March 2018

Kiwanis purchases shoes for Special Olympic athletesThe installation of a new, hardwood gym floor is a wonderful boost for everyone who participates in activities, but it also necessitates extra care to keep it in shape. Essentially, that meant anyone who uses the gym must now have a new pair of rubber-soled shoes that will be worn only in the gym. Realizing that this may be a financial hardship for some people, Joe Burmeister contacted the Kiwanis Club of Rapid City which has a mission to provide shoes for school-age children in need. Joe asked them to consider expanding their mission to supply shoes for athletes served by Black Hills Works and they agreed. Joe asked for names of people who could benefit and on February 15, Lonnie Tutsch, who heads up the shoe program for Kiwanis met Joe and three people supported, at Payless Shoes at the Rushmore Mall for a shopping day. Along with those three, shoes were also purchased for 15 other people. Payless helped by offering a discount to Kiwanis for the shoes purchased. If you know a member of Kiwanis or shop at Payless, please share your thanks for their generos-ity.

Freida Henschel shows off the shoes purchased for her by Kiwanis club at Payless ShoeSource at the Rushmore Mall.

The A Team kicks off One hundred and eighty-one people supported, family members and staff registered to attend the kick-off of the A Team at RSC February 26. The evening began with a poem, Advocates, written and read by JJ Janis. Cindy Roan Eagle and Liz Warner also spoke to the group. The featured speaker was National A Team rep-resentative Robin Kennedy, Vice President of Mission Advancement for Opportunities in Wisconsin, who described the A Team philosophy and shared stories about what the organization is accomplishing in other states and techniques for bringing about change. Those in attendance were given a list of legis-lators and asked to call them after the event to share their perspective on services in South Dakota. They also had the opportunity to sign up for the A Team which is replacing People First in Rapid City. Local A Team coordinator Kelly Hotovec, says she is still determining how many people signed up and she says the work now is in maintaining the momentum. Another highlight was that Kennedy asked Janis for a video of him reading his poem and she plans to share it on the national A team website. “He is BEYOND thrilled,” said Heather Pickering who as-

National A Team representative Robin Kennedy spoke to a packed house at the kick-off of the the A Team in Rapid City on February 26.

Continued on next page . . .

Congressional candidate visits BHW

Republican Congressional Candidate Dusty Johnson visited BakeWorks on February 14 to listen to staff and parent con-cerns about issues facing people with disabilities.

Congratulations Eric Anderson, the Employee of the Quarter for the fourth quarter of 2017 at the Raider Café at Ellsworth Air Force Base. He was honored on February 12 in front of Sodexo and BH Services employees and military personnel. He received a gift card and his name has been engraved on the plaque with past winners. Eric is responsible for sanitation and cleanliness, and washing dishes and pots and pans and disposing of trash. Paul Warren says Eric is a capable and independent worker, gets along well with customers and coworkers and is a pleasure to have on the food service crew.

Eric Anderson honored at Raider Café

Employee of the quarter at the Raider Café, Eric Anderson with Susan Rountree.

Staff assist with Poverty SimulationTracy Palecek from Rapid City’s Prosperity Initia-tive and Barb Garcia from the Rapid City Community Development Block Grant were at RSC on February 15 to complete a Poverty Simulation and Poverty 101 Training. Barb organized the simulation and Tracy did the training when the simulation was completed. Par-ticipants in the simulation were assigned a family role and had to act out situations that people living in pov-erty face everyday. The simulation was able to provide a different perspective of what people who are in the crisis of poverty go through by paying bills, dealing with transportation, figuring out what to do when your money runs out, trying to get assistance, etc. Thanks Tammy Murner, Shelly Blank, Alexi Kieffer, Kristina Kuroiwa, Artee McCaskill, Tracy Glasford, Brittney Sogge, Codie Magbuhat, Dallas Caylor, and Leah Drummond who stepped up dur-ing the Poverty Simulation to fill-in for the volunteers who weren’t able to make it. Without them the simula-tion wouldn’t have been successful.

