FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  July 25, 2008
CONTACT: Jay D. Vogt, (605) 773-3458, Jay. Vogt@state.sd.us, or
Patricia Miller, (605) 773-6001, Patricia.Miller@state.sd.us

Miller new Heritage Fund president

PIERRE, S.D. – Patricia Miller of Fort Pierre is the new president of the South Dakota Heritage Fund.

“We are pleased to have a person with Pat’s experience heading the Heritage Fund. She brings a wide range of experience and fund-raising knowledge to this position,” said Jay D. Vogt, the director of the South Dakota State Historical Society.

Both the State Historical Society and the Heritage Fund are headquartered at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre. The Heritage Fund is the State Historical Society’s nonprofit, fund-raising partner. Money raised through the Heritage Fund is used to develop suitcase education kits and traveling exhibits that are available for use in classrooms and communities throughout the state, to publish books about South Dakota’s history and heritage, to increase access to information from the State Archives and museum collection via Web sites, and more. Donations to the Heritage Fund helped finance the “South Dakota Experience” exhibit in the museum at the Cultural Heritage Center.

Miller will be developing, organizing, implementing and overseeing the fundraising projects and programs of the Heritage Fund.

“So many people, including myself, are drawn to the beauty of the Cultural Heritage Center and what has been accomplished under this roof. The Cultural Heritage Center provides a place where our state’s history and accomplishments can be recorded and preserved for future generations,” Miller said.

She has been part of South Dakota’s history as first lady of South Dakota. Walter D. Miller, her husband, served as the state’s governor from April 1993 to January 1995.

“I realize, being married to a governor, the importance of preserving documents and making them known to those who will follow,” Miller said.

Miller succeeds Bonnie Bjork as the Heritage Fund’s top staff person. Bjork accepted a position as organizational change manager with the project team for the design and implementation of the new Medicaid management information system for the state of South Dakota.

Miller’s first day as Heritage Fund president was July 16. She brings 20 years of increasingly responsible administrative positions within state government and 10 years of experience working for nonprofit organizations to her new role, Vogt said. Miller was a program specialist for the South Dakota Department of Social Services before coming to the Heritage Fund. Prior to that position, Miller was director of special services and then chief executive officer for Easter Seals South Dakota in Pierre, which is now South Dakota Cares.

The Millers have six children, 14 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren. In addition to their home in Fort Pierre, they also own a ranch near New Underwood.

For more information about the South Dakota Heritage Fund, contact Miller by phone at (605) 773-6001 or e-mail at Patricia.Miller@state.sd.us.