4 minute read
THE VIEW OUT THE WINDOW LOOKS DIFFERENT, BUT HARRISBURG STILL FEELS LIKE A SMALL TOWN
By Garrett Gross
Brock Aldrich has been in the Harrisburg community for nearly his entire life, and he’s seen a lot of changes over the years. Looking out the windows of his Cliff Avenue office, the view is a lot different than when he was growing up here 30 years ago.
Brock’s family originally moved to Harrisburg in 1992. He grew up on Maple Street at a time when the town’s population was about 800. “The community I grew up in was, and still is, a great place to raise a family,” he said. “We rode our bikes everywhere; to get candy and pop at the gas station, to our friends’ houses, to the dirt pile or even to go to fishing at Lake Alvin.”
Brock and his three siblings all went through Harrisburg schools. He graduated in 2003. “My experience going to school is very different from what kids have now. K-12 was all in one building (now Liberty Elementary), the only gas station was Food n’ Fuel (now City Hall) and Lake Ole was a corn field that seemed to flood every year,” he recalled. “I remember it being a bit of a struggle to get the first new school bond passed to build the new high school (which is now South Middle School) and we were the first class to not graduate in the old school.”
Brock and his wife, Pearl, will celebrate their 10th anniversary in September. They have two daughters, Eloise and Hazel. Eloise is seven and a first grader at Adventure.
Hazel is four and just started preschool. Their dog, Bernard, rounds out the family. Bernard is a Humane Society mutt who will be 10 in December.
In the community, Brock serves as the president of the Harrisburg Lions Club and is active in the Harrisburg Chamber of Commerce as well. He and Pearl also spend a lot of time with their girls in their many activities which includes swimming, dance and rock climbing.
Professionally, Brock has been a Financial Advisor with Edward Jones since 2018. Brock has his series 7 and 66 certifications and is currently studying for the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ exam. Prior to his current role, Brock was in the grocery industry for 20 years before transitioning into the financial industry. He made the change in order to pursue a career where he could be his own boss and be able to provide for his family while serving the community he grew up in.
Brock enjoys his role with Edward Jones, especially getting to know and understand his clients at a personal level. “We develop a personalized investment strategy for each client and then we partner with them throughout their lives to make sure we are staying on track.
“None of what I do here would be possible without the support of my Branch Office Administrator Suzy Meiners. She started with me a few weeks before we opened our doors in December of 2020. She has been the real MVP of our office. She is truly a great business partner and keeps everything running smoothly; I get the impression most of our clients would much rather talk with her than me most days,” he joked.
“Even though the population of Harrisburg today is more than 10 times what it was 30 years ago, I love that Harrisburg still feels like a small town,” he said. “When I go through town, I still see kids on their bikes, fishing around Lake Ole, and playing at the parks. Everyone seems to look out for each other and genuinely enjoys living here. It is great to see the local business community thriving – what we would have done to be able to get groceries without having to drive to Sioux Falls growing up!”
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