Gretchen

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Card Information

I got it with the book I purchased which was signed by Jon and we got a picture.
May 7, 2016
Rapid City SD at The day of Excellence April 2016.

I’m a Corrections Officer and most of the time it’s easy to feel like you make no difference in a positive way. But if you look at the simple and small moments there is significance. I am in charge of our Jail inmate programs. I wanted to get a proper Native American drum for our drum group. This group is very popular, well attended, and very meaningful to the men who participate. Our old drum was a cheap, poorly made drum and falling apart and cracked. I reached out into the community and got a real ceremonial drum that had been hand made. The day I revealed it to the guys, I knew they’d be happy but I had no idea. The looks of joy on the faces sitting there in jail stripes were priceless. One of the main leaders even began to cry. The group played/sang a song of gratitude for me and I still get thanked for providing this one small thing. If I do nothing else in my career I know for a minute I made 16 men happy and the drum will continue on impacting all the lives of the people who attend the program and participate in the ceremony.