Monthly Archives: August 2017

Avera Gregory Hospital Administrator Anthony Timanus departs his role as leader of the health care facility to return to a role he knows well.

The father of five will begin a one-year deployment to Southeast Asia where he’ll serve as company commander of C Company, First Battalion, 189th Aviation Regiment of the South Dakota Army National Guard. Timanus, who has held his position with Avera Gregory for six years and who also serves as administrator of Rosebud Country Care Center – Avera Health, said his unit will provide medical evacuation services to U.S. and allied forces in his area of operations.

Timanus, a U.S. Army Major, leads a unit that consists of 139 soldiers and 15 aircraft. He said considering this is his first deployment 10 years, he’s assured in those who will continue care in his adopted hometown.

“I served 11 years of active duty and deployments are hard, but my wife, Karen, and I are in a good place. She has a lot of family here to provide support,” he said. “I feel better about this one compared to others. I am indebted to Avera leaders as well as my Gregory team.”

Bryan Breitling, CEO of the Avera Hand County Memorial Hospital in Miller, S.D., will serve as interim administrator of Avera Gregory. Breitling, who aided Timanus during his career start with Avera in 2011, said he’s done well for the community and the hospital.

“Anthony’s deployment demonstrates his willingness to serve our nation as well as our health system,” said Breitling. “I’ll split time between Miller and Gregory and have full confidence. I look forward to supporting its excellent work. Gregory has dedicated staff across the board.”

Katie Biggins, RN, Avera Gregory Director of Clinical Services, said Timanus will certainly be missed. She helped more than 150 staff and family surprise him with a party the week before he departed.
“Tony’s a commendable leader; we all wish him well in his mission,” she said. “We have a lot of pride in his service and sacrifice. We all look forward to welcoming him back once he’s finished.”

Curt Hohman, Avera Senior Vice President for managed facilities said Avera’s focus on serving others is embodied in Timanus’ sacrifice.
“We wish Tony the best on his deployment and realize his dedication to his country and to us is exemplary,” said Hohman. “We know he’s setting a great example through honoring his commitment to our mission as well as his military mission. We applaud him for serving and thank him for that level of unselfishness.”

Timanus said he’s felt honored to Hohman and his entire Avera team for its unyielding support.

“They have shown a commitment to me throughout my Avera career and I appreciate that support, as does my family,” he said. “Bryan will do a great job and not much will change – the excellence in care will certainly not falter. They will be in great hands.”

South Dakota employers, schools and residents are encouraged to show their support for all service members deployed overseas by participating in R.E.D. (Remember Everyone Deployed) Shirt Friday.

The South Dakota National Guard, Ellsworth Air Force Base and the S.D. Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve invites the public to participate by wearing a red shirt on all Fridays while South Dakota citizens are deployed to remember and honor all members of the military for their service to the state and nation.

An Aug. 25 R.E.D. event is being held to highlight the nearly 125 members of the South Dakota Air National Guard’s 114th Fighter Wing currently deployed overseas. Throughout the past year, the SDNG has been highlighting deployed units and individual members during R.E.D Friday events.

“Wearing red shirts on Fridays sends a strong and unified message to our service members and families that they are not forgotten and we appreciate their sacrifice to our country,” said Maj. Gen. Tim Reisch, adjutant general of the SDNG. “Wearing a red shirt is a simple gesture, but the meaning behind it is significant.”

Gov. Dennis Daugaard has demonstrated his support by signing a proclamation announcing all Fridays that South Dakota citizens are deployed in harm’s way to be R.E.D. Shirt Friday in South Dakota.

South Dakota employers, schools and citizens are encouraged to provide additional support by:
* Sign a Statement of Support through the ESGR to show your support (for more information about this please contact MAJ Lona Christensen, SD ESGR Program Director, at 605-737-6540)
* Sending cards/letters to the unit or someone in the unit
* Create a banner or video from your organization to send to the unit
* Check in with the family of a deployed service member
* Provide a meal for a family of a deployed service member
* Use the hashtag #RememberEveryoneDeployed when posting your pictures to social media sites
* Send a picture of your company to redshirtfriday.southdakota@gmail.com and we may share your picture through our social media sites
* Support the S.D. Veteran’s Home in Hot Springs or a veteran service organization in your community

Currently, there are more than 300 South Dakota Army and Air National Guard members and about 550 Airmen from Ellsworth Air Force Base deployed to various location around the globe.

