|
We are blessed to welcome to our South Dakota District staff Mr. Dave Geidel of Dimock, SD. Dave is our “part-time, interim Executive Secretary” specifically for matters involving our District’s schools, preschools, and early childhood centers, and involving commissioned ministries.
Dave is a veteran education in the LCMS. He graduated from Concordia Teachers College, Seward, NE, in 1972. He served as teacher and then teacher/principal in Lutheran Schools in Minnesota, Colorado, Florida and Nebraska. He has been involved in National Lutheran School Accreditation (NLSA) as a consultant, team captain and team member. He enjoys helping schools use this process for school improvement and planning for the future. After 45 years in education, he and his wife, Mona, retired in 2017. They are currently living on the farm where he spent the first 18 years of his life west of Dimock, SD. They are members of Immanuel, Dimock.
As the part-time, interim Executive Secretary, the District’s Board of Directors is asking Dave to attend to these priorities:
- Support the early childhood centers and preschools by communicating with their directors and teachers, doing on-site visits, and by providing resources. We have 15 ECCs and preschools.
- Support the Lutheran schools, especially by communicating with their administrators, by doing on-site visits, and by providing resources. We have schools in Hot Springs, Rapid City, Sioux Falls, and Brookings.
- Support the four called DCEs (two in Sioux Falls, one in Rapid City, and one in Yankton), the DCE intern in Aberdeen, and the one called deaconess (in Sioux Falls) in the District.
- Ensure that planning for the 2022 Fall Teachers’ Conference is being done.
- Participate in the formation and implementation of the Mission and Ministry Council, enacted by resolution at the 2021 District Convention.
- Stay informed concerning the activities of the South Dakota Christian Schools Association.
- Stay informed concerning the federal and state legislation impacting private education.
This interim works begins today, January 15, and will end when the District installs a full-time executive secretary. The Board of Directors has taken this action in view of Rev. Darren Olson’s acceptance of the call to serve as Missionary-at-Large for Northern Lincoln County/Campus Pastor of Sioux Falls Lutheran School. Rev. Olson served as the District’s Executive Secretary from 2012-2021.
We are grateful to the Lord of the Church for Dave’s willingness to step out of retirement to serve in this way. This is God’s doing! It is He who graciously provides gifts to His Church, including Dave and Mona and each of you servants of the Lord!
Reverend Scott Sailer
President, SD District--LCMS
| 
