The Modern Woodmen of America Chapter #17404 has named Connie Kaufman as its 2024 Hometown Hero. Connie grew up in Armour and graduated from Armour High School. What brought Connie to Wagner was becoming employed by the Wagner Community Memorial Hospital-Avera. Connie has been a part of the hospital’s staff and nursing team for the past 34 years. What Connie enjoys most about being a part of the Wagner community are the supportive organizations; compassion of its community members; the progressive nature of its businesses that still value the hometown service touch; and the focus on community improvements that make Wagner a great place to live, work and enjoy.

Wagner is very lucky to have Connie in its midst. Connie is a very generous person who donates a lot of her free time to community activities and organizations. She has been a long-time member of the Wagner Community Area Health & Wellness Consortium; an original member of the Project Aware Advisory Board, titled Strengthening Our Community (SOC); Wagner Community Memorial Hospital Auxiliary member; Immunize SD coalition member; a volunteer for the Wagner Cancer Walk & Rummage; Delmont community band member; Zion Lutheran Church member where she has taught Sunday school, Vacation Bible School and is the Sunday school superintendent as well as a church choir member; a Prairie Readers competition volunteer; and Douglas County 4-H leader, secretary, and volunteer judge.

All of those activities are in addition to the various medical boards and committees that she has and or currently serves on. They include Vaccines for Children immunization coordinator; Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement committee member and grant coordinator; coordinator for the 8th grade Career Fair/Camp Med event; panelist at a Chronic Disease Partners conference and SDAHO conference; American Heart Association Instructor; faculty member for the Avera Training Center; Clinic Manager of the Specialty Outreach Clinic including Behavioral Health Services; and coordinator of the Wagner Communities That Care coalition.

Volunteering and being an active community member started at a young age for Connie. When she was growing up, she was a Girl Scout and active in all aspects of the Douglas County 4-H Club including static exhibits, showing livestock and public speaking. In high school she was involved in a vast array of extracurricular activities including National Honor Society, band, choir, etc.

When asked what makes her so driven to be involved with all the different boards and organizations, Connie said that she “enjoys collaborating with different community members and entities on common goals.” She feels that working together the organizations can offer different community events and decrease stigmas which helps to build a stronger community. Connie gets her inspiration through the people that she works with in the different partnerships that she is a part of. She knows that everyone has the ability to be kind and brighten the lives around them. Connie’s philosophy is that she wants to leave her little corner of the world a bit brighter. There are several quotes that Connie lives by, but the one that stands out the most is “Giving grace”. As one does not always know what other people are going through, or whether or not a person has the same knowledge or experiences as another, it is important to “give grace”.

When asked what Connie is most proud of about herself, she responded that her being able to help people, sometimes during a very difficult time or situation in their life. She feels very thankful that she has the opportunity to work in a facility that allows her to be involved in many different areas as well as part of a team that provides excellent care for Wagner and the surrounding area and has the ability to adapt to the community’s needs. One of the biggest challenges in Connie’s life has been her cancer journey. Her journey’s slogan was “Faith over Fear”. Connie has completed her cancer treatments and could not be more thankful for the generous support of many. Going through her cancer journey gave Connie a deeper understanding of what lengthy health challenges can look like, which has taught her that giving grace to herself as well as others is essential. She plans to continue to encourage and support others through difficult times in their life as well as the celebratory times.

Connie is currently serving as the Clinic Manager of the Specialty Outreach Clinic, including Behavioral Health Services as well as the coordinator for the Wagner Communities That Care coalition at the Wagner Community Memorial Hospital-Avera. She wanted to become a nurse because she enjoyed helping people and the thought of being able to save someone’s life felt rewarding to her. Connie knows that sometimes it is the little things that can have the biggest impact on a person’s life. It only takes one action, one conversation, or sharing knowledge that can truly have an impact on a person. What Connie enjoys most about her job is that each day is different presenting its own challenges and rewards. For her, knowing that she has helped someone in a very challenging time or situation is the greatest reward. She enjoys working in rural healthcare as she gets to be a liaison that helps connect people to resources that they otherwise may not have access to.

Connie is married to her husband, Tad. The couple enjoys living the farm life near Delmont. They also have two daughters, Trisha and Kera. Both daughters chose to follow in their mother’s footsteps and become registered nurses. Her daughter Trisha is married to Jason Deurmier and they have two daughters, Shaelynn and Breckyn and live outside of Wagner. Kera lives and works in Sioux Falls. When Connie does have free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, flowers, gardening, baking, doing food preservation, hunting and helping others.

Congratulations Connie on beingnamedModernWoodmen of America Chapter #17404’s Hometown Hero. There will be a Hometown Hero Recognition on Wednesday, September 18th from 4:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. to honor Connie. The community is welcome to attend and refreshments will be served.