Letter: Dickinson loses a legend, advocate for city

There are a select few people in this world who truly embody a larger-than-life personality.

Lee Leiss was one of those people. Dickinson lost a true legend on Tuesday. Our community and our airwaves lost something special, something that will be impossible to replace.

I first got to know Leiss when I was coaching the Dickinson Roughriders American Legion team in 1999. His passion for Dickinson Baseball has been a major part of the success of our program. Our small town baseball team has had every home and away game broadcast on the radio for as long as I can remember.

Dickinson fans were blessed with the ability to follow our team no matter how far away they were playing. This was all because of Leiss. The community support that was developed because of the radio coverage has been instrumental in developing a quality baseball program.

Leiss loved the Roughriders and spent thousands of hours in hot press boxes all over the Midwest, many hours in hotels and many a mile on the road to ensure that Dickinson Baseball was receiving colorful play-by-play commentary, and ensuring fans back home could listen in. Leiss never asked for anything in return. He was our biggest fan.

His sense of community, history and civic pride transcended baseball. His knowledge of the past allowed him to give meaningful insight and commentary into our community’s present and future.

He was a leading voice for the development of the Badlands Activities Center and a strong advocate for the city of Dickinson.

My heart goes out to all of Leiss’ family and friends. Dickinson has lost a legend.

Thank you Lee for everything.

Kelly Armstrong, Dickinson Baseball Club president, Dickinson

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