2004 Alumni Award Recipients

The BHSU Alumni Association will recognize five individuals for their service and achievements during the awards breakfast Saturday, Oct. 2, at 8:30 a.m., in the David B. Miller Yellow Jacket Student Union Jacket Legacy Room. Individuals being recognized are Gary Larson, Rapid City, S.D., Distinguished Alumni Award; Linda Jodie Henry, Spearfish, S.D., Special Achievement Award; Lynette Powell, Hot Springs, S.D., Excellence in Education Award; and Bruce Williams and Terry Ree, Hendersonville, T.N., Special Service Award.

Gary Larson

A 1972 graduate with a bachelor's degree in business administration, will be presented with the Distinguished Alumni Award. He began his insurance career shortly after graduating from BHSU.

In 1973 he began as an agent at Kluthe and Lane Insurance Agency in Rapid City. Later, Gary and three partners formed Western Dakota Insurers, which has grown into one of the largest insurance agencies in western South Dakota.

Early in Larson's career he obtained the professional and educational insurance designation of certified insurance counselor. He currently serves as president and general manager of the Rapid City agency, as well as oversees satellite insurance agencies in Sturgis and Spearfish.

Larson has served on the American State Bank board and is a past president of Arrowhead Country Club. He is active in the Calvary Lutheran Church in Rapid City and is currently serving on the building fundraiser board. He has served on numerous advisory boards for insurance companies and on the Youth and Family Services and Black Hills Workshop advisory boards. He is also on the BHSU Foundation Board of Directors.

A 24-year cancer survivor, Larson has been instrumental in raising funds to fight cancer. He serves on the American Cancer Society Board of Directors, participates in the American Cancer Society Relay for Life and serves as co-chair of the annual American Cancer Society Golf Tournament.

Lynette Powell

A 1987 graduate with a bachelor's degree in education and a master's degree in education administration who has been the elementary school principal with the Hot Springs School District for the last seven years is receiving the Excellence in Education Award. Before serving in the Hot Springs School District, Powell taught for five years in the Douglas School District and worked for five years at Rapid City area schools.

Powell has been a member of the West River Principal's Association since 1997 and has served as both secretary-treasurer and as president for the organization. The South Dakota Association of Elementary School Principals nominated her as rookie of the year in 1997 and in 1999, and in 2002 she was chosen as the association's innovative leader of the year. She has been chair of the District Inservice Committee since 1999, is a founder and member of Hot Springs PTA, and is a member of the National Association of Elementary School Principals, and the International Reading Association.

Powell has served the Hot Springs community by serving on the education committee for the Mammoth Site Board, as well as on the Hot Springs Summer Recreation Board. She also is a volunteer basketball coach for elementary school students and a volunteer softball coach for summer recreation programs.

Linda Jodie Henry

A 1969 graduate with a bachelor's degree in education, is receiving the Special Service Award. Henry taught history, geography and government classes in Lemmon for eight years before relocating to Spearfish. She earned a license as a real estate agent and in 1985 became an owner of Johnson Joy Real Estate.

During her real estate career, Henry has served in the capacity of secretary, treasurer, vice president and president of the Northern Black Hills Association of Realtors. She has served on various committees for the South Dakota Association of Realtors, including a six-year term on the South Dakota Realtors Professional Standards Committee.

Henry served on the BHSU Alumni Board of Directors, as well as serving a term as president of the Alumni Board during the capital campaign for the Donald E. Young Sports and Fitness Center.

In addition, Henry has served on the Spearfish Chamber of Commerce and has been president of both the Zonta Club and the Spearfish Economic Development Corporation.

Bruce Williams & Terry Ree

Better known as Williams and Ree, will receive the Special Achievement Awards. Williams and Ree attended the university in 1969-70 and began touring in 1971. The entertaining duo launched a 33-year comedy career that is still going strong and is in demand throughout the nation.

The two spent time performing at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles during the 70s. Since then they have toured across the nation sharing the stage with acts such as Garth Brooks, The Oak Ridge Boys, Randy Travis and others. They have also made their mark in television, appearing often on The Nashville Network on designated cruise ships and American Indian Casinos across the nation. In 2000, the duo established the Williams and Ree Scholarship, which is awarded to students interested in performing arts.

2005 Alumni Award Recipients

Dee (Denise) Welsch

Dee (Denise) Welsch was an honoree for the Special Achievement Award for her work in graphic design and photography.