BHW employees volunteered at the poverty simulation hosted by the Rapid City Prosperity Initiative at RSC on February 15.

sisted Janis. “This morning in my office he was wav-ing his arms above his head, rocking back and forth in his chair, and hollering, “I am rejuvenated!” The A Team’s mission is “to ignite the pas-sion and energy of people with diverse abilities and their families, to advocate in grassroots efforts, cre-ate awareness in the community and advise others to ensure service options and opportunities meet people’s needs.” There is power in numbers. For more information on the A Team at Black Hills Works, call Kelly Hotovec 343-6466.

A Team. . .continued from last page

Advocating for Change

Kandie Ronfeldt, Heather Kickery, and Cindy Roan Eagle man-aging the booth for South Dakota Advocates for Change at the state capital.

They were in Pierre February 12-14 for the SDAC Leadership Team trainings and meetings. They lis-tened to several guest speakers on such topics as leg-islature updates, the importance of voting, “Bridging South Dakota”, and “Charting the Life Course”. On Wednesday, the 14th they attended Disability Aware-ness Day at the State Capital.

Brad Saathoff poses with South Dakota Attorney General and candidate for governor Marty Jackley. Jackley met with directors of community support providers in Pierre on February 7 to learn more about the needs of people with disabilities and the workforce that supports them.

Jackley meets with directors

Retirement and the art center at the Learning Institute made Valentines to donate to KSLT radio station for their annual Golden Valentine program. The Valen-tines are distributed each year to local nursing homes and even to people at Black Hills Works. Lea Haisch says Ordean Stevenson was particularly excited to deliver the finished cards to his favorite radio station. He met General Manager Tom Schoenstedt, got to see the studio and even got speak into the microphone. He says he “felt great about talking in the microphone and seeing how radio works.”

On the radio

Ordean Stevenson poses with KLMP general manager Tom Schoenstedt.

57th annual Lions Pancake held

Nancy Weiss works the Suzie Cappa Art Center booth at the 57th annual pancake feed held at BHW on February 25. More than 500 people attend the event, which is sponsored and hosted by the Rushmore Lions Club. Funds raised this year will go toward the next Flutter Productions arts camp.

JJ’s publishing journey

After two years of hard work, JJ (James) Janis has completed the first draft of his book of poetry. Heather Pickering, who has worked with JJ, says the next step is to have the book illustrated. “He is so thrilled!” The book contains 18 poems JJ has written and Heather says the process he used for creating each one varied. “Sometimes, he rolls in and says, ‘here’s a poem.’” But others required a bit more research, for example a poem he wrote about radios prompted a great deal of research on all aspects of radio history. One of the things that JJ hopes to accomplish in his writing is improved understanding of people with disabilities. In an interview he did with Heather, he said, “From the 50s when I was born all the way up to the 80s and the 90s, nobody was talking about it (disability) or they were talking about stuff and they were getting the wrong idea. So, for me, if I don’t want people to have the wrong idea and set them straight, I have to speak on behalf of myself. JJ says much has understanding has improved greatly over the years, but there is still much to be done. “I guess that’s why I did the book.”

JJ Janis is thrilled with the first draft of the poetry book he has spent 2 1/2 years working on.

Stay in touch!We encourage you to stay connected to the news and posts about our organization between newsletters:1) Like our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/blackhillsworks

2) Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/blackhills-works

3) Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackhillsworks/

4) Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/black-hills-works

5) Read our newsletters (staff and community) online: http://www.blackhillsworks.org/who-we-are/news/

Cook-off winners!

Congratulations to Becky Jandahl who won first place in the chili cook off that was held February 22 at RSC. Amy Jobgen took second place. Thank you to everyone that brought chili and to all the taste testers for voting. Tough duty!

Power of B winners Congratulations to this month’s Power of B winners: Leah Drummond was nominated for assisting a person supported to visit his girlfriend in hospice. Codie Magbuhat for her expert handling of a workman’s compensation case that resulted in the person’s successful return to work after two months absence. Veronica Madden is being honored for covering for another person who was ill. Deb Gipson was nominated for her willingness to come in and support an individual who needed one-on-one support on short notice. Lorrie Martin, Carly Worster and Kathy LaForest were nominated for their extra efforts to assist an individual to obtain community employment. Alexi Kieffer is being honored helping accounting filling two open positions. Artee McCaskill is being honored for helping to get, Black Hills Works newest home, Harney View, up and running. Val Morris was nominated for her work with dealing with insurance, workman’s compensation and other funding sources for TBIRC. Mary Buffet Lee was nominated for her extra efforts to support an individual with a project he was working on, from creating a shadow box to showcase his hard work to creating a workspace for him. Doug Meiron, John Markovetz, Justin Fines, Josh McElroy, Todd Wicks, Dan Hern, Brian Boesen and James Platt were all nominated for their efforts when a sprinkler line broke at BHWI at 4:20 p.m. They were all there until 9 p.m. taking care of the situation. James Platt was also nominated for his extra efforts preparing the kitchen floor prior to the pancake breakfast. Rebecca Knutson, Becky Holloway, Rhonda Richman, Julie Davis, Chris Fliginger, Patricia Johnson, Veronica Madden, Mary Corneliuson,

Welcome new employeesJessica Wangen BHWISuzanne McCarty CH-AllenOlivia Garza SitkaLawanda Sanders Edwards ABrittney Sogge IndianaZachary Ahlstrom RSCElizabeth Dill CH-AllenOlivia Chrley CH-AllenNatasha Myhre MinnesotaCrystal Walker Harney ViewJohnathan Powers ParkviewSamantha Denekamp CH-AllenJob Goodale Edwards DLora James ChoicesChad Allen Hotizon Point

Movie ticket discount for staff/people servedMovies are expensive, but employees and people sup-ported can buy discounted movie tickets for AMC theaters (formerly Carmike Cinemas) for $8.50 from Laurie Todd at RSC.

Mallory Buxton and Nikki Thompson were all honored for their amazing efforts with the extremely serious medical issues faced by two of the residents of the Arizona House. To nominate someone, find the nomination form elsewhere in this newsletter or on Lotus Notes. Click on Agency Main; click on Staff (left-hand green buttons); then click on Staff Forms which is located in the center panel on the right side. Choose Rapid City, then page down to Power of B Recognition Award, launch the document and print. Send your nominations to Alexi Kieffer at RSC. Winners receive $50 and a Power of B T-shirt. Their story appears in The Workplace. Please give specific examples of how your nominee demonstrates the POWER of B.

Lynnette Braun 1Jimi Obretenov 1Frances Mackey 1Dawn Fairbanks 2Brittany Trainer 2Amanda Diers 3Donna Tatum 4Courtney Holbert 4Stacy Hower 4Kaitlynn Lynch 4Cynthia Carner 5Randy Sheppard 5Lillie Eisenbraun 5Aaron Leite 5Todd Wiebelhaus 5Christopher Humphries 5Lora James 5Lorrie Bowar 6Chenoa Jeannotte 7Delores Anderson 7Ashlyn Meverden 7Don Bailey-Meier 8Carla Oerter 9Casey Clarke 9Vicki Weisz 10Justin Huwe 10Thomas LeBeau Jr. 10Debra Gipson 11Darra Woodward 11Robin Deboer 12Beth Glynn 12Brittney Sogge 12Amy Jobgen 13Rachel Kaufman 14Kayla Butts 15Patrick Rose 16Doreen Schulze 16Carie Diro 17Jonathan Powers 17

Atwaun Brewer 18Deseray Baker 18Chris Wager 19Daniel Woods 19Kelli Schmidt 19Samorra Allen 19Monica Rutz 20Zackery Schellin 21Kameron Nelson 22Kevin Lengkeek 22Carla Streeter 23John Barse 23Alexandrea Jones 23Paul Heinert 24Dalyn East 24Patricia Johnson 28Barbara Garberg 29Stephanie Vandenakker 29Sara Giles 30Dianne Hartson 30

Spring ahead!Daylight Saving Timebegins at 2:00 a.m. on

Sunday, March 11

Black Hills Works Spring Blood Drive9 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Friday, April 13

Black Hills Works Gymnasium

Because of our previous success and the generosity of staff, United Blood Services has added 16 slots to our next blood drive. That means we are in need of 132 donors! Be watching for your chance to sign up. There will be prizes offered for those who sign up and keep their appointments.

