BROOKINGS – Three people and one organization have been selected by the South Dakota Humanities Council for 2018 Distinguished Achievement in the Humanities awards for their contributions to humanities in South Dakota.

Maria Gruener, Patrick Hicks, Larson Family Foundation and Joseph Marshall III will be honored at the 2018 South Dakota Festival of Books in Brookings Sept. 21. 

Per the award guidelines, the four honorees demonstrate a commitment to scholarly and cultural advocacy around South Dakota. They present humanities-related events and programs, write books and publications important to the humanities and provide funding or partnerships to sustain a vibrant cultural landscape. 

The award ceremony precedes “The Great American Read Special Event: An Evening with Alice Sebold, in Conversation with SDPB’s Lori Walsh,” at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21. Presiding over the ceremony is SDHC Chair Judith Meierhenry, assisted by SDHC Secretary Eric Abrahamson and SDHC Executive Director Sherry DeBoer. The ceremony will be held at the Performing Arts Center, Larson Memorial Concert Hall, 1601 University Blvd. in Brookings. 

• Donor/Organization: Larson Family Foundation, Brookings

The Larson Family Foundation was created in 1990 by Dale Larson, former CEO and president of Larson Manufacturing Company. Larson Manufacturing is the nation’s largest manufacturer of storm doors and storm windows. 

Dale Larson established the foundation to give back to the state of South Dakota, which has played a significant role in the growth and prospering of the family-owned company. The foundation first partnered with the SDHC in 2008 to establish the Center for the Book. 

The Larson Family Foundation has provided major financial support for major South Dakota Humanities Council Challenge Initiatives. Most recently, the foundation provided strategic contributions to two community foundation incentive programs and the NEH Access Challenge Grant for Young Readers – allowing SDHC to meet their goals in the three campaigns. The foundation was created by the Larson family to share its good fortune with the people of South Dakota with a focus on helping people in need to achieve a better quality of life. 

• Librarian: Maria Gruener, Watertown

Maria Gruener is from Watertown, where she works as assistant director at Watertown Regional Library and is the current vice president/president elect for the South Dakota Library Association board. 

She is a community leader and volunteer and has coordinated numerous SDHC events at the library, including annual One Book South Dakota discussions, and has hosted or volunteered with One Book Author Tour events. 

• Scholar – Academic and Author: Patrick Hicks, Sioux Falls

Patrick Hicks is a professor and Augustana University Writer-in-Residence. He is a South Dakota Humanities Council Speakers Bureau scholar and frequent Festival of Books presenter since 2006. A former Visiting Fellow at Oxford, he gives fiction and poetry readings throughout the nation and has written more than 10 books.  

• Author: Joseph Marshall III, Rio Rancho, N.M. (formerly White River, S.D.)

An enrolled member of the Sicangu Lakota tribe, Marshall has published non-fiction work, novels, short stories and screenplays. His book “The Journey of Crazy Horse” was the 2011 One Book South Dakota, and his book for young readers, “In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse,” is the state’s 2018 selection for the 52 Great Reads list at the National Book Festival. 

For more details, visit the SDHC online at sdhumanities.org and sdbookfestival.com or call 688-6113.