The purpose of the Missouri Slope Model Aero Club is to promote model aviation for the enjoyment of all ages. Membership is open to everyone.

The club hosts several events during the year: a spring fly-in each June, a fun fly in July and the annual Art May Memorial Fun Fly in August. Each winter, the club hosts an indoor electric fun fly indoors at the Fore Seasons Center in Bismarck. The club also hosts a non flying event at the Kirkwood Mall each March. This gives folks a chance to see the models up close and get to know more about the club and club events.

The club uses a premier flying site located just south of the McDowell Dam in Bismarck. This site has a 650 foot runway, a 350 foot cross wind runway and has four pit work stations with electrical hook-ups. The site also has a picnic shelter and six camper sites with electricity. The beautiful grass runway at this site is able to handle all sizes of models.

Spectators are always welcome at club events. 

The Missouri Slope Model Aero Club meets the first Thursday of each month, October through April. For more information on the Missouri Slope Model Aero Club, please contact Rod Matzke at 701-220-0728, Glenn Nyhus at 701-250-1715 or Lloyd Rittenbach at 701-319-0361, or visit www.msmac.org.

Bismarck Soccer League (BSL) is a non-profit recreational youth soccer organization run by volunteers. BSL was started in 1979 by a group of soccer enthusiasts.  In its first year of existence there were 257 boys and girls, ages 6 to 14.  The following year there were 457 boys and girls, ages 5 to 15.  Today, BSL has more than 700 girls playing and over 400 boys playing soccer. 

BSL was created to provide a fun, healthy recreational soccer environment for boy and girls grades K-6.  The league is split into two six-week seasons.  The girls’ spring season runs from April to May; the boys’ season is September and October.  All the teams are coached by volunteer parents.  Each team has one practice during the week which is held at one of the local elementary schools or the Cottonwood Soccer Complex.  They also have a game each Saturday, with one Saturday scheduled as a jamboree, which consists of three games.   All the games are played at the Cottonwood Soccer Complex. 

BSL is funded primarily by local business sponsorship and registration fees.  These sponsorships and player fees pay for the yearly expenses incurred through normal league operation.  These expenses are t-shirts, player insurance, field fees and referees, just to name a few. 

BSL’s basic philosophy is:
• Insure FUN for all participants
• Promote POSITIVE ATTITUDES toward fitness
• Promote TEAM work & FAIR PLAY
• Promote FAMILY INVOLVEMENT
• Insure EQUAL participation
• Promote SPORTSMANSHIP
• Promote BASIC soccer skills 

Telephone: 701-258-5436                                                                                 Mary Siverson, Director
Mary.Siverson@ndsu.edu

The mission of RSVP+ North Dakota is to invite individuals of all ages to enhance personal growth, develop leadership skills and meet critical community needs through meaningful volunteer service opportunities.

RSVP+ is a federally and locally funded program that connects agencies with needs to volunteers with skills. Formerly known as RSVP, the + signifies the elimination of its age requirement, and incorporates our additional initiatives and expanded services, such as the Foster Grandparent Program and Bone Builders Program.

RSVP+ is a non-profit program sponsored by the NDSU Distance and Continuing Education Department, and has been active in our community for 40 years. RSVP+ volunteers can be found in a wide variety of service opportunities such as: tutoring, assisting with sports events, delivering meals to the homebound, mentoring, computer assistance, clerical work, puppetry, care center activities, hospital placements, fund raising events, thrift stores, and much more. Regardless of your age, skills, or interests, RSVP+ has an opportunity for you!

The quality of a volunteer’s experience is not defined by the number of hours that can be donated but rather by the type of skills or talents they want to use or gain through that experience.

Individuals already involved in volunteer service have our invitation to continue that involvement through RSVP+. Benefits of our program include secondary accident and liability insurance, AAA membership discount, annual recognition event, free transportation to volunteer assignments for volunteers over age 55, and newsletter updates.

Join us for our annual fund raising event, the Penguin Plunge. Fashioned after the arctic polar bear plunges, we host a fun family event with the opportunity to dunk community members into a cool water tank. Please contact our office at 701-258-5436 for details.

Bismarck Youth Fastpitch Softball Association is a non-profit organization that has only been in existence in Bismarck since 2007. The group’s humble beginnings can be traced to 2006 in working with Bismarck Parks and Recreation District staff in organizing winter practices in the basement of the World War Memorial Building.  That lead to a Bismarck Parks and Recreation District (BPRD) summer program with 40 middle school aged young ladies, playing two evenings each week.

In 2007, the association was formed, made up primarily of volunteer parents driving kids to games as a club sport. In 2009, fastpitch became a sanctioned high school sport through the North Dakota High School Activities Association with 12 teams across the state. Bismarck had one team the first year, and because of the growth in interest, was able to split into teams from both public schools – Bismarck and Bismarck Century – in 2011. In 2012 there will be traditional Class A and Class B teams, all a sign of continued interest and growth in fastpitch softball.

The fastpitch summer program in Bismarck continues to grow, as it does across the entire state. What started with 40 players in Bismarck that first summer has now grown to nearly 300 players in three divisions. The leagues play on Sunday evenings at the McQuade Complex and Monday-Thursday on the 16^th Street Park diamonds.

A special thanks to BPRD staff. They do a lot in keeping up with the program. The grounds keepers have to change the pitching plates, move the bases and also install and take down the portable fencing. The park district provides space and maintains the fields for the high school fastpitch programs as well.

