Fred Romkema

Born in California and raised in Armour and Corsica, South Dakota (SD), Fred chose to pursue and earn his BA and MA in Speech and Hearing Pathology from the University of South Dakota (USD). Following his graduation from USD, he moved to Spearfish, where he served for a few years as a speech therapist in area public schools. Approached to help start the Northern Hills Training Center (NHTC) in Spearfish, he served as co-founder and CEO of NHTC for 38 years. 

Service to his community has been a visible part of Romkema's life. Following eight years of service on the Spearfish City Council, Romkema Romkema served nine years as Mayor of Spearfish. In addition, for eight years he served in the South Dakota House of Representatives where he represented District 31 (Lawrence County). Romkema's professional background also includes positions as owner and operator of a vending machine business, a storage facility, and a radio station as well as co-founder of Mountain Plains Bank (presently First Interstate Bank) and co-owner of Mountain Goat Sports.  

On a personal note, Fred is married to Priscilla and has three adult sons, eight grandchildren, and four great grandchildren. Romkema is an avid and accomplished runner who has competed in 46 marathons, including 22 Boston Marathons and marathons in New York City, Chicago, Twin Cities, and the Black Hills. In total, Romkema has run over 83,000 miles.