Armour, SD

Are you looking for a networking opportunity that could benefit your community? Last year, I attended Launch ‘07 at the DWU campus in Mitchell. It was an excellent way to spend the day and network. The registration was cheap–something like $40–and even included lunch. There were some great speakers such as the student from Plankinton who invented both a child drowning alert system and a car seat safety system (for those of you who are boys’ basketball fans, I noticed he was a starter on the BB team the other night when we were playing them! What a talented young man). Another favorite speaker was Brian Klock, who own Klockworks custom cycles in Mitchell and has been featured on the Discovery Channel’s Biker Build Off among other TV shows. There was also a lot of opportunity for networking, which was the best part. I came home with a lot of ideas and a lot of business cards! I know I brought a lot of ideas back to our Horizons Circle Groups.

This year, it looks like Launch will not feature the same tracks as last year. Last year, there was a track devoted to community entrepreneurship. I am not sure which track I would register for this year–it might be a good idea to call or e-mail for more information to get some advice if you are thinking of attending.

Here is the information from the web:

Launch ’08 will be held on Thursday, Feb. 28 at Dakota Wesleyan University.

Launch ’08 is a one-day event advancing entrepreneurship education in South Dakota. The 2008 annual conference features two tracks. The educator track is geared towards those who are interested in integrating innovative and creative thinking within their respective disciplines. The student track is geared toward inspiring and supporting students who are entrepreneurial. The conference will also feature networking opportunities and relevant resources for entrepreneurs.

This 2008 event marks the third annual conference which has included some of the most respected state and national leaders in entrepreneurship education. This year’s conference features internationally renowned speakers: Ed Sobey, Ph.D., global evangelist for creative learning and founding director of the Northwest Invention Center, the National Inventors Hall of Fame and the National Toy Hall of Fame; Kathleen R. Allen, Ph.D., a nationally recognized and respected leader, consultant, speaker and author of numerous books on entrepreneurship as well as the director of the University of Southern California Marshall Center for Technology Commercialization; and Timothy M. Stearns, Ph.D., holder of the Coleman Foundation Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies and the executive director of the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at California State University-Fresno.

The conference is a collaborative project of the Enterprise Institute, the Kelley Center for Entrepreneurship/Dakota Wesleyan University, South Dakota State University Entrepreneurship Program, EQUIP, South Dakota EPSCoR, South Dakota Small Business Development Center, and the South Dakota Governor’s Office of Economic Development.

A special program sponsored through South Dakota EPSCoR which offers $1,000 faculty stipends and/or faculty and student conference scholarships is available. For more information visit www.sdepscor.org.

For registration information, visit www.dwu.edu/sdlaunchconference, call 605-996-1140, or 800-487-1740.

As the snow was coming down outside tonight, I was thinking about last year at this time when I was trying to make it in to town to attend the early Circle Group meetings. Wow! Armour has made so much progress since that time. When I look at the blog site, I see the results of our hard work in all the posts–a new parent-teachers group that is busy implementing things like a school breakfast program and hosting Internet safety clinics; a housing task force that is looking at purchasing lots and building up to three new homes; and a group looking at expanding recreational offerings at the Lions’ Park with the addition of new camping cabins! Wow! That is only the list from the last couple weeks. Think about how many things were done earlier and how many more people are now active in our community. A lot of progress has been made during the past year, and so much of it can be credited to the Horizons project. It really has been a mobilizing force in our community. 

First of all, sorry it took so long to get this posted but this is a busy time of year. Well, the cabin committee met last week with the Armour City Council and it was a very positive discussion. We have the city behind us 100 percent, which is good. A couple of Horizons representatives also met with the Armour Lions and after a lot of questions that need to be answered they are in favor of the idea as well. Some of the questions were concerning liability, rental amounts, monthly expenses, cleaning and other small things that need to be worked out. There will be more questions that need to answered in the future I’m sure. The good thing is it is positive and were still moving forward.

Another view of the type of cabin we want to build from the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks Web site. This shows a cabin in a campground setting.

As we watched the ice & sleet come down on Saturday, Dec. 1st it was debatable as to the wisdom of continuing our event. However we do live in SD and it was December. Yes it would have been nicer if the weather was warmer but it was great to see the main street aligned with cars for bingo and later for the parade of lights. The celebration event for our horizon project was planned for this evening because of the chance to have people to view our plans and ideas who may not have ventured out for “another meeting”. The time of year is so hectic one with Christmas parties, church programs, basketball games and just holiday seasonal plans. We felt to combine it with our Christmas in Armour would be a way to combine some of the December events.

Click on photos to open a larger version.
The Horizons Strategic Plan Celebration was held Saturday, December 1. It was combined with Armour’s annual Christmas Promotion. A variety of events drew a large crowd to town. Visitors were treated to a band playing holiday tunes on Main Street.

As I stood at the booth that afternoon and evening and visited with people it was a pleasant surprise to have such positive feedback. The lake cabins and housing projects were very popular. One gentlemen from Sioux City was very excited about the cabins. They visit quite frequently in the area and would use them. The youth were very excited about being able to use them for family & scout outings. The cabins will allow an outing for families who are unable to afford the camper and trip to the campground. It would allow some relaxation and family time during a time when that is hard to come by.

