{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://noem.house.gov/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=D6A65D4B-63D5-42F4-9C00-B65E6CE61634", "Weekly Column: Thanksgiving in Action", "2014-11-21", "2014", "2014-11", "Republican", "House", "SD", "Kristi Noem", "N000184", "noem.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Our Thanksgiving Day typically starts off with my husband, Bryon, convincing all of us to sit and watch the parade with him.\u00a0 It\u2019s not that we don\u2019t enjoy seeing the floats and balloons barreling down New York City\u2019s narrow streets as much as he does, but we\u2019re an active family and at some point food must be prepared, chores done, and football games to get ready for.\u00a0 This year, we will be spending the holiday with Bryon\u2019s side of the family \u2013 after the parade, of course \u2013 where we\u2019ll celebrate and give thanks for our blessings of the past year.\u00a0\r\nBut as I sit down to write this column and think about all our Thanksgiving traditions, I wondered: Do we do enough to show how grateful we are and put the blessings we\u2019ve been given to work for others?\r\nI feel incredibly fortunate to have such a wonderful and supportive family.\u00a0 I have an outstanding partner by my side and my kids are surrounded by a loving and safe community that looks out for them day in and day out.\u00a0 We have a roof over our heads and plenty of food on the table.\u00a0 And to top it all off, we live in a secure country that promises opportunity and freedom.\u00a0\r\nMy family expresses our gratitude through our words often, but I don\u2019t know that we adequately put our thanksgiving into action.\u00a0 I\u2019m reminded of a quote from the English preacher, W.T. Purkiser.\u00a0 He said, \u201cNot what we say about our blessings, but how we use them is the true measure of our thanksgiving.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s not just about giving thanks, it\u2019s about showing thanks.\r\nPerhaps no one deserves more gratitude than our women and men in uniform.\u00a0 They put our values of justice and liberty to work in order to keep our nation safe.\u00a0 Hundreds of South Dakotans who have exchanged snowstorms for dust storms have missed Thanksgivings, Christmases, and birthdays to do the job, but because of their sacrifices we can have freedom from fear.\u00a0 For that, I am eternally grateful and committed to serving them as they have served us.\r\nWe all have so many reasons to be thankful.\u00a0 Every year during our thanksgiving dinner, my family has gone around the table and listed out one thing we were thankful for that year.\u00a0 Expressing that gratitude through our words can mean a lot, but showing it in our actions can change the world around you.\u00a0 I hope you join me this year in putting thanksgiving in action.\r\nFrom my family to yours, have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day.", 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=D6A65D4B-63D5-42F4-9C00-B65E6CE61634"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7071529980748892, "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"}