A man from Pierre is among this year’s inductees to the South Dakota Hall of Fame.
Walter Panzirer will be honored for his philanthropic contributions.
Panzirer was working as a law enforcement officer and a volunteer paramedic and firefighter. When his grandmother, hotel magnate Leona Helmsley passed away, she named Panzirer one of five trustees who were charged with improving lives by creating programs funded by Helmsley’s fortune. He created the Rural Healthcare Program for the Helmsley Charitable Trust, which now operates in South Dakota and six other states.
The Honors Ceremony will be held in Chamberlain/Oacoma Sept. 11-12.
Since 1974, over 700 South Dakotans have become members of the South Dakota Hall of Fame, which is designated as the State’s Hall of Fame.
Tickets go on sale June 1 and can be purchased on the Hall of Fame’s website at sdexcellence.org or by calling 605-234-4216.
The 2020 South Dakota Hall of Fame inductees are Mike Cartney, Watertown (Education), Glenna Fouberg, Aberdeen (Education), David Geir, Sioux Falls (Arts & Entertainment), Bernie Hunoff, Yankton (Arts), Kitty Kinsman, Rapid City (Political), Bruce Long Fox, Rapid City (Education), Jack Marsh, Sioux Falls, (Business) Walter Panzier, Pierre, (Business), Larry Pressler Sioux Falls, (Political), Mamie Pyle (Political 1866 to 1949), Huron.