Because of the growth in Bismarck, Bismarck State College has now started a fastpitch program, much like many of the schools in their conference. This opens up the opportunity for youth fastpitch players to get scholarships to attend school and play softball.

Fastpitch softball is on the rise all across the region. The Prairie Rose State Games, held in Bismarck in July,  had 19 fastpitch teams competing, coming from as far away as Sydney, Montana and Canada. In 2007, the NDASA JO fastpitch softball tournament hosted 12 teams. In 2011, the state tournament in Bismarck had 30 teams in four divisions.

Bismarck Youth Fastpitch Softball Association has filled a need and created an opportunity for youth fastpitch players in Bismarck and the surrounding area. The numbers of players is growing and the number of community minded sponsors is also on the rise.  

Bismarck Youth Baseball is a non-profit, tax exempt, 501(c)(3) organization. Bismarck Youth Baseball has been in existence since 1991. Created by a group of baseball loving parents, the League has continued as a volunteer run organization. The primary purpose of the League is to provide an educational, competitive baseball experience to Bismarck area boys and girls using a volunteer Board of Directors, volunteer Umpires, Coaches, Team Coordinators and League volunteers. The League is currently chartered with Cal Ripken Baseball League.

The Baseball League began with a handful of teams and has doubled in size since 2005, currently with 815 players enrolled in its 2011 season, between the ages of 6 and 12 resulting in 66 teams for the season. The League offers evening baseball with four divisions of play as well as four divisions of traveling baseball for players who desire a higher level of competition among state and regional teams, for players age 9 - 12. Beginning in 2010, BYB began offering a Fall Baseball League hoping for 96 players for 2011.

Bismarck Youth Baseball takes pride in improving grounds used during its season. BYB has created and improved t-ball fields at Grimsrud Elementary, baseball fields at Centennial Elementary as well as providing funding for improvements at the new Scheels Sports Complex in Bismarck.

Bismarck Youth Baseball’s primary funding is local sponsorships, registration fees and fundraising. BYB charges a registration fee to each and every player, as well as a fund raising fee for the annual raffle. The registration fees and raffle pay for the expenses incurred in League operation from year to year. The sponsorships are the primary source to pay for field creation, improvement and maintenance.

Our 2011 season is winding to a close in late July. Our traveling teams have excelled at our ND State Cal Ripken Tournament. Our 9-year-olds have won the championship game and will be headed to Yankton, SD for the regional tournament. Our 10’s place 2^nd to Grand Forks in their state tournament. Our 11’s are also the ND State Champs and will be headed to Sykeston, MO for the Cal Ripken Regional 11-year-old tourney. Our 12’s were beat in the 2^nd leg of the tournament by the team then ended up taking the championship. So in a nutshell, Bismarck Youth Baseball has had a successful 2011 season and looks forward to growth in the future.

Since 1970, Shade Tree Players has strived to provide an all inclusive theatrical experience to any student in the Bismarck/Mandan area who is willing and able to participate in the process of building a live production from the ground up.  Starting with one show serving a handful of children in its premier season, Shade Tree Players has grown to accommodate as many as 300 students, employ up to 20 creative professionals and work with countless community volunteers, to present 9 full scale productions each year.  In an effort to continue diversifying its programming and expanding services to area children, Shade Tree Players also holds regular classes and workshops, participates in Bismarck Public Schools educational activities and has established a comprehensive Technical Theatre course.   

Gateway to Science filled 2010 with fun discovery for children of all ages! We served nearly 11,000 visitors and program participants. 

Our free family events included Winter Wonderland in January, NanoDays in April, The Sound of Science in June, Family Rocket Day in July and Bubble Bliss in August. Educational programs offered in 2010 included Young Scientists Club during the school year and a variety of summer science camps. Lego camps were the most popular, and students also enjoyed Paleontology Camp, Build It-Race It and Astronaut Camp. We also participated in facility-wide programs and events throughout the year, including da Genius daVinci in January, Summer Sign-up in April, Frances Leach Arts & Science Camp in August and Haunting Arts & Spooktacular in October. 

Through the Visiting Scientists Series, we sponsored speakers on Oil & Gas Production, GPS, and Flooding. 

Gateway to Science’s annual fundraiser, Einstein on Wine, was held in November and featured a chef showdown between 2009 Champion Aaron Bank, Mr. Delicious, and Challenger Mort Bank, Space Aliens. This fun evening for adults only raised funds to support the hands-on exhibits and programming offered throughout the year.

The Bismarck Sertoma Club was founded locally in 1958. The club was founded for the purpose of supporting parks in Bismarck, mainly Riverside Park, which today, is Sertoma Park. The Sertoma Club has supported many Sertoma Park projects, including the development of picnic shelters, picnic tables, playground equipment, tree plantings, restroom facilities and the Sertoma Club Community Center. 

The Sertoma Club’s annual holiday event, Christmas in the Park, is a community favorite. Christmas in the Park started in 1996 and has grown to become a family tradition for many Bismarck residents. It’s very satisfying to note that many Sertoma Clubs in and outside of the state have started Christmas in the Park programs, modeled after the Bismarck club’s success. 

The Sertoma Club has also been a committed sponsor and supporter of the Prairie Rose State Games and is a significant contributor to Turtle Beach Playground, an indoor playground located at the BSC Aquatic & Wellness Center. The Sertoma Club has also supported the purchase of the video board at the Bismarck Community Bowl and is a sponsor of the Lynx enclosure at the Dakota Zoo. 

The Sertoma Club also supports individuals with speech and hearing issues, and works closely with Bismarck Public Schools as well as public and private health care providers to give financial support to those in need of assistance.