Our Mission
The purpose of the South Dakota Electrical Council is to promote and improve the electrical industry within South Dakota.
The council strives to promote technical and product knowledge, continuing education, and better communication among its members through trade shows, joint utility training, newsletters, awards and individual chapters of the South Dakota Electrical Council.
The SDEC and its membership are committed to building cooperation, fostering goodwill, and developing pride among all segments of the electrical industry.
Note: The South Dakota Electrical Council is a non profit organization supporting the electrical industry in South Dakota. We are not the same as the South Dakota Electrical Commission, which is the SD State Commission in charge of licensing electricians. Their website is at Electrical Commission
SDEC Annual Conference
Unfortunately, the South Dakota Electrical Council Annual Conference for 2020 was canceled due to COVID-19. The 2021 conference was held at the Huron Event Center in Huron, South Dakota on April 16-17, 2021.
The Annual SDEC State Board meeting was held April 15, 2021 from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM at the Crossroads Hotel in Huron SD. The 2022 Conference will be held in April of 2022, more information will be posted here as available.
2021 Person of the Year- Reg Hofer
Reg Hofer enjoyed growing up on a small dairy farm located on the Beadle & Spink County Line east of Highway 37. Reg is married to Julie and will celebrate their 47th wedding anniversary in August 2021. They have one, Charles, who is married to Sarah. They are living in Oklahoma this time we have grand animals 1 dog, 2-cats and 4 horses.
Reg graduated from Lake Byron Country School and James Valley Christian School before attending Mitchel Vo-tech. He graduated in 1975 with 2 year degree in Electrical Maintenance and Construction. Work experience included Costain’s Appliance in Huron for 4 years before he started working for the service department of Northwestern Public Service (Northwestern Energy). At Northwestern Reg worked as Journeyman Serviceman doing HVAC install and repair, home and commercial wiring, and climbing poles to install overhead service drops. After Northwestern, he served Beadle County Electric REC (Dakota Energy) as a Member Service Advisor with projects including farm wiring, installing overhead & underground wiring, working with electric heat and heat storage units and duel fuel heating system controls, assisting the Line Department on call outs and storm jobs, for 7 years. While at Dakota Energy, Reg obtained a South Dakota Electrical Contractor License.
Reg returned to Northwestern Energy to work in the substation department becoming a journeyman substation electrician and finally Project Coordinator with the Northwestern Energy Services Group. Project Coordinating included installations of light retrofits, heating & cooling systems, boiler systems, generator systems, which served as a catalyst for future jobs. He worked a total of 15 years at Northwestern Energy. In January of 2001 he began working as a generator salesman, As he puts it, “a job I really enjoy”. He has sold mostly the Kohler Power Products for the past 20 years and has worked at Electrical Engineering & Equipment (3E) as an Energy and Power Quality Specialist for 13 years. It is indeed a joy for Reg to drive throughout South Dakota, Nebraska, and Center & Western Iowa seeing many locations that have generator equipment he was fortunate to be part of providing. During this time he has enjoyed meeting with engineers and electrical contractors, utilities, business owners and home owners around the 3 state area to talk about generators and transfer switches.
For the last few years he has provided continuing education to the SDEC chapters for Generator & Transfer Switches.
Over the years Reg has served as a church deacon, Sunday school teacher, filling the pulpit on a few occasions, providing maintenance in the church for lighting, heating, building equipment. Some hobbies include lawn work, wood working with his Shopsmith lathe & saw equipment and most recently collecting and repairing clocks.
2020 Person of the Year- Scot Dannenbring
Scot A Dannenbring was born in Freeman, SD. Grew up in Parker, SD and graduated from Parker High School in 1976. Mr. Dannenbring entered the electrical industry upon graduation from Mitchell Area Vo-Tech with a degree in Electronic Communications in May of 1978. Not long after graduation Scot landed a position working for Golden West in Wall then moving onto West River Telephone out of Bison where he stayed until 1983.
Scot Jumped out of industry for a few years and attended College at the South Dakota School of Mines, Black Hills State University, then finely Western Dakota Tech Western Dakota Technical Institute (WDT) where he graduated with a Degree in Motorcycle and Small Engine Repair.
