STURGIS, SD – Tuesday was Military Appreciation Day at the 85th. Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, where 25 Sturgis city employees, veterans and current servicemembers were honored for their military service.
Carrie Belawske joined the US Army in 1989 and served two tours in Iraq during her military career. The Sturgis Brown High School graduate retired from the Army and went to work at the Fort Meade Veterans Affairs hospital in human resources after her military service. Belawske was one of 25 Sturgis city employees honored during Military Appreciation Day at Harley Davidson Rally Point.
“It’s very overwhelming,” Belawske said. “It’s just impressive that Sturgis is doing this for their employees, who I think are the best employees in the whole gosh darn world!”
South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden and his wife, Sandy were on hand with a group of dignitaries to honor current and former military members. Sturgis Mayor Kevin Forrester, South Dakota Army National Guard Brigadier General Wyatt Hansen and Carol Whitmore, senior vice commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars made short speeches to the hundreds of rally goers on hand for Tuesday’s ceremony. The new commander of the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth AFB, Colonel Erick Lord, was visiting the Rally for the first time and he said honoring the veterans in Sturgis was a great experience.
“So it’s pretty darn humbling, incredibly humbling,” Lord said. “The Air Force has incredible airmen and Ellsworth gets the cream of the crop….so to get to lead, side by side with those airmen is incredible. To look out in the audience and see all the Veterans is pretty darn cool. So to be a small part of this history is overwhelming too.”
Forrester read a Mayoral Proclamation, designating Tuesday as Military Appreciation Day at the 85th Sturgis Rally. Belawske recently left the VA and will be named the Human Resources Director for the City of Sturgis. She says it’s just another way to keep serving.
“I’m grateful that I have been placed into positions that have allowed me to succeed, and I’m really looking forward to making a difference, like I said, for my hometown in Sturgis.”
Military veterans, who continue to serve and make an impact in the local community. Military Appreciation Day was supposed to feature a B-1 bomber flyover down Main Street yesterday, but mechanical issues prevented the aircraft from making their annual appearance at the Sturgis Rally.