Chelsea Tobin

Scotchman Industries gives additional gift to building fund

This week the board of directors for Scotchman Industries presented Campaign Council chairman, Roger Porch and Philip Health Services CEO, Jeremy Schultes, with a check for $600,000.  This made official the offer the manufacturer’s board had made to the council some months ago.
The nursing home project met some bumps in the road when the bid from the original contractor returned higher than what had been budgeted.  That forced the hospital board and project architect to make several concessions to the original plan.  This was met with disappointment by many who had worked together to bring a facility to Philip the way it had been originally designed.  “During the fund raising process, we were selling a building plan that we were excited to have.  However after the first bid came in over budget, there was concern that we would have to cut much of the original plans to fit within the campaign funds raised,”  stated hospital board member and campaign council co-chair Ray Smith.
The Scotchman board, Jerry and Karen Kroetch and Gerry and Barb Rislov, were in agreement with that sentiment.  They wanted the community to have the project that was originally presented.  Jerry, who served as a volunteer on the campaign council from the beginning, felt that the project needed to go forward as it was initially designed.  They called and asked for a meeting with Jeremy Schultes.  “We met in a room just down the hall from my mother’s room at the nursing home.  She was not doing well and we were all there spending time with her.  We asked Jeremy what was needed to make the project happen in its original form.”  When they were told that $600,000 would bring the project to a reality, the group of Scotchman directors didn’t hesitate.  Ray Smith went on to add, “The hospital board did the right thing to reject the original bid. We are really fortunate to have the Scotchman Industries donation that insures that the community will be getting the new nursing home that they were expecting.”
The Scotchman name is practically synonymous with Philip.  It is a symbiotic relationship.  The manufacturer is vital to the economy of Philip, and is a major employer in the area.  The company has stepped up numerous times to support local efforts to better the Philip community.  It’s a tradition that runs deep and long, dating back to founder Art Kroetch’s love of his hometown.  If there is a need or a project to make Philip a better place to live and work, Scotchman and its founders are at the center, doing their part.  The Scotchman employees, through one time gifts, pledges, and payroll deductions have added another $51,000 to the campaign total.
Having a hospital in a town with a manufacturing plant is important, but so is every service that the community is able to provide.  This is the philosophy behind the Scotchman gifts.  When a community is diversified it thrives.  Having a nursing facility that can care for and keep our loved ones close to us is a blessing.  A good hospital, a caring nursing home, a strong school, a place to worship, and services of all kinds make the town strong and the people more content.
The Scotchman gift, when coupled with the many other generous contributions the campaign has received, brings the total capital campaign proceeds to $2,793,350.00.  The project was rebid and in March news was received that it came in under budget.  That fact, and the final total raised by the campaign, assure that the items that had been engineered out of the project can be added back in and the facility will be built according to its original specifications.

The Pioneer Review

221 E. Oak Street
Philip, SD 57567
Telephone: (605) 859-2516
E Mail: ads@pioneer-review.com

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