Watertown Community Gathers for Annual BISCO BBQ to Celebrate Local Investment and Welcome Keynote Dr. Jess Edison
- Steve Jurrens
- 11 hours ago
- 3 min read
Northeast Radio SD News – Watertown, SD - The spirit of community investment and the lasting impact of local mentorship took center stage on Tuesday, March 17th, 2026, as the Business Industry School Coalition (BISCO) hosted its annual Barbecue Luncheon at the Lake Area Technical College.
The event brought together business leaders, educators, and students to raise funds for critical school district initiatives and to welcome home a distinguished graduate, Army Colonel Dr. Jess Edison, who has risen to become a national leader in medicine.
Building a Foundation for Success
Scott Olson, a BISCO board member from First Premier Bank, opened the program by reminding the audience of the coalition’s core mission. “BISCO stands for Business Industry School Coalition,” Olson explained. “Our board supports the Watertown School District by building strong connections between school and local businesses, because when our students succeed, our whole community benefits.”
The proceeds from the luncheon directly fund programs that support student encouragement and recognition, including the 1-1-1 Mentoring Program, the Awesome Arrow Awards, and various attendance initiatives that encourage students to make positive choices.
The program featured a strong showing of local talent, with the Watertown Police Explorer Color Guard presenting the colors, the Watertown All-State Choir performing the national anthem, and the Watertown High School Jazz Band providing lunch entertainment.
A Statistical Anomaly: The Watertown Impact
The highlight of the event was the keynote address by Dr. Jess Edison, a 1990 graduate of Watertown High School. Currently a Professor of Medicine and the Rheumatology Division Director at the Uniformed Services University, Dr. Edison reflected on how his South Dakota upbringing laid the foundation for a distinguished 26-year active-duty career in the U.S. Army Medical Corps.
Dr. Edison shared a striking story from his service in Baghdad in 2009 that he described as a “statistical anomaly.” At that time, at a single combat support hospital, six physicians from Watertown, South Dakota, were serving simultaneously.
“If you just do some basic math... for every population base of 83,000 people, you should produce one Army physician,” Dr. Edison noted. “This town of roughly 20,000 at that time produced six... This could not have happened by chance.”
He attributed this disproportionate success to Watertown’s unique culture of investment in its youth. He cited local data showing that Watertown maintains a high-school graduation rate 4% higher than the national average and a community retention rate of 75%, compared to the national average of 63%.
The Power of “Awesome Arrows”
Dr. Edison spent a portion of his address honoring the “Awesome Arrows” in his own life—teachers and mentors whose lessons he carries into his work at Walter Reed and the Pentagon today.
He credited Donus Roberts for teaching him to think on his feet in debate, Bill Zupke for public speaking skills, and Cathy Zubke for a logical foundation in computer coding. He also recalled the grit instilled by his coaches, Coach Mack and Vic Godfrey.
“Coach Mack—I can still hear when things get tough... ‘Jesse, are you a mouse or are you a man?’” Dr. Edison joked. “That sounds silly, but those words have definitely come out of my mouth when I’m talking to people... That’s power.”
He also praised John Stransky, a local physician who invited him to his clinic as a student and wrote him letters throughout medical school and residency, reminding him of the importance of community service in medicine.
Advancing Medicine for Service Members
Now a national leader in rheumatology, Dr. Edison discussed his work treating autoimmune diseases and osteoarthritis, which affects veterans at a significantly higher rate than the civilian population. He shared a vital “secret” discovered through years of research: exercise is often more effective than many expensive clinical interventions.
“We’ve yet to find an intervention that lets you grow cartilage back... but there’s something that makes people a lot better: it’s exercise,” he revealed. “X-rays, no matter how bad they look, they don’t tell you as much about how much pain you’re going to have as the strength of your quads and the strength of your glutes.”
Recognizing Excellence
To conclude the event, the district recognized its own high achievers. Renee Meland, a special education teacher at Lincoln Elementary, was honored as the Certified Staff Member of the Year, and Michael Stydel from the District Tech Office was named Classified Staff Member of the Year.
The event closed with a final thank you to the dozens of local sponsors whose support ensures that Watertown remains a community that produces far more than its “fair share” of national leaders.