Dennis Ray Holub, 67, of Rapid City, died at his home on Thursday, August 28, 2014. Dennis Ray Holub was born February 6, 1947 in Burke, South Dakota, the son of Arthur J. and Alma B. (Kahler) Holub. He graduated from Rapid City High School in 1965 where he was very active in debate and drama, winning many oratory, dramatic reading and acting awards on the state level. He received a BFA degree in speech and theatre from the University of South Dakota in 1969 and an MA theatre degree in 1970 from the University of Indiana in Bloomington. At USD he was a company member of the Black Hills Playhouse. At Indiana University he performed with its touring Indiana Repertory Theatre. After briefly working in New York City theatre, Dennis returned to South Dakota to direct plays at the Black Hills Playhouse from 1971 to 1973. At the same time he was employed by the South Dakota Arts Council to initiate the state's Artists in Schools and Communities Program. He continued to work for the state arts council for 38 years, serving as executive director from 1988 until his retirement from state government in 2009. While at the South Dakota Arts Council, Dennis helped to establish many of the 40 local arts councils throughout the state. South Dakotans for the Arts, the state Dance on Tour Program, Prairie Arts Management Institute and the Art for State Buildings Program. Regionally and nationally, he served on the board of directors for Arts Midwest, a regional arts organization from 1988 to 2014, the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies from 2000-2003, and the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress from 2002-2009. He served on several grant application review panels for the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, DC. Locally he was a board member of the Black Hills Playhouse Alumni Association, and represented the group on the Black Hills Playhouse board of directors. In 2004 he was honored with the Gary Young Award from the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies for exemplary leadership in the field of state arts councils. In 2009 he received an Honorary Governor's Award in the Arts for outstanding service to the arts in South Dakota. Dennis loved to travel and took many trips to foreign countries. He visited all of the fifty states in his lifetime, often with his traveling companion, John A. Johnson. Dennis is survived by Uncle Arthur (Ruby) Kahler of Sioux City, IA and his special friend John A. Johnson, Key West, FL along with several cousins throughout the country. Dennis was preceded in death by his father, Arthur Holub and his mother, Alma Holub, Rapid City. Dennis was a member of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Rapid City, but often attended MCC services in Key West. Memorials have been established at the Black Hills Playhouse (PO Box 2513, Rapid City, SD, 57709) or www.blackhillsplayhouse.com. A celebration of Dennis' life will take place in the afternoon of October 26, 2014 from 2 - 5 pm at the Dahl Fine Arts Center in Rapid City.