HURON –– The Huron Chamber and Visitors Bureau’s governmental affairs committee and the Huron Kiwanis Club hosted the annual State of the Schools Luncheon on Thursday at the Huron Event Center.

Gayle Kludt presented a welcome on behalf of Kiwanis and led the invocation and pledge of allegiance before handing the meeting over to Chamber President/CEO Laurie Shelton.

Shelton introduced the governmental affairs committee, representatives of the city commission, county commission, current and past mayors, and legislators in attendance before also introducing the current Leadership Huron class.

The first to present as part of the luncheon was Doug Pietz, the Executive Director of Huron Community Campus. Pietz introduced the program options through HCC in an energetic talk, ranging from one side of the room to the other side of the room. He introduced representatives from HCC partners Northern State University, Southeastern Technical Institute and Mitchell Tech.

Pietz encouraged the mission of HCC to educate members of the community, and he emphasized that many of HCC’s students remain in the Huron area as they begin their professional careers and/or utilize HCC to enhance their education as they remain in a role in the Huron area.

Dr. Kraig Stieinhoff, Superintendent of the Huron School District, followed Pietz, highlighting some of the demographic information and mission of the Huron district.

He noted that Kindergartners this year will be the first class to go from birth to graduation with the Portrait of a Graduate benchmark program that the Huron School Board approved multiple years ago as an objective measure for various educational levels within the progress of a student through the school district.

Steinhoff also reviewed the upcoming building projects before closing his presentation with a host of photographs that he stated epitomized the diverse and exciting experiences available within Huron schools, from sports to music to community involvement to advanced education before a student walks out with a diploma.

Jenny Sorben presented the Holy Trinity Catholic School information. She explained that a re-organization of the church has led to Holy Trinity working with multiple other parishes, leading to more opportunities for programming and experiences for students. Sorben highlighted the partnership with the Huron public district, explaining that most Holy Trinity students complete their middle school and high school education in the public school system.

James Valley Christian School high school principal Cindy Niederbaumer gave a brief overview of JVCS before introducing JVCS senior Jonathan Koel, who shared his experience attending James Valley and how he believed the experience shaped his present and future self.