Alan Hanks (born April 4, 1960) is an American politician. He served on the Rapid City Council from 1996 to 2004, in the South Dakota House of Representatives from 2004 to 2007, and as mayor of Rapid City from 2007 to 2011.

Background

Hanks was born in 1960 to parents Ethan and Fae Hanks. The three, along with Hanks' two siblings, moved to Rapid City, South Dakota when Hanks was 9 years old. There, Hanks' parents taught in the city school system. Hanks attended Stevens High School, where he was involved in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, and

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

. He graduated in 1979. In 1983, he received a degree in business administration from the University of South Dakota. Following college, Hanks returned to Rapid City to manage a large furniture store, and in 1987, he opened 2 of his own stores in both Rapid City and

Sioux Falls Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up t ...

. In 2001, after owning his stores for almost 20 years, Hanks built the Heartland RV Park and Cabins on Highway 79 (which he continues to operate). In 2005, Hanks began work as a licensed real estate appraiser and owns and manages Hanks Appraisal Services. It was not until 1996 that Hanks ventured into politics. He began as an appointed member of the Rapid City planning commission, and in 1998 was elected to the City Council as Ward 1 Alderman. He served on several subcommittees and was elected as President of the City Council. In 2004, Hanks was elected to the South Dakota State Legislature as a

state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

from District 32. After three years in this position, Hanks defeated Jim Shaw for the office of Mayor of Rapid City, SD serving two terms. In 2008, he received the Rapid City Elks Club's Distinguished Citizenship Award.

Personal

Hanks has one daughter, Breanna.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanks, Alan Mayors of Rapid City, South Dakota Living people 1960 births South Dakota city council members Members of the South Dakota House of Representatives University of South Dakota alumni 20th-century South Dakota politicians 21st-century mayors of places in South Dakota 21st-century American legislators