Announcing the 2026 Acts of Excellence Award Recipients
The South Dakota Hall of Fame announces three recipients of the 2026 Acts of Excellence Awards. Sponsored by Sanford Health, these awards recognize individuals and organizations whose efforts have made a lasting impact in their communities.
The Acts of Excellence program honors everyday heroes whose dedication and achievements quietly shape the future of South Dakota. Each recipient exemplifies what it means to lead with integrity, innovation, and a commitment to service.
Award Ceremonies for each recipient will be held later this summer in their respective communities.
Anelis Coscioni and the Toy Lending Library | Sioux Falls, SD
Uplifting the Power of Play
Founded in 2015 by Executive Director Anelis Coscioni, the Toy Lending Library of South Dakota has grown from a single distribution location in the basement of First United Methodist Church in Sioux Falls to nearly 40 locations across eastern South Dakota. The organization provides over 1,800 free, curated toy boxes to families with children ages 0–5, helping them develop learning skills through play. Each toy box is color-coded by age and labeled with the specific developmental skills the toys promote, meeting above-industry standards for safety and cleanliness. Since its founding, more than 44,000 toy boxes have been checked out by the community.
The Toy Lending Library operates through 21 partner lending locations affiliated with Siouxland Libraries, eight additional library partnerships outside that system, and a Bookmobile that reaches daycares and community centers in surrounding areas. The organization has also developed a collection of Ready for Kindergarten toy boxes and programming designed to address South Dakota's school readiness gap. Data shows only 58.4% of South Dakota parents believe their children ages 3–5 are prepared for kindergarten, the fourth-lowest rate in the nation.
2024 survey results reflect the organization's meaningful impact. 98% of toy box users reported their child learned something new, 87% of caregivers said they read to their child more frequently as a result, and 100% of families reported a positive impact on their family.
What further distinguishes the Toy Lending Library is its culture of inclusion. Over 70 volunteers from organizations serving individuals with disabilities contribute to weekly operations, finding a welcoming and supportive environment where they can thrive and develop job skills. Anelis Coscioni, who worked for years without pay to build the organization, continues to lead this vital community resource on a modest budget, driven entirely by her commitment to giving every child the opportunity to learn through play.
Memorial Day Mission by Zayne, Zander, and Zaiden | Spearfish, SD
A Tradition Built on Honoring Our Heroes
What started with the pure empathy of a three-year-old boy has grown into one of South Dakota's most heartfelt tributes to veterans. In 2011, Zayne Bartol visited the Black Hills National Cemetery in Sturgis with his grandmother to place flowers on his great-grandfather's grave. Noticing that many surrounding graves had no flowers, Zayne was so troubled that he insisted on going back to purchase more. That simple act of compassion became the foundation of a family tradition now in its 15th year.
Each Memorial Day, Zayne and his brothers Zander and Zaiden, supported by their parents Rena and Jerrod, a veteran himself, gather flowers, attach labels, and place them on as many graves as possible at the Black Hills National Cemetery, which is home to over 29,000 gravesites. What began with a small bundle of flowers from Walmart has grown to nearly 3,000 flowers placed annually, with the help of a team of family and friends. The family also returns a week later to collect the flowers before they are discarded.
The mission has expanded over the years to include placing wreaths during the winter holidays and making special visits throughout the year to honor veterans on meaningful occasions. In 2019, after an outpouring of community support, the family established a nonprofit organization to manage donations for the purchase of flowers. Zayne, now 17, has set a powerful example for his younger brothers, who carry on the tradition with the same sense of purpose. The family's ultimate goal: to one day place a flower on every grave at the cemetery. This goal reflects their belief that every veteran deserves to be remembered.
Mother of God Monastery, Benedictine Sisters | Watertown, SD
Hospitality, Human Dignity, and Care for Others
The Benedictine Sisters of Mother of God Monastery have been serving the people of South Dakota since the late 1870s, when they arrived from Switzerland to minister to German immigrants and Native Americans by establishing schools and providing healthcare across the territory. From humble beginnings at St. Mary's Hospital in Pierre in 1961, the sisters established their home base on Harmony Hill in Watertown in 1964, eventually touching lives through nursing, education, and ministry throughout the Dakotas and beyond.
As their community aged, with a median age of 86 and just 29 sisters remaining, they faced a pivotal decision about what to do with their 485-acre campus. Rather than sell the land, they chose to transform it into a multi-phase intergenerational community rooted in their core values of hospitality, human dignity, and care for others. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the sisters began developing their campus in earnest, designing, building, and opening a state-of-the-art assisted living and memory care facility, The Village at Harmony Hill, in under 18 months. The facility has maintained 89% occupancy since December 2023, a rate described as unheard of in long-term care.
The sisters then welcomed Our Little Village Learning Center, now the largest early childhood learning program in Codington County, serving 120 students with room for 100 more. Affordable workforce housing has also been developed on the campus, with plans underway for student housing in partnership with Lake Area Technical College, single-family homes, and South Dakota's Challenger STEM Learning Center.
Now employing more than 120 people where once only the 29 sisters worked, Harmony Hill has become an economic engine and a model of intergenerational community. The Benedictine Sisters have answered their final calling not by stepping back, but by planting seeds for generations to come.