Out & About accompanied people to the 2018 Night to Shine, the unforgettable prom night experience sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation. The event is described as being “centered on God’s love, for people with special needs, ages 14 and older.” And it took place at more than 500 churches around the world si-multaneously on February 9. In Rapid City, it was held at Bethel Assembly Church.

Out & About attends Night to Shine

Mike Studer has his shoes shined at the Night to Shine prom night experience sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation.

Special Olympics scheduleBlack Hills Area Basketball and Cheer Tournament will be held at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology on March 9. State Tournament is scheduled for March 23-25 in Mitchell, SD. For information, contact Amy Jobgen 718-6280 right away as space is limited. Putt-N-Pub fundraiser for Special Olympics will be held March 10, downtown Rapid City. The Polar Plunge, also a fundraiser for Special Olympics, will be held April 7 at Black Hills Harley Davidson. For information on either of these events, contact Tara Wilcox at 718-6207. The Bowling Awards Ceremony will be held March 15, 11:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Parents and guardians are welcome, but please RSVP to Joe Burmeister 718-8341 or 593-2481. Cookies and punch will be served so he needs a count.

What’s your why?This monthly feature gives employees an opportunity to explain what they find most fulfilling in their jobs. This month, we hear from Kristina Kuroiwa, quality support specialist at Edwards C. If you would like to share your “why” email it to drosby@bhws.com.

BHW fell into my lap almost 10 years ago when I was in a place that I hated and I was trying to find a way out. BHW has been the best thing that has hap-pened. The rewards I have gotten since I started have outweighed some of the hardest parts of the job. I look forward to coming to work and meeting the challenges that I face every day. I love the knowledge that I gain when talking to other staff as well as the different avenues of training that are offered. I like that I don’t have to feel intimidated to ask a question a couple times in order for me to understand. I like that I can have a difference in opinions and even though it might be the craziest thing ever said it is respected. My purpose: I want to be a part of the bigger picture, showing the world (or Rapid City) how great BHW is and what great things we have and will ac-complish. I feel like I have made a difference in the lives of the people I have supported and they have definitely made a difference in mine. I want that to continue. I am grateful for every opportunity that the agency has given me and I look forward to my future with the agency.

Thumbs up! Kendra Canaday hams it up with Kristina Kuroiwa.

BHW Annual Rummage SaleSaturday, March 31

7 a.m. - 12 p.m.BHW Gymnasium

March is

Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month

and Brain Injury Awareness Month

Polar PlungeApril 7

Black Hills Harley DavidsonContact Joe Burmeister

Val Morris, Human Services Cabinet Secretary Gloria Pearson and Dr. Justine Ashokar at Disability Awareness Day held in Pierre on February 14.

Disability Awareness Day

We’ve movedFoundation FocusFoundation staff, Dr. Andrea Serna, Tara Wilcox, Judy Domalewski, Josh Rundell, Kameron Nelson and Dorothy Rosby, have moved downtown next to BakeWorks in the former Career Pathways location. Because the foundation is the fundraising, pub-lic relations and marketing arm of Black Hills Works, the move was aimed at making the office and staff more visible to the public. The central location makes accessing all parts of Black Hills Works more conve-nient and the proximity to two of our social enterprises makes it easy to show them off to donors and other friends of Black Hills Works. Come by and see us any-time at 514 Mt. Rushmore Road. And remember, if you need help with pro-motional materials or have public relations or media needs, foundation staff can be contacted through a referral database on Lotus Notes, similar to the method used for residential options, resource and support as-sistants and assistive technology. To access a Foundation Request form, go to Agency Main, choose Staff, then choose Create Foun-dation Request. Choose the button that best describes your need then fill out the form that appears. If your request includes an attachment, use the paperclip attachment like you would in other software. Your request will automatically be routed to the person responsible for that request.

Tribute to a DSPFred Eisenbraun wrote the following beautiful tribute to his wife Laurie who is a DSP at Minnesota. While it was written for Laurie, all DSPs should be able to see themselves in it.

