Our club winner in the Four Way Test Essay Contest, Rhiannon Ball, placed second in the District Four Way Test Essay Contest. Several members of our club went to Southwest Middle School on Wednesday, April 29th to honor her and present her with a certificate, $150, and a candy bouquet. We also thanked her teacher, Mrs. Houchin, for participating in the annual contest and presented her with a bouquet of flowers. Congratulations Rhiannon!
Rushmore Rotarians continuing Rotary’s Unite for Water by helping clean up Rapid Creek with Rapid City Cleanup, Rapid City Rotary, and Black Hills Flyfishers. Great work people!
Rushmore Rotarians showed up Saturday to help clean up the area around Theatre 605 Black Hills Playhouse. They make helping fun!
Rushmore Rotarians were at work Sunday placing American flags on graves at the Black Hills National Cemetery. Thank you for helping honor our fallen heroes.
Again on Saturday 5/30 Rushmore Rotarians returned to the Black Hills National Cemetery to help pick up the flags and complete their Memorial Day celebration.
Tough Enough to Wear Pink shirts donated by the Monument Health Foundation were delivered by these fine Rushmore Rotarians on May 29. Deliveries were made to Youth and Family Services, Passages and the Rapid City Club for boys. 1000 shirts were delivered!
Our speaker today was Scott Anderson, Parks Division Manager with the Rapid City Parks and Recreation Department. He gave us an overview of our wonderful city amenities and budgets. They oversee all the city parks, pools, ice arena, and 2 golf courses. They also run the recreation side including pickleball, volleyball, bocce ball, basketball and the kids 9 week summer camp. They are also responsible for the city deer harvest, goose round up and mosquito abatement. There are many improvement projects in the works. To find out all the details go to rcgov.org.
Today we welcomed the winners of the 2nd semester Students of Distinction Awards from the Rapid City Alternative academy. The 5 winners received a certificate and a $50 gift card. Congratulations to Chancie Campbell, Olivia Ellis, Shamus Killspotted, Loyal Stieringer, and Kayden Vu.
Our speakers today were Camile and Amy from Just Serve. They provide a website and app to connect interested volunteers with organizations with volunteer opportunities. They are working with America 250 for the year and need volunteers at the many events happening in Rapid City on July 1-5. You can go to www.justserve.org to look up opportunities to volunteer. If you would like to volunteer during Rapid City’s Real America Birthday Bash just scan to QR code below.
This week, Rushmore Rotary visited Storybook Island to hear from director Mallory Hook about the future of the park. Mallory shared images of the proposed changes that are planned. Work is set to start on this renovation/revitalization of the iconic Rapid City park the fall of 2026. The improvements will cost $3.5 million and the park has so far raised $1 million toward the work.
Storybook Island hosts approximately 200,000 visitors each summer and 20,000 to 30,000 during the holidays. Our club is proud to be a long-time sponsor of the park, helping to raise funds and volunteering many hours of labor over the years.
Club members checked out the upgrade to the Winnie the Pooh spot at the park, with Mark Barry even giving the new slide a test.
Congratulations to Linda Rabe who received her Paul Harris Fellow +5 this morning. Thank you for your continued support of the Rotary Foundation. If you would like more information on the Rotary Foundation please visit www.rotary.org.
Our own Kibbe Brown shared a very interesting talk about Colorado’s first mixed-race families and the exodus to South Dakota. Their origins come from fur traders in Colorado marrying women from the Utes, Arapaho & Cheyenne tribes. They knew the land well and helped with the discovery and mapping of the area. When gold was discovered in the Platte River in 1858 migration took off, land claims were made and the tribes were eventually pushed out of Colorado. These first mixed-race people were Kibbe’s family. Thank you for sharing.
