November 17, 2020
CRAZY HORSE, SD (Nov. 17, 2020) — The Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation’s board of directors has announced the names of its new officers, as well as the addition of four new board directors. The new officers are Chair Steve Helmers of Rapid City, South Dakota; Vice Chair Joe DuBray of Sandy, Utah, an enrolled member of the Yankton Sioux Tribe; Treasurer Lloyd Sohl of Rapid City, South Dakota; and Secretary Roger Broer of Hill City, South Dakota, an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe.
Chair Steve Helmers grew up in Rapid City. He said he always has enjoyed learning the history of the northern Great Plains, the Black Hills, and the Native people to whom the Black Hills are sacred.
“Crazy Horse was one of their greatest leaders, and he represents their indomitable spirit,” Helmers reflected. “I grew up knowing about the Crazy Horse sculpture, and Korczak and Ruth Ziolkowski, but I was drawn to work with the foundation primarily because of its vision for The Indian University of North America — and its value for the training and development of future Native American leaders. I enjoy working with the board because its directors are an increasingly diverse group of individuals who share a commitment to oversee, support, and realize this vision.”
One of those individuals is Treasurer Lloyd Sohl, who recently retired and sought an opportunity to stay active and involved in the Black Hills communities. According to Sohl, he found Crazy Horse Memorial’s mission deeply compelling. “Our mission statement describes it best,” he explained. “Protect and preserve the cultures, traditions, and living heritage of the North American Indians. Very powerful words, and a very powerful tone of expectation for serving on this board.”
Sohl said he also looked forward to the challenge of learning how a large organization like Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation operates, and working with the other board directors and the foundation’s executive management team.
“Our board is made up of top-quality individuals from various backgrounds,” he noted. “The executive team does a tremendous job of identifying each member’s strengths and interests, and taking those individual qualities to build them into something much bigger to benefit the foundation and fulfill the mission. I’ve learned so much about Crazy Horse Memorial and its focus from our board and executive management team.”
In addition to the new officers, the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation’s board of directors also announced the following new board directors: Barry Tice III of Rapid City, South Dakota; Steve Rasmussen of Sun Lakes, Arizona; Don Montileaux of Rapid City, South Dakota; and Caleb Ziolkowski, who splits his time between the University of California-Los Angeles and his home in Custer, South Dakota.
Born and raised in Rapid City, Barry Tice III is the department director of Pennington County Health and Human Services. Over the past 16 years, he has worked on criminal justice and behavioral health initiatives, serving some of the region’s most vulnerable populations. He holds a master’s degree in public administration as well as a bachelor’s degree in human services. Tice, his wife, Jill, and their children, Stella and Baird, live in Rapid City.
Tice said he grew up with his parents taking him to Crazy Horse Memorial to learn more about Native cultures and the continuous work required to build bridges between cultures. He remembers those visits well.
“Whenever we visited the memorial, we would enjoy having conversations with Ruth — small in stature, (yet) enormous in the vision of the memorial, and stories about these beautiful cultures, the work that was done, and the memorial’s future,” Tice said. “I’m excited
about the opportunity to learn more about the work that has been done here, to be part of this monumental endeavor, and to help continue the vision of Ruth, Korczak, and the rest of the Ziolkowski family.
“With millions of visitors every year to the beautiful Black Hills, I (am thrilled to) be part of a diverse board that can focus on the various aspects of the monument, The Indian Museum of North America, and the Indian University of North America,” he continued. “By working together, we can educate the world — and carry this momentum into the future by being part of this amazing dream.”
Steve Rasmussen works part-time as the executive director of the Nashville, Tennessee-based Andrea Waitt Carlton Family Foundation, a position he has held since 2000. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music education and a Master of Arts degree from Nebraska’s Doane University, and he completed doctoral work at the University of Nebraska. Rasmussen currently is part of an advisory group for Donor by Design, a national fundraising and consulting firm. He and his wife, Minna, have two children and four grandsons, and they make their home in Sun Lakes, Arizona.
An enrolled member of the Oglala Lakota Nation and member of the South Dakota Hall of Fame, Don Montileaux is a master ledger artist who has followed the footsteps of his forefathers as he rekindled ledger art with striking images that capture the unique Lakota ways of life. Born in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, he received formal art training at the Institute of American Indian Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Montileaux’s award-winning work is now held in private and public collections worldwide, he has illustrated several book covers, and his 2014 book, “Tasunka A Lakota Horse Legend,” won four national awards.
The grandson of Crazy Horse Memorial’s founders, Caleb Ziolkowski serves the Board of Directors in one of three positions reserved for family members per the foundation’s bylaws. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration and a Bachelor of Arts in global studies from Colorado Christian University. He is currently seeking his PhD in political science and Master of Science in statistics from UCLA, where he also conducts research and teaches at the college level; he expects to graduate in 2021. Ziolkowski spends his summers as a full-time member of the Crazy Horse Memorial team, serving as part of the Mountain Carving Crew. He has won numerous grants, honors, and awards, and he has presented at conferences in San Diego, Boston, Chicago, and Washington, DC.
