Awards and Honors

Awards and Honors received by South Dakota State Employees and State Agencies
Agency/Employee(s)	Award/Awarded By	Explanation

Many state employees have been recognized for their outstanding work and contributions to the people of South Dakota. Listed below are the employees or agencies recently receiving awards or honors for their excellence. Links to previous years' lists are located at the bottom of this page.

2005 Awards and Honors

*Agency/Employee(s)*	*Awards and Honors*
Department of Game, Fish and Parks Doug Day	Doug Day has been awarded the 2005 National Wildlife Turkey Federation Conservation Officer of the Year Award.
Department of Game, Fish and Parks Jack Erickson	Jack Erickson has been awarded the 2005 Dakota Chapter of the American Fisheries Society Distinguished Professional Service Award.
Department of Game, Fish and Parks Outdoor Campus	The Outdoor Campus has received the 2005 Great Service Star for outstanding customer service from Governor Mike Rounds.
Department of Health	The Department of Health received the American Cancer Society's Outstanding Advocate Award for 2005. This award is presented each year to policymakers who have made a significant contribution to reducing the burden of cancer in South Dakota through public policies that impact cancer.
Department of Health Kayleen Nickel	Nickel received the 2005 Helen E. Oppold Blair Award from the Sioux Falls United Way. This award is given to an individual whose work in the human services, law enforcement, education, or church based fields toward child abuse prevention and early intervention is exemplary.
Department of Education Gloria Smith-Rockhold	Gloria was a recipient of the 2005 Outstanding Service Award for South Dakota Tech Prep. This honor is given to someone who has contributed to the advancement of the state's Tech Prep system.
Department of Transportation Marliss Dean Alan Winters	Marliss and Alan were commended by Federal Highway Workers Association for their superior efforts in closing federal projects. Both individuals closed 974 projects for FY2005, compared to 304 projects for FY2004. FHWA said, "South Dakota Department of Transportation has done an outstanding job in closing projects and are commended for their significant improvements."
Department of Tourism and State Development South Dakota Historical Society	South Dakota Historical Society genealogical web page was *listed in the Family Tree Magazine* Best State Web Sites** for 2005.
Department of Game, Fish and Parks Mike Apland	Mike has been named as the 2005 Shikar-Safari International Wildlife Office of the Year for the State of South Dakota. To receive this award, one must display exemplary performance in the areas of wildlife protection, wildlife law enforcement and in the implementation of wildlife conservation programs.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources Jim Feeney, Dr. Dennis Clarke, Kent Woodmansey, P.E. Mike Perkovich, P.E. Jeanne Goodman, P.E.	These five individuals received the EPA Environmental Achievement Award for successfully developing an innovative financial incentives program to assist 125 regulated animal feeding operations complete engineering designs for manure management systems.
Department of Human Services Human Services Center	The Human Services Center received an award plaque for contributing to National Security and protecting Liberty and Freedom by supporting employee participation in America's National Guard and Reserve Forces.
Department of Game, Fish and Parks Marty DeWitt Jason Baumann Chad Williams	All three Division of Parks and Recreation employees received Outstanding Safety Performance awards from Governor Rounds for their actions in apprehending two armed burglars at Big Sioux Recreation Area near Brandon.
Department of Education Barbara Dowling	Barbara was named the South Dakota Teacher of the Year for 2006. Dowling has taught for 11 years in the Sioux Falls School District.
Department of Social Services Terry Walter	Terry received the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) Commissioner's Award for superior performance for a IV-D Director.
Department of Agriculture Jessica Anne Smith	Jessica received the Outstanding Service Award from the South Dakota Assn. of Conservation District Employees for her ability to keep the conservation district boards, landowners, and communities up to date and informed on forestry related issues.
Department of Agriculture John Gross	John received the SDSU Alumni Assn. Distinguished Alumni Award for "Outstanding Professional Achievement".
Department of Transportation	The Department of Transportation won the Public Affairs Skills Award for the "What's Your Excuse" seat belt campaign from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
Department of Game, Fish & Parks Custer State Park Volunteer Workforce	The Custer State Park Volunteer Workforce received the State Park Teamwork Award. The 106 volunteers did tasks ranging from maintenance, cleaning, fee collection to interpretation.
