United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development South Dakota Acting State Director Bruce Jones recently recognized Tamara Hakl, a state Single Family Housing (SFH) Technician, for 25 years of dedicated service to the federal government.
“USDA Rural Development is a ‘can do’ agency. We are determined to assist as many families, producers, business owners, and rural communities as we can within the means of our budget and regulations,” said Hakl. “Our mission at USDA Rural Development is to improve the economy and quality of life for all rural Americans.”
Hakl began her career in the fall of 1987 as a temporary employee for Minnehaha County Farm Service Agency; later transferring to a permanent position with the Yankton County Farm Service Agency in August of 1988; then after having a short break in service to raise her children, she began working for USDA Rural Development in April of 2004 until the present with the SFH Direct program. In this capacity, she works with the SFH team in the day to day process of assisting low and very-low income applicants to obtain decent, safe and sanitary housing in eligible rural areas by providing payment assistance to increase an applicant’s repayment ability. Payment assistance is a type of subsidy that reduces the mortgage payment for a short time. The amount of assistance is determined by the adjusted family income. Hakl also assists with loans to very-low income homeowners to repair their homes and provide grants to elderly very-low income homeowners to remove health and safety hazards from their homes. She services and performs outreach for 14 counties in the southeastern part of the state.
“Tamara is instrumental on the SFH direct team with the day to day processes and is serving on a task force for National Office working to enhance the application process for USDA Rural Development SFH direct loans,” said Jones. “She is a technical expert and a real asset to our agency and the team.”
Hakl’s role model is her grandmother. “I am inspired by my grandmother’s encouraging words of wisdom and prayers,” Hakl said.
Hakl resides in Yankton with her husband and three children. In her free time, she loves going to concerts, movies, and poker runs. She has lived near the Missouri River her whole life and also enjoys camping, boating, hiking, fishing, kayaking, tubing and hosting BBQ parties with her family.
USDA Rural Development has eight offices in the state that assist rural communities. Office locations include a state office in Huron, along with area offices in Aberdeen, Mitchell, Pierre, Rapid City, Sioux Falls, Watertown, and Yankton.
USDA Rural Development invests in housing, water and wastewater, rural small businesses, renewable energy, and broadband. To learn about Rural Development programs, visit www.rd.usda.gov/sd.