{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://noem.house.gov/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=54F38F7A-CBA9-4692-9088-15CCBD6B4CED", "Weekly Column: Active Gratitude", "2016-11-18", "2016", "2016-11", "Republican", "House", "SD", "Kristi Noem", "N000184", "noem.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "By Rep. Kristi Noem \r\n\tOn Veterans Day this year, I attended the activation ceremony for the 153rd Engineer Battalion of the South Dakota National Guard, as more than 150 soldiers from Huron and Parkston prepared to deploy to Kuwait for the next year.\u00a0 The work they will be doing is critical, but it\u2019s still sobering to think of the empty chair that will be at the Thanksgiving table this year and the slightly more solemn Christmas to come soon after.\u00a0 The simple act of saying \u201cthank you for you and your family\u2019s service\u201d hardly seems to capture the depth of gratitude a person feels.\r\nI have always believed, and have always tried to teach my kids, that gratitude is more than a series of words.\u00a0 Gratitude is active; something you show; something you share with others.\u00a0 I know I\u2019m not alone in this belief.\u00a0 It\u2019s a value most South Dakotans share.\r\nJust this month, a new federal report found that South Dakota ranks fourth in the nation for volunteering \u2013 one way we can perhaps measure gratitude in action.\u00a0 While around 25 percent of Americans volunteer, more than 1 in 3 South Dakotans do \u2013 and that number is actually on the rise even as volunteering becomes less popular nationwide.\u00a0 All in all, South Dakotans offered 23.26 million hours of service in 2015.\u00a0\r\nOf course, there are countless informal ways to practice active gratitude as well.\u00a0 Sit down and play cards with someone who might be having a tough time this holiday season.\u00a0 Drop dinner off at the home of a military family in your community.\u00a0 Be a little more patient with your children or a little more helpful to your parents.\u00a0\r\nThey say it takes 21 days to make a habit, which is just about the same length as the holiday season.\u00a0 I encourage you to use this Thanksgiving as the start of a 21-day challenge to make active gratitude an even bigger part of your life.\u00a0 Just imagine how much could change if we all committed ourselves to showing our appreciation a little bit more.\r\nOn behalf of my entire family, I wish you a safe \u2013 and filling \u2013 Thanksgiving.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://noem.house.gov/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=54F38F7A-CBA9-4692-9088-15CCBD6B4CED"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6852759979665279, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}