May 25, 2023

The South Dakota Military Heritage Alliance has been busy.

This year, the veterans organization already is on pace to nearly double the number of activities it hosted in 2022. And that’s not all:

• It has filled all 41 tenant spots on campus.
• It’s in the middle of a fundraising campaign to help reduce the number of veterans who die by suicide.
• And it’s getting ready to kick off a capital campaign to build a museum.

It’s a lot since opening three years ago.

Executive director Brian Phelps credits the community for much of The Alliance’s success. This year, the nonprofit organization at 1600 W. Russell St. already has hosted 1,200 events, almost as many as all of 2022.

“Sioux Falls and the surrounding area is fantastic in support of what we’re doing out here,” Phelps said. Bookings range from meeting spaces to anniversaries to concerts. And, of course, special events to honor veterans.

One annual Memorial Day event allows people to honor loved ones.

“We bring in a military-style rifle, and people can shoot for free, and then they take the brass (casing) and write a note to a loved one they have lost,” he said. “They can fire a salute in our gun range. It’s a tearful, joyous remembrance.”

Other events over Memorial Day include the Ride for Freedom, a Memorial Day service and the Rolling Thunder. You can find more events on The Alliance’s website.

Museum update

The South Dakota Military Heritage Alliance campus includes The Alliance itself, where all the events are hosted, a former armory and the former AAA South Dakota building, which is where the museum will be housed. A capital campaign to build out the museum likely will launch later this year, Phelps said.

“We want to make sure the timing is right before we go down that road,” he said.

The Alliance has hosted meetings and events in the building, and it’s operational, but it will need to be renovated before it can be a museum. “We want to do it right, with a lot of interactive displays so kids find it interesting and for the older generations to find it meaningful,” Phelps said.

It’s all part of a larger goal of creating a destination on the north side of town – near the Army and Air National Guard bases as well. “It’s a one-stop shop for active-duty military and veterans and the civilian community,” he said. “We also are creating The Alliance experience – once people get here, they are greeted with a big mural of a soldier saluting them. They come in, and they are welcome and feel at home.”

Suicide prevention

The true Alliance experience includes providing opportunities to support veterans and active military members.

Phelps said 22 active military members die by suicide each day, and recent numbers show that increasing. The unadjusted suicide rate for veterans was 23.3 per 100,000 in 2001 and 31.7 per 100,000 in 2020, double that of civilians, according to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.

The Alliance is looking for 22 supporters to give $22,000 for three years to help end suicide.

The effort is about halfway to the fundraising goal, with some recent businesses that have offered support. Phelps said the issue is particularly meaningful.

“These men and women fought to make America the best country in the world,” he said. “They gave up a lot of their lives.”

The Alliance will host three performances of “Last Out: Elegy of a Green Beret” this summer, sponsored by the Gary Sinise Foundation. Sinise played Vietnam veteran Lt. Dan in “Forrest Gump.” “Last Out” was written by and stars Lt. Col. Scott Mann, who served a combat mission in Afghanistan.

“It’s about a Green Beret and the troubles he went through while he was serving, what his family went through and the problems he had when he was done with his service,” Phelps said. “Here’s a guy fighting for his country, doing things that are unspeakable, personally scarred, and the country needs to support these people. It does matter.”

Many active military members and veterans hesitate to talk about their mental health, he said, reiterating the need for open communication. “People don’t get the help they need, and it leads to suicide,” Phelps said, noting that everyone on his staff is trained to recognize the signs and how to help people find resources. “We’ve helped people through all that. We have a mission and a focus and a clarity to our work.”

As a nonprofit, The Alliance must raise 30 percent of its operating money through donations, calling every donation essential. “We will always be reaching out and working with people to help them support what we are doing,” Phelps said.

The organization has about 200 active donors and supporters, with gifts ranging from $5 to millions of dollars.

“I always tell people it’s not the equal gift but the equal sacrifice,” Phelps said. “Some people can give $100,000 and not bat an eye, and I know we had a donor who gave us $20 and then didn’t eat lunch that day. That gift is as important.”

Events and tenants

Attending events is another way to give to The Alliance.

“The proceeds go to the mission – (from) concerts, lunch, the gun range. The profit of that is our support. Everything we do out there as a nonprofit, it goes back out to support the military and the mission of helping the military men and women in our area.”

Phelps said all 41 spaces at The Alliance are leased out, with two new tenants who do personal and international security and military training.

“We are pretty excited to be full,” he said.

The Alliance also employs 60 staff members and last year brought in nearly 100,000 guests through 1,300 meetings and events.

“What’s happening out here is very cool,” Phelps said. “There is no other venue like The Alliance, and no model exists for what we are doing. We are writing the book on how to do this service-minded, military-civilian environment out here, and it’s working.”