Elected officers and appointments

Elections and the appointment of Officers for the Women’s Network of Rapid City Board take place at the April meeting each year, with duties and responsibilities taking effect each May 1.

Board meetings are held at 9:00 a.m. the Thursday prior to the monthly meeting. Members are always welcome to attend!

If you are interested in a Board position, click on each position below for a description.

If you have further questions, please reach out to any of the current elected officers or appointed committee members.

Elected Officers for 2022-2023:
President: Vanessa Rotoni
President-Elect: Shasta Moreno
Past President: Debbie Pack
Secretary: Michele Blake
Treasurer: Kassie McDuff
Treasurer-Elect: Spencer Gossel

Appointed Committee Members:
Hospitality: Colleen Marie Boling, Shivani Patel
Communications: Jeff Williamson, Michele Blake

The President shall be the chief corporate officer of the corporation and shall preside at all regular meetings of the corporation, the Board of Directors, and the Executive Committee; shall implement actions of the board and directions given by the corporate membership; shall be an ex-officio member of all committees established by the Board; shall sign all written contracts and obligations as directed by the Board; shall appoint committee chairmen subject to ratification by the Board; and finally, shall serve as a member of the Board for one year following the conclusion of her term as President.

The President-Elect shall chair the Scholarship and Nominating committees; act as President in the temporary or permanent absence of the President; and carry out the duties assigned by the Board. As the scholarship committee chair, responsible for soliciting applicants for those scholarships offered by the corporation, and selecting and awarding the funds to the recipients. As the nominating committee chair, responsible for soliciting a slate of candidates for election at the Annual Meeting. This committee will conduct the election, and ensure that standard election etiquette is used.

The Secretary shall be responsible for issuing all notices of all meetings of the corporation and are recorded and prepared. As part of recording minutes at monthly board meetings, the Secretary will maintain attendance records of each board meeting. The Secretary shall serve as the ‘Sunshine’ person, sending cards and offering encouragement to members for significant events in their lives. The Secretary shall be responsible for the custody of corporate books, records and files, shall exercise the powers and perform such other duties usually incident to the office of Secretary or designated by the President of the Board.

The Treasurer shall be responsible for the receipt and custody of all monies of the corporation and for the disbursement thereof, for the keeping of accurate accounts of monies received and paid out, for sending out statements of dues to members, for keeping a current membership list and the amount of money paid by each member and the date thereof, for the execution of contracts, or other documents as authorized by the Board, and for the preparation and issuance of financial statements and reports. The Treasurer shall prepare a financial statement for the annual meeting and will prepare a budget for the fiscal year May 1st – April 30th. The Treasurer will also monitor number of guests and members in attendance at the monthly networking luncheons.

The Treasurer-Elect shall perform such other duties as are usually incident to the office of Treasurer or designated by the President or the Board and work closely with the treasurer to learn the position and duties of the treasurer and will act as treasurer, in their absence. The treasure-elect shall also, together with the treasurer, prepare the annual income tax report. The Treasurer-Elect shall be responsible for preparing a budget for the upcoming fiscal year and submit it to the incoming Board at the May Board meeting. The Treasurer-Elect will follow-up with new members and guests to answer questions and make them feel welcome.

Vanessa Rotoni

President

My name is Vanessa Rotoni from Rapid City, SD. I was born and raised in Nebraska. I am your new President and a Travel/Lifestyle promoter with Seacret Direct, as well as a stay at home momma.

I graduated from the University of Nebraska in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in Family Science and Sociology. I’ve been married to my husband Daniel for 13 years and we have two wonderful little boys, Ritz-four and Westin-two.

I help people Look Better (with skincare from the Dead Sea), Feel Better (with organic plant based nutrition), and Experience the World (with a curated wholesale travel club).

I’ve been in the travel industry over 12 years and have been blessed to build and oversee a team of 10k+ customers and agents across the globe.

I love people, and my passion is to help them travel more and pay less, while creating memories for them and their family that will last a lifetime!

My goal here is to build WNRC as a hub for ladies to come network while building their brand, and encourage one another to be a Boss Lady in whatever it is that they do in the home and out in the workplace.

When I’m not busy running after my boys, I enjoy worshiping the Lord, singing, traveling, taking pictures, coffee, wine, and shopping! My favorite food is pizza and my favorite two places I’ve ever traveled are Hawaii and Fiji!

