Good evening District 27. Today is the last day of the Bennett County Fair and Rodeo, the Sturgis Rally, and the Closing Ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Paris. There were many purple ribbons, awards, buckles, saddles, and medals handed out throughout these events. To conclude my series on how I may not have excelled in sports during my youth but excelled in “academic athleticism," I thought I would take this opportunity to showcase the medals I had won at the Olympic Games in 1986 and 1987. No this is not your ordinary Olympics that you are familiar with but a different kind of Olympic games.
As I had mentioned in my previous posts, participation in high school sports was not an option. Growing up on a dairy and hog farm, we had chores waiting for us when we got home from school. After all, those bossies weren’t going to milk themselves! When you are operating a dairy farm, you are “married” to those cows, and one couldn’t leave the farm for an extended period to run all over the state chasing after multiple kids' sporting events. Because of this reason, I decided to sharpen a different skill set that was not centered on sports but on academic athleticism.
In high school, I was encouraged by my science teachers, Mr. Medeck and Mr. Reese, to participate in what was called the Science Olympiad. This was something new that was introduced at the state level of which my high school and middle school would dominate for many years thereafter. The Science Olympiad, much like the Olympic Games hosted every four years, brought students from various middle school and high school levels to compete in twenty-one different fields of math and science including physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, geology, climatology, and all other areas of the natural sciences. The team and individual-based competitions were hosted at the University of South Dakota under the sponsorship of the U.S. Army ROTC Cadet Command.
I competed in many events at the state level and brought home five gold, silver, and bronze medals which earned me a spot to attend the National Science Olympiad hosted on the campus of the University of Michigan in East Lansing, Michigan in my junior year (1986) and at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio in my senior year (1987) where I won a gold medal in the bridge building competition. See photos. Attending the Science Olympiad at both universities was my first exposure to competition on the national level and made me realize there was a lot of camaraderie amongst the students who shared similar academic interests. Finally, I felt my best talents and skills were being showcased in front of a national audience. Moreover, my parents, with the encouragement of my high school science teachers, allowed me the opportunity to demonstrate my academic athleticism on a competitive level unlike when I played baseball and had to sit on the bench most of the summer. Winning a gold medal at the National Science Olympiad built up my self-esteem knowing that I could accomplish anything if I put my mind to it while putting in the effort, including earning a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology four years later.
I share this story with you because running for state senate is like competing in the Science Olympiad. No gold medal is given if I am elected your state senator, but one gets the honor to take the oath of office and represent the people of their district. It is a privilege that I will not take for granted if elected your state senator. Like any good athlete, a lot of preparatory training and work is involved in running in a political race. One does not simply get in a race without acknowledging the work and sacrifice that is going to be required when running for a political office. I am not an experienced politician. This is my first political contest and I have much to learn. Much like how I prepared for the Science Olympiad by sharpening my math and science skills throughout my years in high school, I too am sharpening my political skills by doing the “heavy lifting” and I am doing what is necessary to go the long haul in this campaign with 86 more days until the general election. This senate race is not a popularity race, nor should it be. It is a job interview, and the voters ultimately are the judges who decide who gets “the gold medal” to represent them in the State Senate chamber. I look forward to your vote this November. I feel I am the best candidate for the job. As many of you who have been following my campaign know, I have sharpened my political skills; I have done the “heavy lifting” by going out to meet the voters, and I am willing to go the extra mile to serve as your next state senator if given the opportunity. God bless.
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