Alliance Communications employee Kris Frerk received the Working Through the Decades award during the Women in Business banquet on Tuesday, April 30, at the Sioux Falls Convention Center.
Alliance co-workers nominated Frerk for the award because of her dedication to helping others.
“She cares for everyone: strangers, community members, and those whom society often shuns,” the nomination essay said.
Here’s a small sampling of tasks Frerk has taken on:
- Started Garretson’s food pantry after noticing residents struggling to feed their families.
- With overwhelming support from local churches, began Garretson’s Backpack Program, which feeds school children over weekends.
- Coordinates mattress purchases for people without beds.
- Finds new footwear for children with dilapidated shoes.
- Spearheaded a fundraiser for a van to take local nursing home residents on recreational outings.
- Leads a monthly church service at the nursing home.
- With a friend, opened the Treasure Chest, a non-profit business on Main Street Garretson. The profits are used to help others.
- Participates in the Lutheran Social Services mentoring program and takes less fortunate kids to plays, concerts, movies, meals and church services.
- Served as a board member for the Garretson School District, the Garretson Commercial Club and Dragonland Community Daycare Center.
- Coordinates tourism opportunities and community events, which bring customers into local businesses and help keep Garretson’s main street alive.
Completing the nomination essay was difficult, said Amy Ahlers, marketing supervisor for Alliance Communications.
“The essay could only be 500 words,” Ahlers said. “The first draft was more than 800 words, and it could have been much longer. Because Kris does so much for everyone, it was difficult to summarize her qualities into a short essay.”
