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and employee relations. She attended business meetings and
industry functions with Dave True, entertained customers and
business associates in their home, and administered various
employee awards programs.
The True children, and sometimes grandchildren and
children’s spouses, also worked for the True companies over the
years. From junior high school through college, the True sons
spent summers, holidays, and weekends working as roustabouts and
lease scouts in the oil fields, roughnecks on the drilling rigs,
and ranch hands on the family ranch.
After graduating from college, the True sons worked full
time for the family businesses in various capacities. In 1973,
Hank True became the manager of Black Hills Oil, and eventually
assumed responsibility for Belle Fourche, Eighty-Eight Oil, and
True Environmental Remediating LLC. Diemer True went to work for
Black Hills Oil’s trucking division in 1971, and thereafter
managed Black Hills Trucking as a separate company. He also took
charge of Toolpushers Supply Co. in 1980. David L. True
graduated from college in 1973 and became manager of True Ranches
in 1976 and of True Drilling in 1980.
While Dave True yielded operating responsibilities to his
sons over time, he retained overall decision-making authority.
However, he exercised this authority by building consensus
through discussions with his wife and sons rather than by edicts.
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