Rick and Valerie Mellmer are responsible for keeping the program alive. Each year, they put together opportunities for their class that the average person would not be able to experience on their own. Classes are composed of 50% Leadership South Dakota members and 50% state-wide applicants, all chosen at large. The Mellmers do their best to include a variety of professional and geographically diverse members in order to expose each person to things they wouldn’t normally see and listen to speakers they haven’t already heard. The opportunity to work with people of different backgrounds and personality types give our classes the chance to grow professionally. They gain an understanding of others’ thoughts through public speaking and the DiSC® assessment.

Jason’s experience began in Pierre, SD where he and his classmates met with the South Dakota State Governor, Kristi Noem, Chief of Staff, Tony Venhuizen, the heads of various state agencies, and a tour of the South Dakota History Archive Museum. This gave them a front-row seat to learn from some of the most influential leaders in our state. Their exposure to great leadership didn’t stop there.

The 2020-2021 Leadership South Dakota class were committed to meeting once a month for three consecutive days during the eight months of their experience. According to LeadershipSouthDakota.com, the class traveled the State of South Dakota to “expand their knowledge, meet extraordinary leaders and develop skills to contribute to South Dakota’s success”. Education came from within the class as it was compiled of leaders from a multitude of industries including health care, banking, insurance, education, marketing, etc.

A long-term mission for Boyce Law Firm is to seek any involvement that helps improve not only Sioux Falls, but the State of South Dakota. To learn more about how the people of Boyce Law Firm give back to the community, please visit our individual lawyer pages on our website, BoyceLaw.com.