FashionABLE is Back!

On Saturday, February 15, 2020, Jolly Lane

Greenhouse in partnership with the Academy of

Dance Arts, will host the 3rd annual All-Ability

Threads, FashionABLE show. The theme this year

will have designers incorporate paint on 75% of

their designs.

Volunteers from the community that will partner

with the talented designers who are supported by

Black Hills Works. The volunteer and designer

applications were due on November 27th. The

selections be announced the first week of

December.

People supported are asked to include a colored

illustration of their design, and the volunteers will

assist the designers in bringing their visions to

reality!

A brief meeting between designers and volunteers

will take place in the first week of December to plan

an approach to the project. The projects between

volunteers and designers will officially begin the

first week in January and will conclude Saturday,

February 8.

If you have any questions please contact Heather

Pickering at (605)718-8338 or email Flutter

Productions at hpickering@bhws.com.

The Woman Behind the Curtain

Cec Richart is our AS400 computer super

programmer who works remotely from Omaha, NE.

Working for Black Hills Works for over 22 years, it

is hard to put into words just how awesome and

amazing Cec is! She does everything to keep the

payroll & accounting systems running! Any time

something doesn't work, Cec will have it fixed in

record time. She knows how the whole payroll,

benefit, accounting

systems work

independently, as well

as how they all tie

together. She always

has a solution to a

problem. She never

says you are out of luck

when you put in a

request or report an

issue; she works until a

solution is found. She

is, for lack of a better word, amazing!

Payroll:

Building queries or making programs that we can

use to make our job way less time consuming-- no

matter what she is dealing with, Cec is always calm

and in a good mood. She has AS400 programmed to

handle the many rules and regulations required by

the Department of Labor, Federal Contracts and the

state. Cec has made many programs to handle

specific requirements such as rounding hours and

wages properly, programs that handle the

complicated calculations of piece rate, shelf stocker

rate, all the differentials, and the special exceptions

that we have. She has programs setup that make

paying back wages much easier with less manual

labor to the accounting department. She has

programs made that pull the required federal

contract hours to calculate fringe benefits, reports

December 2019

that are used to report wages, as well as reports used

for unemployment reporting. She is essential at

year-end with getting the W-2's printed and sent in,

and makes sure all of our tax reports balance. In

July of 2019 when Black Hills Works went into

what we refer to as "the Dark Ages" on the

computer system, Cec would be up before 5 AM

and worked late into the night 7 days a week to

ensure that accounting and payroll could still

proceed with the very important role they play for

people that we support – giving them access to

spending money for groceries, rent, trust checks and

for all employee paychecks.

New System Implementation:

We would not be able to do any new system

implementation without Cec. Without her thorough

knowledge of AS400, and her ability to pull and

extract the data as needed for the new systems, we

would be at a loss. When setting everything up in

NovaTime and Netsuite, she knows all the answers

and can compile the information and get it to the

required person for setup. Did you know that

anything employees can do on the AS400 program,

she has either created or updated? Now that we are

moving towards NetSuite and all of its "plugin"

programs, she is 100% involved, and she is still

working on the "old side" to make sure everyone is

still functioning with their job duties. Cec is always

about the greater good for Black Hills Works and

BH Services, and is a great sounding board for

everyone's ideas.

Accounting and Payroll Mentor:

The Accounting and Payroll and accounting

departments would be at a loss if Cec wasn't a part

of our team. Her knowledge and skills are

irreplaceable. She has been a mentor for the

Accounting and Payroll departments for over 20

years. Cec is the primary IT "go to" person; having

written more of lines of code that we wish to count,

working for everyone she is a visionary. The agency

is utilizing programs that she wrote 30 years ago,

which are just as efficient today as when she

originally wrote them. She was the original IT

Manager and created the IT department as we know

it today.

Cec isn't about recognition or rewards, she is always

about the person supported and our agency goals

and needs. For all of her countless hours working,

she has made many people's lives smoother, easier,

and friendlier. You may not know her name, but

you benefit from Cec on a day to day basis with all

of her hard work and high work ethic.

