Milbank Receives $5000 Healthy Hometown Community Award

Rhonda Preller, representing the Milbank Area Retired Teachers Association (MARTA), announced Milbank has been selected to receive a 2021 Healthy Hometown Community Award – Powered by Wellmark. The award was accompanied by a check for $5000.

Preller applied for the grant on Milbank’s behalf.  During South Dakota’s Office of Chronic Disease Prevention & Health’s virtual partners meeting on October 12, the group announced that Milbank had received the award. The award recognizes Milbank for its accomplishments in health improvement initiatives in the community.

“We are pleased to present Milbank with the 2021 Healthy Hometown Powered by Wellmark Community Award,” said Laura Jackson, Wellmark’s chief health officer. “The work that has been done within the community earned them the title of 2021 Healthy Milbank. To celebrate this important work, Milbank will also receive $5,000 to continue improving the physical, social, and emotional well-being of the community.”

According to Preller, some of the noteworthy health-oriented achievements in Milbank include: installing new sidewalks, bike lanes, and bicycle parking areas to improve student safety, moving and expanding a community garden and constructing a shed for shared equipment; replacing streetlights on Main Street to improve pedestrian safety; and developing an agreement with Unity Health and Fitness to allow students to use the gym.“Being named a winner of the 2021 Healthy Hometown award means a lot because we can continue our goal of improving our community,” said Preller.