Shasta Moreno

Vice President

I was raised in the Black Hills and lived with 6 other entrepreneurs. Each one started and owned their own business, so when I graduated, the only lifestyle I had known was with those businesses calling the shots. It’s why it took me a lot longer time to start my own! After spending years in operations, leadership, and learning & development, I earned my business education at the school of hard knocks too. The companies I worked with had the same frustrations I watched my family deal with for years. It was in searching for a better way that I discovered my passion for coaching teams to execute their visions. While I truly enjoyed celebrating each time we accomplished our top goal, my true calling was to help business owners back home just like my family. When I was introduced to EOS®, it was a perfect match. I jumped in with both feet, started my business, and not one day in my session room has felt like work since! I am passionate about sharing EOS® with other owners and leaders. I’m blessed to use my unique background, passion for helping leaders grow, and genuine love of coaching to every client session so they can run a better business and live a better life!

Michele Blake

Secretary

Hi, I’m Michele with one L, and I’m a Rapid City-based headshot and branding photographer with a passion for travel, brunch, and finding the best in people — both in person and through the camera lens. I bring my studio on locaiton for groups of 10 or more. Visit my website to find out more: michelewithoneL.com.

I also recently opened a second business, The Loft Studio + Space, a natural light photography studio and event rental space, serving Rapid City and the Black Hills. So far the feedback has been beyond my expecations — I truly believe Rapid City needs a space like this (and the light here is arguably the best in Rapid City)! Visit theloftrapidcity.com to book a photo session, or contact me directly at hello@theloftrapidcity.com if you’d like to host an event here.

When I’m not behind the camera, I’m traveling, finding the best brunches, walking and hking, or reading my Bible (my passion: micheleblake.com). I’m also a huge grammar princess (grammarprincess.com — really!) and enjoy helping people with their resumes and business writing. If you have a grammar question, I’d love to find the answer. (And I promise to never judge you by your texts.)

Kassie McDuff

Treasurer

Kassie McDuff was born in Sioux Falls, SD but grew up in Rapid City. She met her husband Duff, an Air Force Vet, at 17 and has been married for almost 18 years. He is retiring next month! They have two great kids, Anthony (17) and Alexis (14). From 2013 to 2017, they were stationed in Okinawa, Japan, and loved every minute of it but are glad to be back home in SD.

Growing up, her dad owned his own HVAC business, so you can say that she has always had entrepreneurial blood in her. Before going to work for the family business in 2010, Kassie worked at a call center as a customer relations supervisor. Her bookkeeping career started in 2010, working for the family business, then while in Okinawa, she obtained her Associate’s Degree in Business Management since she already had some experience in the business world.

Not knowing what she would do when they got back to Rapid City, Kassie took a job at a local high school as a paraprofessional and then decided the family business was where she needed to be. While business was still great through Covid, the family decided to keep their employees to a minimum which freed Kassie up to pursue other things.

So, while still working for the family business Kassie started what only made sense; a bookkeeping business. This is how Honest Bee Bookkeeping was created. Kassie is all about honesty and wants her clients to know they can trust that she will have their books ready to hand over to their accountant when it comes to tax time.

Honest Bee Bookkeeping goes beyond bookkeeping by building a strong partnership with all its clients. They can do that by keeping the business small and really knowing and understanding each client’s specific needs.

Spencer Gossel

Treasurer-Elect

My name is Spencer and I am first and foremost a single momma to a very busy teenager Bentley Kaysen and dog mom to my SharPei- Abraham Wrinklin.

I am a mortgage loan officer with the Oman Mortgage Group at CMG here in town for almost 5 years now.

I love what I do to help people get approved and educate them for the biggest financial decision of their life! I am also always happy to help realtors with some of the financing questions that pop up.

At 23 I didn’t think I had any place trying to buy a home alone- but it was the most empowering, rewarding and best financial decision I’ve made for me and my little family.

Side notes about me- I am a writer, power lifter, I’ve lost over 100 lbs and beat cancer…. I am always looking for new genuine connections and opportunities to try and learn new things. I am also the “chick who sells the whitening toothpaste” in town as many have come to know me for… In addition to the founder and owner of “SideGig Marketing” where I help business owners come up with logos, content and other marketing ideas for their small businesses.