Governor, State of South Dakota, 2011-2019

President of the Senate, South Dakota State Senate, 2002-2010

Lieutenant Governor, State of South Dakota, 2002-2010

Senator, South Dakota State Senate, 1996-2002

Member, Executive Board of Legislative Research Council, 1999-present

Member, Visitation Task Force, 1997-present

Former Member, Commerce Committee, South Dakota State Senate

Chair, Constitutional Review Commission

Former Member, Education Committee, South Dakota State Senate

Former Member, Government Operations and Audit Committee, South Dakota State Senate

Former Member, Judiciary Committee, South Dakota State Senate

Member, Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation Development Committee

Member, Sioux Falls Estate Planning Council

Member, South Dakota Planned Giving Council

Former Member, State Affairs Committee, South Dakota State Senate

Former Member, Taxation Committee, South Dakota State Senate

Chair, Worker's Compensation Advisory Council

Former Employee, Load King Company

Former Employee, Maguire Iron

Executive Director, Children's Home Society of South Dakota, 2002-2009

Development Director, Children's Home Foundation, 1990-2002

Vice President/Trust Officer, US Bank, 1981-1990

Claims Attorney, Shand, Morahan and Company, 1980-1981

Attorney, Supena and Nyman, 1978-1979

Board Member, Court Appointed Special Advocates

Member, National Society of Fundraising Executives

Member, Sioux Falls Downtown Rotary

Member, South Dakota Bar Association

Board Member, Children's Home Society of South Dakota, 1985-1990

Favorite Musician:

Dave Matthews Band, Steely Dan, The Eagles, Led Zeppelin

Favorite Quote:

"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."- Calvin Coolidge, 1933

"Self restraint, self mastery, common sense, the power of accepting individual responsibility and yet of acting in conjunction with others, courage and resolution - these are the qualities which mark a masterful people. Without them no people can control itself, or save itself from being controlled from the outside. . . . To say that the thriftless, the lazy, the vicious, the incapable, ought to have reward given to those who are far-sighted, capable, and upright, is to say what is not true and cannot be true. Let us try to level up, but let us beware of the evil of leveling down. If a man stumbles, it is a good thing to help him to his feet. Every one of us needs a helping hand now and then. But if a man lies down, it is a waste of time to try and carry him; and it is a very bad thing for every one if we make men feel that the same reward will come to those who shirk their work and those who do it."-Theodore Roosevelt, 1910

Favorite TV Shows:

24, The Mentalist

Hobbies or Special Talents:

Spending time with family, Hunting, Fishing, Running, Carpentry, Canoeing

Names of Grandchildren:

Henry, Stella, Elizabeth, Greta

Number of Grandchildren:

4