Our Board of Directors

 

Mads Andenas, Chair
Mads Andenas started life in 1948 on a Miner County farm with no electricity or running water, but with unlimited opportunity. Eight years of "Country School" and four years at Howard High School led to a Civil Engineering degree and several years of professional experience in that field. The path led back to Miner County in 1978 when he started farming with his father and brother. Mads still raises corn and soybeans, but recently sold the farm/home/auto insurance agency that he started in 1981. Mads is married to Chloe Moore, who grew up in Artesian, SD. He has one daughter, Kirsten, who lives in St. Paul with her husband, Reggie.

What does it mean to reimagine rural?
Reimagining "rural" means many things. It means cherishing the rural past and the richness of rural life and rural community, without being imprisoned in the past - unable to adapt to changes in the world about us.  It means building anew on the old but substantial foundations of rural life.

 

Pat Maroney, Immediate Past Chair
Pat is a native of Miner County, longtime business owner and public education advocate. He has owned Maroney's Bar for 40+ years, taking over the business from his father who owned the bar for 23 years prior. Pat retired from the Howard Public Library Board after 38 years of service.  Apart from serving as Board Chair of the Rural Learning Center, he still serves as a member of the Dakota State University Foundation Board (he established the Patrick R. Maroney Endowed Scholarship at DSU for graduates of Howard High School), as a member of the Miner County Development Corporation Board, as Treasurer of the Interlakes Community Action Board, and as Chair of the First District Association of Local Governments Board.   He is now serving his third term as Miner County Commissioner as well.

What does it mean to reimagine rural?
Reimagining starts with a state of mind. In order for people to break the habits that have brought devastation to their communities, they must first break the habit of stale thinking. Life-long learning is a fundamental step in this process: the next is having the agency to do something about it.

 

Max Schwader, Vice Chair
Local farmer - Howard, SD

 

Mary Stangohr, Secretary

Mary Stangohr started teaching high school English in Howard and remained there for 23 years. For the past four years she has been a teaching Cyber School to Hutterites throughout eastern South Dakota. Stangohr also teaches alternative school students through the South Dakota Virtual School provider. She and her husband Gary have been married for 31 years. Gary is a fourth generation farmer and they have three sons all in college: Charlie, Bill and Andy.

What does it mean to reimagine rural?

I can’t imagine how our community might be if we did not have the Rural Learning Center. There is something magical about a place like this with people who actively work together to creatively solve some of our most challenging problems. Reimagining all the possibilities—not accepting the status quo-- that’s what The Rural Learning Center does so well. 

 

Bruce Williams, Treasurer
Bruce is a retired pastor who served rural parishes in Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois and South Dakota throughout his career, including Belleview-Bethany Lutheran Parish in Miner County in the '70's. He is married and a proud grandfather of four. Bruce is also a devoted racing car fan, Marine Corps veteran and occasional mountain climber.

He enjoys the challenge of engaging in the issues of rural life and envisions the Rural Learning Center to be a gift to help "reimagine rural" for the northern plains and beyond.

 

Dick Peterson
Dick is a life-long Miner County resident. He currently lives on a farm that his family has been operating since 1885. The farm is in its 5th generation. Dick has 3 children, 4 grandchildren, and 4 step-grandchildren. Dick is actively involved in his community, and believes that contributing personally to community work is essential to creating positive change.

Rural life has changed tremendously in my lifetime. I've seen firsthand how changes in agriculture have directly impacted our rural communities. Today, rural is about moving forward to make the best of what we've got. It's about taking a different approach.

What does it mean to reimagine rural?

We are concerned about the economic future of our area. Sustainability of our small communities and the opportunity for our residents to make a living in our area and other rural communities. 

 

Robin Gudahl
Robin Gudahl is the proud mother of one daughter, Brynn, and has lived in Howard for 28 years.  She is currently employed in the Quality Assurance Dept. of PBM Packaging and, along with Brynn, bartends at Maroney's Bar occasionally..

Miner County is a great place to live and raise a family! My hope through the Rural Learning Center is to make it even better than is already is!

 

Lois Perrine
Lois was born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, but has lived in rural South Dakota for 24 years now. She is married and has two grown children and four beautiful granddaughters. Lois spends her summer days gardening and making grape jelly from the vines her husband tends. She is also actively involved in her community, and her latest goal is to be more aware of her impact on the environment by thinking 'green' in her daily life.

What does it mean to reimagine rural?
Reimagining rural is about reimagining possibilities. In an age where cities are more crowded, prices are high and people aren't as friendly as they used to be, rural isn't just about being in the country. It's about clean air, friendly faces, and a progressive vision for growing roots that keep us firmly grounded.

 

Tom Kilian
Tom Kilian works in the past and in the future. He is the coordinator and founder of South Dakota Future Society and has been a leader for the SD State Historical Society and many other state and local history and preservation groups. His vision and work has inspired the creation of many important ventures in South Dakota, including Kilian Community College where he served as the school's first president.

Tom is a strong advocate for rural life and believes that a close association with nature can have profound effects on human behavior. He is author of several books, including his most recent "Dakota Vagabond ," which was released in Winter of 2010. 

What does it mean to reimagine rural?

To reimagine rural is to realize that rural life and urban life are two very different ways of living.  To reimagine is to learn how and why the two are different and why it matters.

 

Valerie Kuhl

Valerie recently left her role as Business Development Director for Citibank's Community Development business in South Dakota, where she addressed the various community development and affordable housing issues facing the state of South Dakota.  Through her work at Citibank, she assisted economic development, tribal, and non-profit organizations expand the capacity of their organization through fund development and applications for federal, state, and local grants, loans, and appropriations.  She assisted with board development and the use of innovative financing tools to improve the organization's financial position.  Prior to her 25 years with Citibank, Valerie was employed with United National Bank for 10 years, where she was the Controller for the branch bank system.  She began her career in banking in Austin, Texas. 

Kuhl previously served as Secretary for the Sioux Empire Housing Partnership, as Treasurer and Secretary for Habitat for Humanity-South Dakota, as a member of the Brookings Vision 2010 Advisory Board, the Pettigrew Heights Neighborhood Committee and Cub Scouts, and on the Finance Committees for South Dakota Rural Enterprise and Southeastern Behavioral Healthcare.  Apart from the Rural Learning Center Board, she currently serves as a board member for the Bethel Lutheran Home Foundation and Trinity Lutheran Church Foundation, and as a member of the Affordable Housing Committee for Madison and the Lakes Area.

Valerie grew up in Howard and continues her work with the Rural Learning Center to ensure that Howard remains a viable rural South Dakota community.  Though she moved out of state after graduation from high school, she and her husband, Gary, chose to move back to their South Dakota roots, where today, they reside at Lake Madison.  They have one grown son, Jason, who lives in Brookings with his wife, Carrie.

 

Dawn Hamilton

Dawn is a past Administrative Coordinator for the Rural Learning Center and joined the Board in November of 2011.  She currently lives in Carthage with her husband, Todd, and their children, and works from a remote office for Balance Point Technologies.