Department of Game, Fish & Parks Dave Blaeser	Dave was recognized as the South Dakota State Park Seasonal Employee of the Year.
Department of Game, Fish & Parks Al Nedved	Al received an Award of Appreciation. Al is the concession lease manager for the Division of Parks and Recreation.
Department of Game, Fish & Parks Derek Dorr	Derek was presented the Award of Appreciation for his work as park manager at Lake Vermillion Recreation Area.
Department of Game, Fish & Parks Dick Miller	Dick was recognized as the 2005 Employee of the Year. Dick oversees operations in the South Hills Region of the state park system, which includes Custer State Park and Angostura Recreation Area.
Bureau of Information and Telecommunications South Dakota Public Broadcasting	South Dakota Public Broadcasting won the first ever PBS Synergy Award. The award was given to the station which best used its multi-department resources to achieve a common goal, including increasing revenue.
Department of Human Services Bob Schutte	Bob received the Price-Rees Award for 20 years of loyal service from the South Dakota Water and Wastewater Association.
Department of Social Services Terry Walter	Terry received the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) Commissioner's Award for Superior Performance for a IV-D Director.
Bureau of Information and Telecommunications Otto Doll	The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO), honored South Dakota Chief Information Officer and former NASCIO President Otto Doll with the Meritorious Service Award. NASCIO created this award to spotlight a state CIO who has exemplified outstanding service, advocacy, and leadership in state government.
Department of Tourism and State Development Paige Hoskinson	Paige was presented a certificate of appreciation from the South Dakota Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Farm Service Agency (FSA). The two federal agencies recognized Hoskinson for her timely and professional review of approximately 2,800 Farm Bill agricultural conservation projects in Fiscal Year 2005.
Department of Labor Rapid City Career Center	The South Dakota Department of Labor’s Rapid City Career Center was presented the Mark Sanders Award by the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA). This annual award recognizes a local office/career center that has provided exceptional services to disabled veterans seeking employment assistance.
Department of Agriculture John Gross	John Gross (State Conservation Commission Board Member) will receive a South Dakota State University Alumni Association distinguished alumni award for “Outstanding Professional Achievement” October 21, 2005. John, a 1954 graduate of SDSU continues to promote dairy cattle genetics.
Department of Transportation	The South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) and contractor E. H. Oftedal & Sons, Inc of Miles, City, Montana have won an award for the engineering and reconstruction of six miles of U.S. Highway 385. The award was presented at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) meeting in Nashville, TN.
Department of Corrections Doug Herrmann	Doug Herrmann, Director of Juvenile Services for the South Dakota Department of Corrections, has been named the "Outstanding Administrator" by the Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators (CJCA). The award recognizes individual youth corrections chief executive officers for their contribution to helping systems better prepare youths for success and creating national leadership for youth services.
Department of Agriculture Jessica Smith	Jessica received the Outstanding Service award from the South Dakota Association of Conservation District Employees for her ability to keep the conservation district boards, landowners, and communities up-to-date and informed on forestry-related issues, and for her strong sense of the importance of spreading the word of conservation to our youth.
Department of Tourism and State Development South Dakota Historical Society	The South Dakota State Historical Society earned a certificate of commendation from the American Association for State and Local History. Remington Schuyler's West treats the career of an illustrator who gained much of his inspiration from his work as a cowboy on the Rosebud Indian Reservation at the turn of the century.
Department of Labor	Ken Moon and Tom Lowther accepted the SD VFW Department's Award for the SD Career Center which provided best services to veterans.
Department of Labor Phil George	Phil received the BLS State Honor Award for Notable Service. He was recognized for his outstanding contributions to the BLS programs, and the LAUS program in particular exemplifying the best public service and work in the true spirit of Federal/State cooperative programs.
