BROOKINGS, S.D. – Two South Dakota State University Extension AgritourismSD graduates were recently recognized by Travel South Dakota for their achievements and contributions to the tourism industry.
Beth Simonson, of Highmore, received the Peter Norbeck Excellence in Tourism Innovation Award for the Sunflower Festival she started and Noreen Jorgensen, of Burbank, received the Ruth Ziolkowski Outstanding Hospitality & Customer Service Award for her family’s Airbnb and event venue.
For Simonson, her dream of a community-wide festival started as a small sunflower photo shoot in 2023. By 2025, the second annual Sunflower Festival drew more than 500 visitors from 13 states. To have an award that says not just her name, but the festival’s is another dream come true.
“It really is a dream come true. You move to a small town and you can make dreams come true that you can’t in a bigger city,” Simonson said. “This is also a chance to acknowledge we have something beautiful, and I appreciate that.”
The Ruth Ziolkowski Outstanding Hospitality & Customer Service Award is given annually to four industry members, each representing one of the four tourism regions in South Dakota. The award recognizes tourism industry professionals who provide remarkable service to visitors and whose work demonstrates an outstanding spirit of hospitality. Other award winners were Laurie Sutterer of Visit Rapid City in Rapid City; Lauren Dietz of the Children’s Museum of South Dakota in Brookings; and Todd Moser of Wilbert's Service in Pollock.
Ruth Ziolkowski was CEO of the Crazy Horse Memorial, a South Dakota monument dedicated to Crazy Horse which was designed by her late husband, Korczak Ziolkowski. Jorgensen remembers meeting Ruth Ziolkowski briefly during a family visit to Crazy Horse – Ziolkowski was going from table to table, greeting visitors.
“I remember thinking ‘this woman must have so much to do’, but that was so important to her, to make sure people felt welcome,” Jorgensen said. “For me to win her award, I was really honored. I just have a renewed sense of what I’m doing here.”
Jorgensen said they turned to agritourism to keep their family’s farm alive. She manages the Airbnb and special event venue at her family’s ranch, Blue Tin Ranch. They have two guest spaces – a converted indoor swimming pool, and a converted chicken coop – that they rent out, along with hosting special events like weddings.
“I credit the agritourism program at SDSU Extension. I owe a huge amount of my success to that,” Jorgensen said.
Peggy Schlechter, SDSU Extension Community Vitality Program Director, praised Simonson and Jorgensen as true advocates of agritourism and rural South Dakota.
“Beth and Noreen are truly deserving of the recognition they’ve received. They not only excel at promoting their own businesses, but they also champion agritourism and highlight visitor opportunities across the entire state,” said Schlechter. “They serve as outstanding ambassadors for their communities and for South Dakota. Both have been active participants in many SDSU Extension learning opportunities—whether through agritourism workshops, the AgritourismSD program or our Energize conference.”
Twelve awards were presented honoring businesses and individuals for outstanding achievements and contributions to the tourism industry on Jan. 22, 2026, during the 2026 South Dakota Governor’s Conference on Tourism. Winners received their awards from Gov. Larry Rhoden and James Hagen, secretary of tourism. The South Dakota Department of Tourism is comprised of Travel South Dakota and the South Dakota Arts Council.
