Stakeholder Announcement
Tim Potts, USDA Rural Development Community Programs Director Set to Retire
Over 39 Years of Federal Service
Rapid CIty, SD, December 14, 2020 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Community Programs Director Tim Potts will retire from federal service on January 1, 2021, after serving over 39 years with the federal government.
“Throughout Tim’s career he has had the opportunity to assist rural South Dakota residents, ag producers and communities in all USDA Rural Development’s programs. Some of his career achievements include working with hospitals, housing complexes, water/sewer system replacements, creating new infrastructure, bringing indoor water and sewer to places where it was nonexistent before, working in rural areas creating business opportunities and jobs, working with the Mni Wasté Water Company, over many years, on a $100 million dollar project to expand and improve infrastructure on the Cheyenne River Reservation, alleviating potential health and sanitary concerns, and worked on many tribal projects,” said Julie Gross, USDA Rural Development State Director. “His vast knowledge of the program areas will be missed. We hope that in his much-deserved retirement he will be able to fully enjoy his time with family, leisure activities, and volunteering to many worthy causes.”
Tim began his government career in high school working for the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS) located in Gettysburg, South Dakota. After graduating from South Dakota State University, he began working for USDA Rural Development [formerly known as the Farmers Home Administration (FmHA)] in 1982 where he held the position of County Supervisor working in Sturgis, Rapid City, Huron, and Miller; in 1995 he was promoted to Area Director in Rapid City where his area of responsibility included serving all of western South Dakota and five counties in eastern South Dakota; in 2012 he held the title of Rural Development Coordinator; and in 2016 he was promoted to Community Programs Director, the last position held where he provided program oversight to the state of South Dakota.
Tim has distinguished himself with a wide variety of skills and provided guidance without having to reference a manual. He has acquired a lot of institutional knowledge over the years and has watched the agency evolve and progress with continued success.
“I am so grateful for serving as the Community Program Director for USDA Rural Development for the past four years, and working in the program areas for the past 39 years,” said Tim Potts, Community Programs Director. “I thank our partners, stakeholders, and employees for the integral role they have played in my success.” Potts had a goal to bring $250 million of federal funding to help the people of rural South Dakota and while he served as director has hit well over $300 million just within the past three years. Since 1995, the SD Community Program team has approved just over $1.1 Billion dollars that came to South Dakota for water and sewer infrastructure and essential community facilities. “These funds hopefully have improved the quality of life for a lot of rural residents in our state,” Potts added.
Tim’s future includes spending time with his wife Marcia, their two children Trevor (married to Amber) and grandson Gavin and Tera (married to Mike), family and friends, serves on many boards in Western South Dakota, Assistant Minister at Grace Lutheran Church in Sturgis, active in the Scooper Booster Club, and writes for the Black Hills Pioneer and is involved in sports photography, spending time at the lake, fishing, skiing, traveling, and hunting.
Diane Sieperda, Community Programs Specialist, will serve as Acting Community Programs Director until a new Director is named. Diane resides in the Sioux Falls Area Office, 2408 East Benson Road, Sioux Falls, SD 57104, and can be reached at diane.sieperda@usda.gov or (605) 937-4773. Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions and know that our staff will do everything we can to make this a smooth transition.
Rural Development's Community Programs: Community Facilities Programs (CF) offer direct loans, loan guarantees and grants to develop or improve essential public services and facilities in communities across rural America and through the Water and Environmental Programs (WEP) rural communities obtain the technical assistance and financing necessary to develop drinking water and waste disposal systems. Safe drinking water and sanitary waste disposal systems are vital not only to public health, but also to the economic vitality of rural America. Rural Development is a leader in helping rural America improve the quality of life and increase the economic opportunities for rural people. Last year alone, USDA Rural Development in South Dakota assisted 45 projects with the CF Programs totaling over $41 million and 18 projects with the WEP Programs totaling over $50 million for a combined total of over $91.5 million.
USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov/sd or call (605) 352-1100.
If you’d like to subscribe to South Dakota USDA Rural Development updates, visit our GovDelivery subscriber page.
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