A Tribute to my WifeShe spends her days taking care of people who have profound disabilities. She comes home to tell me that she is so thankful for all the things that many of us take for granted every day; the ability to get out of bed on our own power, the ability to take care of our own toi-leting needs; the ability to make and eat whatever we want. We can drive anywhere we want to go, anytime we want to go. We don’t have to rely on anyone else to take care of our daily needs. Most of us can’t imagine having to depend on someone to give us a shower, or clean us up after we make a mess. We can’t imagine not being able to eat without special ingredients in our food so it doesn’t choke us. Some of us just go through life expecting everything to work and complain when it doesn’t. But she does it all with a smile on her face and an attitude of servant leadership. She never complains about her job. I’m so proud. I believe there will be a grand reward for her in heaven when we get there. I can imagine one or all of her clients coming up to her and saying, “Do you re-member me?” “You took care of me when I was at the total care facility.” “Look at me now.” “I am whole.” She treats them with all the dignity and the respect they deserve. They are people; people with intrinsic value. They don’t need to do, or be, or say anything to gain value because they are human beings made in God’s image. She doesn’t judge based on per-formance because we all fall short there. She sees the need and does what she can to make them content and comfortable. That is a more noble cause than any one of a million jobs out there. She is a pretty special lady. I couldn’t be more proud.

Gary Hettich and Cindy Mosset were part of a “treasure hunt” game at Career Pathways where everyone was on the lookout for people staying on task. Julie Martian says they took pictures to study later for the skills needed to be successful at each job.

Treasure hunt at Career Pathways

New Tax LawIf you need to make a change, contact the payroll office for a new W-4.

The Internal Revenue Service has released an updated Withholding Calculator on IRS.gov and a new ver-sion of Form W-4 to help taxpayers check their 2018 tax withholding following passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in December. The IRS urges taxpayers to use these tools to make sure they have the right amount of tax taken out of their paychecks. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made changes to the tax law, including increasing the standard deduc-tion, removing personal exemptions, increasing the child tax credit, limiting or discontinuing certain deductions and changing the tax rates and brackets.If changes to withholding should be made, the With-holding Calculator gives employees the information they need to fill out a new Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate. Employees will submit the completed W-4 to their employer. Taking a few minutes can help taxpayers ensure they don’t have too little – or too much – withheld from their paycheck. The withholding changes do not affect 2017 tax returns due this April. However, having a com-pleted 2017 tax return can help taxpayers work with the Withholding Calculator to determine their proper withholding for 2018 and avoid issues when they file next year.Steps to Help Taxpayers: Do a “paycheck check-up.” The IRS encourages employees to use the Withholding Calculator to perform a quick “paycheck checkup.” An employee checking their withholding can help pro-tect against having too little tax withheld and facing an unexpected tax bill or penalty at tax time in 2019. It can also prevent employees from having too much tax withheld; with the average refund topping $2,800, some taxpayers might prefer to have less tax withheld up front and receive more in their paychecks. The Withholding Calculator can be used by taxpayers who want to update their withholding in response to the new law or who start a new job or have other changes in their personal circumstances in 2018.As a first step to reflect the tax law changes, the IRS released new withholding tables in January. These tables were designed to produce the correct amount of tax withholding, avoiding under- and over-withholding of tax for those with simple tax situations. This means

that people with simple situations might not need to make any changes. Simple situations include singles and married couples with only one job, who have no dependents, and who have not claimed itemized de-ductions, adjustments to income or tax credits.People with more complicated financial situations might need to revise their W-4. With the new tax law changes, it’s especially important for these people to use the Withholding Calculator on IRS.gov to make sure they have the right amount of withholding. Among the groups who should check their withholding are: Two-income families, people with two or more jobs at the same time or who only work for part of the year, people with children who claim credits such as the Child Tax Credit, people who item-ized deductions in 2017, and people with high incomes and more complex tax returns. Taxpayers with more complex situations might need to use Publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax, expected to be available on IRS.gov in early spring, instead of the Withholding Calculator. This includes those who owe self-employment tax, the alternative minimum tax, or tax on unearned income from dependents, and people who have capital gains and dividends.Tips for Using the Withholding CalculatorThe Calculator asks taxpayers to estimate their 2018 income and other items that affect their taxes, includ-ing the number of children claimed for the Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit and other items. Plan ahead to make using the calculator on IRS.gov as easy as possible. Here are some tips: Gather your most recent pay stub from work. Check to make sure it reflects the amount of Federal income tax that you have had withheld so far in 2018. Have a completed copy of your 2017 (or possibly 2016) tax return handy. Information on that return can help you estimate income and other items for 2018. However, note that the new tax law made significant changes to itemized deductions. The Withholding Calculator results are only as accurate as the information entered. If your circum-stances change during the year, come back to the cal-culator to make sure your withholding is still correct. The Withholding Calculator does not request personally-identifiable information such as name, Social Security number, address or bank account num-bers. The IRS does not save or record the information entered on the calculator.

