september 2015

The Ro

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Issue 9

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Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau

Chamber hosts Community Picnic, Ribbon Cutting, & Movies at H-D Rally Point Sturgis, SD - The Sturgis Area Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau has hosted a Post Rally Community Picnic for several years in the City Park. This year, in conjunction with the Downtown Sturgis Foundation and the City of Sturgis, the event was held in the new Harley-Davidson Rally Point and included a community ribbon cutting. The evening started with a screening of Yogi Bear and ended with a concert by Blues Street. Kids enjoyed a bounce house and face painting. Nearly 1,000 were served a free picnic during the event. Thank you to our generous sponsors for making this great com-munity night possible. Looking ahead, the Chamber is hosting a se-ries of free movies on the community plaza sponsored by the Downtown Sturgis Founda-tion and the City of Sturgis. Two films remain in the series. Bring your lawn chairs and the family. Tues, September 1 – 6pm – Cars Tues, September 8 – 6pm – Despicable Me A downtown Sturgis restaurant will have se-lect food items available for purchase on site at each showing. Additional events are planned for the location through the remainder of the year and into the spring and summer.

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Membership News

A note of (temporary) farewell from Heidi (& a shameless plea for help) On Septem-ber 17, my husband and I will make the short trip to Spearfish to welcome a new mem-ber to our family. (And the new-est Sturgis Chamber volunteer.) I plan on working through the 16th before leaving things com-pletely in the capable hands of Kathy and Rainee. My sincere thanks to them for not immediately resigning when I informed them I was pregnant, and the baby would be arriving in the height of our “event sea-son.” I’m privileged to work with them and you should feel privi-leged to have them working for your community. I mean that with all sincerity, and I don’t thank them publicly enough for the heart they put into their

work for Sturgis. They are con-stant champions and ambassa-dors for this town and our mem-bers whether they are on the clock or not. They have a busy few months ahead. You can help. Sometime early in October, they will begin work on constructing our Chamber’s Crypt. It’s a fund-raiser not only for the Chamber, but also for the high school’s drama department. We make a donation each year to that or-ganization for their contributions to the event. If you’re looking for a creative outlet and a great cause for your family or organization - please give us a call. I’m not sure how helpful I’ll be at setup with an infant. And frankly, with the lack of sleep - I may be the most frightening thing in the show. We’d love to have you volunteer. Let me be more direct: Please, please volunteer.

When the little one arrives, I’ll be sure to let you all in on the de-tails. Further, if you see me stumbling though the grocery store in the next few months and I don’t notice you - my sincere apologies. Please, remember I have a newborn and a 4-year old. I likely won’t remember my own name. I should be better by the holidays. With that, I wish you all the best as we enter the final quarter of the year. It’s been a big one for Sturgis. Not just with the historic Rally - but with an incredible amount of development and overall strong sales. Take a breath and congratulate each other on those achievements. Whether your business has been here for six months or 60 years - you’re an important part of the positive progress here today. Thank you. -Heidi

Accepting Nominations for Board of Directors Election We are now accepting nomina-tions for our Sturgis Area Cham-ber of Commerce & Visitors Bu-reau Board of Directors. If you are interested or would like to nominate someone else, please call the Chamber office at 347.2556 or email [email protected].

The deadline for ac-cepting nominations is Friday, September 25 at 4pm. Official ballots will be mailed to Chamber members in October.

Upcoming Events (for full list see the enclosed insert) 9/1 - Evening at the Movies - Cars H-D Rally Point - 6pm 9/1-6 - Mustang Rally 9/7 - Chamber Closed - Labor Day Holiday 9/8 - Evening at the Movies - Despicable Me H-D Rally Point - 6pm 9/10 - Black Hills Federal Credit Union Ground Breaking - Corner of Junction & Lazelle 12:00 Noon 9/11-12 - Indian Motorcycle Sturgis & Scott Peterson Motors Grand Openings 9/12-13 - Gran Fondo & Criterium 9/15 - Automax of Sturgis - 1544 Lazelle - Grand Opening BBQ 5-8pm Ribbon Cutting 5:30pm 9/17 - Ribbon Cutting & Mixer - Sturgis Regional Hospice Garden Walk Sturgis Regional Hospital - 5:00-7:00pm 9/18-20 Sturgis Supermoto 9/25-26 Sturgis Oktoberfest 9/26 Ag Banquet 10/8 - Rushmore Office Supply Mixer


Renewing Members Membership News, cont.

McPherson Propane Post 33 American Legion Baseball Rockingtree Floral & Garden Center Rushmore Media Company SHOPKO Kip & Kristi Wagner (Associate)

Area Miss SD Tourism Teens awarded National Honors August 1-2 six attended the National Tourism pageant in Clarskville, TN where they brought home three national titles, one finalist, one first runner-up, and one second runner-up.

Congratulations girls! They have also been volunteering here at the Visitor Center each Saturday through the summer. Thanks for being ambassa-dors for Sturgis & the state of SD.

