629 S. Minnesota Ave.
Suite 201
Sioux Falls, SD 57104
P.O. Box 2282
Sioux Falls, SD 57101
ph 605.978.2804
email
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Kory Anderson, Anderson Industries, LLC. Kory Anderson, President of Anderson Industries LLC, has over 10 years experience in the manufacturing industry. In the last 3 years he has managed the operations of Anderson Industries, a company that he started in 2006. Prior to that, he was employed as the Engineering Manager for the Horsch Anderson Company which manufactures large seeding and tillage equipment for agriculture. He was responsible for the design and manufacturing of new products as well as managing the engineering relations with Horsch Anderson and partner company Horsch Maschinen GmbH located in Sitzenhof, Germany. Previous to his management position at Horsch Anderson, Kory attended North Dakota State University studying Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering. He also worked during college at Larson Welding and Machine Company, Fargo ND as the welding and machine shop 2nd shift supervisor. Kory was brought up in the manufacturing industry working for his father's business as a welder and machinist since the age of 12. |
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Peg Austin, Vanilla Bean Bakery. Peg Austin entered the baking trade after a successful 30+ year career in the healthcare industry. During her medical career, she worked as business office manager for a multispecialty physician clinic, served as VP of a medical outsourcing company, taught physician reimbursement nationwide, and co-authored a college level textbook. Peg and her husband/business partner Chuck have raised two sons, ages 29 and 22; have been married for 33 years and have been part of the South Dakota business/healthcare industry since 1985.
An opportunity to fulfill a life-long dream of owning a bakery presented itself in 2009, and she accepted the challenge of keeping fond memories of a favorite hometown bakery alive, while bringing healthy trends and new tastes to the residents of Spearfish. With her new designation as a Dakota Rising Fellow, she looks forward to working hand in hand with the residents and business communities of South Dakota to further the entrepreneurial spirit. |
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Kristin Bennett, YES, LLC. Having grown up in Britton, SD, Kristin Bennett graduated in 1982 and left for sunny California where she earned degrees in art, graphics and business administration with an emphasis in Public Relations and Marketing. After college she worked as a recruiter for IBM, shared in her father's business, and in 1991 began her career in non-profit management. Having been widowed, then divorced, she found the job market to be extremely attractive in Denver. She moved there for a period of three years, greatly expanding her non-profit management business in the process. In August of 2007, it became clear to her that South Dakota was the best place to raise her kids and she made the move 'back home'. Today, Kristin runs her business in Britton, where she lives with her three kids Emma 13, Clara 9, and Joe 8. They are surrounded by horses, cats, dogs, and a loving, supportive extended family. |
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Gerald and Stephanie Davidson, D&D Plumbing and Heating. Gerald & Stephanie Davidson are the owners/operators of D & D Plumbing & Heating, Inc., in Eagle Butte, SD. Gerald started the business in April of 2000, due to being unemployed at the time. This month they are celebrating their 10th year of being business owners. Even though they feel they are in an endurance race, they are very proud of this accomplishment. Herald and Stephanie have lived in Eagle Butte all their lives. Their sons work for the business, one full time and one part time. The Davidson's are very humbled to be recognized as successful entrepreneurs and hope their success will inspire others to become business owners. |
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Paul Haugen, PowderTech Corporation. Paul Haugen, a graduate of Morningside College in Sioux City, IA., has been in charge of operations at PowderTech Corp. since the company was formed in 2000 and took over as president in 2005. His role has evolved from managing production and employees to developing a successful management team and controlling the financial management of the business. He has been instrumental in researching and setting up the powder coating lines and ancillary process lines during that time as well as expanding the business and fostering customer relationships. Paul also played a key role in the development and creation of two stand-alone businesses; EDP Engineering, a full service machine shop, in 2003 and Metrix, a large fabrication finishing operation, in 2005. |
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Brad Heitmann, Trail Tamer ATV, Inc. Brad Heitmann was born and raised in the Northeast corner of South Dakota by Lake City. The businesses that Brad has either owned or managed have taken him to Arkansas, Missouri and North Carolina. Brad is currently Pres./CEO of Trail Tamer ATV, Inc of Eden, SD; a company that specializes in the design and manufacturing of 4,6 & 8 Wheel amphibious vehicles with a division of that company being an ag equipment parts, repair and welding facility that markets its products world-wide. Brad is a true entrepreneur and developer in that he always finds the time to show his dedication to the success of the communities in which he resides by being actively involved in the Chamber of Commerce as President and V. President, Community Development V. President, A+ committee board member, Main Street Program facilitator, Workforce Investment Board private sector, Awarded Missouri Volunteer of the Year, Training Consortium Chairman, Rotary Sgt. At Arms, attended Presidents Economic Development Conference in DC, among numerous other personal development classes and seminars over his long career. Brad has 3 children Brody (14), Katie (7) and Kylie (5). |
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Mark Hollenbeck, Sunrise Ranch. Mark Hollenbeck is an Edgemont, SD native. He holds a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from South Dakota School of Mines & Technology and is a licensed Professional Engineer in South Dakota.
