One Act of Excellence at a Time

The Acts of Excellence exhibit featured at the South Dakota Hall of Fame Visitor & Education Center

We are proud to announce that the South Dakota Hall of Fame is now accepting recommendations for this year’s Acts of Excellence awards through March 31st, 2024. Your input is valuable to us in identifying excellence across the state. We encourage you to look for the excellence taking place in your community and submit a recommendation today.

Every day, South Dakotans do extraordinary things. The Acts of Excellence (AOE) program, sponsored by Sanford Health, recognizes the individuals and organizations building a culture of excellence in South Dakota, one act at a time. 

Since the program’s founding in 2015, the Acts of Excellence Program has honored 162 individuals and organizations for exemplifying excellence one act at a time. In 2023 we honored 15 excellent acts across South Dakota. 

Individuals ranging from as young as 10 years old have been awarded for chasing their dreams and exemplifying excellence. Take Bodhi Linde’s story for instance–Bodhi’s story shows the power in pursuing a goal and overcoming obstacles, inspiring others to do the same. 

We strive to shine a light on the ripple effect a person or organization’s pursuit of excellence can have on the community. This was never more evident than in the positive impact Hope, Healing, and Hoofprints Ministry is having in South Dakota. Their story is one of individuals using their gifts to uplift and benefit others in a way that highlights just how special South Dakota is. 

The process of recommending an individual or organization for an Act of Excellence award is simple, and the required materials include:

  • A biography of the individual or a brief overview of the organization you are recommending

  • A description of the specific action(s) that qualify your candidate for the Acts of Excellence Award 

  • A description of the impact these actions have had on the community

  • Leadership qualities shown by the candidate

For detailed information and access to the Acts of Excellence recommendation form, click here.