Several honored by Custer chamber

Some of Custer’s best were honored last Thursday evening in Custer State Park, as the annual Custer Area Chamber of Commerce Membership Banquet was held at the park’s event barn near the State Game Lodge.
Among the awards presented was the Lifetime Achievement Award, which went to Phil Lampert, who presenter Amanda Carlin noted had shaped the Southern Black Hills like few others over a lifetime of work.
In 1970 Lampert took a part-time dishwashing job at the Howard Johnson in Rapid City, where the Ramkota stands today. Before long he was a cook, and after that he worked his way up through the ranks of management. He was general manager at the Howard Johnsons in Cedar Falls and Urbandale, Iowa. He was general manager of the convention center in Sioux Falls, and he was general manager of the convention center in Rapid City, the very place where he started as a dishwasher.
Lampert ended up as a training supervisor for the state of Florida, with more than a hundred locations to look after. Because of his experience managing large conference facilities and marketing conventions, he helped design several new Howard Johnsons with convention facilities. He served as the company’s relief manager and troubleshooter in cities across the country.  
“When something was broken, they called him,” Carlin said.
In the 1980s, he created two restaurant concepts, and he started building ventures of his own, as well as the Custer State Park Resort Company. It was an authorized concessionaire of South Dakota’s Department of Game, Fish and Parks, serving the public in Custer State Park.
He was awarded the concession for Blue Bell Lodge in 1978. Then he and his partner, James G. Borglum, purchased the concessions for the State Game Lodge and Legion Lake in 1988, and Sylvan Lake in 1990.
That was the first time in the park’s 84-year history that a single operator ran every concession, Carlin said.
He also built something new for travelers. In the spring of 2006, he developed and launched a central reservations system called Destination Black Hills. It’s a full-service reservation and activity center, where one call or one click does it all. It helps visitors plan their vacations and activities.
“Today, it handles reservations for Custer State Park and numerous other lodging, attraction and activity properties across the Southern Black Hills,” Carlin said.
During those years, he also saw a problem coming, Carlin said, saying workers were hard to find everywhere. While he was president of the South Dakota Retailers, he wrote an article called “Where Have All the Workers Gone?” It was recognized for its out-of-the-box thinking, Carlin said, and it became a  popular story, and national.
Lampert was one of the first to bring in outside help by putting the H2B bill to work. The South Dakota Board of Retailers sent him to Washington, D.C., at the request of the President of the United States. And in spring of 2006, he represented the National Restaurant Association in a meeting with President George W. Bush and Vice President Cheney to talk about immigration reform and bringing in H2B workers.
“A kid who started in the dish pit ended up in a room with the President of the United States,” Carlin said.
Carlin also touched on how Lampert took a crumbling building on the corner of 5th Street and Mt. Rushmore Road and started A Walk in the Woods and the Custer County Candy Company and also helped found Dakotah Steakhouse in Rapid City.
Along the way Lampert helped to save the Black Hills Playhouse, served as board member and president of the South Dakota Retailers Association, board member and president of the South Dakota Innkeepers Association, board member and president of the Children’s Home Foundation of South Dakota, served on the board of the South Dakota Visitor Industry Alliance and has been involved with First Western Community Foundation and First Western banks.
Lampert has served as a board member of the Rapid City Convention and Visitors Bureau and is past chairman of its Tourism Marketing Task Force and  was board member and chairman of the Black Hills, Badlands and Lakes Association. In 2006, that association gave him its coveted Special Achievement Award. And in 2012, he won its prestigious Black Hills Tourism Pioneer Award.
Lampert is a two-time recipient of the President’s Award, the Golden Service Award and the Most Improved Business Award from the chamber. In addition, he served on the Custer County Planning Commission and on the  Custer County Commission.
“For over 50 years, he has been showing up and serving, as a veteran, police officer, hotelier, restaurateur, park operator, downtown builder, broker and volunteer,” Carlin said.
Lampert was not present at the meeting, and his award was accepted by his son, Wade Lampert.
Bill Young was posthumously presented the Heart of Custer Award, with presenter Russ Bailey saying if there were a “Mt. Rushmore of Custer,” Young’s face would be one of those on the rock.
“You can’t stop talking about some of the things this man has done,” he said. 
Bailey mentioned in Young’s obituary how it mentioned “in his semi-retirement...” before discussing all of the things he had done in his “retirement.”
“The man never did slow down,” Bailey said. “His attitude was contagious. This is a guy you want to talk about. If he’s not a guy we’re going to put on the Mt. Rushmore of Custer, he’s definitely one of the guys that should be up there.”
Young’s award was accepted by two of his daughters, Kathy Schaefer and Tracy Bauer, along with his widow, Linda Young.
Bauer mentioned the shirts the three were wearing, which featured a drawing Bill had done, the kind of drawing he was famous for in birthday and Christmas cards for family.
The children would not only be excited about the money, but they would look for the picture Grandpa Bill drew in their card that year.
“Thank you all,” Bauer said.
Custer’s Rising Star Award was presented to Owen Pollard, a member of the Custer Ambulance Service.
Ambulance Service director Mike Bielmaier presented the award, saying he was honored to present the award when asked to do so.
“I would have selected him in a moment,” Bielmaier said. “I couldn’t have selected anyone better. I could talk about this year’s recipient all day long.”
Bielmaier said Pollard is one of the people someone can only hope to get as an employee, discussing how Pollard goes above and beyond to work overtime, be invested and a mentor when needed.
Bielmaier said he is getting to the point in his career that he and his older coworkers talk about the younger generation and wonder if they will take care of them when they are older and need help.