Dec. 1: Douglas Sorensen, Karen Drost, Ruby Kay

Fenenga, Kianna Menon

Dec. 2: Lea Haisch, Sara Renton

Dec. 3: Tara Gary, Carol Page, Roy Stricklan

Dec. 4: Todd Wicks, Erica Yellow, Rebecca Baker

Dec. 10: Ryan Shultz

Dec. 11: Melissa Alexander, Lanna Backen

Dec. 13: Tianna Hurt

Dec. 14: Brookley Garman

Dec. 15: Elizabeth Walker, Carl Dixon

Dec. 18: Marissa Golas, Sara Kautz

Dec. 19: Mary Wheeler, Robert Graham

Dec. 20: Jason Smith, Terry Wilson, Shelly

Eaglehorse

Dec. 21: Robin Madsen, Bronson Odle

Dec. 22: Billie Strand, Trena Garlick, Rachel

Hopperdietzel, Sierra Austro

Dec. 24: Sara Pekny, Natalie Dekay, Dina Montero

Dec. 25: Teri Alford

Dec. 27: Paul Warren

Dec. 28: Victoria Hopperdietzel, Lisa Richmond,

Lindsay Lyons, Alison Stoeckmann

Dec. 30: Zachary Venable

Dec. 31: Kayla Wagner, Sarah Spears

The Big 73!

Many people know Ordean Stevenson from our

BHW Family and his involvement in different

activities. From volunteering in the community to

his roles in Flutter Productions, Ordean is always a

joy to everyone he is around.

Ordean recently celebrated

his 73rd birthday with his

friends at the Plant Street

retirement center, with

everyone singing Happy

Birthday to him!

His favorite part of the

day was having lunch at

his favorite restaurant, The

Millstone, with his friend

Robin. His waitress made sure to commemorate his

special day with a piece of cake and a song.

Ordean always has a smile on his face and is a joy

to be around. Happy Birthday, Ordean!

Storm Forecast

On November 7th, 40 Rapid City Storm athletes

and eight coaches and chaperones departed Rapid

City for Aberdeen, SD

for the 2019 Special

Olympics State Bowling

Tournament. Thirty

other Special Olympic

delegations from all over

the state were also in

attendance. After three

days of singles, doubles

and team competitions,

your Rapid City Storm

finished the weekend

with a total of 37 medals; 16 bronze, 10 silver and

an amazing 11 gold medals.

During the weekend we were fortunate enough to be

involved in the opening ceremonies, in which the

Olympic flame lit a large cauldron to symbolize the

beginning of the competition. We also had a great

time participating in karaoke and a dance. Although

the trip home was a bit challenging, because of icy

roads, we all made it home safely. Congratulations

to the 2019 Rapid City Storm state bowling team!

Bob Lew: A Friendly Face to Many

Suzie Cappa artist, Robert

(Bob) Lew, sits waiting for

his Rapid Ride while

simultaneously doing his

hand exercises, by waving

to everyone every morning,

no matter the weather! He

is a bit of a neighborhood

celebrity around his community home.

He often gets honks and waves back at him as he

waits for his bus to take him to work. A few weeks

back he was at an appointment

and not sitting in front of his

home, and people noticed.

The garbage truck driver

asked the staff at his home

where "the guy who always

waves is.”

Recently, a neighbor brought

Bob a doughnut, telling staff

that Bob makes her day. She said she could go a

different way to work, but always drives past Bob's

home for good morning waves. Cars full of people

going to work, parents taking their children to

school, and many others take joy in Bob's infectious

smile!

Gala Success

This year's annual Recognition Gala, “Home,

Where Our Story Begins…” went off without a

hitch! All of our attendees celebrated our four

amazing award winners.

Along with celebrating our award winners, Dorthy,

Ed, Rebecca, and David, we awarded Dr. Roger

Wilson and Ted Huffman, with legacy awards for

their dedicated work and commitment to BHW. To

begin our

celebrations,

Mayor Steve

Allender presented

Bob Syers, Mayor

of Plant Street,

with a

commemorative

name badge for his dedicated governing of our

retirement center.

Part of this year's gala involved showcasing

different rooms and furniture needed in several

homes that Black Hills Works currently has and is

in the process of building.

Our new Director of Engagement, Carrie Moser was

able to plan a majority of this huge event within her

first month of working for the agency! We applaud

and thank her, along with the BHW gala committee

for all of their hard work leading up to, and on the

night of the gala!

Welcome New Employees!