Mark has been involved in energy producing industries for much of his career, designing and managing natural gas systems for the Black Hills Division of Montana Dakota Utilities and as the Executive Director of the South Dakota Office of the American Petroleum Institute. He was elected to the South Dakota House of Representatives where he served from 1989 through 1994. He also served as Mayor of Edgemont from 2001 - 2006. Along with his wife and four young children, he lives and ranches on an organic ranch north of Edgemont. In addition to their grass fed organic business they run a guest lodge and hunting operation at their ranch.
Mark is also the Project Manager for Powertech (USA) on the Dewey-Burdock Uranium Recovery project. This is a project that will employ approximately 100 people when it is operational. |
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Bryan Lessly, Western Sky Media, Inc. Born in Los Angeles, California, Bryan has always had an eye toward television, video and film production. Growing up it seemed he was always the official photographer and moviemaker for family vacations. His career has taken him from producing television specials from the Olympic Games to the Super Bowl. In local television broadcasting as a sports director and special projects producer he pioneered an award-winning documentary series on "Midwestern Wetlands Restoration" and was host of "Outdoor Iowa" and the groundbreaking "Friday Night Heroes" high school sports specials. More than 30 years of working both in front of and behind the camera as well as experience in marketing and public relations has provided him with in-depth knowledge of all aspects of the media world. In 2005 he founded Western Sky Media, Inc. and the company now produces the "Professional Roughstock Series" rodeo program for the BlueHighways TV cable network. Western Sky Media is based in Spearfish, SD, and serves clients in five states, specializing in television production, commercial work and educational and non-profit videos. Western Sky Media also designs and hosts video-intensive websites. |
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Chris Malo, Black Hills Urethane. Chris Malo started his first business in 2002; Castaway Products. Castaway is located in Westlock, Alberta, Canada. Before starting this venture, he worked for Lehman Trikes where he was the fifth employee hired. During his eight years he worked as a machinist, draftsman, Quality and Safety Manager, and Plant Manager. Lehman Trikes started in John Lehman's garage and ended up the largest trike company in the world. The opportunities and education from this experience were critical in building the skills needed to succeed in business. After four successful years in business, an opportunity was presented to expand his operation into the USA. Being aggressive in nature he jumped at the offer. Black Hills Urethane began operations in May of 2006. Within two years, B.H.U. tripled in size. |
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Mitch McKie, Dan Diego Tortilla Factory. Mitchell "Mitch" McKie is a 4th generation native San Diegan, without a Spanish surname, rare "like fine wine" he is fond of saying. After spending 26 years in business and raising a family in the hectic, left coast way of life he moved with his wife Pamala to Spearfish, South Dakota. Drawing on extensive manufacturing sales and marketing experience, Mitch and Pam decided to offer fresh tortillas and wraps to the tortilla starved population of the northern plains. Mitch and wife Pam have been married for 27 years and have two children. Sarah is a graduate of Pacific University, is married and resides in Portland, OR. Daniel is a Junior at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD.Mitch is an Army veteran serving as an Aviation Crew Chief. He attended Northwestern University - Business and Aviation and Colorado State University - Wildlife Management. He is a graduate of IBM Sales and Marketing Courses, Dale Carnegie-Sales and Sales Management, John Brown Limited-Major & Planned Giving. He is a Life Member and Habitat Partner of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Member of Turkey Federation, Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, and an Eagle Scout. |
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Jim Meyer, Quarq Technology, Inc. Jim has always been a hands-on sort of guy; always building stuff as a teenager and wrenched in a bike shop. In college he joined the solar car race team and spent far more effort designing and building solar cars than he did on classes. Luckily, Jim always had a knack for standardized tests and was able to get accepted to graduate school in Mechanical Engineering at MIT. There he worked a bit on hybrid car technology, then did his thesis on race car data acquisition. In 2006, he quit his real job and moved to Australia with his wife to train more and find inspiration. He was only there for a few weeks before he really wanted a power meter, but didn't like the options. Jim realized that his background in bicycles, engineering and data was a good fit, so he dove to build one himself. Quarq was born. They started shipping their first production units 2-1/2 years later in June 2008. For 2009 Quarq is sponsoring Cervelo TestTeam, a professional cycling team lead by Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre. |
