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"Preserving The Legacy. Investing In The Future....."
BHSS Foundation Announces Grant Awards
Rapid City, SD -- People measure value in a lot of ways. For the
directors of the Black Hills Stock Show Foundation and those involved in the
organization's grant program, value is measured in ..... people.
 "We are fortunate in that there is no shortage of good people doing good
work," says Doug Theel, vice president of the Foundation. "What there
is a shortage of is money to get things done, to move projects and services
forward."
Even events are considered in the Foundation's grant making decisions - how
important is it to allocate grant monies to one of the largest agricultural
events in the United States, the Black Hills Stock Show & Rodeo?
"The public at large sees the stock show as this huge, overall presence
with hundreds of thousands people attending from all over the country," he
observes. "Yet within all of that, are programs and services that require
additional financial support if they are to continue to be offered at the level
the viewing and buying public have come to expect."
Theel points to the Foundation's role in helping the Central States Fair
(that manages the stock show) establish a new office building in recent years as
a benchmark in its continued support for the organization. As part of its grant
awards for 2002, the Foundation is presenting funds to be used towards the
popular Pen Bull Show, the 4-H Calf Scramble Scholarship event and the purchase
of software designed to assist with livestock entry information that annually
involves entering data on approximately 600 individual lots.
CSF manager Ron Jeffries who also serves as a Foundation director has first
hand knowledge of what it takes to produce South Dakota's second largest public
event. "It's a massive undertaking. Every year, the Foundation offers its
support and services that enhance certain areas of the stock show. The insight
they bring is invaluable to staying grounded in the philosophies of the original
founders of this event."
It's among the reasons the Foundation will also provide monies towards this
year's rodeo production, celebrating its 25th Anniversary of professional rodeo
during the stock show. "Rodeo is an integral part of western heritage - and
that's synonymous with Sutton Rodeos and its historical place - in not only the
stock show - but in the settling up of early-day range country. That history
goes back a long way," notes Foundation treasurer, Bruce Blair.
While mindful of its mission of preserving the legacy of those cattlemen who
created the stock show and who lived the western heritage, the Foundation also
recognizes that times in production agriculture are changing.
That's where the second part of its mission statement comes to play:
investing in the future. For the Foundation, programs offered by Western Dakota
Bootstraps is just that - an investment. "If you want an example of people
in every day ranch life - as it exists today -
this is it," says Foundation director, John Johnson. "Producers
involved in the Bootstraps program come from a lot of different directions in
terms of what they've identified as production and family management needs.
That's all brought together from a fairly large geographic area, sorted and
prioritized," he explains.
From there, the Western Dakota Bootstraps Steering Committee goes to work
finding the services that address the needs identified by producers and the
funding to pay for it. "We're a clearing house between government agencies
and producers," observes Dale Boydston, WDBSC chairman. "It's a system
of achieving measurable results; agencies help in securing the right resources
for what producers have clearly outlined as to what's needed to optimize their
operations - both in production applications and family management issues. It
works."
Grant monies awarded by the Foundation will be used in the development of a
workshop series titled, "I Wish We Had Talked." To be offered in the
Fall of 2002, the program will focus on the changing family dynamics in
agriculture.
For Theel, why the Foundation's grant programs work has everything to do with
its philosophies and its accessibility. "I know of few other organizations
that are as closely aligned to what I call the real grass roots; that place
where you appreciate the history of generations that have gone before while
working towards meeting rural-based interests and needs - as they exist in
today's world.
"It's all that and being able to be responsive in a timely way - when
it's needed - that for me, is among the strengths of the Black Hills Stock Show
Foundation."
The non-profit organization is also marking its ninth year of funding to the
Western Junior Livestock and Home Economics Show, a regional 4-H youth event
held annually in Rapid City.
For more information on how to support the Foundation's grant programs
through a Stockman's Club membership and what additional services are provided
through a membership, call 605-718-0810. Email: foundation@blackhillsstockshowfoundation.com
and see more details on the web at www.blackhillsstockshowfoundation.com.
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