Jessica Wangen West Chicago

Tiara Cochran Indiana

Sierra Austro Plant Street

Matthew Flett RSC

Jon Scott Stucker West Chicago

Erika Coonrod Allen

Amy Juso RSC

Aspen Pease BHW

Paul Lindstrom BHW

Latasha Rogers TBIRC

Carolyn McIntyre Edwards-D

Sameria Black Crow Minnesota

Crystal Thurmes Behavioral Health

Alexis Berry Choices

Jullian Montgomery ITS

Bret Wilson West Chicago

Jennifer Henriksen Behavioral Health

Seth Wentz Horizon Point

Lavaughn Moore Edwards-D

Megan Cutler Allen

Staff Anniversaries

Gayle Steiger 39 years

Laura Smith 39 years

Vincent Horne 25 years

Janis Frank 15 years

Leah Drummond 10 years

Douglas Neisz 9 years

Teresa Kjos 9 years

Angela Chant 7 years

Desiree Dubs 4 years

Julia Davis 4 years

Olaf Solvie 4 years

Samantha Heenan 4 years

Andrea Kenrick 3 years

Brian Cho 2 years

Demi Reasor 2 years

Isabella Hagg 2 years

Jessilyn Thompson 2 years

Malinda Larson 2 years

Shana Siers 2 years

Alexa Bakken 1 year

Ashley Gerlach 1 year

Dena Colhoff 1 year

Hanah Parr-Paul 1 year

Jeanette Nelson 1 year

Lorrie Martin 1 year

Tanya Fritz 1 year

Tisha Gilson 1 year

BH Services

Annette Rivett, food service worker, was awarded

with the Employee of the Month achievement at the

Raider Café in October. Annette works as a cashier

and contingency prep cook.

Annette is fantastic as a cashier

with her customer service skills,

providing a great dining

experience to all patrons. She is

also responsible for sanitation

and cleaning, in which she takes

the necessary quality steps for

each task, on top of what is

expected of her. She is an

independent worker, and shows her abilities through

her work ethic in her daily assignments. She has

wonderful relationships with everyone in her work

environment, is pleasant and polite, and a pleasure

to have on the food service crew. Congrats Annette!

Black Hills Works 2020 Holiday Calendar

Time to plan for Flexible Spending 2020

It is that time of year when you have to decide if

you would like to participate in flexible spending.

To be eligible you have to be a full-time (32 or

more hours) per week employee and have to be

employed with the agency for at least 6 months.

Flexible Spending is a program that allows you to

use payroll deduction to pay for out-of-pocket

medical, dental, and vision expenses and you can

use it for day care also.

You will be receiving an e-mail soon with an

election form attached to it. This form is mandatory

to the agency and IRS and must be filled out. When

you fill it out and save it, it will be sent to Judy

Condon. If you do not want to participate, fill your

name in at the top and go to the bottom #5 Refusal

and click on it, it should fill your name in.

If you want to participate when you fill in the top

information and get to #3, annual election is the

amount you want to put into your flex account up to

a max amount of $2750.00 for the year, number of

pay periods is 24, amount per pay period is the year

total divided by 24, this is the approximate payroll

deduction per pay period, date of first payroll is

January 15th, effective date is January 1, 2020,

payroll is biweekly. Judy Condon will be having an

informational meeting on December 3rd in room

217 from 10-12 at RSC for all the new things

happening with the plan and talk about your

accounts and the debit card you can have issued.

Question’s please call Judy at 718-6248 or stop in

and see me at RSC room 205.

Special Olympic Volunteer Recognized!

The Helpline Center and Black Hills Urgent care

announced Sandie Enger as the November 2019

Volunteer of the Month!

Sandie was nominated by the agency and the Rapid

City Storm for her time and selflessness

volunteering with the Storm atheletes.

Sandie has been a part of the BHW family for 4

years. She has been an advocate for our agency and

the people we support by supporting out of town

events, coordinating fundraisers, helping to promote

events, recruited volunteers, and so much more!

Sandie is an amazing volunteer and ally.

Sandie will be recognized at the Spirit of

Volunteerism Awards in May of 2020. Thank you,

Sandie, for all that you do! We are so lucky to have

you in our family!

Campaign Completion

Four years ago, Black Hills Works embarked on our

first-ever Capital Campaign. “With Purpose: The

Campaign for Black Hills Works” maintained the to

raise $10 million.

As many of us know, a house does not always feel

like a home. This campaign put our "Home Life"

area of impact on a pedestal, making it a goal to

upgrade the current homes that are owned and

maintained by Black Hills Works, and to purchase

and build more homes to help fulfill the needs of the

people who are on our waitlist.

New Year’s Day Wednesday, January 1

Presidents Day Monday, February 17

Memorial Day Monday, May 25

Independence Day Saturday, July 4

Observed: Friday, July 3

for Mon-Fri Operations

Labor Day Monday, September 7

Thanksgiving Thursday, November 26-

Friday November 27

Christmas Thursday, December 24-

Friday, December 25

BHW staff receive time and a half for working

the actual holiday. See agency personnel policies

for who is eligible for the holiday benefit. BH

Services observe the federal holidays.

At this year's Recognition Gala, we were able to

toast to the success of the capital campaign.

Including grants, our community was able to raise

$11.7 million towards our goal.

