It’s fitting that Beef Bucks Inc. was recently named the 2018 South Dakota State University Friend of the Beef Industry.

Beef Bucks Inc. was started in 1997 in DeSmet, S.D., by Bob and Nancy Montross, Delina Nagel and Joanne Hillman. Beef Bucks Inc. sells pre-paid checks or pre-paid debit cards, called Beef Bucks, that can be used at restaurants, steak houses, meat markets, grocery stores and home delivery services. Retailers accepting Beef Bucks need only to deposit the check the same way they would any other check accepted in their establishment.

Beef Bucks are an ingenious solution to the main obstacle in giving someone a gift of beef — how do you ship beef to them? Beef Bucks are simple, easy and inexpensive to send through the mail, and they don’t even have to be frozen!

Over the past 20 years, Beef Bucks have been used to buy millions of dollars of beef in more than 40 states. The Wheel of Fortune TV show has given a $1,000 Beef Bucks prize for the past nine years.

Beef Bucks Inc. also provides college scholarships each year. Funds are raised for scholarships and other projects through the sale of a beef recipe book and an annual golf tournament.

A non-profit, Beef Bucks Inc. is run by a volunteer board of directors. Joanne Hillman of Sioux Falls is president; Eileen Moller of Mitchell is vice president; Bob Montross of De Smet is treasurer; and Nancy Montross, also of De Smet, is the executive secretary. Judy Blindauer of Mitchell; Jim Woster of Sioux Falls; and Todd Olinger of Woonsocket are also on the board.

A tip of the hat to Beef Bucks on a good idea and a job well done.