Labor Day is a time to fire up the grill, wave summer goodbye and celebrate American workers.

A South Dakota senator played a major role in establishing the federal holiday.

On Aug. 28, 1893, Sen. James Kyle of South Dakota introduced S. 730 to the U.S. Senate to make Labor Day a legal national holiday on the first Monday of September each year. President Grover Cleveland signed the bill on June 28, 1894.

By then, a fall holiday called Labor Day was already being observed. Beginning in the late 19th century, parades, picnics and other celebrations took place to support labor issues such as shorter hours, better pay and safer working conditions, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

On Sept. 5, 1882, a pivotal event occurred in New York City when an estimated 10,000 people marched in what became the first Labor Day parade in U.S. history. Other cities began to have parades to show the public the strength of the trade and labor organizations, followed by a festival for the workers and their friends and families. States began making Labor Day an official public holiday.

In introducing the legislation, Kyle said that labor organizations were united in asking that the first Monday of September be set apart as a holiday in order to make the observance uniform. This would result in workers enjoying vacation privileges on the same day, according to the Dec. 1, 1965, issue of “The Wi-Iyohi,” a monthly bulletin published by the South Dakota State Historical Society.

Prior to serving as a U.S. Senator, Kyle served as pastor at the Congregational Church in Aberdeen and as finance officer for Yankton College. A speech he delivered at a Fourth of July celebration in Aberdeen in 1890 vaulted him to public attention.

According to “The Wi-Iyohi,” Kyle spoke in favor of women’s suffrage and prohibition, and took a swing at big corporations, banks and railroads. This speech resulted in Independents nominating Kyle for election to the state senate. He won and headed to Pierre in January 1891. At that time, the Legislature chose South Dakota’s U.S. senators, and the 36-year old Kyle was chosen on Feb. 16, 1891, to succeed Gideon Moody.

He entered the U.S. Senate as an independent and Populist and aligned with the Democratic caucus in the U.S. Senate.

Kyle was re-elected in 1897 as an independent. Republican legislators supported him, and he aligned with the Republican caucus in the U.S. Senate for his second term.

“Analyzed it is evident that Mr. Kyle had one quality that was his best asset. The belief of both his political friends and his political enemies that he was honest, non-partisan and would represent the people of South Dakota regardless of their political faith,” said South Dakota Gov. M.Q. Sharpe during a Labor Day radio address in 1946.

Kyle attracted nationwide attention as senator.

“Of the new men whose entrance to congress was a surprise to the country I considered Senator James Henderson Kyle of South Dakota among the clearest headed … As a senator of the United States he is quiet, cautious and level headed,” stated an article in the Wichita Daily Eagle on Feb. 23, 1894.

Kyle’s name again appeared in newspapers nationwide in the spring and summer of 1894 when lobbyist C.W. Buttz, originally from North Dakota, was accused of attempting to bribe Kyle and Sen. Eppa Hunton of Virginia to vote against a tariff bill. A senatorial investigating committee found Buttz guilty of offering a bribe, despite his denial, and exonerated the senators from all blame.

Born in Ohio, Kyle moved to Ipswich in 1885 and then to Aberdeen in 1889. He remembered Aberdeen as a U.S. senator, securing funding for a Carnegie Library in that city. Through his efforts an office of the internal revenue collector for the Dakotas was located in Aberdeen and he was instrumental in having Aberdeen designated as a place for holding federal court, according to the July 15, 1901, Dakota Farmers’ Leader.

Kyle died on July 1, 1901, in Aberdeen at the age of 47. He is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Aberdeen.

“Labor never had a better friend than Senator Kyle,” said his successor as senator, Alfred Kittredge, when memorializing Kyle, “and no one better understood its needs or extended a more sympathetic and helping hand. As a boy he worked upon the farm to aid in securing the education he so eagerly sought and highly prized, as a man and Senator he did not forget the labor of his youth.”

Kyle’s name lives on in the South Dakota town named for him, and in the holiday honoring the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity and well-being of this country.

This moment in South Dakota history is provided by the South Dakota Historical Society Foundation, the nonprofit fundraising partner of the South Dakota State Historical Society at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre. Find us on the web at www.sdhsf.org. Contact us at info@sdhsf.org to submit a story idea.