Automax of Sturgis 1544 Lazelle Sturgis - 605.347.5800 automaxdeals.com Sergeant Colten Levi Derr Foundation Sturgis - 605.209.2308 sergeantderrfoundation.org Thank you. You make what we do possible.

New Members

The Sturgis Brown High School’s new machinist training program will open in SEDC’s new industrial incubator building in Septem-ber. The first class of 15 stu-dents will begin their day at 7:30 am in the Sturgis Industrial Park underthe instruction of Cyle Miller. This Career Tech-nical Education (CTE) course will provide students dual credits through Western Dakota Tech.

Upon graduation, this could allow them to fast track into the job market, or greatly reduce the cost and training time if they choose to further their technical education. The build-ing and program were made possible by match grants from USDA Rural Development and the SD Future Fund, as well as, an educational partnership with the Meade School District, Sturgis Industrial Park manu-facturers, and SEDC.

The incubator building has three individually metered units available for lease to start-up companies. These units will be completed to suit each tenant. For more info, contact Pat at 347-4906 or [email protected].

Pat Kurtenbach, President SEDC

SEDC Update

Please join their groundbreak-ing ceremony on Thursday, September 10, noon – 1:00 pm at the construction site at the corner of Lazelle and Junc-tion. Demolition of the existing building is currently under-way, with a 28-week construc-tion timeline expected. The 4,500 sq. ft. building will employ eight when it opens. Jerry Schmidt, BHFCU Senior Vice President of Operations, states, “Black Hills Federal

Credit Union is excited to serve the Sturgis community with our new location. We have a sizeable member base local to Sturgis and believe Sturgis is a robust and growing community. The City of Sturgis is putting a great deal of effort and investment into the

growth of the community. It is evident with the new plaza and the Business Improve-ment District that the commu-nity leaders want to serve the citizens better, and we want to be a part of that growth as well.”

BHFCU expanding to Sturgis

Lamphere Sculpture “Ray Davis Tribute Monument” unveiled

Via City of Sturgis - The City is hosting several events in the month of September which will require street closures. Sept 11-12 Gran Fondo & Outlaw Criterium Sept 18-20 Supermoto Sept 25-26 Oktoberfest Council will consider these street closure requests for the downtown on Tuesday, Sept 8th

at 6:30pm. The change in meeting date is due to the Mon-day, Labor Day holiday. The Street Closure for the Mus-tang Rally, held over Labor Day weekend, has already been ap-proved by City Council. Details are available on the City of Sturgis’ website or by calling the Rally and Events Depart-ment at 605-720-0800.

September events & Street Closures

Community News

Photos courtesy of Sanford Lab Facebook page.

Sturgis local and South Dakota State Artist Laureate, Dale Lamphere” created a beautiful new sculpture titled the “Ray Davis Tribute Monument.” The piece stands outside the newly opened Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center next to the open cut in Lead. It was unveiled in a ceremony held on Wednesday, August 26. In 1965, Dr. Ray Davis, a chemist from Brookhaven National Laboratory, built his solar neutrino experiment on the 4850 Level of the Homestake Mine. He re-ceived the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2002 for his research on neutrinos which con-tinues today at the Sanford Lab. Another of Lamphere’s pieces was re-cently unveiled at Harley Davidson Rally Point in Sturgis. That sculpture, The Gift commemorates the life and work of the late Tom Monahan.


Community News, cont.

Via SDCEO: The South Dakota Center for Enterprise Opportuni-ty (SD CEO) at Black Hills State University will host the sixth an-nual Women’s Business Confer-ence Friday, Oct. 23. The confer-ence will be held at The Lodge at Deadwood from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The featured speaker this year will be JJ DiGeronimo, president of Purposeful Woman and Tech Savvy Women, organizations that connect, empower, and cele-brate women. DiGeronimo is an award-winning author, featured columnist for Smart Business Magazine, has been a regular

guest on TV and radio shows and featured in numerous publica-tions. In addition to delivering effective leadership strategies to advance professional women, DiGeronimo has shared her in-sight with many corporations and women’s organizations for many corporate events including Ama-zon, Symantec, Cisco, and Nestle. The conference will also highlight a presentation by Linda Rabe, President and CEO, Rapid City Chamber of Commerce, and an entrepreneurial panel moderat-ed by Dr. Priscilla Romkema, dean, BHSU College of Business and Natural Sciences. Panelists are Michelle Kane, owner, Black Hills PR and Jackie Nettleton, owner, Mountain Movers Con-struction, Inc. “Hosting this opportunity to bring incredibly dynamic women together is our signature event each year,” says Helen Merri-man, director, SD CEO, “We are

dedicated to helping women suc-ceed in their small business own-ership as well as their careers by providing cutting-edge profes-sional development.” Register online at www.BHSU.edu/SDCEO or by phone at (605) 642-6435. Early registration ends Thursday, Oct. 8 and is $125. Late registration is $145. The Lodge at Deadwood is offering conference attendees special discount rates. The SD CEO is partially funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration. The support given by the U.S. SBA through such funding does not constitute an expressed or im-plied endorsement of any of the compo-nents or participants’ opinions, products or services. SD CEO operates under Coopera-tive Agreement SBAHQ-14-W-0018. Rea-sonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. All SBA pro-grams and services are provided to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. Ac-commodation will be provided to clients with Limited English Proficiency when requested in advance.