Welsch is a Torrington, Wyo. native that earned a bachelors degree in mass communications/photography from BHSU in 1982. While attending she participated in the campus newspaper and yearbook. She served as both photographer and photo editor. Welsch was also an accomplished volleyball player and was a four-year letter winner.

After graduating, she worked for the Queen City Mail, a local newspaper in Spearfish. She then relocated to the west coast, where she attended Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, Calf. In California, Welsch worked for Fuji Film during the 1984 Olympics and was employed at a commercial photographic laboratory in Los Angeles as manager and in sales. Welsch has had clients in the aerospace, entertainment, architectural, and sporting industries.

For the past 12 years, she worked for various industries as a graphic designer and photographer in Denver, Colo. area. In 2005 Welsch was employed at PEN-TAX Imaging in Golden, Colo., as a graphic designer, coordinating visual marketing concepts, graphic design, photography and all printed materials. Welsch also was a freelance photographer for the National Football League and a national stock photography photo agency.

Dick DuBois

Dick DuBois taught art at BHSU for 35 years and achieved excellence with an education award. He earned his art degree from BHSU in 1964 and then went on to earn his masters at the University of Wyoming. DuBois continued his post graduate study in New England at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. He maintains a private studio and has a home in Rapid City. Before joining the faculty at BHSU, DuBois taught high school in Rapid City and Lead. He has influenced many students throughout the years and has said that he hopes he made a difference in their lives that will prepare them for a future career in art.

“I try to inspire the students to be better people as well as better in their craft”, Dubois said. “I hope I’ve made a difference in some small way in their future.” A native of the Black Hills, he prefers traditional watercolor as his medium. In addition, he is the co-founder of the Northern Plains Watercolor Society and has served on the board of directors for past ten years. Along with his studio work, Dubois conducts watercolor workshops. He’s been affiliated with many groups, solo exhibitions, juried competitions, and invitational shows. Throughout the United States his work is featured in permanent collections.

DuBois has received numerous awards in his successful career. Most recently he received the Rapid City Chamber of Commerce Visual Arts Award in 2004.

Walter Higbee

Walter Higbee was a longtime education professor at BHSU, who was honored for his work with the Special Service Award.

Higbee joined Black Hills State faculty in the fall of 1966. Previously he worked in several education capacities for the University of Iowa. Mr. Higbee spent time as a special education teacher, a special education supervisor, and a school psychologist. When he transferred to Black Hills State, Higbee moved the special education coursework from the summer to the academic year. The program was a first collateral field, which was known as a special education major that later transformed into a full special education major. At the height of the program, there were 30 to 35 special education graduates each year.

Higbee retired in 1992 after 26 years of great service. He considers the development of the special education program as the crowning achievement of his tenure at BHSU. Higbee is also remembered for training hundreds of special education teachers. He is the first recipient of the BHSU distinguished faculty award in 1987.

Higbee lives in Spearfish with his wife, Marion, and visits the campus regularly.

Roger Risty

Roger Risty, a longtime licensed insurance agent and community advocate, was honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award.

He is president of Risty Benefits Inc. In addition to being a licensed insurance agent, Risty is a registered investment advisor and a series six licensed securities representative. After 30 years in the insurance business, he opened his own agency specializing in employee benefits such as group medical, life, disability, and long term care.

Risty is also an active member in the Sioux Falls Community. He was a member of the Sioux Falls School Board from 1989-2004, serving as president for eight years and vice president for four years. He also served as president and vice president to the Association of School Boards of South Dakota and served as a delegate for the national school board association.

Risty is currently a member of the board of directors for the Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce, the Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce, the Sioux Falls Community Development Foundation and Big Brothers and Big Sisters. He is also a member of the El Riad Shrine Temple, is a member of the Sioux Falls Downtown Kiwanis Club, is on the board of directors for the Volunteers of America organization and has served as vice president of the Pennington County Republican Party.

Risty is the founder of the President’s Bowl, a great high school football event that has raised more than a million dollars since its inception. He is also founder and president of Sioux Empire Safety Village, an organization that brings safety related information and support to all aspects of the community.

Risty has received many awards including the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Sioux Falls Chamber and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Sioux Falls PTA.