Because of the generosity of our community, we

can continue improving the lives of the people we

support, and ensure that they live a life with purpose

every day!

2020 Payroll Schedule

2020 Payroll Schedule

PAID ON WK WEEKS WORKED

15-Jan 1 Dec 15 thru Jan 4*

31-Jan 2 Jan 5 thru Jan 18

14-Feb 3 Jan 19 thru Feb 1

28-Feb 4 Feb 2 thru Feb 15

13-Mar 5 Feb 16 thru Feb 29

31-Mar 6 Mar 1 thru Mar 14

15-Apr 7 Mar 15 thru Mar 28

30-Apr 8 Mar 29 thru Apr 11

15-May 9 Apr 12 thru May 2*

29-May 10 May 3 thru May 16

15-Jun 11 May 17 thru May 30

30-Jun 12 May 31 thru June 13

15-Jul 13 June 14 thru Jun 27

31-Jul 14 June 28 thru July 18*

14-Aug 15 Jul 19 thru Aug 1

31-Aug 16 Aug 2 thru Aug 15

15-Sep 17 Aug 16 thru Aug 29

30-Sep 18 Aug 30 thru Sept 12

15-Oct 19 Sept 13 thru Sept 26

30-Oct 20 Sept 27 thru Oct 17*

13-Nov 21 Oct 18 thru Oct 31

30-Nov 22 Nov 1 thru Nov 14

15-Dec 23 Nov 15 thru Nov 28

31-Dec 24 Nov 29 thru Dec 12

15-Jan 1 Dec 13 thru Jan 2*

The Wonders of WoW!

Our Without Walls volunteers continue to WOW us

with their commitment to the community and their

willingness to volunteer at different businesses and

organizations.

Food insecurity is a

challenge facing many

families in our

community and around

the country. There are

37.2 million people

who live in food-

insecure households

(FeedingSD.org).

There are many

different organizations

in Rapid City help with

this problem, including Feeding South Dakota, the

Cornerstone Rescue Mission, and Fork Real Café.

Some of our volunteers take time to help at these

organizations to ensure that more of the Rapid City

community have access to healthy and sustainable

food for themselves and their families.

Different

churches in the

Rapid City area

have a program

specifically for

Mothers of Pre-

Schoolers

(MOPS). This

program allows

new moms to gather, share and support other

mothers in their parenting journeys. The MOPS

program provides childcare options for working

mothers as well. Chloe Baldwin loves volunteering

with the mom’s group and helps out in the nursery

multiple times a month. Chloe is wonderful with

babies, and loves to help feed, change, and play

with the infants. Way to go Chloe!

Suzie Cappa Showcases BHW Artists

Every Art

Night hosted

by the Suzie

Cappa Art

Center is

unique. For

November,

different

artists from

both Plant Street and the Learning Center

showcased their art for attendees and patrons of the

gallery to purchase!

This event was a great way to promote the gallery

and all of the talented artists we have in the agency.

Patrons of Suzie Cappa enjoy all different types of

art; having featured artists allows supporters to

purchase art from many varied artists.

Guest artists included;

Austin Ahmed, Shawn

Stratton, Hoksila Long,

Tracy Hairy Shirt, John

Clark, Eugene Leroy Jr.,

Kristina Wilder, Amy

Fugate, Jessica Stoakes,

Lee Firecloud, Paul

Two Crow, Anna

McDowell, Brian

Bertsch, Steven Colby, Manika Boheman-Gehl,

Nikki Laird, Brandon McCune, John Summers,

Kathy Reed, Alvin Weber, Tonia Lipp, Carrie

Meffley, Cindy Mosset, Kary Moffitt, Dan Raba,

Michelle White Whirlwind, Tom Emley, Derek

Nieland, among other Black Hills Works artists!

2019 W-2 Information

All STAFF--2019 W-2s will be mailed via the US

Post Office to the most current address payroll has

on file. Please make sure that Payroll has your

correct mailing address as of December 15, 2019.

(Your most current address shows on your paystub

view). If your address is not current, it could delay

when you receive your W-2.

Rapid City – People Supported W-2s go to Donna

Tatum

Omaha – People Supported W-2s go to Bob

Matthews

IRS regulations require employers to distribute

(mail) W-2s to their employees on or before January

31, 2020. Every attempt will be made to have the

W-2s distributed (mailed) before the January 31,

2020 deadline. There will be no early distribution,

please be respectful of the time it takes to complete

this for all staff. Please do not call/email for status

inquiry or exception.

