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I’m very happy to report that the DADi 1st Annual Meeting was a success! With about 70 attendees, we had a full 
house and pies galore! And miraculously with only 4 crockpots of chili, we had just enough, and extra pie to spare.
Our theme this year was: ‘Things are starting to bloom’ and they most certainly are. There is a bunch of information below from the meeting including: the meeting powerpoint, DADi 2008 – 2009 Activities & Accomplishments, DADi 2010 Priorities, and some Deuel Trivia to test your Deuel IQ.
Gary’s new business, Airstreams Renewables was featured at the meeting. They showed a great video, if you’d like to see it click here.
I’m excited to report that the new board members for 2010 are as follows:
- Rollie Nevins
- Mary Matthies
- Jim Canaan
- Chad Schiernbeck
- Jay Grabow
- John Knight
- Sonia Mack
- Heidi VanSambeek
- Student Rep: Ashley McCormick
- Deuel County Rep: Gary Jaeger
- City of Clear Lake Rep: Jayme Gross
Special welcome to our new board members John, Sonia, Heidi, Ashley and Jayme, we’re so glad to have you on board. And thank you to all our continuing board members, you guys are fabulous. There is still one open board position at this time as the City of Gary has not elected to have a rep serve on the board. So if you’re interested in board membership, please let me know!
Thanks to everyone who joined us for our 1st Annual Meeting! And thanks to all those who brought pies, they were delicious! (By the way… Ruby Holbourn won 1st place with her decadent chocolate pecan pie), yum!
Powerpoint:
Click here to review DADi 2010 Priorities
Click here to review DADi Activites & Accomplishments
The budget was also handed out at the meeting, let me know if you’d like this information, we’re happy to share it with you.
Things are starting to bloom.
Ok everybody, reminder before the weekend to make sure that you have next Tuesday evening reserved for DADi’s 
1st Annual Meeting coming up on Tuesday, September 15th. Chili cookoff and pie judging contest. No need to bring anything other than a pie if you’d like, the more the merrier! Prizes will be awarded for the best pies. County Commissioners will be judging pies… pretty good job, I’d say!
This is truly a milestone for all those who have been involved in these community development efforts, dating back to 2006 when the state did 
a Community Assessment in Clear Lake. As a result, communities in Deuel County decided to work together to work on community and economic development in order to achieve a sucessful and sustainable future. So this meeting is also a tribute to all of you who have participated over the years, thank you for your vision!
Reserve Sept 15th on your calendar to attend the Deuel Area Development 1st Annual Meeting! It will be a great night, I promise! Here’s a bit more information on the night’s activities.
We will have a smorgasboard of chili for you to choose from: beef chili, chicken chili, and even pheasant chili!
Prizes will be awarded for activities throughout the meeting, and for the best pie. Deuel County Commissioners are the offical pie judges, and they’ll have some stiff competition to decide from, I’m sure. So bring a pie if you’d like, but just be sure to bring you, your family and friends!
Tours of Buffalo Ridge will include general tours of the property and highlight the following recent developments:
- Airstreams in a portion of the newly renovated Admin Building. Airstreams demonstrations of tower safety rescues, etc.
- Exercise & public laundry facilities located in the Boiler Room.
- The Bathhouse (a.k.a. the Chicken Coop) & Lake Elsie
See you on the 15th!
The 1st Deuel Area Development Annual Meeting has been set for Tuesday, September 15th, 6:00pm at Buffalo Ridge Resort & Business Center. So mark your calendar now!!
Please join us for a fun, fast-paced, exciting meeting which will highlight the following topics as well as some other fun activities soon to be announced.
- Housing Assessment recap
- Youth Activities update
- Business Development in Deuel County
You’ll also have an opportunity to tour the most recent developments at Buffalo Ridge Resort including: the new beautiful hardwood floors in Sundance Ballroom, the exercise room located in the Boiler Room, and the new Airstreams training facilies located in the Admin Building.
So save the date, and we’ll see you there! Stay posted for more information to come.
Check out Buffalo Ridge Resort & Business Center on Facebook for some pictures of the location!
About 10 weeks ago, I was wondering where in the world I was going to work this summer. Working in Brookings or Watertown was an option, but I knew it probably would not be worth it with the present gas prices. I was really hoping to find something in Clear Lake. That’s when I was contacted about working for Deuel Area Development. I honestly had no idea of what I was getting into at the time, but I contacted Briana, and the rest is history.
Working at DADi has truly been one of the greatest experiences that I’ve ever had. Not only were the projects enjoyable to work on, but they were important, too. DADi changes lives, and it was amazing to be a part of something like that. I worked on many things during my summer as DADi Intern, but, of course, I have a few favorites.
As you might have guessed, my very favorite thing to do at work is write blogs! No matter what the topic was, I enjoyed writing about it. I hope you all have enjoyed reading them! =)
I also really liked working on the Housing Assessment. (Check it out in an earlier post!!) It is honestly one of the most complex, challenging projects I have ever been a part of, but it was definitely worth it. About the first week of work, Briana and I struggled through learning how to use Microsoft Access in order to make sense of the Housing Survey results. It was a stressful time, but thanks to Jeff at ITC, we were able to pull it off. The transformation from the raw data to the finished PowerPoint really is amazing, and hopefully the information gathered will be put to good use in Deuel County.
DADi has been very involved with Buffalo Ridge Resort and Business Center from the start. When it was crunch time before the Grand Opening on the 4th of July, we traveled over to Gary to help in any way possible. The work was pretty hard and it was very, very hot out, but I really enjoyed it! I learned so much about the history of the former Blind School, and I’ll remember that experience for the rest of my life! (By the way, check out the white lawn chairs…I put most of those together!)
I could probably write a book about my projects as DADi intern this summer, but…1. I’m sure you don’t want to read that…And 2. I honestly don’t want to write that at all! So, I’ll write about just one more of my favorite projects.
Briana and I, as well as the DADi Board, have been working very hard on a youth activities grant from the Larson Foundation. The project is called the Deuel Youth Activity Initiative, and the grant is due in only two weeks! The funds from Larson Foundation would be used to finance a wide variety of activities in Deuel County throughout the entire year. A few activities would be roller skating, dances, outdoor movies, and even a disc golf course! I wish I could work on this project and see it through; however, that is not an option.
In just ten days I will be heading back to South Dakota State University to continue work on my Bachelor of Arts in English. I will be a sophomore, so I still have quite a road ahead of me. Someday I hope to become a middle school English teacher.
Like I said before, working at DADi has been an experience of a lifetime. I’ll be able to use the knowledge and skills gained forever. I know that the organization will continue to grow, and I’m so excited to see where it can take Deuel County in the future! Thanks so much to Briana for making this such an enjoyable summer. I’m going to really miss working for Deuel Area Development!!
