Dell Rapids Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet Archives

Dell Rapids Chamber Gives Community Awards, Announces New President and Board Members

February 23, 2021 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

The Dell Rapids Chamber of Commerce had a busy night at their annual banquet on Sunday, February 21st at Papa’s in downtown Dell Rapids. The chamber announced their annual community awards as well as new board members and new president.

The chamber announced their annual award winners and the winner of the 2nd Annual “Battle of the Buns” contest.

Minnehaha Funeral Home and the staff at the Dell Rapids Carnegie Library were both awarded the “Community Spirit” Award. Minnehaha Funeral Home was recognized for their active support with chamber for all of the events in 2020. Ahlers stated that they have done so much to support the children’s events as well as “Christmas at the Dells”. The staff at the library was recognized for their hard work and continued service to the community during the Covid pandemic and the unique ways they continued to operate and provided programming throughout the year.

Linsey Duffy was given the “Volunteer of the Year” Award. Duffy has worked diligently over the years for the Sioux River Red Rock Trail, and she will now be helping with Dell Rapids Garden Club.

Pinz was named the “2020 Business of the Year”. It was mentioned that they have made many great investments in facility and equipment upgrades, have provided increased job opportunities for the youth of Dell Rapids, brought major tournaments to town, and increased student involvement in bowling.

Pinz was also announced as the winner of the 2nd Annual “Battle of the Buns” contest held through the month of January. Pinz had an 86% rating of “Loved It” for their “Cheez-fection” burger creation.

The chamber also affirmed two members to the Dell Rapids Chamber of Commerce board who have been working in that role for the past year and to also elect three new board members to fill open spots. Rebecca Fritz and Jeff Kistler were affirmed as board members. Leslie Duinkerken, Nathan O’Bryan, and Tammy McKillip were elected as new board members filling vacant spots. They will join Amber Larson and Mark DeGraw to fill the seven-seat Chamber Board of Directors. Dell Rapids Mayor Tom Earley will continue to serve as a liaison between the chamber and City of Dell Rapids council.

Dan Ahlers announced that he was stepping down as the chamber president during the meeting and introduced Amber Larson as the new president. Larson has been on the Chamber Board of Directors serving as treasurer for the last seven years.

Dell Rapids Chamber Annual Banquet Held

February 18, 2018 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

Photo courtesy of Melissa Van’t Hof

The Dell Rapids Chamber of Commerce held their annual banquet on Saturday, February 18th. This year the chamber was able to involve different businesses with the banquet. The event was held at the Dell Rapids Pizza Ranch, the meal was provided by Cricket’s Catering of Dell Rapids, and dessert was provided by LaDelle and Fourth Coffeehouse.

During the banquet the Dell Rapids Chamber of Commerce handed out three annual awards. The first award given was the “2017 Community Spirit” award. This award is given to a person or business in Dell Rapids that volunteers in the community, contributes to local campaigns that benefit community projects, or collaborates with one or more organizations to create an event or program that benefits an individual or the community. This year’s Community Spirit Award went to Tim Schwebach.

Photo courtesy of Melissa Van’t Hof

The second award given was the “2017 Volunteer of the Year” award. This award is given to a person or group who volunteers time to improving their community through various contributions and community service. The nominees must live in Dell Rapids and the nominee must have spearheaded or assisted a campaign that benefited another individual or the community, or gives selflessly to the community without monetary compensation, or is considered a mentor to others based on their volunteer efforts. This two groups won “Volunteer of the Year”. The local chapter of the ESA won for their contributions to the community with the “Christmas for Our Kids” program. The committee from Norby’s that runs the Christmas for Kids fundraiser also won “Volunteer of the Year” for the record-breaking donation to the ESA “Christmas for Our Kids” program.

Photo courtesy of Melissa Van’t Hof

The final award of the night was the “2071 Business of the Year”. The business must be an active business for at least three years with a location in Dell Rapids and have revenue or job growth, innovative products or services, provide exceptional customer services, volunteers in the community, or encourages and provides professional development for staff. This year’s winner was Always Your Design for their recent recognition of being a Top 10 quilt shop in the United States.

After the awards were given and President Dan Ahlers provided a brief update on the happenings of the Dell Rapids Chamber of Commerce, Rebekah Scott of Rebekah Scott Designs presented to those in attendance as the guest speaker. Scott spoke for about 30 minutes giving insight and information about what makes her business successful. She also provided tips and motivation to bring success to business owners and employees that attended the event.

*Norby’s committee also won 2017 Volunteer of the Year award