BLACK HILLS STATE UNIVERSITY ANNOUNCES NEW SOUTH DAKOTA STOCK MARKET GAME COORDINATOR

Headshot - Chris Wardell
Wardell

The Black Hills State University School of Business has named accounting instructor Chris Wardell as the new South Dakota Stock Market Game (SD SMG) Coordinator. Don Altmyer, professor of accounting, had been the state coordinator since 1997 and retired in June after 26 years at the University.

Wardell said on his new role as SD SMG Coordinator, “I look forward to transitioning into the Coordinator role for the South Dakota Stock Market Game. The Stock Market Game serves an important role in developing financial literacy and personal finance skills, which are becoming increasingly important in today's society. I can't wait to partner with our current schools to ensure that their students continue to receive this opportunity, as well as to work to further expand this program within our state.”

Headshot - Don Altmyer
Altmyer

Altmyer added, “I am pleased that Chris Wardell has agreed to take over the SD SMG Coordinator position and believe it will be a seamless transition. It was a great experience to work with the South Dakota teachers in delivering the program in a variety of subjects and grade levels. Seeing students become motivated to learn about investing and applying their learning to the real-world experience of working in teams, researching companies, buying a portfolio of stocks and monitoring their progress is a wonderful memory for me.

When asked about his retirement plans, Altmyer said that he can be found working on the disc golf courses at BHSU and the Spearfish Canyon. He will be the Tournament Director for the 2022 South Dakota State Disc Golf Championships to be held at the Spearfish Canyon course, the top-rated disc golf course in the state.

The South Dakota Stock Market Game has been delivered by Black Hills State University through the Center for Economic Education since 1994. The BHSU Center for Economic Education has an exclusive license to operate the SMG program in South Dakota with the Securities Industry Financial Markets Association (SIFMA). The SMG program is widely identified as the leader in youth financial education and the only program proven in rigorous, independent studies year-after-year to raise math and financial literacy test scores and to change financial behavior for the better for students and teachers. Over 600,000 students from all 50 states participate each year. In South Dakota, about 1,000 students from 50 schools participate each year in the middle school, high school and college divisions. The Fall 2021 session of the SD SMG starts on Monday, Oct. 4. To register go to www.stockmarketgame.org.

For further information on the South Dakota Stock Market Game program, contact Wardell at Christopher.Wardell@BHSU.edu