HURON – Delta Dental of South Dakota Foundation has established the Dr. Dale A. Gibson Oral Health Scholarship Fund at the South Dakota Community Foundation.
Gibson served on the Delta Dental of South Dakota Board of Directors for 33 years, including 17 years as chair.
Over those 33 years, Delta Dental of South Dakota grew from less than $5 million in annual revenues to more than $150 million.
Today, it provides dental benefits to more than 425,000 South Dakotans.
The foundation was established in 1997 as a 501(c)3 public charity to support the company’s oral health mission.
One of the foundation’s signature programs is the Delta Dental Mobile Dental Program, which has provided $21 million of dental care to more than 40,000 underserved South Dakota children.

Molar 2 will be in Huron again for two weeks this spring in partnership with United Way Heartland Region.
Gibson continues to serve on the DDSD Foundation board.
“Delta Dental of South Dakota is grateful for Dale’s leadership and service, and we’re honored to be a part of Dale’s vision to help future generations of dental assistants get their training at Lake Area Technical Institute,” said Scott Jones, president and chief executive officer of Deltal Dental of South Dakota.
“Dale often says that some of the finest people he ever worked with were LATI graduates,” he said.
Distributions from the Dr. Dale A. Gibson Oral Health Scholarship Fund at the South Dakota Community Foundation will provide financial support to students pursuing a Dental Assisting Degree at LATI in Watertown.
“The South Dakota Community Foundation is proud to partner with Delta Dental as they honor Dr. Gibson, a long-time leader of their board of directors,” said Jeff Veltkamp, South Dakota Community Foundation director of development.
“This is a true testament to the philanthropic culture at Delta Dental,” he said. “A thank you gift that not only honors Dr. Gibson for his service, but also makes an investment in the future of their industry.”
The South Dakota Community Foundation administers over 250 scholarship endowments benefiting hundreds of South Dakota students every year. It distributed more than $18.8 million in grants in 2018.