you provide. You are the backbone of your community! Be strong leaders, advisors, and caring guiders, but most important be impartial with each dilemma that comes your way.

“Impartiality is a pompous name for indifference, which is an elegant name for ignorance.” — G.K. Chesterton I do not agree with this quote and hope all of you will use impartiality by its true definition: evenhandedness or fairmindedness with the principle of justice to all.

There’s that other key for your key chain - IMPARTIALITY!

Respectfully, Meri Jo Anderson President

SD Airports Conference

April 6-7, 2016 The Lodge at Deadwood, Deadwood, SD

The SD Airports Conference will include a wide variety of topics, presentations to include: Essential Air Service, Increasing Aviation in South Dakota, the Pilot Source Study, UAV Rules and Registration Questions, Based Aircraft Count, Changes at Airports and Military/Civil Aviation Issues.

The registration form is available online at www.sdmunicipalleague.org. $45 registration fee. Questions? Call 605-773-4430 or email Jennifer at Jennifer.boehm@state.sd.us.

The South Dakota Airport Management Association will meet at 5:15 pm on April 6 during the SD Airports Conference.