A LEGISLATIVE COMMEMORATION, Celebrating the life of Robert "Bob" Montross of De Smet, South Dakota.

WHEREAS, Robert "Bob” Leroy Montross was a relentless advocate of the agriculture and beef industries in South Dakota, as well as being actively involved in community development and fundraising efforts in the De Smet area; and

WHEREAS, Bob Montross served his community on the De Smet Township Board, where he and the board started the Lake Thompson Revitalization Project; on the De Smet Cemetery Association, where Bob was an officer; on the Kingsbury County Cattlemen of South Dakota, of which Bob was a founding member; and on the nonprofit organization Beef Bucks, of which Bob was a founding member and instrumental in the organization’s partnership with the television show Wheel of Fortune; and

WHEREAS, Bob Montross was an organizer and fundraiser for the construction of the De Smet Event and Wellness Center, a project recognized by the Bush Foundation; and

WHEREAS, Bob used his contacts in the beef industry to support the late Gene Abdallah’s South Dakota Law Enforcement Dinner and Children’s Charity Fundraiser, and initiated an ongoing effort to provide Beef Bucks to the South Dakota Highway Patrol for distribution to law enforcement families in need during the holidays; and

WHEREAS, Bob’s work as a member of the Kingsbury County Cattlemen Association of South Dakota was instrumental in initiating the South Dakota legislative beef luncheon at the South Dakota Capitol Rotunda; and

WHEREAS, Bob’s agriculture and beef industry advocacy efforts earned him and his wife, Nancy, the 2023 Acts of Excellence Award from the South Dakota Hall of Fame, as well as recognition from local, regional, and national beef associations, numerous agriculture publications, and South Dakota State University; and

WHEREAS, Bob was a founding member of the Legendary Highway 14 Tower Trail Project, working with federal, state, and local agencies to help develop trails and a viewing tower near the shores of the legendary Silver Lake made famous in the Little Town on the Prairie books authored by Laura Ingalls Wilder; and

WHEREAS, Bob Montross earned the Touchstone Energy Cooperative “Who Powers You” award for community commitment and work on the Legendary Highway 14 Tower Trail Project:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT COMMEMORATED, by the Ninety-Ninth Legislature of the State of South Dakota, that Robert “Bob” Montross lived a life worthy of honor and deserves to be celebrated as an outstanding South Dakotan who has made a lasting impact on the state’s beef and agriculture industries, as well as in the De Smet area.