2006 Alumni Award Recipients

Ron (McNeil) His Horse is Thunder, Fort Yates, N.D., Excellence in Education Award; Craig Katt, Atlanta, GA., Special Achievement Award; Mary and Ed Furois, Spearfish, Special Service Award; Tim Penton, Miami, Fl., Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Tim Penton – Distinguished Alumnus Award

Tim Penton, Class of ’80, country manager for Williams International, began working in the oil fields near his hometown of Casper, Wyo. That was the beginning of what would become a long and successful energy career that has included assignments in the western part of the U.S. as well as in several international Locations.

Tim oversee the Venezuela, South America, operations for Williams International, an energy business that produces, gathers, processes and transports natural gas across the U.S. as well as in some international locations.

Tim and his family embarked on a series of assignments which included stays in Kansas, Texas, and eventually Gabon, in West Africa, his first overseas job, and later in Mauritania and Congo. During this time, Penton continued his education through graduate courses in international finance.

Tim has been actively involved in the development and advancement of an English-speaking school in Venezuela, which his children attended. He has helped out in many ways and most recently served as president of the board of education and has chaired many committees. Tim and his wife, Lisa, have two grown children, Molly, who is studying in Madrid, Spain, and Montana, who is currently stationed in Italy with the U.S. Air Force.

Craig Katt – Special Achievement Award

Craig Katt, Class of ’75, is owner and partner as well as president of Solare Solutions, a visual communications company with headquarters in Atlanta, Ga. and a manufacturing site in Wiggins, Miss. The multi-layered company is comprised of a multi-million dollar state-of-the-art signage manufacturing facility; an award-winning creative design team; an animation/content creation media group; and a video systems integration division for hi-tech large-screen indoor and outdoor display systems.

Prior to joining Solare, Katt was the national market manager for the international Belgian video display manufacturer Barco after serving 10 years as one of the company market managers for Daktronics.

Katt is recognized as one of the industry experts in LED (light emitting diode) technology and is a frequent contributor of technical articles dealing with the technology. Considered a “go-to” by architects and designers throughout the country, Katt’s consultant efforts are manifested in some of the nation’s most advanced large screen video designs. Katt and his wife, Beth, have four daughters.

Ed and Mary Furois – Special Service Award

Ed and Mary Furois are longtime supporters of BHSU and the entire community.

Ed graduated from BHSU in 1959 with a degree in business and economics. Mary earned an elementary education degree in 1960. The couple entered the local retail business would in 1962 with the purchase of the Spearfish Bootery which they operated together until it was sold in 1999.

Ed and Mary were both active members of the Spearfish Chamber of Commerce and the Spearfish Retail Trade Association. Ed was also a volunteer fireman for 10 years, a member of the Spearfish School Board for 13 years and a member of the local hospital board of directors and Norwest Bank board of directors. He is currently serving on three boards: the Northern Hills Training Center, the Spearfish Foundation, and Evergreen Management Services.

Mary taught school for one year in Lead and served as a religious education teacher at St. Joseph’s Church for many years. She was also president of the church ladies group for 10 years and served on the church council for three years. Mary is a charter member of Zonta and a member of the BHSU Alumni Board.

The Furois couple was honored as South Dakota Retail Couple of the Year in 1997 and received the Spirit of Spearfish Award in 1999. They raised four children.

Ronald (McNeil) His Horse is Thunder – Excellence in Education Award

Ronald (McNeil) His Horse is Thunder, Class of ’85, a member of the Hunkpapa-Lakota Oyate, is the tribal chairman for the Standing Rock Reservation and recently served as president of Sitting Bull College from 1996-2005. In 1988, Ron received his juris doctorate from the University of South Dakota-Law School. Since receiving his law degree, Ron has served in several capacities as an attorney, director and grants evaluator for the Rosebud and Standing Rock Reservations. From 1989-1993, he served as president of Standing Rock College. He then went to work for the American Indian College Fund, based in New York, N.Y., where he served as the president from 1993-1995. In 1995, he accepted the position of president at Little Hoop Community College in Fort Totten, N.D.

Among the many other professional positions Ron has held, in 2002, President George W. Bush appointed him as chairman of the President’s Board of Advisors on Tribal Colleges and Universities. Ron has served as a commissioner for the Higher Learning Commission for the North Central Accreditation for Schools and Colleges. He has also served on the boards of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium and North Dakota Tribal College Association.

His Lakota name, given to him by his grandfather, is Tasunka Wakinyan-His Horse is Thunder.