Category: Uncategorized

Our January luncheon features David Emery, Chairman and CEO of Black Hills Corporation. David R. Emery is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Black Hills Corporation, a customer-focused, growth-oriented, vertically-integrated utility company headquartered in Rapid City, South Dakota. The company serves 1.2 million electric and natural gas utility customers in 800 communities in eight states.…

Our November luncheon features Kristina McCollam, Director of Business and Client Development at Assurant. Her speech is titled Personal Branding – Offline. Kristina McCollam is a boomerang native of Rapid City who spent entirely way too much time in higher education (first as student, then as professor). Upon returning to Rapid she discovered that there…

Welcome back!  September is the start of our third year of and Black Hills Leadership luncheons. Kick-starting this season is Lieutenant Peter Ragnone of the Rapid City Police Department. Pete was born and raised in Flint, Michigan where he consumed volumes of water which explains the obvious. He is a fisherman and hockey player but…

The Black Hills Leadership luncheon in April will feature Renee Parker, Executive Director of United Way of the Black Hills. Renee Parker has been a resident of Rapid City since 1953. She attended school at General Beadle and Knollwood Elementary, North Junior High, and graduated from Rapid City Central High School in 1971. She attended…

The Black Hills Leadership luncheon in March will feature Col. Gentry Boswell, Commander of Ellsworth Air Force Base. Col. Gentry Boswell is commander of the 28th Bomb Wing, Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., the largest B-1 combat wing in the U.S. Air Force, with 27 aircraft and more than 3,800 military and civilian members. Colonel…

Jason Salamun is the Vice President of Operations at Black Hills Credit Union, a leading regional financial institution serving over 60,000 members across South Dakota. He spends his days doing what he enjoys most: developing talent, designing strategies, and executing awesome ideas. Jason draws from a wide range of experiences including serving in the U.S.…

Welcome in 2016 with leaders from our own community! Kicking off 2016 is Brad Saathoff, CEO of Black Hills Works. Brad Saathoff came to the human services field after a career in the retail business world and was inspired by the work that employees with disabilities provided to the workplaces he supervised. Brad has been…

Laura Schad is the Program Information Coordinator with Partnership With Native Americans, serving 60 tribal communities in the Northern Plains and Southwest. Since returning to South Dakota 25 years ago, her employment focus has been working in organizations serving American Indian populations in the Black Hills and throughout the United States. Laura will be our…

Linda Rabe is the President and CEO of the Rapid City Chamber of Commerce, and will be the featured speaker for our November luncheon. Linda has held the position of President and CEO since December 1, 2007, was the Chamber’s Vice President for 12 years, and prior to that she was the Convention Sales Director…