Local DQ Owner Receives Community Service Award

According to a recent press release, Lonnie Heier, the owner of several Dairy Queen restaurants in Pierre, Eagle Butte, Martin, Winner, and Vermillion, has recently presented with the Community Service Award.

The award was presented during the South Dakota Retailers Association annual banquet in Pierre.

The Community Service Award's purpose is to bring awareness to a business that goes out of its way to give back to both its community and its citizens.

"Heier is known for generosity both with his employees and the communities he serves. He finds unique ways to reward individual members of his staff for meeting personal and employment goals, providing them with everything from shoes to laptops to concert tickets. Recently when an employee fulfilled a commitment to turn his life around, Heier rewarded the employee with a mobile home."

With the current pandemic still at large, Heier hosted a fundraiser for those in assisted living to receive iPads so they could still communicate with friends and family.

Heier still continues to give back to his community as he is a current sponsor for a nursing scholarship program.

“We feel like we need to be more than just a business that comes in and takes your money; we need to help and that’s what we do,” Heier said. “If you give, you get back more in return through more business and better relationships. It’s something employees can be proud of, and of course, we should be proud of” stated Heier to the South Dakota Retailers Association.