December 2021 Pierre Mayor's Report
Season’s greetings! I hope your holidays are off to a good start.
I’m once again feeling very blessed this season. I absolutely have many things to be thankful for in my personal life - health, friends, family, and a couple of grandchildren to spoil all year long.
In my professional life, I have many blessing to count as well. I share a commission desk with a group of dedicated public servants who always keep the best interests of the community in mind. Together, we are armed with a team of employees who help us find solutions, create opportunities, and improve our community.
Plus, we have many community-minded people living in Pierre. These are folks who volunteer at Feeding South Dakota, spend their noon hours at meetings benefitting the city, donate through the United Way, coach little kids soccer teams, feed the animals at the local shelter, and serve on city advisory boards.
These are also the folks who are helping usher in improvements in our park system. We have several volunteer groups that have brought the resources and gumption to develop new park amenities. We have a dog park under development, a new outdoor pool in the works, and pickleball court plans moving forward all because Pierre has citizens who are passionate and willing to put forth effort to improve the community.
Many of our sports facilities have updated scoreboards thanks to the generosity of our corporate citizens. Our softball complex and tennis courts have shade structures thanks also to public-private partnerships. Hyde Stadium and the Griffin Park baseball field were both renovated as the result of ambitious user groups.
As the old saying goes… it’s not the place, it’s the people. Admittedly, I might be a little biased, but I think the people in this community, whether they’re volunteers, public servants, business owners, or our youth are the best!
As it turns out, my professional blessings are yours to enjoy as well.
Thank you for all you do to make Pierre a wonderful place to call home.
Enjoy the holiday season!
