Board Members
Leah Whaley |Secretary
& Treasurer
Sturgis, SD
Born in Iowa, and grew
up in Eastern South
Dakota, Leah ransferred
to the Black Hills for
work in 2016.
She had a 22 year
career with
Harley-Davidson Motor
Company working in
the areas of events,
marketing, and sales.
​
​
“It boils down to a personal connection. It’s critical that you know what’s happening around you – what’s happening in your local city, neighborhood, county and state.  In addition to what’s going on in the big picture – the micro and the macro. Local journalism fulfills that role."
The Western South Dakota Journalism Foundation is led by a volunteer board committed to strengthening local news across our region. Our board members bring experience in journalism, business, and community service to guide our mission and steward donor support.
Susan Farghali | Board of Director
Belle Fourche, SD
Susan grew up on a
ranch west of Hot
Springs, SD. After living
in Nebraska and Florida,
she wanted to return to
the Black Hills for the
beauty and the serenity
of the area and
proximity to her family.
She worked for several
years as a nurse aide,
and then moved into
office work entailing purchasing, inventory control and accounts receivable.
Â
"It is important to be aware of what our local governments and schools are doing and newspaper journalism provides this content on a regular basis. And we all love to read about what’s happening with our local students, athletes, and progress in our community.  Factual, reliable information is key if we wish to make a difference in this world."
Scott Engel |Vice President
Sturgis, SD
Originally from the
Ellenville, NY near the
Catskill Mountains, Scott
first experienced the
Black Hills while
attending the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. He has an affinity for the role newspaper’s play in their communities from his previous work at the
Daily Camera in Boulder, CO and Tri-State Livestock News & Farmer Rancher Exchange in marketing and as a publisher. He then moved on to a career in administration as the administrator of assisted living facilities in western South Dakota.
Â
"Informed residents are happy folks. The void left without local journalism is the lens to look through. Government. sports, investigative insights, obits, the list is endless and personal. Local journalism is my friend."
Lonnie Moe | Board of Director
Spearfish, SD
From Bottineau ND,
Lonnie moved to the
Black Hills in 1995 after
transferring his post
office position from
Lemmon to Spearfish.
He worked for the U.S.
Postal Service for 26
years before retiring
in 2019.
Â
"Local journalism is so important to the community. The stories, the events, the sports, the advertising all the coverage that the newspaper does helps to keep in the know of what’s going on."
Letti Lister | President
Spearfish, SD
Born & raised in
Topeka, KS, Letti
received her Bachelor
of Science degree in
journalism and
agricultural economics
from Kansas State
University. Upon
graduation, she and
her husband Scott
moved to South
Dakota to work for the
Seaton family newspaper company. Letti and Scott have both worked at the Black Hills Pioneer for more than three decades, and are co-owners of the newspaper.
Â
“Local newspapers are critical for keeping the public informed and connected to their community. Without them we are at the mercy of so-called public relations spin-doctors that will ignore the facts and gaslight the public for fear of what they perceive as a negative event or story. Professional journalists witness, gather and verify the facts, ask the tough questions, and then deliver the stories to their readers for them to decide what they ultimately want to do with that information. We are the accountable for what we publish, and we are the permanent record keepers of the communities we serve."
Mark Watson
Journalist and Editor, Spearfish, SD
Special Advisors
Scott Lister
Operations and IT, Spearfish, SD
Melissa Barnett
Graphic Design
Lex Spurlock
Website Design