Individuals and organizations named as 2009 Champions for Children have been announced. Honorees are selected on the basis of accomplishments detailed in nominations submitted from across the state. This year, the Champions for Children came from Aberdeen, Rapid City and Sioux Falls.

It is unusual, a nominator, concedes, for three individuals to be nominated as one. But that is the result of the unique circumstances leading to the creation of Wellspring, a residential treatment facility for children in Rapid City that was founded as a result of the ?combined efforts and vision of three dedicated men ? attorney Al Scovel, Judge Marshall Young and psychiatrist Dr. Stephen Manlove ? who simply could not stand to watch children suffer for lack of services.?

Since 1994, Wellspring has served more than 20,000 youth who cannot function in community and school as the result of mental, emotional and/or chemical dependency problems.

?These three amigos,? writes a nominator, ?saw a need and searched for resources to develop healthy, happy children, with no thought of personal gain.?

Today Wellspring is a 28-bed facility and inpatient chemical dependency treatment center for adolescent girls, a family reconciliation center and family based counseling and treatment program among other services ? with Young, Scovel and Manlove still continuing their involvement in guiding Wellspring.

Legal affairs director for South Dakota Advocacy Services, John Hamilton, Sioux Falls, has dedicated his career to assisting those with disabilities, focusing on addressing barriers in education, employment and independent living.

Calling him ?the leading children?s special education attorney in South Dakota,? his nominator points to training materials Hamilton developed, as well as his primary authorship of What Parents Should Know ? about Special Education in South Dakota.

As a result of Hamilton?s leadership, his nominator observes, ?children with disabilities have the opportunity ?to participate in ? education and post-secondary school involvement ? employment or other activities that allow them to chart their own directions.?

Another nominator notes the personal attributes that have made Hamilton an effective advocate: ?He is a gentle leader, passionate, very giving of his time, talents and vast knowledge. He is a dynamic and powerful communicator who possesses the gift of being able to make complex subjects understandable.
In spite of these formidable gifts, John is a humble and approachable person who loves to share his extensive knowledge with others.?

?It took courage ? to enact day care regulations,? the Aberdeen City Council?s nominator writes, adding that some view such policies as government intrusion. Well aware of the volatility of the issue, that elected body nevertheless recognized that without required basic standards the safety of the community?s children could be compromised.

The Council ultimately adopted an ordinance that includes annual inspections of all home day cares businesses with 12 or fewer children by fire and building inspectors, as well as a criminal background check.

Now, the Council?s nominator notes with pride, ?Aberdeen?s home day care ordinance is by far the most comprehensive municipal day care regulation in the state.?

The president of the Aberdeen Area Chamber of Commerce acknowledges the positive outcomes of the Council ordinance. ?Through these guidelines, children will flourish and grow in environments that put their needs first.?

And for this, she adds, the Council deserves recognition. ?This was not an easy challenge for the city to tackle. They did so, not to restrict or harm home day cares, but to provide for the health and safety of our smallest Aberdeen citizens.?

The 2009 George S. Mickelson Policy Leader Award was awarded to the Statewide Methamphetamine Task Force, convened by Gov. Mike Rounds in 2004. As he appointed task force members, Rounds said, ?Sometimes you don?t create a new bureaucracy, you use the things already in place.?

And as the meth task force released its report in March, various government agencies had already converted many of its recommendations to standard practices.

Darcy Jensen, task force co-chair, says the most significant outcomes were tighter controls on the drug?s ingredients and a reduction in demand through education. And while the scourge of meth continues to challenge, The Associated Press reports that related arrests and drug and lab seizures are down significantly five years after the meth task force began its work.

In 2004, 700 people were arrested on meth charges and 33 labs were seized. By 2008, those numbers fell to 162 arrests and six labs.

Attorney General Larry Long, a task force member, credits much of the decrease to statutes that restrict customer access to medicine containing ingredients used in the manufacture of meth. Three other major contributors are enforcement of state laws, education and treatment.

The success of the task force hinged on cooperation. ?It wasn?t somebody else?s job,? Jensen said, ?It was everybody?s job.?

Those named to the 2009 Champion for Children Honor Roll in the Individual/professional category are:

• Marianne Freng, Pierre, director M7M Day Care and JUNGLE Afterschool Program;
  
• Pat Jessen, Rapid City, director Westside Preschool and Daycare;
  
• Bernie Peterson, Rapid City, program director, Youth & Family Services Rural Head Start;
  
• Julie Sathre, Harrisburg, special education educator, Lennox-Worthing School District;
  
• Dr. Ann Wilson, Sioux Falls, professor of early childhood education, South Dakota State University.
  

• Avera Behavioral Health ? Child/Adolescent Programs, Sioux Falls, delivers compassionate and dignified care to patients and their families.
  
• Project Awareness (of Carroll Institute), Sioux Falls, offers alcohol, tobacco and other drug and violence prevention.
  
• TDG Communications, Deadwood, for promoting the importance of affordable, high quality early education and child care;
  
• Teddy Bear Den, Sioux Falls, improves the lives of low-income women and their children.
  

• Julie Ashworth, Sioux Falls, educator and advocate;
  
• Father John Halsey Spruhan, Rosebud, supervising priest, Rosebud Episcopal Mission.
  
• Kaitlin Vik, Sioux Falls, who as a high school student conceived of and began a program to give homemade blankets to homeless children in Sioux Falls.
  

• Action for the Betterment of the Community, Sturgis, which encourages youngsters to adopt a safe and drug-free lifestyle;
  
• SD Family, Career, Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), a statewide organization that raised money to bring a Feed the Children Truck valued at $35,000-$50,000 to benefit South Dakota children in need.
  

Back to News