Department of Game, Fish and Parks Craig Pugsley	Craig was presented the Extra Mile Award at the Rapid City Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards Luncheon.
Department of Revenue and Regulation South Dakota Real Estate Commission	The South Dakota Real Estate Commission received an Education Award from the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials for their "Meth: Closer Than You Think" seminar.
Department of Education Shannon Schweitzer	Shannon was named the Friend of South Dakota Career and Technical Education Award recipient for 2005. The award recognizes individuals for their outstanding contributions to the field of career and technical education.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources Darron Busch	Darron was recognized for his many years of service for providing South Dakota with safe drinking water.
Department of Game, Fish and Parks Jack Erickson	Jack was presented a professional award from the American Fisheries Society for his work in cold water fisheries and development of a database for managing streams.
Department of Human Services Gib Sudbeck	The Council of Substance Abuse Directors awarded Gib the 2005 George and Sharon Buchholtz Award at the Spring Chemical Dependency Association conference. He was awarded for his commitment and dedication to support and develop the field of chemical dependency.
Department of Human Services Gaye Mattke & Grady Kickul	Gaye and Grady were present the Eagle Partnership Award at the National American Indian Vocational Rehabilitation Conference for the Consortia of Administrators for Native American Rehabilitation.
Department of Human Services Dr. Ted Williams	Dr. Ted Williams received the Counseling and Human Resource Development Award at their hooding and awards ceremony. He was selected as the "Outstanding Alumnus" for the SDSU College of Education and Counseling graduate program.
Department of Military and Veterans Affairs State Veterans Home	The SD Department of Environment and Natural Resources announced that the State Veterans Home public water system and the system's certified operators have been awarded a Drinking Water Certificate of Achievement Award. The award is for outstanding water system operations and environmental compliance with state drinking water standards for the past year.
Department of Human Services Dr. Jill Schoen	Dr. Jill Schoen, SDDC Psychologist, was awarded the Marvin Kemp Award at the South Dakota Counselors Association for her dedication to the counseling profession.
Bureau of Information and Telecommunications South Dakota Public Broadcasting	SDPB radio received eight consecutive Associated Press "Overall Excellence" awards and won eight out of ten first place awards and nine honorable mentions.
Bureau of Information and Telecommunications South Dakota Public Broadcasting	South Dakota Public Broadcasting received the Outstanding Special Event Award at the 2004 National Education Telecommunications Association Conference for our Read Across South Dakota with Clifford the Big Red Dog literacy tour to 10 libraries in June 2003.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources Jim Wendte	Jim received the 2004 Engineer of the Year Award from the Central Chapter of the South Dakota Engineering Society.
Department of Revenue and Regulation Dennis Rounds	Dennis has a feature article published in the January issue of the ASTM International Standardization news. The focus of the article was the development and implementation of the Risk-Based Corrective Action (RBCA) training program on the national level.
Department of Transportation	Road Design Survey Staff as well as Materials and Surfacing Drill Crew, the Region Land Surveyors and the Rapid City and Sioux Falls areas were recognized with a plaque from the State Professional Survey Society for "Outstanding Contribution to the Land Surveying Profession".
Department of Transportation	The Omaha Street project in Rapid City recently received honors as the best example of partnering among the state, private industry, and other governmental institutions.
Department of Health Linda Marchand	Linda Marchand received the 2005 SDSU Distinguished Alumni Award for the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. The award is based on professional achievements and personal dedication to the profession and to the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. Linda is the Community Health Services Manager for the Department of Health in Rapid City.
Department of Transportation Broadway Reconstruction Project	The Broadway Reconstruction project in Yankton received a state honor. The DOT and Associated General Contractors have awarded it as the best urban construction project of 2004. The award usually goes to a high-volume, high-visibility project.

You can also view awards from previous years:

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