The procedure for obtaining a replacement W-2

copy after February 15th is to submit your request

in writing to Marie Greenfield-Sahli or Michele

Benda in payroll or send an e-mail to Marie or

Michele. In your request, please include a phone

number where you can be reached. Written

requests will be processed once a week. Payroll

will contact you via phone or email when your

replacement W-2 is complete.

Walk Like a Penguin!

• Bend slightly and walk

flat-footed

• Point your feet out slightly

like a penguin

• Keep you center of gravity

over your feet as much as possible

• Watch where you are stepping

• Take shorter, shuffle-like steps

• Keep your arms at your sides (not in your

pockets)

• Have shoes with good ankle support & slip-

resistant soles

• Go S-L-O-W-L-Y

Foundation Focus

As we have shared, there is a gap in the government

funding we receive and what we provide to the

people we support. The gap now totals $1.62

million and affects each of our service Impact

Zones:

• Community Life

• Arts Expression

• Specialty Services

• Transportation

• Workforce Development

• Home Life

Now that we have successfully completed the “With

Purpose” capital campaign, the Foundation is

moving our focus to look internally at the Impact

Zones and what our needs are. To better guide our

conversations, we are looking to you for your

knowledge and input. During the first 6 months of

the 2020, Carrie Moser will be hosting meetings to

focus on each of these Impact Zones to explore

what is working, what is not working, what we need

in each area, and to brainstorm solutions. The

schedule will be as follows:

• January: Community Life

• February: Arts Expression

• March: Specialty Services

• April: Transportation

• May: Workforce Development

• July: Home Life.

More details will be coming as these meetings get

closer. Please keep an eye out for further

information and ways you can be part of the

conversation.

Power of B Winners--- November Congratulations to this month’s Power of B

recipients: Kelli Schmidt, Heidi Clark, Ben

Watson, Brittany Trainer & Kennedy Wright.

Thank you all for living out the principles of the

Power of B in your work.

Kelli Schmidt & Heidi Clark have been nominated

for working closely with the DSP’s and folks who

live at the John’s Apartments. In October, John’s

held a spooky haunted house. Kelly and Heidi spent

time with everyone making sure that the costume

and decorative preparations were ready for patrons

on the day of the annual haunted house. These

ladies helped make sure everyone participated! The

person centered-community events are amazing to

experience, not only for the people we support, but

for the community.

Ben Watson helped out at the Sitka home during

the month of October. He did this even though his

normal work station, Fir, is short staffed as well.

Ben is an amazing frontline leader for always

putting the people we support first, and for

supporting his colleagues where necessary!

Brittany Trainer has been with the agency for just

two months, and is already going above and beyond

for her home! She has picked up and covered

multiple shifts at the last minute, ensuring her full-

care home has the staff needed to provide excellent

service and support to everyone who lives there.

Kennedy Wright has been helping to cover shifts

at the Sitka home 3-4 nights a week, after working

full time as a Medical Assistant. Though these are

not Kennedy’s typical job duties, she has been an

amazing help with the short staffing that some of

our homes have been experiencing. Thank you,

Kennedy, for having a heart for your work and for

the people we support!

Congrats to all of our Power of B winners! Your

exemplary heart for Black Hills Works, and the

people we provide support to, is what makes our

organization so great! Without the actions that you

all take on a day to day basis, we would not be able

to provide the services and supports that we do.

Thank you for your outstanding work ethic, we are

glad to have you as part of our BHW Family!

To nominate someone for a Power of B award, fill

out the nomination form elsewhere in this

newsletter or on Lotus Notes. Click on Agency

Main; click on Staff (left-hand green buttons); then

click on Staff Forms which is located in the center

panel on the right side. Choose Rapid City, then

page down to Power of B Recognition Award,

launch the document and print. Send your

nominations to Alexi Kieffer at RSC by the 25th of

each month. Winners receive $50 and a Power of B

t-shirt. Their story appears in The Workplace.

Please give specific examples about how your

nominee demonstrates the POWER of B.

Power of B

Nomination Form

Name of the staff person you’d like to recognize:

Title of the person you are recognizing:

Department of area they work in:

Check the “B” that applies with the example of the “B” they demonstrated.

For Being Respectful of Others

For Being Accountable

For Being Your Best (Their Best)

For Being Supportive Reason for the nomination: Please provide a detailed explanation with specific information on what you would

like to recognize this person for.

Your name and title: _____________________________

Your department or area: ___ __

Please send this form to Alexi Kieffer at RSC before the 25th of each month. Your nominee could be selected to

receive the $50 prize and be featured in The Workplace.

Feel free to make copies of this form for additional people you’d like to recognize. There will be up to 5 winners

selected each month to receive the Power of B prize and recognition.

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