Leah Rado
Sports Information Director/Director of Internal Affairs
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire ’07
lerado@dwu.edu
605-995-2854

 Tiger Talk Blog

Leah Rado is entering her first year as Dakota Wesleyan’s sports information director in the fall of 2010.

Rado took over as SID in July 2010. Her responsibilities at DWU include promotion of all 15 DWU intercollegiate sports, writing for the Tiger athletic website, production of athletic publications, media relations, statistical record keeping and promotion of student-athletes and coaches for conference and national honors. She maintains a Tiger Talk sports blog and is a contributing writer to Wesleyan Today, DWU’s alumni magazine.

Before coming to Dakota Wesleyan, Rado spent three years at the Mitchell Daily Republic. Her first year with the newspaper she was a sports reporter, and her final two years she served as the newspaper’s sports editor. Part of her duties as sports editor included covering Tiger athletics, and she was also responsible for all aspects of production of the newspaper’s sports section. Rado received numerous honors from the South Dakota Newspaper Association and Associated Press Managing Editors organizations, including Best Sports Photo, Best Sports Column and Best Spot Sports News.

Before moving to Mitchell, Rado worked for two years as a part-time sports reporter at the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram in Eau Claire, Wis., while attending college.

Rado, a Rice Lake, Wis., native, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in print journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 2007.

Marlene Warnke
Athletic Business Manager
Dakota Wesleyan University ’95
mawarnke@dwu.edu
605-995-2112

Marlene Warnke has been a dedicated Dakota Wesleyan University employee since 1990, and since 2005 she has been an invaluable member of the Tiger athletic department as the athletic business manager.

Warnke has numerous duties that are essential to the business operations of the athletic department. She handles the balancing of all team and department operational budgets, is a member of the department’s leadership team and assists with nearly everything else with Tiger athletics – from letters of intent to travel schedules to fundraising and everything in between. Warnke’s work ethic and knowledge off all things in Tiger athletics are vital to the overall success of the department.

In 2008-09, Warnke was honored for her efforts with the DWU Professional Excellence Award for the second quarter. She also received DWU Professional Excellence Awards in 2002 and 1995, and in 1996-97 she received the DWU Presidential Award for Outstanding Service. She was also inducted in the Phi Beta Kappa and Pi Gamma Mu organizations in 1995.

Warnke began at DWU in 1990 as the faculty secretary and assistant science fair director. In 1999, she was promoted to the administrative assistant to the vice president for campus life position, and she took over her current post as the athletic business manager in 2005.

Currently, Warnke is working to complete her Bachelor of Arts degree in history with a minor in business at DWU. She received an Associates of Art degree from DWU in 1995 and also holds a degree from Mitchell Technical Institute.

Warnke is involved in numerous committees and organizations, both at DWU and in the community. She serves on the Housing Affairs Committee, the Athletic Advisory Committee, the Staff Relations Committee, the Furniture and Selection Committee, and she has been a member of numerous search committees at Dakota Wesleyan. Previously, Warnke was a member and a board member of the South Dakota College Personnel Association, and she was a member of the DWU Employee Recognition Committee.

Since 2005, Warnke has been a member of the Heart & Sole Cancer Walk/Run Committee, and in 2008 she was an honorary cochairman of the event.

Warnke lives in nearby Alexandria, S.D.