The Dell Rapids Chamber of Commerce held their Annual Banquet on Sunday, March 9th at the Riverside Events Center. The event consisted of a catered meal, and the chamber highlighted the 2024 year, handed out 2024 awards, revealed a few details on a strategic plan, and held an open-forum discussion.
Every year the Dell Rapids Chamber gives three awards: Business of the Year, Community Spirit, and Chamber Volunteer of the Year. The 2024 awards were made by Alex Tieszen of Three Nails Custom Woodworking.
2024 Business of the Year – Dells Electric
The 2024 Business of the Year award recognizes a business member for the growth and contributions to the Dell Rapids community. Dells Electric, owned by Mike Carpenter, continuously assists the Dell Rapids Chamber of Commerce with electrical needs for events such as the vendor show and street dance during Quarry Days. They help the chamber with pride and provides the help at a very low cost to the chamber so funds can be spread over the entire weekend. Dells Electric was also the subcontractor on the St Mary school project and most recently helped them get power to the new video board in the St Mary gym. Dells Electric is also the “go to” for Dell Rapids Public School for any of their electrical needs.
2024 Community Spirit – Marcy Stykel (Pizza Ranch)
Marcy goes above and beyond every year to take care of and give back to the Dell Rapids Community. She supports local groups and teams by offering fundraising events in which they give a portion of the sales to those groups or offering take and bake pizza sales. They also provide pizza at a reduced price to the schools and other community events. Within the past couple of weeks, they have worked together with the youth bowling team and DRHS junior class to fund raise for great local events for our kids.
Community members want to support a business that is willing to give back to the community. The Chamber enjoys seeing local groups partnering with a local business to support local people. The bottom line is, if someone in this community needs anything, Marcy is always willing to help.
Another nomination stated her support to her staff. “She helped me build an amazing career with Pizza Ranch when I was in a low part of my life. She gave me a chance, when I needed it most, without hesitation. She does this for countless people, groups, school organizations, and businesses. She is always the first willing to donate. Whether it be monetarily, coupons for the Pizza Ranch, food donations, or offering her restaurant as a place to hold fundraisers or tip nights. She is an inspiration for what small town Community Spirit really means and I’m honored to nominate her for this!”
2024 Chamber Volunteer of the Year – Tom Earley
Tom has been a huge part of the continued success of the Dell Rapids Chamber of Commerce. He has been the city council liaison with the Chamber, but he does much more than that. He attends almost all meetings and events to support our efforts; he provides insight to assist with the success of the organization. He takes pride in supporting the town of Dell Rapids. This last fall, he participated in meetings between the city council and Chamber to ensure the continued financial support of the Chamber. He sees the vision and purpose of having a great working relationship between the city, economic development, and Chamber of Commerce to ensure we have both a thriving business community and great place to call home. He is a cheerleader for the Chamber. Not only does he run our town of Dell Rapids as a great mayor, but he volunteers for many local efforts including, but not limited to, the Dell Rapids Lions Club. We will miss Tom’s contributions as he retires, but thank him for his many years of service to the Chamber and community of Dell Rapids. The Chamber would not be where it is today without the continued support and encouragement from Tom.