Thomas Daschle: “I want to pay tribute to a key institution in my State, the South Dakota Community Foundation [SDCF], which celebrates…”

“I want to pay tribute to a key institution in my State, the South Dakota Community Foundation [SDCF], which celebrates its 10th anniversary on November 11, 1997. This statewide community foundation is a model of how private funds are raised within communities to support projects that enable those communities to enter the 21st century in a competitive position--people helping themselves. As with many success stories, the SDCF was launched by a group of people with the vision of raising and investing funds with the goal of creating an environment in which South Dakota communities can revitalize themselves. This vision was embraced by the critical early stage investors providing seed funding, yielding, as we do in our farmland, a rich harvest 10 years later. I must take my hat off to the vision and drive of then-South Dakota State senator and now SDCF executive director, Bernie Christenson, and the active support by our late Governor, George Mickelson. I regret George is not alive to see the legacy of his actions in 1987, but his spirit lives with us through this foundation and in every one of the communities it helps.”