The Sam F. Weller Family Foundation is a private foundation established by Richard F. Weller to honor his father Sam F. Weller and his family, to give something back to the Mitchell community that gave Sam and his family the opportunity to succeed in business, and to provide grant money to charities for special projects that are beyond their normal budgets. 

Sam was a well-known figure in the Mitchell area in the mid-1900s and was heavily involved in civic activities and community improvement. Sam would be pleased to see the support and commitment to the Mitchell area continue in the name of the Sam F. Weller Family Foundation. As Dick Weller would say, the foundation was the goose that laid the golden egg and would perpetually reward the community that helped the Weller family succeed. More information about the Foundation can be found at https://www.samfwellerfamilyfoundation.org. 

In the last couple of years, the Letcher Youth Program has committed to improving the baseball/softball field in Letcher. In 2024, they received an $18,000 grant from the Sam F. Weller Family Foundation for improvements. The grant covered the replacement of the backstop, which included removal of the original backstop and chain link fencing, purchase and installation of 24’ tall poles, netting, a 3’ tall backstop wall which includes composite deck boards for the inside wall and tin on the fan side, and padding from the home dugout to the visitor dugout. 

The CorTrust Bank ALM (Artesian – Letcher – Mt. Vernon) Community Foundation is an organization formed to attract and distribute gifts of capital to charitable agencies for community betterment. It was initially funded by CorTrust Bank with a match from the South Dakota Community Foundation for the benefit of the Artesian, Letcher, and Mt. Vernon communities. The first grants were awarded in August 2000. Information on the ALM Foundation can be found at https://www.sdcommunityfoundation.org/local-impact/community-foundations/alm. 

In 2024, the Letcher Youth Program received a $2,500 grant from the CorTrust Bank ALM Community Foundation to purchase new cement for both dugouts at the ballpark.

Much of the work was completed by Letcher area volunteers, including some Teener baseball players.

The Letcher ballpark plays host to Little League baseball and Letcher Hawks VFW Teener baseball games. The Teener baseball team players represent all the towns in Sanborn County, and also have a couple of pick-up players from outside the county.

…See a picture in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal!