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BSC to honor alumni and Hall of Fame athletes

Published: Apr 05 2022
Bismarck State College (BSC) will honor several alumni and Hall of Fame inductees during the annual alumni recognition event in May.

The BSC National Alumni Association Board of Directors has chosen Brent Ekstrom, ’89, as BSC Alumnus of the Year and Cameron Fleck, ’11, as the BSC Rising Star. The association selected the Morris and Irene (Boehm) Tschider family, ’52 and ’57, as the 2022 BSC Legacy Family award recipients. Three outstanding athletes – Deb Hoistad, ’77, Jeff Schumacher, ’81, and Ted Hausauer, ’75, will be inducted into the BSC Athletic Hall of Fame.

The BSC Alumni & Athletic Hall of Fame Awards Dinner will be held Thursday, May 12, at 6 p.m., in the BSC National Energy Center of Excellence, Bavendick Stateroom. Friends, colleagues, family, BSC alumni and the public are welcome to attend. Ticket information is available at bismarckstate.edu/alumniawards or by calling the BSC National Alumni Association at 701-224-2486. Attendance is free of charge, but tickets must be reserved by May 6, 2022, for planning purposes.

2022 BSC Alumnus of the Year
Living a life of service, Brent Ekstrom serves as the executive director of the Lewis & Clark Development Group – a collaboration of three nonprofit organizations: Lewis & Clark Regional Development Council, Lewis & Clark Certified Development Company, and CommunityWorks North Dakota. In this role, he says he is “actively and directly involved in community and economic development that improves individuals’ quality of life and enhances local economies.”

Ekstrom and his team have helped to create and retain over 4,700 jobs and have developed or maintained 3,000 affordable single- and multi-family housing units in the state. They’ve also provided assistance on more than 2,000 small business and housing projects across North Dakota, totaling more than $794 million.

In addition to serving the community through his career, Ekstrom is actively engaged in volunteer service as a youth leader at United Methodist Church and as a Boy Scout leader. He has also served on the BSC National Alumni Association Board of Directors for six years beginning in 2001 – as chairperson, vice president and board president. In 2018, Ekstrom received the National NeighborWorks Association Emerging Leader Award.

2022 BSC Rising Star
Cameron Fleck used the Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree in Electronics/Telecommunications he earned at BSC to build NewVision Security, a business he started in a garage and grew from the ground up. Today, as owner and president of the company, he provides home and commercial security to residents and businesses across the state of North Dakota.

In 2021, NewVision Security was recognized as Best Security Company and Best Audio/Video by The Bismarck Tribune’s “Best of the Best” Awards. Fleck himself has been recognized as one of North Dakota’s top 20 professionals under age 40 by The Bismarck Tribune and was featured in the 2021 Faces of Bismarck-Mandan publication.

Fleck supports the community through his involvement with the Tracy Sanctuary House and Century Baptist Church as well as serving on the BSC Electronics/Telecommunications Advisory Board the past two years. NewVision Security gives back to the community with enrichment and internships for BSC students and “Donuts and Denim,” a fundraising charity event for Closet 701.

2022 BSC Legacy Family
When Morris Tschider was stationed in Korea during the war, he received a newspaper from back home, and inside a picture of St. Mary’s homecoming queen Irene Boehm caught his eye. He decided then that once he returned, he would ask her out. She turned him down a few times, but he eventually got that date. The two later married.

Both Morris and Irene attended BSC—Morris in 1952 and Irene in 1957 – and the two continued their education at the University of North Dakota (UND). After college, Morris co-founded Tschider & Smith law firm in Bismarck and Irene returned to BSC to teach business education.

The Tschiders have always been proponents of higher education, instilling the legacy in their three children, Tom, Dave and Brenda. Tom attended and played football at UND. Dave and Brenda attended both BSC and UND. Today, Dave is a partner in his father’s law firm and Brenda’s husband, Sean Smith, is a cofounder of the family law firm, where their daughter Amber Smith-Heinert, is also an associate attorney.

Besides family and work life, the Tschiders have also been involved in the community. Morris has helped with fundraising for Bismarck Catholic churches and schools, and he helped to start a booster club at St. Mary’s Central High School. Irene serves on the BSC Foundation Board of Trustees, started the Project Care emergency fund for BSC students and helped organize many BSC Foundation Ball fundraisers. The Tschiders were named the 1997 BSC Alumnus of the Year and both are 1939 Society Lifetime Members.

2022 BSC Athletics Hall of Fame Inductees
Deb Hoistad
A three-sport athlete originally from Havana, N.D., Deb Hoistad donned the Mystic uniform from 1975-77 for the volleyball, basketball and track teams.

During her time at BSC, the Mystics advanced to the NJCAA Region 6 Volleyball Tournament in Fergus Falls, Minn., and was crowned the NAAIAW JC/CC Region 6 Women’s Basketball champions, advancing to the NAIA tournament in Temple, Texas in 1976 and Vincennes, Ind., in 1977 with a first-round win. She was also named All-American in the high jump at the NJCAA Track Meet and qualified for the NAIA JC/CC National Track Meet. In 1977, Hoistad was one of 24 students selected to Who's Who Among American Junior College Students. 

Hoistad went on to play basketball for San Diego State University, where she was awarded the first major scholarship for an out-of-state recruit and was named the Most Outstanding Athlete for Women’s Basketball in 1979. She also played on the women’s North Dakota Amateur Basketball All-State team in 1982 and 1983, where she scored a career-high 43 points.

Hoistad has coached volleyball, basketball and track at the University of Mary in Bismarck and Center Public School in Center, N.D. During her coaching career, she was nominated for Female College Coach of the Year by the North Dakota Associated Press Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association in 1980 and Region 8 Coach of the Year.

Hoistad currently lives in San Diego, Calif.

Jeff Schumacher
Originally from Bismarck, Jeff Schumacher graduated from Bismarck High School and attended both BSC and UND where he earned four-time All-American status in wrestling – twice at BSC and twice at UND. In 1984 he qualified for the NCAA Division I National Championships.

Schumacher began his wrestling coaching career at BSC in 1988 and was named National Coach of the Year in 1992. After coaching five years at BSC, he moved on to coach at Minot High School in Minot, N.D., and was also the head coach at UND in Grand Forks, N.D., for one season.

Since 1997, Schumacher has been coaching and teaching tech education at Bismarck Public Schools. He is currently the winningest coach in Class A High School with a 390-28-3 record and his teams have won 18 state team individual championships and 18 state dual team championships. Schumacher is a five-time finalist for the National High School Wrestling Coaches Award, a member of the North Dakota Wrestling Hall of Fame and a member of the ND State Coaches Hall of Fame.

Ted Hausauer
A three-sport athlete, Hausauer played football, wrestled and competed in track and field for BSC from 1973-75. While on campus, he also played tuba, trombone and baritone for the concert and swing bands, and sang in the concert choir.
After BSC, Hausauer continued his education at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) where he received his bachelor’s degree in history with minors in education, political science and business. While at MRSU, he threw shotput and discus. In 1992, Hausauer obtained his master’s degree in special education administration and supervision.

Hausauer began teaching and coaching in K-12 schools in 1978. At Bishop Ryan High School in Minot, he taught history, business and accounting and coached football, basketball and track. He also taught and directed special education and coached football and basketball at Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools in Clarksville, Tenn.

A Bismarck native, Hausauer currently lives in Walling, Tenn.