Sioux Empire United Way

Thank You!

Nearly 400 community leaders attended this year's Thank You Event. Event partners included: Holiday Inn City Centre, Crawford's, Leonardo's Cafe, Minervas, Olive Garden, and Westward Ho. Six individuals and three businesses were recognized at the event. See photos of our award recipients below or visit our Facebook page for more photos from the event.

	Larry Oppold Memorial Award – for a human services professional for outstanding dedication to his or her work. Nancy Hansen, Sioux Falls Area Literacy Council Nancy started 20 years ago as a part-time staff person, served as Executive Director, and now works in program support. She has fought for the rights of learners and is an accredited tutor and tutor trainer. Nancy has worked tirelessly to provide a professional, yet personal, organization that learners will be comfortable coming to and that volunteers can be proud to be involved with. Throughout her tenure, Nancy has created a culture of personal improvement. Through Nancy’s leadership, the Literacy Council helps learners not only improve their reading and writing skills, but also their entire well-being. Nancy truly believes that reading can profoundly change the lives of each person involved in the program, as well as the lives of all of those around them. Pictured left to right: Rick Hull, Community Impact Chair and Nancy Hansen.
	Helen E. (Oppold) Blair Memorial Award – to be presented to an individual whose work toward child abuse prevention and early intervention is exemplary. Sean Kooistra, Sioux Falls Police Department As an Internet Crimes Against Children Detective, Sean investigates Internet crimes where children are the victim. Crimes that Sean is tasked with investigating include child pornography and child solicitation. His work includes forensic examination of computers, cell phones, and other storage devices. The thousands of images he sorts through, along with reviews of printed materials, and perpetrator interviews, all adds up to a very demanding job. Sean has been very proactive in his role. In just one multi-jurisdictional operation last year, his efforts led to four arrests. In addition to that one operation, Sean worked on more than 30 cases last year. Sean’s efforts in his work have done much to protect children of our community. Pictured left to right: Rick Hull, Community Impact Chair and Sean Kooistra.
No Photo Available.	Volunteer of the Year Award – given to a volunteer who selflessly and generously gives his or her time and talents to help fulfill the mission of Sioux Empire United Way. Bob Thimjon, Ramkota Hotel - Best Western Bob wore many hats for United Way in 2011. His roles included: Secretary/Treasurer of the Board, Chair of the Finance Committee, member of the Audit Committee, and a special assignment assisting our community impact division in looking at funding policies and procedures. Volunteering his finance skills to assist in community impact, this year’s recipient spent hours reviewing our current funding application forms, meeting with volunteers and partner agencies, and working with staff to develop a more refined budget form and application process.
No Photo Available.	Rich Garry Rookie of the Year Award – presented to a first-time Sioux Empire United Way volunteer who has made a tremendous impact in his or her role. Mark Lee, University Center Mark served as the chair of the Colleges and University Division of the campaign in his first year as a volunteer. An immediate connection to USucceed helped him lead a successful campaign, achieving an 18% increase. Mark saw the opportunity to expand this year’s initiative, USucceed, past its initial goal of encouraging students to complete high school. His vision led to two new components for the program. First, a scholarship fund through University Center and Avera McKennan will benefit USucceed participants who graduate high school. Second, a new higher education resource network will connect USucceed participants and their mentors to information and support from local post-secondary institutions. As a first year volunteer, Mark has truly made an impact on our campaign and on the lives that will be impacted through USucceed!
No Photo Available.	Heart Club Philanthropist Award – given to a Heart Club Member who has demonstrated active involvement and encouraged others to contribute. Richard Bohy Richard was a founding member of the Heart Club in 1984. At that time he supported and encouraged his employees to support United Way as CEO of then Sioux Valley Hospital. His current role is in the retiree division of the campaign, reaching out to other retired individuals urging them to continue or begin giving to United Way.
	David Birkeland Memorial Award – This award is given to the business or professional leader who most exemplifies David Birkeland's involvement in United Way and our community. Scott Lawrence, Lawrence & Schiller, Inc. In the past year, Scott’s United Way volunteer roles included: Chair of the Board of Directors, member of the Youth Outreach Community Impact team, chair of the Alexis de Tocqueville campaign, and member of the Campaign Cabinet. In addition to his involvement with United Way, Scott has also served many other roles, including: SD Symphony Board of Directors and Past President, Sioux Falls Development Foundation Board of Directors, Festival of Bands Chair, Lincoln High Band Parents President, Central Baptist Church Board of Elders Chair, and Central Baptist Church Building Committee Co-Chair. Scott exemplifies David’s commitment to broad involvement in the community! Picutured left to right: Jay Powell, President and Scott Lawrence.
	Business of the Year Award – presented to a company that has greatly benefited Sioux Empire United Way through its generosity and/or its employee's involvement.
No Photo Available.	1-100 Employees: Pride Neon Drive east on 11^th St towards Minnesota Ave anytime from September through January and you’ll surely notice a symbol of the campaign that has been standing tall for decades. The thermometer at the corner of 11^th & Minnesota has been a consistent reminder of the United Way campaign for more than 20 years. Even more consistent than the thermometer itself is Pride Neon’s dedication to installing and updating it every week during the campaign, with all supplies and service donated in full. In addition to their in-kind support, Pride Neon supports United Way with their dollars. Three years ago, Pride Neon instated a dollar-for-dollar corporate match of employee giving, increasing their campaign by almost 50%. This year, they continued that trend, with the average employee gift topping $200.
	101-500 Employees: Scheels of Sioux Falls With more than 300 employees working various shifts, a morning and evening rally was held. By giving all employees the opportunity to learn about United Way, average employee giving increased by $55 and overall giving increased by 8%. This follows a trend from the past several years. Since 2009, employee giving has almost doubled! In addition to their generous employee giving, corporate giving has grown 150% since 2009. They are currently the 4^th largest corporate gift in our community. Along with their campaign success, Scheel’s store manager Chris Kray serves as a Community Impact Volunteer and assistant store manager, Bryan Brinkman, served as a Campaign Consultant. Pictured with Fred Slunecka, Campaign Chair and Scott Lawrence, Board Chair are: Chris Kray, Jennifer Christensen, and Bryan Brinkman.
	500+ Employees: Citi Citi and its employees have a long history of supporting Sioux Empire United Way. Since coming to Sioux Falls in 1981, Citi and its employees have given more than 15 million dollars to United Way. That tradition continued this past year. More than $30,000 was raised in a variety of special events planned by a team of 25 employees. An additional 25 employees volunteered to coordinate dozens of department rallies and recruit Heart Club members. 591 Citi employees give at the Heart Club level. An additional 32 are among United Way’s first Rising Heart givers. Adding everything together, the Citi campaign totaled nearly $850,000! A campaign of that size takes effort, and the team volunteered more than 2,000 hours to make it happen. Citi volunteers also assist in a variety of other roles. Employees serve on the Board, in the campaign, as campaign consultants, corporate gifts campaigners, Alexis de Tocqueville volunteers, and community impact team chairs and members. Many more employees volunteer for United Way partner agencies throughout the year. The partnership between Citi and Sioux Empire United Way spans 30 years and has clearly made the Sioux Empire a better place to live, work and raise families. Pictured with Fred Slunecka, Campaign Chair and Scott Lawrence, Board Chair are: Tori Lindstrom, Gina Woodward, Fred, Kelley Piel, Scott, Mark Lenz, and Ben Stone.
To view a list of previous award winners, click here.