Foundation Raises Funds for New Ambulance Station & Education Center

  • August 14, 2018

Big Dogs took first place once again this year at Brookings Health System Foundation’s ninth annual Aiming to Inspire Health sporting clays fundraiser. Pictured from left to right are team members Terry Wieczorek, Rich Widman, Conor Rude and Mark Widman along with Foundation Director Sara Schneider. This year’s fundraiser raised $21,250 to fund education and training resources at Brookings Health System’s new ambulance station and education center currently being built along Yorkshire Drive.
Big Dogs took first place once again this year at Brookings Health System Foundation’s ninth annual Aiming to Inspire Health sporting clays fundraiser. Pictured from left to right are team members Terry Wieczorek, Rich Widman, Conor Rude and Mark Widman along with Foundation Director Sara Schneider. This year’s fundraiser raised $21,250 to fund education and training resources at Brookings Health System’s new ambulance station and education center currently being built along Yorkshire Drive.

More than 30 teams participated in Brookings Health System Foundation‘s ninth annual Aiming to Inspire Health sporting clays fundraiser on Thursday, Aug. 9 at Medary Creek Hunt Club, rural Aurora, S.D., presented by First Bank & Trust.

Net proceeds of $21,250 will support educational and training resources inside Brookings Health System’s new ambulance station and education center.

Brookings Health is currently constructing a new ambulance station and education center along Yorkshire Drive to give the ambulance service a permanent home in close proximity to the hospital. The education center will hold training sessions for Brookings Health System employees and host community classes like First Aid and CPR.

“Part of our ambulance team’s responsibility is to provide continuing education to health care providers on critical life-saving skills, such as advanced cardiac life support,” said Ambulance Director Gordon Dekkenga. “Having a fully furnished education center will better enable us to educate health care providers and the community alike.”

Money raised from the sporting clays event will help purchase items like audio/video equipment, whiteboard, tables, chairs, storage and other educational supplies.

Winners from the event include:

  • First Place Adult Team —145; Big Dogs (defending champions): Mark Widman (Tea, S.D.) and Rich Widman, Conor Rude and Terry Wieczorek (Brookings, S.D.)
  • First Place Adult Individual — 41; Rod Brandenburger (Brookings, S.D.)
  • Second Place Adult Individual— 40; two-way tie Chris Karch (Brookings, S.D.) and Emily Brown (Brookings, S.D.)
  • First Place Youth Individual— 32; Evan Koerner (Brookings, S.D.)
  • Second Place Youth Individual— 31; Wyatt Drew (Brookings, S.D.)
  • Drawing, Individual Participant— Scott Bullington (Brookings, S.D.)
  • Drawing, Team— Avangrid Buffalo Ridge (Brookings, S.D.)
  • Ghost Clay Drawing— Jeff Johnson (Brookings, S.D.)
  • Lowest Individual Score— Lowell Shutt (White, S.D.)
  • Early Bird Drawing— Tim Meland (Brookings, S.D.)

New this year, raffle tickets were sold in support of the event. Jackson Hegerfeld of Brookings won the Grand Prize Benelli Ultra Light 12 Gauge Shotgun and Lindsey Bothwell of Volga won a YETI Hopper cooler filled with hunting supplies.

Other event sponsors included Hy-Vee; Runnings; 3M Brookings; Avangrid Renewables; Avera Medical Group Brookings; Banner Associates; Brookings Regional Builders Association; Century Business Products; Cubby’s Sports Bar & Grill; Dacotah Bank; Eide Bailly; Falcon Plastics Inc.; Foerster Distributing; Helsper, McCarty & Rasmussen P.C.; Kraus-Anderson Construction; Kerry’s Landscaping; Larson Manufacturing; Midwest Glass; Mills Construction; Sanford Clinic Brookings; Scheels Sioux Falls; Thompson Electric; Twin City Fan and Valero Renewable Fuels.

For more information about Brookings Health System Foundation or to learn how you can support the new ambulance station and education center, please contact Foundation Director Sara Schneider at (605) 696-8855 or foundation@brookingshealth.org.

About Brookings Health System

Brookings Health System, located in Brookings, South Dakota, includes the 49-bed Brookings Hospital, the 79-bed The Neighborhoods at Brookview nursing home, Brookhaven Estates senior living apartments, Yorkshire Eye Clinic, and medical clinics in Arlington, White and Volga, South Dakota. It is a non-profit, city-owned facility that offers the community a full range of inpatient, outpatient, surgical and extended care services. The emergency room is staffed 24 hours a day and provides around the clock patient needs ranging from minor injuries to life threatening crises. For more information about the services offered at Brookings Health System, please call (605) 696-9000 or visit us on the Web at brookingshealth.org.

About Brookings Health System Foundation

The mission of Brookings Health System Foundation is “Inspiring people to support Brookings Health System through philanthropy, recognizing the vital role of local healthcare in sustaining quality of life in our community.” Gifts to the Foundation support charity health care for those less fortunate, health and wellness education, facility, equipment, and technology upgrades and other needs as they arise at Brookings Health System. For more information about Brookings Health System Foundation or how you may contribute, please contact Foundation Director Sara Schneider at (605) 696-8855 or foundation@brookingshealth.org.