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Mark Stein, ESCO Manufacturing. Mark Stein is a second generation owner of ESCO Manufacturing, a wholesale electric sign manufacturing firm with facilities in Watertown and Webster, SD. ESCO's primary customers are sign companies, which are located all across the United States. Also part of ESCO is Stein Sign Display, a retail sign company that sells, services, and installs signs for end-user customers, primarily in eastern South Dakota. Mark has been in and around the sign business almost his entire life, starting while still in high school during summer vacations. After graduating from Northern State in Aberdeen, Mark obtained his MBA from Arizona State University in 1979. While in college, Mark held several part-time jobs to pay for school expenses. These included videographer for KABY-TV, News Director for the campus radio station, and on-site management of a storage rental complex. Mark then joined the family business in 1980, holding several different positions in the company before purchasing the business from his father, Clint Stein, in 1989. |
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Tobey Vander Laan, Wild Dutchman Products, Inc. Tobey has lived on a farm all of his life. Growing up he farmed with his family raising dairy cows and feeder cattle. Tobey attended Lake Area Vo-tech in Watertown in the auto mechanics program, where he received his degree. He and wife Sandra moved back to the farm where Tobey did most of the mechanic work. In 1994 he started a body shop with a friend which is still in business today. He turned their old hip roof milking barn into a hunting lodge and moved Wild Dutchman Seeds to a part of that barn. In 2006 the Lodge burnt down, destroying the Wild Dutchman homemade equipment. He started Wild Dutchman Seeds in a new facility where they are today. In 2007 Tobey lost his home to a fire. Later that year Tobey moved a Governor's house to their farm where he and his brother-in-law completed all of the restorations. They moved into their new home in 2008. Tobey and his dad, Wayne, run Renegade Auto and Wild Dutchman Seeds. |
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Les Voorhis, Royal Tine Images, Inc. Les has been a professional photographer since 1990. After learning the ins and outs of the stock photography business as a Photo Editor and Image Library Manager, he decided to put his skills to the test with his own work.
Les is also a teacher, teaching photography classes and workshops. In 2001, Profotos.com selected him as one of the top 100 photographers in the country.
Les is widely published and his published images have appeared in magazines, advertising campaigns, retail packaging, calendars, web sites, books and more. Les owns Focus West Gallery in Spearfish with his wife Julaine as well as a stock photo agency, Royal Tine Images, Inc. Les' work is also available in several galleries and art shows throughout South Dakota and the western US. |
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Nichole White Eyes, The Gift Garden and "Photos To Go" Since early childhood, Nichole has had a deepened interest in photography. The youngest memories of her childhood revolve around having a camera and taking pictures of people, animals and nature. Although shooting the pictures was always a pleasure, the greatest joy was seeing the photos. She still has that same heart fluttering feeling today as she did when she was younger. "The sheer and utter enjoyment of making someone smile." It's the gratification seeing someone smile when you capture that one little memory that can be marveled for years to come.
Nichole was born and raised in Eagle Butte, SD the heart of the Cheyenne River's Sioux Reservation. She graduated high school and continued her education earning 2 AA degrees. In 1996 she purchased The Gift Garden in Eagle Butte, a flower shop and gift store. During the summer of 1997 Nichole built an addition to the existing store that now houses a photo studio. |
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Dakota Rising is administered by SD Rural Enterprise in partnership with:
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East River Electric Power Cooperative and the REED Fund |
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Enterprise Institute |
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Governor's Office of Economic Development |
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Small Business Development Centers |
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SDSU Cooperative Extension |
Dakota Rising is sponsored by:
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Avera Health |
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Christiansen Land and Cattle, Ltd. |
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Citi Foundation |
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Dacotah Bank |
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East River Electric Power Cooperative and the REED Fund |
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First Interstate BancSystem |
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Home Federal Bank |
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Individual members of the SD Rural Enterprise Board of Directors |
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Northwest Area Foundation |
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SD Governor’s Office of Economic Development |
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South Dakota Community Foundation |
Program developed through the generous support of the Northwest Area Foundation and Citi Foundation. |
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