United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development South Dakota Acting State Director Bruce Jones recently announced that Lance Lockwood has joined the South Dakota USDA Rural Development team as a loan assistant and will be stationed in the Rapid City Office.
“Lance has joined the USDA Rural Development team under the Pathways Recent Graduate Program. I’m excited for the opportunity to bring new faces to the agency and help them to succeed in making South Dakota a better place through the many programs we offer,” said Jones.
Lockwood will receive his Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of South Dakota in August 2015. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Bible from Central Bible College and a Master of Divinity degree from the Assemblies of God. Both schools are based in Springfield, MO.
Lockwood is a member of the South Dakota National Guard. Through the Guard, he has had the opportunity to serve in several positions located in Watertown, Sioux Falls, and Brookings. He was deployed to Kabul Afghanistan from 2010-2011.
“I look forward to this new endeavor with USDA Rural Development and look forward to utilizing my education and experience to help the Agency to carry out its mission to bring economic opportunity and an enhanced quality of life to rural communities and residents in South Dakota,” said Lockwood. Lockwood also shared that in his spare time he enjoys bike riding, snowboarding, reading, video games, and watching movies.
USDA Rural Development in South Dakota has offices in Aberdeen, Huron, Mitchell, Pierre, Rapid City, Sioux Falls, Watertown, and Yankton. For more information, visit the USDA Rural Development website at http://www.rd.usda.gov/sd.
The Administration’s plan for rural America has brought about historic investment and resulted in stronger rural communities. These investments in housing, community facilities, businesses and infrastructure have empowered rural America to continue leading the way – strengthening America’s economy, small towns and rural communities. USDA’s investments in rural communities support the rural way of life that stands as the backbone of our American values.