We created a display with information about all of our Horizons goals. We also distributed copies of our Strategic Plan to those who attended the celebration.

Young families were interested in the housing ideas we had on display. It gave them thoughts of upgrading to a larger home to accomodate growing families. We have come to realize we are in housing shortage. Many young families who have a member working in town live out of town because of no housing. Thus less young families living in town and children not attending our local school.

One exciting item of interest was visiting with a young adult in high school. This YA commented on how they read the blogs all the time and how exciting it is for them to see what is going on in our community. I encouraged the person to “blog’ too and let us know their viewpoint and ideas for our community. This is our future - without the young people we will no longer exist.

Overall it was a good evening. Yes it could have been better but as in anything it could always be better but it was successful evening. During my years in extension when I would worry about if a program had reached enough people a professor friend always told me - if you helped one person gain information it was worth it. We hope to find a place to display our boards for public viewing and questions. Thank you to all who helped in the organizing and displaying of the Horizon project.

One thing we probably all take for granted in a small town is our personal safety. We don’t lock our car doors and we certainly don’t spend much time worrying that someone will enter a public place with a semi-automatic rifle and start shooting. We do need to plan for emergencies, though, so I’d like to tell you about an event recently sponsored by Armour’s Arcania Lodge.

The local Masons along with the South Dakota Dental Association and South Dakota Sheriff’s Association held a South Dakota Child Identification Program (CHIP) event in Armour. The CHIP program provides parents with a kit containing several items to help identify their child in an emergency situation such as a kidnapping. Statistics show that a child is reported missing every 43 seconds and most parents don’t have the proper items ready that may help save their child’s life.

The CHIP program provided participants with a kit containing:

• Dental impressions since teeth, like fingerprints, are unique,
• A DNA cheek swab,
• A digital photo of the child,
• Fingerprints,
• A video imaged interview, which captures the appearance, speech, mannerisms and important personal characteristics of the child.

The completed kits were given to participating parents to take home for safe keeping.

Armour-area residents are invited to attend to a “Village” gathering at 7 p.m. Monday, December 3, at the Douglas County Courthouse.

Presenters include the Douglas County States Attorney, Douglas County Child Protection Team and the First Circuit Court Appoint Special Advocate (CASA) program.

Topics for the evening will be: What is child abuse? Inappropriate forms of discipline. Services available for families.

Call the CASA program for more information — 605-996-1212.

Armour doesn’t have a motel. Well, that’s technically not true. A small portion of our motel is still in operation, but it’s only two rooms. At various times members of the community have looked into the possibility of building a new motel, but … wow … is that ever expensive!

So, we got creative. We came up with a way to create a new form of lodging that will enhance a community asset that is already successful. Armour has a great Lions Park (located on the north end of town just east of Highway 281) with a bathhouse and campsites. It’s adjacent to Lake Alcazar, which is a scenic area on the east edge of town.

We were familiar with the success that the State of South Dakota has had using prison labor to build cabins that are placed in our state parks. If prisoners can do it, so can we. So, one of our long-term Horizons projects is to build a couple of cabins in Lions Park. This project is right up the Horizons alley because we’ll use volunteer labor and buy all our supplies from our local merchants to build a new asset for our community.

Horizons member Kevin Leonard summed up the value of working together on the cabin project at a meeting of the Armour Community Development Corporation.

“When you get people doing stuff like that together, it accomplishes more than you realize.”

Kevin’s right — strengthening our bonds as a community will make Armour a better place to live.

The Mitchell (South Dakota) Area Development Corporation recently launched a Web site aimed at luring people to move to Mitchell to fill open jobs. Take a few moments to browse the site by clicking the link in the previous sentence. What do you think?

Would a similar Web site be of benefit to Armour? One of the many discussions we’ve had during our Horizons meetings has been about attracting new residents to our community. Housing is also one of our long-term Horizons projects.

If you look beneath this post there is some tiny type. Look closely and you’ll see how many comments have been posted in response to this post. Don’t be shy. Click on the comments and it will open a new link for you to post your opinions. This blog is just another place for our Horizons dialog to continue.

As you know, the Armour Community Foundation has been challenged to raise $20,000 by June 30, 2008. If that goal is met, an anonymous donor will provide $10,000 in matching funds. We have received some great donations toward this goal and want to say THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed thus far. But to meet this challenge, we are going to need help from everyone in our community.

I have heard many people say they don’t give to things like this because they can’t afford to make a large gift–they feel like their gift won’t matter. But I am here to tell you, that’s wrong! Every gift does count! Large or small, YOUR gift will make a difference.

If each of the 700 people who live in Armour supported the Armour Community Foundation with a $20 gift this year, that would amount to $14,000!!! Think of that!

Remember, the money that is donated to the Armour Community Foundation is going to be spent to help the projects of non-profit organizations in the ARMOUR COMMUNITY. We need YOU!!! To help us meet the challenge goal, send donations to: Armour Community Foundation, PO Box 333, Armour, SD  57313.

THANK YOU for supporting Armour!!!!