SDPB Legacy Society

Meet the Friends of SDPB from the Black Hills who help ensure the future success of public broadcasting in South Dakota.

Bruce Brugman

Favorites on SDPB:

“Because of my political science background, I like to know what’s going on. So my dial right now is on South Dakota Public Radio. For TV, it’s Nature. At this time, Poldark. I like Frontline a lot. I’m a person who tapes. I go through the entire booklet and I highlight everything I potentially want to watch. I’m just absolutely enjoying Country Music. I record Austin City Limits. All of the dramas are just unbelievable.”

Why do you give to SDPB?:

“My wife and I asked, ‘how can we pay this forward? What impact can we make down the road when our careers are through, what kind of a plan can we have in place?’ SDPB was always important in our house, so it was easy. My wife and I made a decision, because we watch so much public television, that we could start giving.”

Elizabeth Freer

Favorites on SDPB:

I do like In the Moment with Lori Walsh. I love hearing something that I wouldn’t have otherwise thought I was interested in. I like hearing the Native News, because I think that doesn’t get as much exposure in our communities, and I like that that’s highlighted sort of right at the commute time. The Create channel is one of our favorites in our house, whether it’s watching Lidia’s Kitchen or This Old House.

Why choose SDPB for your planned giving?:

“The work SDPB does is really important. Any news source has some bias to it. I think SDPB is one of the least biased. [I appreciate] the funding model, the way the reporting is done, telling stories from different sides and representing all the candidates, giving options for all of the candidates in an election, an opportunity to have a platform, airing different sides of issues. All of those things are incredibly important.”

Ed McLaughlin

Why is SDPB the recipient of your estate planning?:

“One of the most important things is that if you reflect back on how you gained your information and how it affected you, there was a direct transfer there of a good, solid project or product. Consequently, you want to support that. It has made a difference in my life and hopefully in, many, many others. We need to support the things that are important.”

Janice Knutsen

SDPB Favorites:

“I listen most consistently to NPR: All Things Considered, In the Moment with Lori Walsh. Lori interviews local people, or people that are coming through performing locally, and so it does makes me feel like I have a connection to it. Whether it’s in Sioux Falls, or Yankton, or Madison, or Rapid City, it’s in South Dakota. My husband and I watch Antiques Roadshow. I just was able to watch Vanished South Dakota, and I really liked it. Being from South Dakota, it was really fun to watch.”

Why did you choose to give to SDPB?

“I see what good SDPB does for Rapid City, for South Dakota. I think South Dakota Public Broadcasting brings something to South Dakota that nobody else can: news, entertainment, all sorts of things that happen in the Black Hills Studio. You don’t see those things happening elsewhere in South Dakota.”

For more information about SDPB’s Legacy Society, please call 605-677-5861 or visit SDPB.org/LegacySociety.