SD Women’s Business Conference Returns to Deadwood

BH Corp awarded 2015 SecDef Employer Support Freedom Award Employer Earns Nation’s Highest Honor for Supporting Guard & Reserve Employees WASHINGTON – The Depart-ment of Defense’s Employer Sup-port of the Guard and Reserve awarded Black Hills Corporation of Rapid City with the 2015 Sec-retary of Defense Employer Sup-port Freedom Award during a

ceremony at the Pentagon, Aug. 21. Black Hills Corp. was one of 15 employers from across the na-tion that received the prestigious award, the nation’s highest hon-

or given to employers for excep-tional support of National Guard and Reserve employees. Deputy Defense Secretary Rob-ert Work lauded the recipients for their support, saying their


sacrifices helped make the mili-tary contributions by members of the National Guard and Reserve possible. “These extraordinary contribu-tions that [Guardsmen and Re-servists] have provided could not have been made without the ex-traordinary support from the group of civilians and citizens, business leaders and employers, who have really allowed them to not be worried about coming back to a job,” said Work. Black Hills Corp. was nominated for the award by Corey Virtue, an employ-ee and Soldier in the South Dakota Army National Guard’s 235th Mili-tary Police Compa-ny. “Black Hills Corporation is hon-ored to receive a 2015 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award,” said David Em-ery, the chairman, president and chief executive officer of Black Hills Corp. “The members of the National Guard and Reserve sac-rifice much while serving and defending our country. As an em-ployer, accommodating their mil-itary service is simply the right thing to do.” Virtue, who deployed to Afghani-stan for nearly a year in 2013, said the company’s concern was always evident.

“Anytime I am doing something with the Guard, my supervisors are always supportive,” he said. “They sent care packages and were always checking up on my wife, who was pregnant with our fifth child, while I was gone.” The Black Hills Corporation earned the award for a number of reasons, including: Providing outstanding support to its military employees and their

families during military leave. · Making a yearlong commit-ment to a service member’s family to provide meals or gift cards to local restaurants every Monday during his deploy-ment. The company also helped the service member’s family with yard work, child-care and snow removal. · Providing computers to the National Guard unit to set up an Internet café to enhance communication with service members’ families. · Allowing deployed service members to continue to use

their tuition assistance up to $5,250 per year and the com-puter loan program. · Maintaining regular communi-cation with deployed Soldiers through emails, cards and care packages. · Recognizing military employees for their service and providing support to other military instal-lations, veterans and military support organizations. “Basically, my fami-ly knows that Black Hills Corporation is on stand-by if any-thing goes wrong,” said Virtue. “They are our sec-ond family. They make it easy to do what I love on the civilian side, by not taking away from my military career.” Emery thanked all Black Hills employ-ees for their dedication. “This award reflects not only on our company's culture, but also on our employees' commitment to service, whether to our coun-try as a member of the military, or to the energy customers and communities we serve," said Em-ery. The 2015 Freedom Award recipi-ents were selected from 2,960 nominations received from Guardsmen and Reservists for going far beyond what the feder-al law requires to support their military employees.

Return Service Requested

U.S. POSTAGE PRESORTED STAND-ARD RATE PERMIT NO. 10 STURGIS, SD 57785

Ex-Officio Board Members Don Kirkegaard: Meade School 46-1 Representative Bob Bertolotto: Meade Co Commissioner Pat Kurtenbach: SEDC Daniel Ainslie, City of Sturgis Rick Bush: City of Sturgis Tacy Snyder: Ag Representative David Hersrud: City Council Liaison

2040 Junction Avenue - Sturgis, SD 57785 Phone - 605.347.2556 Web - SturgisAreaChamber.com

Staff Executive Director, Heidi Kruse Events & Membership Coordinator, Kathy Christenson Membership Services Manager, Rainee Lisko Board of Directors President, Jerrid Goebel, Sturgis Chiropractic Past Pres, Ken Meirose, Black Hills Power Vice Pres, Brice Rock, Pioneer Bank & Trust Treasurer, Heidi Richter, Richters Tire & Exhaust Kelly Keffeler, Farm Credit Services of America Jeremy Vliem, First Western Insurance Chad Legner, Wells Fargo Bank J.D. Williams, First Interstate Bank Mark Schulte, Sturgis Regional Hospital

Thank you to our 2015 Platinum & Premium Sponsors. Your support is essential to our work in the Sturgis Community.

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september 2015

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