“You get mixed reviews on that sometimes,” he said. “I will say when it comes to (Pollard) we are sure he will be a big success and a huge benefit to Custer.”
The Individual of the Year Award was presented to Andrea Ronning of Aspen + Pine Realty, with presenter Carrie Moore noting Ronning is president of Realtors for Kids and Mount Rushmore Area Association of Realtors, a group on the frontlines of advocating for industry and homebuyer change and protection. This year, Ronning was awarded the Good Neighbor Award for her efforts in helping to make her community a better place. She also helped form the new steering committee for Habitat For Humanity in Custer.
Moore said Ronning  supports just about any and every event in the community, whether it’s donating, putting together a basket, or simply by attending and bidding up an item.
When accepting the award, Ronning said she wanted to share the award with those gathered for the banquet, saying if she was involved in something, it’s because they said yes.
“You said yes to the project, yes to the business, yes to the vision. I’m just a tool for you guys,” she said. “Every day when I walk into a store or get a phone call saying ‘can you help,’ you all say yes. This belongs to all of Custer. Let’s keep saying yes.”
Southern Hills Family Medicine was presented with the Community Team/Service Award, with presenter Miranda Boggs saying it had always been Dr. Brandy Tarap’s lifelong dream to own her own family medicine practice.
Boggs said patients want to feel seen and be comfortable in a medical setting, and Southern Hills Family Medicine does that in our own backyard.
“There is a sense of care woven into the clinic that goes beyond traditional medical services,” Boggs said, quoting an article in Black Hills Woman magazine.
Tarap has given away nearly 300 free sports physicals to Custer and Hill City athletes this year, and along with husband, Paul, successfully started a program with the state to get out to rural areas and help provide no-cost medical care to patients with chronic conditions who have a hard time traveling to a doctor.
“I’m really thankful to be here and be in Custer,” Tarap said, while thanking her husband for spearheading their move to Custer. “I love we can offer a comfortable setting.”
Tarap said the couple had recently purchased a building for a new location in Custer and should be operating out of it by the end of the year.
The New Business of the Year Award was presented to LJ’s Recovery & Transport, with Boggs saying the company provides a lifeline when someone is having one of their worst times.
“They are the ones working hand-in-hand with our local law enforcement and emergency authorities,” she said. “Their dedication to taking pride in every single call gives our residents and visitors  total peace of mind, knowing that help is always available when it matters most. They exemplify the very best of our regional spirit: hard work, absolute reliability and selfless service.”
When accepting the award, LJ’s owner Colton Jinks said the community had welcomed his family in with open arms when he and Joe Trana bought Steele Collision, but he wanted to do something more for his family and the community.
“What goes with a body shop (but) a towing outfit?” he said. “I don’t expect an award like this. I appreciate it very much. At the end of the day, we are genuinely here to help people day or night.”
The Outstanding Service Award was presented to Ernie Thornell of R.P. Lumber, with presenter Adam Boggs saying Thornell is one of the people in the world who have a gift to make you feel like you are family the second you cross their path.
“He’s always there with a helpful hand, a smile and a big bear hug,” Boggs said. “His work ethic and character speak for themselves. He is a true, down-to-earth neighbor who would genuinely give you the shirt off his back, always eager to jump in and assists with any project, big or small.”
Corey Virtue was awarded the President’s Choice Award, with chamber president Craig Reindl saying Virtue’s heart has always been in helping others around him, not for personal gain, but to make someone’s day a little bit easier or brighter.
“(Virtue) is always on the lookout for another project he can help with, or volunteer his time or efforts in some way,” Reindl said, saying Christmas For Kids, Meals on Wheels and the Custer VFW are among the entities for which Virtue has spent countless hours donating time.
“He has headed up  many, many benefits for friends, community members, family members and even people who are strangers to him,” Reindl said. 
Virtue couldn’t be at the banquet, ironically enough, because he was heading up a fundraiser for a family member battling cancer.
Virtue is also a past youth basketball coach and has served or is serving on the boards of the Southern Hills NRA, Custer School District, Custer VFW and Custer Area Chamber of Commerce.
“He truly seems to live by the motto we all should when it comes to helping others out,” Reindl said. “If you ask (Virtue) why you’re always involved, he would say, ‘if I don’t, who’s gonna?’”
The Business of the Year award was presented by Moore to the South Dakota Outdoor Shop, with Moore saying while the business has been in the Custer community for seven years, current owner Brandon Emery has taken it to new heights and has exemplified what it means to support your community and its people.
Moore listed all of the events and gatherings the business now is involved in, while lauding Emery’s investment in the building to keep it in local hands.
“Through leadership, business growth, preservation of local history and commitment to community activities, Brandon Emery and the South Dakota Outdoor Shop staff demonstrate the resilience, excellence, and community spirit that his award represents,” Moore said. “Thank you for creating a space that is helping build a stronger, more connected Custer community.”
When accepting, Emery said he enjoyed having a place people can visit, feel welcome and hang out.
“We have a great staff and couldn’t do it without them,” he said.
Finally, chamber director Dawn Murray was given a surprise award, the Above and Beyond Award, by chamber staff for appreciation for all she does in her position.
“Dawn, we just want to give you an appreciation for all you do. You are constantly going above and beyond researching new ideas and event possibilities,” Moore said. “This past year alone, you have been so proactive in all of our planning and reworking of the budget. You’ve just gone above and beyond and have continued to be a champion of our community. Your heart and love for this community is felt by us on the board and I hope by many in the community.”
Outgoing chamber board member Amy Bailey was also recognized for 10 years of service on the board, including four as president.
“Amy has been a dedicated leader, a tremendous advocate for our community and an invaluable part of the chamber,” Murray said.