Continued on next page . . .

Employment anniversaries Justine Ashokar 14 yearsMary Corneliuson 34 yearsJudy Condon 20 yearsSheila Huether 23 yearsMichael Huxford 6 yearsBarb Larsen 34 yearsTammie Quinn 32 yearsB.J. Strand 14 yearsChris Wager 22 yearsElizabeth Durbin 5 yearsLoyd Gale 9 yearsPatrick Rose 4 yearsJennifer Harp 12 yearsAlpheia Vopat 10 yearsMary Wheeler 9 yearsTara Gary 8 yearsJean McMahon 7 yearsTracy Glasford 7 yearsIan Kellar 7 yearsTodd Wicks 6 yearsCarly Worster 4 yearsDanielle Muellenberg 5 yearsKayla Wagner 4 yearsCodie Magbuhat 4 yearsAngel Wilcox 3 yearsTrisha Michael 3 yearsRhonda Richmond 3 yearsStephanie Vandenakker 2 yearBrian Horst 2 yearLaurie Eisenbraun 2 yearRyan Anderson 2 yearAshley Spear 1 yearEmily Weber 1 yearMarie Keller 1 yearTammy Still 1 yearTrinity Delaney 1 yearTom Seiler 1 yearJennifer Lindbloom 1 yearShirley McKelvey 1 yearJasmine Nguyen 1 yearJessy Larus 1 yearSkylar Smith 1 year

Ordean Stevenson and Nicole Laird are part of a group from the Learning Institute that volunteer to help clean up Rapid City by volunteering to pick up trash along Rapid Creek!

Learning Institute cleans up

As always, watch out for tax scams, especially via email or phone calls and be especially alert to cy-bercriminals impersonating the IRS. The IRS does not send emails related to the calculator or the information entered. Use the results from the Withholding Calcula-tor to determine if you should complete a new Form W-4 and, if so, what information to put on a new Form W-4. There is no need to complete the worksheets that accompany Form W-4 if the calculator is used. As a general rule, the fewer withholding allow-ances you enter on the Form W-4 the higher your tax withholding will be. Entering “0” or “1” on line 5 of the W-4 means more tax will be withheld. Entering a bigger number means less tax withholding, resulting in a smaller tax refund or potentially a tax bill or penalty.If you complete a new Form W-4, you should submit it to your employer as soon as possible. With withhold-ing occurring throughout the year, it’s better to take this step early on.More informationThis spring and throughout the year, the IRS will be working with businesses as well as the tax and payroll communities to help educate the public about the new withholding guidelines and the Withholding Calcula-tor. For 2019, the IRS plans to make further changes involving withholding. The agency will work with businesses and the tax and payroll communities to explain and implement these additional changes.

Tax. . .continued from last page

“B” Recognition Award

Name of the staff person you’d like to recognize: Title of the person you are recognizing: Department of area they work in: What you’d like to recognize them for: Check the “B” that applies with the example of the “B” they demonstrated. Please be specific.

For Being Respectful of Others

For Being Accountable

For Being Your Best (Their Best)

For Being Supportive

Reason for the nomination: Your name and title: Your department or area: Please send this form to Alexi Kieffer at RSC. Your nominee could be selected to receive the $50 prize and be featured in The Workplace. Feel free to make copies of this form for additional people you’d like to recognize.

9-25-08 Rev 9-6-16