Volunteerism is important to many professionals, but for Davenport Evans legal assistant Michele Ensz and her husband Bob, community service has become a way of life. For the past 12 years, Michele and Bob have dedicated every weekend from Memorial Day to Labor Day educating state park visitors about birds. The couple puts on programs showcasing their six parrots in state parks across eastern South Dakota. At Festifall 2013, an annual event held at Newton Hills State Park near Canton, South Dakota, Michele and Bob were surprised to learn they had been named the South Dakota State Park Volunteers of the Year. The award was presented by Newton Hills District Park Supervisor Eric Vander Stouwe and fellow volunteer Tonna Hartman, who submitted the nomination.
“Bob and Michele provide an outstanding bird program at a number of parks throughout the state,” said Newton Hills District Park Supervisor Eric Vander Stouwe. “They are very valuable volunteers, and it holds true simply from the number of participants that attend every one of their programs. Their bird program averages over 100 people!”
Bob and Michele each put in 244 volunteer hours providing programming for South Dakota state parks. “It has been an honor to share our passion for parrots with such a wide variety of folks,” Michele said, “We have met many people, some of which are still very close friends, and that experience is beyond words. We had one young lady, 13 years old, tell us this past summer that she has seen our program every year since she was 3. Our past summers have been such a humbling experience for both Bob and me. We are honored and grateful for this wonderful recognition.”
Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP, located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is one of the State’s largest law firms. The firm’s attorneys provide business and litigation counsel to individuals and corporate clients in a variety of practice areas. For more information about Davenport Evans, visit www.DEHS.com.