A Letter From South Dakota Hall of Fame Board Chair, Marci Burdick

A letter from our Board Chair, Marci Burdick

Young people who decide to leave South Dakota, do it as early as middle school. That startling fact was embedded in a newspaper story I read shortly after returning to my native state in mid-2018.  As I recall the data, many 12–13-year-olds were already forming conclusions that they could not be successful professionally by staying in South Dakota. Around this same time, I had agreed to serve on the South Dakota Hall of Fame Board. The survey crystallized a couple of things for me;

  1. The people in the Hall of Fame—over 700 hundred South Dakotans (by birth or by choice)—demonstrate that just one person can make a positive difference here and thrive.

  2. The Hall’s mission “To Champion a Culture of Excellence” can play an important role in changing the way our state and its people (especially its young people) feel about themselves.    

While the Hall may be best known for the annual selection & honoring of Inductees that is just the beginning. The Inductee’s story (plus pictures, articles, video, and other material we collect) is digitally preserved by the Hall for a myriad of purposes: research and history, public consumption (free at www.sdhalloffame.org), or for use in a museum exhibits in Chamberlain. It is also repurposed into programs like ‘Legends & Learning’.  “Legends & Learning” converts material about some Inductees into curriculum and lesson plans. Educators have used the material at no cost to teach South Dakota history to 4th graders, for “wax museum” assignments (where a student must research a person and do a presentation as if they were the subject) and other projects. In 2021, the Hall will re-launch ‘Legends & Learning’, adding more video and sound and incorporating other elements based on feedback from teachers.   

Getting into the Hall of Fame is a high hurdle. Its inductees are astounding people who have devoted years to their passion, work, or craft.  Yet every one of us can do something to make the state a better place in which to live. That’s a purpose behind another Hall program, ‘Acts of Excellence’. “AOE”, as we call it, recognizes a single act, program, or event that has had a significant and positive community impact. The Acts come from nominations from the public (through our website). The goal for the collection is that it inspires more “Acts of Excellence” and that it serves as a source of ideas and motivation for everyone from the retiree looking to be more active to an Eagle Scout candidate searching for a project.   

As parents, we hear frequently that “Children model what they see.” The goal of the South Dakota Hall of Fame is to preserve, teach and tell the stories of those people who have made our state extraordinary. The Hall receives no state or federal funding. Your support makes “Championing a Culture of Excellence” possible. Thank you!

Sarah Miller