After graduating in 1987, Scot took a position at Black Hills Harley Davison until the call of the electrical industry was too strong when in April of 1988, Scot was given the opportunity to take a position for The Boeing Co. in Seattle, Washington as an inspector of Minuteman Missile systems and an electronics installer. Scots role for Boeing consisted of leading installation and inspection teams on communication cabling in missile launch facilities as well as electric bundles in the Boeing 747 passenger airliner. Scot held this position until he relocated back to the Rapid City area in November of 1992 where he started his most impactful journey on the electrical industry in South Dakota by substitute teaching and tutoring students back at WDT. From then on Scot was involved in electronics training although he maintained employment in the industry for companies such as Dakota Cement Plant, Western Communications, Conrad’s Big C Electric, and Mayer Radio until November of 1997. At that time Scot took a fulltime position as an electrical instructor for the electrical program at WDT, a position which he still holds today.
Since 1997, Scot has impacted the lives of countless students in the Electronics Technology, the Industrial Electronics, and the Electrical Trades programs. Scot’s patience, dedication, and genuine care for his students, along with his background in electronics, made him a clear choice to be the first instructor that students interact with in the program, and he has been the first semester instructor for many years. Scot has a passion for learning, and he has continued his own formal education by earning two AAS degrees in the electrical field.
Scot is also a leader. He has served as the Program Director and been instrumental in training and mentoring many new instructors who have passed through the program through the years. Scot’s character has led him to be an important voice on the WDT campus where he sits on many committees that make decisions that affect all students and employees.
Scot holds a South Dakota Electrical Journeymen’s license, is an active member of the Black Hills Chapter of the South Dakota Electrical Council, member of the Black Hills Amateur Radio Club, and is an amateur radio operator.
Scot grew up in Parker SD and since, has lived in Rapid City since 1991. Scot has been married to his wife Marlene since 1985. They have 2 kids, Scot Eric (Scooter) married to Jessica and Megan married to Dr. Amit Gautam who have 2 children Micah and Olivia.
As industry member and, most importantly, faculty member of electrical trades at WDT, Scot Dannenbring has played a key role in the South Dakota electrical industry. One of Scot’s favorite quotes “Electrical Trades, It’s not just a Job, It’s a career!”
SDEC 2019 Annual Conference
The 2019 Annual Conference was held April12-13, 2019 in Spearfish SD. We all had a great time renewing acquaintances, and learning more during the educational sessions.
2019 Person of the Year-Steve Arne
Steve Arne
Training Director
AETech Electrical Training Center
Rapid City, South Dakota
Steve Arne has worked as an electrician, electrical contractor, and electrical instructor for 45 years. Steve spent 10 years In the electrical field, then the next nineteen years as a teacher and department head in the Electrical Program at Western Dakota Technical Institute. Since Steve retired from Western Dakota Tech in 2003, he has provided industry-direct training specializing in continuing education Electrical Code classes and Electrician Exam Preparation classes for Journeyman and Master’s level exams. In 2012, Steve and Deb’s son Ryan returned to Rapid City SD to help Steve expand his training business at AETech Electrical Training Center to include a 640-hour full-time day-time Apprentice Electrician Training Program.
Steve earned a Technical Education Teaching Degree from Dakota State University and a Master’s Degree In Administrative Studies from the University of South Dakota. Steve served two terms as a Board Member of the SD Electrical Commission and serves on the State and Local Chapter Boards of the SD Electrical Council.
Steve worked with Mike Holt as the Technical Editorial Director and served as a technical editor and video team participant from 2002 until 2014 and uses Mike’s books in his classes. He is very thankful to have been associated with an industry leader like Mike who provides excellent training products to help students progress in the electrical industry and has a real heart to help others.
Steve grew up on a farm in eastern South Dakota, and has lived in Rapid City, South Dakota since 1970 where he and his wife Deb are both active in their church and community, and love to spend time with their children and grandchildren. Most of all, Steve and Deb both strive to put God first in their lives, in their home and in their relationships.
SDEC Website Sponsors include:
