Meet The New Mayor . . . . . . Page 6 Spotlight on Harrisburg Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pages 12-22 Harrisburg’s Vibrant Businesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pages 24-29
THE BRIDGE | FALL 2020
Photo by Jon Klemme
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CONNECTING THE HARRISBURG COMMUNITY
CONTENTS Message from the Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Meet Mayor Wenck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Municipal Contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Message from the Chamber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Message from the Superintendent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 School District Contact Info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Harrisburg High School Hall of Fame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Salute to Graduates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Harrisburg Schools Fall Event Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Graduate Faith Van Holland profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Graduate Kaylie Jucht profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Graduate Ryan Ptak profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Showplace Cabinetry profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Reliabank profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Chamber Local Business Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
SOCIAL SECURITY DEATH & TAXES
ADVERTISERS AGE Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Man Salon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Black Hills Federal Credit Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Neighborhood Dental . . . . . . 5
Complete Benefits . . . . . . . . . . 3
PorkPalooza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Dakota Radon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Escape 605 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 First Class Dental . . . . . . . . . . 11 Frontier Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Jason Ahrendt State Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Panther Graphics . . . . . . . . . . 28 Reliabank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Security National Bank . . . . 9 Showplace Cabinetry . . . . . . . 2 Stockwell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 TapOnIt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
THE BRIDGE “The Bridge” is published quarterly by AGE Media & Promotion in partnership with the Harrisburg School District, the Harrisburg Chamber of Commerce and the City of Harrisburg. Age Media & Promotion | www.agemedia.pub PUBLISHERS Garrett and Mindy Gross, AGE Media | (605) 690-4071 EDITOR Bob Fitch, AGE Media | (712) 551-4123 | bob@agemedia.pub
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ADVERTISING SALES Garrett Gross, AGE Media | (515) 231-9367 garrett@agemedia.pub © AGE Media & Promotion All rights reserved. Content in this magazine should not be copied in any way without the written permission of the publisher. Content in articles, editorial and advertisements are not necessarily endorsed by AGE Media & Promotion. THE BRIDGE | FALL 2020
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MESSAGE FROM THE PUBLISHER Twelve years ago, my wife and I, along with our 10-month old daughter, moved to our southern Sioux Falls home. Our new neighborhood was part of the Harrisburg School District. We moved to the neighborhood the same day construction began on Journey Elementary School. We chose the area because of the reputation of great public schools, a vibrant local economy and an excellent quality of life. Since that time, two more daughters have been added to our family and the factors which attracted us to the area have proven to be true.
Ava (13), Mindy with Grace (6), Elyse (10) and Garrett Gross with their dog, Donnie. Photo by AllScapes Photography.
We have three children currently attending Harrisburg School District, and we are small business owners. We were very thankful when we were contacted by the Harrisburg School District, the Harrisburg Chamber of Commerce and the City of Harrisburg to take on a project to improve communication among those three entities and the residents living in the Harrisburg School District footprint. With all the growth and expansion that has happened in this area in recent years, we also feel there is an opportunity to help connect and inform the public about what’s going on in the area.
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Our commitment through this platform is to provide positive community-building content that highlights the students, families, and businesses that also call this area home. Best Regards,
Garrett and Mindy Gross, AGE Media & Promotion
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HARRISBURG MAYOR PROFILE
ENSURING A POSITIVE IDENTITY AND FUTURE FOR HARRISBURG “I grew up in a town of 300400 people and that’s kind of how Harrisburg feels right now even though we’re a lot bigger than that,” said Derick Wenck, the recently-elected new mayor of Harrisburg. “It still does have that small town atmosphere. It’s quiet. It doesn’t have the hustle and bustle of the big city.” At the same time, since he and his wife Melissa moved to Harrisburg 15 years ago, the growth has been an “eyepopping” experience. “When we bought this house in 2006, there were no houses behind us. I used to be able to sit on my deck and watch the traffic on Willow,” which is about five blocks north. “There are people in town who complain about the growth. But you’ve got to understand, there are a lot of towns in South Dakota who would like to have even one-quarter of our growth. Those towns are facing school consolidations or closing. Here we are, we can’t build fast enough.” Being a part of a small school district is part of why he and Melissa moved to Harrisburg in the first place. “That didn’t pan out,” he laughed. “But it’s a great school district. Definitely the high school helped Harrisburg grow. There are so many people who moved to Harrisburg specifically for their kids to go to school here. “Through the Harrisburg school district, the kids have so much more opportunity to advance in life. With the college program they have now, those kids can almost knock out their freshman year of college before they’re even out of high school,” Wenck said. Active in the city’s economic development efforts for several years, he believes the addition of new 6
Melissa, Easton, Avery and Derick Wenck. Photo by Dakotapix Photography.
businesses has actually helped build more of a smalltown atmosphere. “Before, it felt like a bedroom community. Now you’re going to the grocery store and making those acquaintances. You’re not going to get the same sort of greeting in Sioux Falls. I could go to Fareway or Ace right now and they’re going to call me by name – which was happening even before I became the mayor. “I used to have to go to Sioux Falls for everything, but now I hardly go to Sioux Falls for anything. I probably go to the hardware store three or four times a week. After decades without a grocery store and hardware store in town, it’s been a great thing.” CONNECTING THE HARRISBURG COMMUNITY
From 1910 to 1990, Harrisburg’s population grew from 170 to 727 people. Wenck says it’s possible the 2020 census may find Harrisburg has reached a population of 8,000. While he believes Harrisburg has retained much of its small town atmosphere, he recognizes that growth of this magnitude has brought some headaches. “The downside is we’re actually behind the times on the roads. We need to start steering towards getting our infrastructure fixed. We need to work on Cliff and Willow and get that intersection where it can handle the traffic, especially in the morning and at night,” he said. The solution will include widening the road, and either putting in a multiple-lane roundabout or a multiple lane intersection with lights. “Then we still have to figure out how to get Cliff Avenue four-lane all the way to Sioux Falls and make Willow four-lane from the center of town out to Minnesota Avenue.” Wenck ran for mayor in order to be a force for positive change. “It seemed like there was a lot of butting heads between the mayor and council. I want to fix the relationships with the city council and make it stronger,” he said. Wenck wants to create a third ward in the city, which would, in turn, expand the city council from four to six members plus the mayor. “More people on the board will help bring fresh ideas about what the city should be.” During the election in May, Wenck received 80 percent of the vote. “It was sure humbling running for mayor. You don’t know how many people are really behind you until you actually see the results.” He thinks it’s important that citizens and leaders proactively determine what Harrisburg will become in the future. “I want to form a group of people to start planning what Harrisburg will look like in 50 years. Where should we build another industrial park? What do we want our streets to look like? How do we want the facades of business buildings to look? Do we want billboards in our community? It would be a vision committee. It’s vital. If we don’t do this now, we might not be happy with how our town looks in the future. THE BRIDGE | FALL 2020
“We don’t want to be known as the little community that connects to Sioux Falls. We want our own identity,” he said. In addition to the need to address the capacity of roads, he said the addition of parks will also be a priority moving forward. He’s excited about the efforts of the Harrisburg Community Foundation to build a ball complex. “Where the community foundation is building these baseball diamonds now is kind of on the edge of town. But I think with our growth, they’ll eventually be situated in the center of town.”
Mayor Derick Wenck operates Digger’s Taxidermy in Harrisburg.
He cited two other important infrastructure improvements: the new wastewater treatment facility being built which will help deal with the smell of the town’s treatment ponds; and smoothing out the annoyingly-bumpy railroad crossing. Wenck has seen first-hand how vibrant population growth can enhance business prospects. “My business wouldn’t be what it is today without the growth in the community.” He operates Digger’s Taxidermy, creating trophy mounts for hunters and fishermen. He has a degree in fine arts with an emphasis in sculpture and painting. He grew up on a game farm in northeastern South Dakota. Melissa Wenck works in sales for Novak Sanitation. Derick and Melissa moved to Harrisburg after both graduated from South Dakota State University. They have two children, Avery, 13, and Easton, 10.
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IMPORTANT LOCAL CONTACT INFO
CITY OF HARRISBURG
HARRISBURG PUBLIC LIBRARY
605-743-5872 | www.harrisburgsd.gov 301 E. Willow St., Harrisburg SD 57032
605-767-7910 200 E Willow St, PO Box 400, Harrisburg, SD
City Administrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrew Pietrus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 605-743-5872
Hours Monday -Friday | 9:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday | Closed
Building Inspector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Al Bossman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 605-360-6709 Engineer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joe Stonesifer, PE, CFM . . . . . . 605-498-4949 Finance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mary McClung . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 605-767-5008 Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 605-767-7910
Mechanical Inspector . . . . . . . . . . Steve Robertson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 605-595-3527 Parks and Recreation . . . . . . . . . . Jason Thurston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 605-213-1000 Police/Lincoln Co. Sheriff . . . . . Non-emergencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . 605-764-2664 Planning & Zoning . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael McMahon . . . . . . . . . . . . 605-767-5010 Public Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Toby Huizenga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 605-767-0075 Utilities (water/sewer) . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 605-743-5872
COMMUNITY GARDEN 48 individual gardening plots are available to all Harrisburg residents for the price of just $35.00 per plot. Applications are available at www.harrisburgsd.gov.
HARRISBURG BASEBALL Information and applications can be found at www.harrisburgtigersbaseball.com
TIGER SOFTBALL CLUB HARRISBURG CITY PARKS parks@harrisburgsd.gov | 605-743-5872 To reserve a park or specific park amenity, go online: harrisburgsd.gov/events/reserve-a-park Ellis Larson Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507 E Maple Street
The TSC is a nonprofit organization providing softball for youth ages 5-16. Registration is available at www.tigersoftballclub.com.
Hugh Robinson Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 Prairie Street
GENERAL CONTACT INFO FOR HOMEOWNERS
Heartland Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503 Troy Avenue
CABLE TELEVISION SERVICES
Legion Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 Willow Street
Vast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877-633-4567
Knights Crossing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 Almond Avenue
Mid-Continent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-888-1300
Grand Gardens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 801 S Grand Avenue
Electricity, Xcel Energy (Zone 1 includes most areas) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-895-4999
Rover Range (Dog Park) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 805 Kent Street Lions Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310 N Perry Lane
Electricity, Southeastern Electric (Zone 2, Greyhawk Addition) . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-333-2859 GARBAGE SERVICES Novak Sanitary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 605-338-7126 Waste Management . . . . . . . . . . . 605-906-6039 A-Ok Sanitary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 605-331-1103 Bolte’s Sunrise Sanitation . . . . . . . 605-361-7936 RBS Sanitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 605-213-3021 Roo’s Sanitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 605-498-1588 Sweeney Sanitation Services . . 605-630-1734 INTERNET SERVICES WOW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877-633-4567 Midco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-888-1300 HughesNet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.hughesnet.com Natural Gas, Mid American . . . 888-427-5632 TELEPHONE SERVICES
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HARRISBURG CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Vast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877-633-4567
Brandon Lang, Executive Director | 605-777-9120 www.harrisburgsdchamber.com | brandon@harrisburgsdchamber.com 220 S. Cliff Avenue, Harrisburg SD 57032
Mid-Continent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-888-1300 Qwest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-244-1111 CONNECTING THE HARRISBURG COMMUNITY
DETAILS MATTER
In banking, as in life, we think the small stuff matters. That’s why we dress the part, strive to do the right thing, dot the i’s and cross the t’s, and address little concerns that affect the big picture. It all matters.
SNBSD.com THE BRIDGE | FALL 2020
Member FDIC 9
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAMBER
BRINGING IT BACK HOME This year, you’ve undoubtedly spent more time at home than ever before. With students being sent to inhome classrooms to finish out the school year, much of the workforce setting up home offices, and summer vacations turning into staycations, we’ve never spent so much time so close to home. And while it may have felt unusual and you may have even experienced a touch of cabin fever at some point, being forced to stay home likely led to some unexpected blessings as well. I know it sure did for our local businesses. As of this writing, sales tax revenues within the City of Harrisburg are up 22% over last year. That is a big deal for all of us who live, work, and worship here. When you shop local, that money spurs the local economy. Not only are you supporting the small businesses and the people who work there, you’re also putting additional tax revenue to work, improving our infrastructure and allowing for future growth. Additionally, when you shop local, you get to know the people in our community. Over and over again, “small town charm” surfaces as one of the most popular labels people put on the experience of living in Harrisburg. But “charm” comes from people living together and supporting one another — whether during good times or bad. That’s why I’m so proud to represent our Harrisburg Chamber members. They tirelessly give to our community throughout the year — helping
one another succeed, supporting our youth programs and schools, and providing fun family activities. This fall, we invite you to join us for our Adrienne McKeown annual Business Trick or Treat event, which will be held on Friday, Oct. 30. Our Chamber members will be ready to treat your little goblins with fun surprises. In turn, we then invite you to show your support of our local businesses on Shop Small Saturday, which is celebrated the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Shopping local really shouldn’t need a day set aside for it, though. Shopping local is something we should strive to do every day of the year because it just makes sense. During this past year, I hope you’ve discovered some new favorites within our Harrisburg business community, and when things get back to “normal” or a “new normal,” I hope you’ll continue to support those close to home – because bringing your business home to Harrisburg helps all of us build a better hometown.
Chair of the Board, Harrisburg Economic Development Corp. & Chamber of Commerce
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FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT
SAME STORM, DIFFERENT BOATS The past five months have been incredibly challenging for everyone. In over 20 years as a superintendent, this is the most challenging time that I have experienced. There simply are no easy decisions or good answers. A comment I have been hearing often is that “we are all in the same boat.” While we may all be in the same storm, we are not all in the same boat. The pandemic has affected everyone differently in many ways. Some families have been negatively impacted financially, while others have not been. Some families have parents working outside of the home, while others have been able to work from home. There are many families who have a loved one dealing with underlying health conditions, while others do not. We are also not in the same boat in regard to how the virus may affect each of us. Studies show that Covid-19 may affect a kindergarten student differently than a high school student. Along with these differences, we also have varied personal and professional opinions on the overall impact of Covid, the debates over the effectiveness and necessity of masks, the role that physical distancing plays, and the views about the different learning options vary greatly. The topics of health, education, civil liberties and physical safety elicit strong emotions. There are also varying opinions on how education should move forward during these challenging times. We can all benefit by being respectful of the opinions of others and to look for common ground rather than what our differences are.
We have a flexible plan to help us adapt to changes as we continue to learn new information about the virus including guidance for schools. Superintendent Tim Graf The plan is fluid and changes will continue to be made as details are added and as we learn more about the virus and ways to mitigate the impact of the virus. The plan includes choices and flexibility. There are four levels (Green, Yellow, Orange and Red) that are building specific. The levels will be determined by the spread of the virus. While we don’t have all the answers at this time, we do have a plan that is flexible and adaptable to changing conditions. We are taking many precautions to provide on campus learning for our students. Over 93 percent of our anticipated enrollment have chosen on campus learning to start the year while almost 7 percent have opted for distance learning. We will work hard to provide the best educational opportunity possible for students in every learning model and pathway.
Although there are many unknowns as we enter this school year, there are also many things we do know. We know that this year will not be business as usual. We are optimistic that we will be able to start the school year face-to-face to be able to establish relationships with our students. We do know that we will continue to promote a positive culture regardless of the challenges we face, and we know that we will put our students first in the decisions we make and in the actions we take.
Although we are optimistic that we will be able to start the school year and establish relationships with our students, the spread of the virus will ultimately be the determining factor when making many decisions. Schools across the state and nation are going to great lengths to provide options for families to safely return to school this fall. We have a flexible plan to help us adapt to changes as we continue to learn new information about the virus including guidance for schools.
Although schools across the state and nation are going to great lengths to provide options for families to safely return to school this fall, the spread of the virus will ultimately be the determining factor when making many decisions in how our school year proceeds.
I’ve never been prouder to be an educator as I have during the past five months. While challenging, Covid has revealed what an integral role public education plays in the culture of our state. While we don’t have all the answers and the year ahead is sure to be challenging, we have an amazing team in the Harrisburg School District to meet these challenges. I believe we are ready and able to rise to the occasion.
What we, as a district, are able to offer our students and families during the upcoming school year will be determined by the spread of the virus in our buildings and school community. Although we have been planning to reopen schools for the past couple of months, we were also waiting for guidance from the South Dakota Department of Education and Department of Health. We received guidance on July 12
8th and then worked diligently to finalize the Restart Plan that was approved by the board on July 20th.
Tim M. Graf
Superintendent, Harrisburg School District
CONNECTING THE HARRISBURG COMMUNITY
NEW INDUCTEES NAMED TO HARRISBURG HIGH SCHOOL HALL OF FAME The Hall of Fame Committee has announced the inductees for the 2020 Hall of Fame Class.
HARRISBURG SCHOOL DISTRICT For all schools, call 605-743-2567 www.harrisburgdistrict41-2.org 200 E. Willow St., Harrisburg SD 57032
• Outstanding Team/Team Achievement – 1962 Football Team
High School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1300 S. Willow, Harrisburg North Middle School . . . . . . . . . . . 2201 W. 95th St., Sioux Falls South Middle School . . . . . . . . . . . 600 S. Cliff Ave., Harrisburg Endeavor Elementary . . . . . . . . . . . . 2401 W. 9th St., Sioux Falls Explorer Elementary . . . . . . . . . . . . 4010 W 82nd St, Sioux Falls Freedom Elementary . . . . 1101 Tom Sawyer Trail, Harrisburg Horizon Elementary . . . . . . 5800 S. Bahnson Ave., Sioux Falls Journey Elementary . . . . . . . . 6801 S. Grange Ave., Sioux Falls Liberty Elementary . . . . . . . . . . . 200 Willow Street, Harrisburg
3% L A E D G I B K* C A B H S A C
• Championship Team – 2001 Wrestling Team
• Community Contributor – Donna Abbott
• Teacher/Mentor – Lionel Froseth
• Male Athletes – Bob Pickert 1960 and John Henjum 2002
• Female Athlete – Ashley Dement Dietrich 2006
• Fine Arts – Heather Christensen 1983
The Harrisburg School District extends congratulations to all the inductees! This group will be recognized during homecoming on Friday, Sept. 25th.
Yeah... You‘re a BIG DEAL here. Text BIGDEAL to 72727 for more information
*Receive 3% cash back on up to $300 in debit card purchases. Maximum of $9 per month. Qualifications may apply. See a Customer Service Representative for more information.
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(605) 331-2889
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THE BRIDGE | FALL 2020
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SCHOOL GRADUATES
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EXTRAORDINARY CLASS IN A SUPERUNUSUAL YEAR Photos by Joshua Klemme
farm history.
For more information, contact Garrett Gross at (515) 231-9367 or Garrett@agemedia.pub
Just like the premiere issue of The Bridge magazine and so many other things were delayed by Covid-19, so were the graduation ceremonies for the Harrisburg High School Class of 2020. Nevertheless, these Tigers got their chance to celebrate together this summer. Congratulations to the class of 2020 – you’re off to a great start in facing the challenges and curveballs life is going to throw at you!
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CONNECTING THE HARRISBURG COMMUNITY
THE BRIDGE | FALL 2020
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FALL ACTIVITY CALENDAR
HARRISBURG SCHOOLS FALL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Back to school restart plan: bit.ly/HSDRestart
Photos by Jon Klemme
Activities calendar: bit.ly/HSDActivities. Varsity schedules listed below. Home events are bold. THURSDAY, AUG. 20 1 p.m. Boys Golf at Brandon 4 p.m. Girls Tennis at Mitchell 6 p.m. Boys Soccer vs. Vermillion FRIDAY, AUG. 21 1 p.m. Girls Tennis vs. Pierre SATURDAY, AUG. 22 12 p.m. Girls Soccer at Vermillion MONDAY, AUG. 24 6:30 p.m. Harrisburg School Board meeting THURSDAY, AUG. 27 Harrisburg Schools first day of classes TUESDAY, AUG. 25 4 p.m. Girls Tennis vs. O’Gorman FRIDAY, AUG. 28 10 a.m. Boys Golf at Huron 1 p.m. Girls Tennis at Brookings 4 p.m. Cross Country vs. O’Gorman SATURDAY, AUG. 29 10 a.m. Girls Competitive Cheer at Aberdeen Central 10 a.m. Girls Competitive Dance at Aberdeen Central 11 a.m. Girls Soccer vs. Pierre 1 p.m. Boys Soccer vs. Pierre 3 p.m. Girls Volleyball vs. SF Roosevelt 6 p.m. Boys Football vs. Rapid City Central TUESDAY, SEPT. 1 4 p.m. Girls Soccer at Brookings 5 p.m. Girls Competitive Cheer at Watertown 5 p.m. Girls Competitive Dance at Watertown 6 p.m. Boys Soccer at Brookings 7 p.m. Girls Volleyball at Watertown WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 2 8 a.m. Boys Golf at Spring Creek Country Club THURSDAY, SEPT. 3 4 p.m. Boys Soccer vs. SF Roosevelt 4 p.m. Girls Tennis at Vermillion 6 p.m. Girls Soccer vs. SF Roosevelt 7 p.m. Girls Volleyball at Yankton FRIDAY, SEPT. 4 6 p.m. Boys Football at SF Washington
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MONDAY, SEPT. 7 Labor Day. No School. TUESDAY, SEPT. 8 4 p.m. Boys Soccer vs. Watertown 6 p.m. Girls Soccer vs. Watertown THURSDAY, SEPT. 10 3 p.m. Cross Country at Aberdeen Central 4 p.m. Girls Soccer at Tea 5 p.m. Girls Competitive Cheer at Yankton 6 p.m. Boys Soccer at Tea 7 p.m. Girls Volleyball at SF Lincoln FRIDAY, SEPT. 11 9 a.m. Girls Tennis vs. Rapid City Stevens 1 p.m. Girls Tennis vs. Brandon Valley 8 p.m. Boys Football at Rapid City Stevens SATURDAY, SEPT. 12 10 a.m. Boys Golf at Yankton 10:30 a.m. Cross County at Yankton Trail Park 11 a.m. Boys Soccer at Mitchell 12 p.m. Girls Tennis vs. Spearfish 1 p.m. Girls Soccer at Mitchell 2:30 p.m. Girls Volleyball at Watertown 3 p.m. Girls Tennis vs. Rapid City Central MONDAY, SEPT. 14 10 a.m. Boys Golf at Brookings 6:30 p.m. Harrisburg School Board meeting.
CONNECTING THE HARRISBURG COMMUNITY
THE BRIDGE | FALL 2020
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TUESDAY, SEPT. 15 10 a.m. Girls Tennis at Watertown 4 p.m. Cross Country at SF Christian (Yankton Trail) 5 p.m. Boys Soccer at Brandon Valley 7 p.m. Girls Soccer at Brandon Valley 7 p.m. Girls Volleyball at Brandon Valley THURSDAY SEPT. 17 11 a.m. Girls Tennis at SF Lincoln 4 p.m. Girls Soccer vs. Huron 6 p.m. Boys Soccer vs. Huron FRIDAY, SEPT. 18 10:30 a.m. Boys Golf at Mitchell 7 p.m. Boys Football at Aberdeen Central SATURDAY, SEPT. 19 11 a.m. Girls Competitive Cheer at Brookings 11 a.m. Girls Competitive Dance at Brookings SEPT. 21-25 Homecoming week THURSDAY, SEPT. 24 1 p.m. Girls Tennis at Yankton 4 p.m. Cross Country at Brookings 4 p.m. Boys Soccer vs. O’Gorman 6 p.m. Girls Soccer vs. O’Gorman 7 p.m. Girls Volleyball at Huron FRIDAY, SEPT. 25 12 p.m. Homecoming early release 7 p.m. Boys Football vs. SF Roosevelt SATURDAY, SEPT. 26 10 a.m. Girls Competitive Cheer 10 a.m. Girls Competitive Dance 10 a.m. Boys Golf ESD Meet at Lake View Golf Course 4 p.m. Girls Volleyball vs. Pierre TUESDAY, SEPT. 29 8 a.m. Girls Tennis ESD Tournament 11 a.m. Boys Golf at Yankton 4 p.m. Girls Soccer vs. SF Lincoln 5 p.m. Girls Competitive Cheer at O’Gorman 5 p.m. Girls Competitive Dance at O’Gorman 6 p.m. Boys Soccer vs. SF Lincoln
THURSDAY, OCT. 8 TBD Girls Tennis State Tournament at Rapid City THURSDAY-FRIDAY, OCT. 8-9 In-service. No school. FRIDAY, OCT. 9 TBD Girls Tennis State Tournament at Rapid City 7 p.m. Boys Football vs. SF Lincoln
THURSDAY, OCT. 1 4 p.m. Cross Country at Watertown 4 p.m. Girls Tennis at Madison 7 p.m. Girls Volleyball vs. Yankton
SATURDAY, OCT. 10 TBD Boys Soccer State Tourney TBD Girls Soccer State Tourney 1 p.m. Cross Country at Aberdeen Central
FRIDAY OCT. 2 7 p.m. Boys Football at Watertown
MONDAY, OCT. 12 Native American Day. No school.
SATURDAY, OCT. 3 11 a.m. Girls Competitive Cheer at SF Roosevelt 11 a.m. Girls Competitive Dance at SF Roosevelt 4 p.m. Girls Volleyball vs. SF Washington
TUESDAY, OCT. 13 TBD Boys Soccer State Tourney TBD Girls Soccer State Tourney 7 p.m. Girls Volleyball vs. Huron
MONDAY, OCT. 5 9 a.m. Boys Golf State Tourney at SF Willow Run TUESDAY, OCT. 6 TBD Boys Soccer State Tourney TBD Girls Soccer State Tourney 9 a.m. Boys Golf State Tourney at SF Willow Run 5 p.m. Girls Competitive Cheer at Brandon Valley 18
TUESDAY, OCT. 6, CONT. 5 p.m. Girls Competitive Dance at Brandon Valley 7 p.m. Girls Volleyball vs. Brandon Valley
THURSDAY, OCT. 15 4 p.m. Cross Country 5 p.m. Girls Competitive Cheer at Mitchell 5 p.m. Girls Competitive Dance at Mitchell 7 p.m. Girls Volleyball at SF Christian FRIDAY, OCT. 16 7 p.m. Boys Football at Brandon Valley 7 p.m. The Play: Flora and Ulysses CONNECTING THE HARRISBURG COMMUNITY
SATURDAY, OCT. 17 TBD Boys Soccer State Tourney at Huron TBD Girls Soccer State Tourney at Huron 1 p.m. The Play: Flora and Ulysses 7 p.m. The Play: Flora and Ulysses TUESDAY, OCT. 20 7 p.m. Girls Volleyball vs. Mitchell THURSDAY, OCT. 22 7 p.m. Boys Football vs. O’Gorman FRIDAY, OCT. 23 TBD Girls Volleyball State Tourney SATURDAY, OCT. 24 TBD Girls Competitive Cheer State Championship at Rapid City TBD Girls Competitive Dance State Championship at Rapid City TBD Cross Country State Championship at Rapid City TBD Girls Volleyball State Tourney MONDAY, OCT. 26 6:30 p.m. Harrisburg School Board meeting TUESDAY, OCT. 27 7 p.m. HHS Band Concert 7 p.m. Girls Volleyball at Aberdeen Central THURSDAY, OCT. 29 TBD Boys Football Quarter-finals TUESDAY, NOV. 3 7 p.m. Girls Volleyball vs. Brookings
SATURDAY, NOV. 7 4 p.m. Girls Volleyball vs. O’Gorman
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MONDAY, NOV. 9 6:30 p.m. Harrisburg School Board meeting
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THURSDAY, NOV. 5 7 p.m. Girls Volleyball at Mitchell FRIDAY, NOV. 6 TBD Boys Football Semi-Finals
THURSDAY, NOV. 12 TBD Girls Volleyball SoDak 16 SATURDAY, NOV. 14 7:30 p.m. Boys Football State Championship at USD THURSDAY, NOV. 19 TBD Girls Volleyball State Tourney
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HARRISBURG HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE PROFILE
FAITH VAN HOLLAND 2020 GRADUATE OF HARRISBURG HIGH SCHOOL
High school highlights o
Basketball team
o
DECA Business Club
o
National Honor Society
o
Student council representative
o
Planning committees including homecoming and coronation
o
Peer tutor and classroom assistant
o
Community Reformed Church youth group
o
Athletic academic award
Important influence My youth group leader from a couple of years ago, Liz Teel, made a really big impact on my life. She really helped me get through some tough things I’ve had to deal with, like when my grandpa died, and when I was struggling to find my way. I felt really lost and had some questions and she was able to answer them and support me. Mr. Langerock, down in the wellness wing, has had a major impact on my life with sports and other things. He’s got a daughter, so he’s very understanding with the girl problems. When I have some drama, I can go to him. He’s like ‘Faith, you might be overreacting a little bit and you just need to calm down and step back and look at the bigger picture.’
What do you friends say about you? Kind, friendly and, I like to think, funny and entertaining sometimes. I have a hard work ethic – when I say I’m going to do something, I get it done. I’m competitive.
If you could start high school over again … Home: Sioux Falls Parents: Karen and Aaron Van Holland Future Plans: Dordt University, majoring in exercise science/pre-physical therapy; playing on Dordt basketball team Work Experience: G-Stop, SDSU Ice Cream Truck Volunteer Experience: The Banquet (via National Honor Society); Kids Against Hunger; nursing home; daycares
When I started high school, I was very nervous to try anything new. Maybe I should have tried more things, like going out for volleyball or going out for golf right away. I’d try to expand my horizons a little bit rather than just basketball all the way through. I should have challenged myself a little more rather than just taking core classes. I should have tried an AP course or taken another college course.
Favorite books, shows, music … My favorite book is Little Monsters, I really like murder Continued on page 23
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CONNECTING THE HARRISBURG COMMUNITY
HARRISBURG HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE PROFILE
KAYLIE JUCHT 2020 GRADUATE OF HARRISBURG HS Home: Sioux Falls Parents: Scott Jucht and Sheila Hames Future Plans: University of Sioux Falls, majoring in theology and entrepreneurial studies Work Experience: Harrisburg High School concessions, church kids program, daycares, Sioux Falls Park & Recreation Volunteer Experience: Oak Hills Baptist Church nursery program and church events; National Honor Society
High school highlights o
Drama Club (president during senior year)
o
One-act play superior rating in state contest
o
Family & Consumer Science Leadership Assoc. (FCSLA)
o
Educators Rising (state president)
Harrisburg Bridge(3.56x4.875)08/03/2020_GEN
o Debate o Track o
Tae Kwon Do
o
Collision inter-school ministry
o
National Honor Society
Important influence My dad has probably had the biggest impact on me. When my parents got divorced two years ago, he helped my sister and I deal with that and helped us get back on our faith walks; he was there to help answer our questions. He’s always been open and very supportive of everything I do. He’s just a good dad and role model in how he lives his life.
What do your friends say about you? I’m really nice – I get that a lot. Plus they would say I’m funny and that I’m a caring person; that I give too much and am responsible.
bhfcu.com/SiouxFalls |
The importance of theatre I’ve been in theatre since second grade. This year we did a production called Planet Z (a Harrisburg original written by Michael Smith). I got to play this crazy, flirty character who was really fun. Continued on page 23 THE BRIDGE | FALL 2020
3 convenient Sioux Falls locations 21
HARRISBURG HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE PROFILE
RYAN PTAK
2020 GRADUATE OF HARRISBURG HIGH SCHOOL High school highlights o
National Honor Society officer
o
NHS Veteran’s Day ceremony
o
Cross Country (All Conference, top 25 at state)
o DECA o Track o Basketball o Football o
Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA)
Important influence Mr. Genrich, my cross country coach, has been a big influence on me. In cross country, we do a lot of training and he’s taught me a lot about working hard to achieve your goals and he’s helped me to accomplish those goals. Cross country is not for everyone. Physically, it hurts. – but there’s an important mental aspect in having to push through that. I love the team atmosphere of cross country. It’s a lot of fun.
What do you friends say about you? Kind, loyal, hardworking, hopefully fun to be around.
If you could start high school over again … Become involved in different clubs like student council and DECA sooner just to get exposure. The clubs are really helpful in choosing what might interest you as a career.
What are you most proud of …
Home: Sioux Falls Parents: Gary and Amy Ptak Future Plans: University of South Dakota, majoring in accounting Work Experience: McDonald’s, B&G Milky Way, referee for youth basketball league, maintenance at Harrisburg Cemetery, accounting internship at Midwestern Mechanical, babysitting younger siblings
Organizing the Veteran’s Day ceremony – especially this year because the guest speaker was a personal family friend. It’s really nice to see how much it means to them. My coach before middle school was in the Army National Guard and our personal family friend was in the military – growing up with them in my life and being able to honor what they’ve done for our country and for me has meant a lot.
Most embarrassing moment … When I was a lot younger and I was playing flag football, I was running and a kid actually pulled my pants down going for my flag. My mom caught it on video too. That’s a good one. Continued on page 23
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FAITH VAN HOLLAND
KAYLIE JUCHT
RYAN PTAK
mysteries. My favorite documentary is on Netflix, it was about the whales at SeaWorld. I’m kind of weird, I like documentaries. For music, I have a lot of different sounds – I like indie but can easily slide over into pop if I’m in the car with my friends.
I also enjoyed Once Upon A Mattress which was a comedic musical with a lot of hard choreography. My freshman year we did Diary of Anne Frank. It was a serious show and I learned a lot from that one. I enjoy when you are on stage being able to express myself. You always learn something from a character, plus you bring your own take to a character. The environment of theatre is very accepting, quirky, fun and energetic. It’s a running joke: You know the theatre kids are coming because you can hear them talking a mile away.
Favorite vacation spot … Costa Rica. We spent a couple days at a hoteltype place inland in the jungle. Then we spent another five days and we rented a house with a pool and we could see the bay and the ocean. That was one of the most fun vacations our family ever had.
What makes you laugh? My little brother, Will. He’s only 11, but he’s got a great wit, he’s hilarious. Knock, knock jokes make me laugh – they’re really cheesy, but they get me every time. I’m able to laugh at my own mistakes – my mess-ups are funny to me. I think it’s a good trait to be able to laugh at myself rather than getting mad when I screw up. Best thing about Harrisburg schools I love the homecoming parade. I love homecoming in general. And I’ve always really, really liked the white-out football games. Then we did Mr. HHS – it’s basically a beauty pageant for the boys in our grade. That’s really entertaining to watch. And, obviously, I love the basketball season. It’s always been super fun because every year we’ve made it to the state basketball tournament. The Harrisburg customized learning program is very misunderstood. I like how much open time you have, and you have to be self-motivated or it even teaches you selfmotivation. You are in charge of whether or not you go to summer school, or whether or not you get behind. You’re in charge of our pace and how hard you work. Looking ahead … I got a random roommate and I’m hoping I got someone who’s not in sports. I want to know more people on campus and broaden my horizons. I want someone who’s not similar to me. I want to experience what other people do with their life. Then, obviously, I want to build my skills to make me better at becoming a physical therapist and being able to care for people and help them get better. What are you most passionate about? Basketball. I’m very passionate and competitive with that. I’m also very passionate about my friends and family – I’m very protective over everybody I love. I’m also pretty passionate about caring for others in the health sciences and helping people to heal. 10 years from now … Maybe not necessarily married, but having a boyfriend and thinking about it. Getting a good, decent job, whether it’s in Sioux Falls at Sanford or Avera or somewhere else. Paying off debt – I’ve realized how big that is.
THE BRIDGE | FALL 2020
If you could start high school over again … Allow myself time to relax and slow down – and try not stress over stuff. And speak up for myself and be more outgoing. I wasn’t really like that my first two years. I should have done that more my freshman and sophomore year. Life is never how it appears in the movies. I wish I’d been told that before I entered high school. There’s definitely going to be hardships and conflict, but at the same time, I think, you’ll make it out ok and it will make you stronger. Favorite vacation spots My dad and I went to Wyoming with our church youth group for a week-long camping trip. It was so beautiful and I love hiking. I liked getting away from everything and seeing the mountains. Favorite movies or shows I’m a big Disney fan and my favorite is Lilo & Stitch. It’s a cute story and Stitch is so funny. It’s a classic story of an outcast little girl and she gets this exciting life. I guess I can kind of relate. After elementary school, I became a very shy and an outcast kind of person. Best thing about Harrisburg schools All the opportunities – there are so many different clubs and extracurriculars and classes. There’s something here for everyone to do. And the last few years I’ve noticed people creating their own clubs. It’s good because they’re all kind of equally supported. It’s not like one thing is more important than another. In some schools, athletics are more supported than the arts. But I feel that Harrisburg has a really good balance of making those equal. What motivates you? I’m a big perfectionist. I’m very good at selfmotivation because I want to be the best version of myself. Another thing that motivates me is I like helping and serving other people. When I can do projects that allow me to do that or officer positions that allow me to serve others, I enjoy that. When I know people are relying on me, it makes me work even harder to meet their expectations.
Favorite books, shows, music … Star Wars movie series. I like the Harry Potter series. Music, I listen to pretty much everything. Best thing about Harrisburg schools I like the Harrisburg community – knowing the teachers pretty well and the class sizes aren’t too big. I like the freedom of the customized learning program and the ability to work at your own pace and be able to work with others on several different things. It’s a good mix of individual learning and group projects. With the two academic programs Harrisburg has – customized and traditional – you can find the program that fits you. The customized allowed me to excel because it was working at your own pace and it’s more independent-based and you can go ask the teachers questions as you need to. Whereas some students learn better from a lecture. You can choose where you excel. If I could change something about myself … Creativity is something I’d love to utilize more. I’ve always liked math and the straightforward, definite ‘this is the right answer,’ not ten different answers and any one of them could work. That’s something I’m working on improving. Hopefully it’s something I can be better at later in life. What are you most passionate about? Definitely community – I want to be able to have a positive impact on my community. Later on in life, when I have a career and family, having a positive impact means a lot to me. The community itself is a great thing to have and it’s rewarding to be able to help build a community. In the activities I’ve been a part of volunteering on, I’ve seen the impact it can have on people. 10 years from now … Hopefully I will have graduated from college – fingers crossed on that one – and have a stable career. Hopefully I will have met somebody and settled down a little bit. Business is a flexible career path, so I’m open to get exposure to various paths.
10 years from now … I guess at that point I hope I’m still traveling a bit, but also settled down. I would hope to be married and possibly starting a family. I hope to be involved in ministry work, although I don’t know quite what. But whatever God calls me to do and just be involved in His work; as long as I can serve other people and Him, that’s basically what I’d want to be doing.
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LOCAL BUSINESS PROFILE
SHOWPLACE: A STEADY ROCK IN THE NATIONAL CABINET INDUSTRY AND IN HARRISBURG By Bob Fitch business, they come along easily. You can’t pound good customer service into people. They have to feel it in their gut that taking care of customers is what I do because I care about my business.” Showplace is a phenomenal South Dakota success story. In its first year of production, the company sold $6 million worth of cabinets. Six years later, sales were at $65 million. Bill Allen, a Harrisburg native who started at Showplace in 2001 and is now its president, said, “We were jammed in here producing more cabinets than we’re producing today. They were lowerpriced and much simpler cabinets, but in that factory, we were pumping out about 750 cabinets a day.”
Paul Sova and Bill Allen
Kitchens are a defining room for American families and the U.S. housing market is fundamentally sound – those two factors combine to make the future look bright for Showplace Cabinetry. However, the number one factor in the company’s favor going forward are the owners – because the employees are the owners. Started by a group of cabinet industry veterans and local investors in Harrisburg in 2000, Showplace Cabinetry transitioned to employee ownership in 2006. “Most businesses will talk about relationships with the people who work there as being central. We take that one step further,” said Paul Sova, chief executive officer and one of the original team. “Our production people own it, we all own it. That gives us a starting point that most businesses 24
don’t have. We talk about the numbers all the time and we share the numbers with everyone here. But it’s not just sales-driven or profit-driven. We’re driven because we exist for the people who work here.” Sova said the vision has been to create “an organization where the people here care about each other and care about the company. There’s nothing in that statement about sales or profitability or being customer-driven … we don’t talk about that. In our mind, if you take care of the people who work here and create an environment where they care about the operation they work for, then when you talk about service to the customer and developing the right product quality levels and delivering on time and all those other metrics that are important to being a successful
The recession which began in 2008 dropped sales 30 percent. But steady growth since then has sales now at around $90 million. “We climbed back up to two record years in a row in 2018 and 2019,” Allen said. Working through a network of 700 dealers, products are shipped from Harrisburg and Beresford to all 50 states. Sova said making cabinets for home kitchens and bathrooms is their core business. “While we do new construction, three-quarters of our business goes into remodeling. We’re a high-end remodeler. That’s our bread and butter. We’re not a cheap cabinet. We’re very complicated now compared to when we started. We’re very much a custom operation. We make anywhere from 35-40 custom kitchens each day that ship all over the country – each one unique in how it’s built. Everything is sold before we get the order to build. We produce one kitchen for one family at a time. Sometimes we marvel at how we CONNECTING THE HARRISBURG COMMUNITY
get it all done.” Product features include custom paint color matching, sizing to the sixteenth inch, finish sheen choices, and free glazing. As the company’s customers have taken them deeper into a custom cabinet direction, the management team has been proactive in developing options that will appeal to a greater number of homeowners. That first happened with the 2015 introduction of ShowplacEVO, a more affordable frameless cabinet that involved building an entire new manufacturing plant in Harrisburg. And it is happening again with the August 2020 introduction of Longview by Showplace, which is designed for lower budget projects that don’t need customization. Sova said it’s fun that cabinetry is part of the greater fashion industry. “Cabinets have to look right and have the right color and appeal to the American consumer. The new American kitchen is a reflection of who they are, how they want to live in their home, how they want to raise their kids and how they want to entertain when they have their friends over. The kitchen is right in the middle of it. “The new generations are going to need places to live and they’re going to need kitchens. We’re not concerned that the demand isn’t going to be there. What we need to do is prepare our products and sales and pricing structures so we can meet that,” he said. Showplace Cabinetry has become a mature company, a mature ESOP (employee stock ownership plan), and one of the biggest cabinet manufacturers in the county. “In our industry, there’s been a lot of consolidation and a lot of turnover. But we’ve been a steady rock. We’re looked at as one of the stable ones. Management stays here, we don’t turn. We’re all invested in the business and we’re not for sale,” Sova said. Not only is the company viewed as a steady rock in the cabinet industry, but it has also been a rock for the Harrisburg community. Allen said, “The last 20 years, Showplace has grown right along with Harrisburg; and our involvement with the community has really grown with that.” They both said a conscious decision was made early in the company’s history to be involved in Harrisburg and other local communities not only financially, but also through volunteer time and talent. Besides Harrisburg schools and local youth sports teams, Showplace supports organizations such as Sioux Empire United Way, Junior Achievement of South Dakota, South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, McCrossan Boys Ranch, Sculpture Walk Sioux Falls, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Sioux Empire, Special Olympics South Dakota, and many others. In the beginning, the founding team believed that Harrisburg would be an advantageous location from which to draw a workforce. Sova said that’s proven to be true, with employees coming from Harrisburg, Sioux Falls, Tea, Lennox, Canton, Worthing and beyond.
THE BRIDGE | FALL 2020
In addition to the employee stock ownership plan, an impressive list of benefits helps promote workforce retention: on-site workout facilities, cafeteria and medical clinic; health, dental and life insurance; discounts on Showplace products; and retirement contribution matching. When Covid hit, Sova and Allen said there was genuine concern about where the drop in sales would end, but they decided not to lay off employees. “We made the decision early on that we were going to keep the workforce intact and we weren’t going to lay anybody off or furlough anybody,” Sova said. “We turned people into carpet cleaners and wall painters and gardeners. We made work. We didn’t have any revenue coming in for that kind of work, but that’s what we did, so be it. In the short-term and long-term, it paid off for us because now we’re having a very strong rebound. “We had a really strong first quarter and then it dropped hard and steep. Now it’s come back very strong. July might be our best month in history. The American public is buying kitchens, that’s for sure,” Sova said. Having a national footprint, Showplace is very attuned to how crises such as 9/11, Covid-19 and recessions impact various regions and the country as a whole. “This virus impacts us all over the country. We’re still concerned about how this will play out this fall,” Allen said. “It’s a real sanity check and everyone takes a deep breath. But if the business is fundamentally sound and our buildings and equipment are state of the art, the market in one form or another will always be there, as long as we have the right products and deliver them well.” Sova said, “We’ve evolved over time and we’ll continue to evolve. The management team here is very flexible and forward thinking and creative. I’m optimistic that we’re going to appeal to the American public like we have. Given the fact that we’re employee-owned and our management staff is very stable and we’re not for sale, I think we’re in a great position to continue to grow.”
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LOCAL BUSINESS PROFILE
RELIABANK: A BRIGHTER BANKING EXPERIENCE SINCE 1920 By Bob Fitch
The Johnson family has owned Reliabank since 1967 and been part of the management team for 75 of its 100 years. Pictured are Ethan, David, Jan and Reid Johnson. Photo by Alisa Bousa, SDBA
Reliabank’s competitive advantage is offering big bank products with home town service. “Your technology has to be almost second to none,” said David W. Johnson, Reliabank’s chairman of the board. “We’ve invested a lot in software that provides the services people want. You follow it up with people who stick – people who like to give service.” Even as it entered the greater Sioux Falls marketplace several years ago, Reliabank purposely held close the small town values and service which helped it grow from its founding 100 years ago as the Farmer’s National Bank 26
of South Shore to its long-time identity as the Farmer’s State Bank of Estelline to becoming Reliabank 21 years ago. The bank was started with $25,000 in 1920. Today, assets total over $500 million. The Johnson family has managed the bank for 75 of its 100 years and been the owners since 1967. David Johnson took over management at age 23 when his father, Walt, died unexpectedly in 1976. Today, David and Jan Johnson’s sons, Ethan and Reid, represent the third generation who have played key roles at the bank. Both Ethan and Reid started working in the bank at age 14. As Reliabank’s customers from
Watertown and the small towns of Estelline, Hayti, and Hazel migrated to the Sioux Falls area, Johnsons decided it didn’t make sense to lose those clients. Instead, they opened a branch in Hartford, then purchased banks in Tea and Humboldt, before opening a location on 86th Street for residents of Harrisburg and Sioux Falls. Retaining those customers from the northern part of South Dakota’s I-29 corridor as they moved to the southern part of the corridor is reliant on a personal touch. David said, “Retaining employees has been a big aspect of that. You can become very impersonal CONNECTING THE HARRISBURG COMMUNITY
when you have significant turnover.” Reid Johnson said, “When you call in to Reliabank, you’re going to speak with a person. You’re more than just an account or a number.” Jan Johnson added, “One of the things we do is train our employees to really troubleshoot. So, if you have a problem, we can really zero in. And if an employee doesn’t know how to fix a problem, they know who to contact to fix the problem. You’ll always get good service from that perspective.” Jan sits on Reliabank’s Board of Directors, IT Committee and Audit Committee. In 2019, Reliabank promoted two of its senior vice presidents to lead the bank into the next century. Joshua A. Hogue became president of the bank, and Jeremy W. Keizer was promoted to Sioux Falls market president. Hogue joined Reliabank in 2012 after seven years with First Fidelity Bank of Platte, S.D. and Keizer joined the bank in 2010. Both have completed the Graduate School of Banking program in Madison, Wisc., and are committed to good training and good service. “We’re here to serve,” David said. “There’s a definite partnership that gets developed over time which is good for the customer, good for the bank ownership, good for the employee, and it’s good for the community. Most community bankers have that same attitude. When I say community bankers, I’m talking about locally owned banks who live and work in their hometowns.” He said large corporate banks often become impersonal in the way they handle business, usually focused primarily on reducing overhead costs. But because financial matters are so intertwined with the struggles and success people face every day, bankers really need to know people on that personal level. “I compare being a community banker to being a pastor … you get to know people that well.” THE BRIDGE | FALL 2020
Jan said part of getting to know people well and retaining employees is having fun by being involved in community organizations and doing volunteer work. Reliabank frequently has done hot dog and brat feeds in the communities where they’re located. The
customers couldn’t wait. They needed that money now.” David agreed: “There’s an old saying in banking that I like to repeat: Bank customers don’t care what you know until they know that you care. That goes along with the people that we hire – they’re good servants.”
Reliabank serves the Harrisburg and Sioux Falls market from its location at 608 W. 86th St. near WalMart.
bank likes to grill meals for teacher in-service trainings because educators are such an integral part of every town. Reid said the company appreciates the chance to partner with schools and other local organizations. Even when the Covid crisis forced the cancellation of fundraising events for the Girls Scouts, the Humane Society and Volunteers of America, Reliabank followed through on donating the sponsorship dollars the institution had pledged. The Covid situation also gave Reliabank a chance to demonstrate its qualities to local business owners. “Very quickly via a webinar, we updated all of our loan officers about the Paycheck Protection Program,” said Ethan Johnson. “We were already hammering out loans while the big banks were still trying to figure out what to do.” Jan said, “The big corporate banks worried about procedures and the risks, but we worried about our customers.” Ethan said community banks shined during the crisis. Jan said, “That attests to the fact that we’re very flexible, that we’ll work with our customers, that we recognized there was a crisis, and that our
In addition to the servant approach of its employees, Reliabank offers a wide breadth of highly secure online services including real-time account transaction information, funds transfers, check images, stop payments, bill pay, and Popmoney person-to-person electronic payments. In addition, the bank offers personal and business checking and savings accounts; commercial and agricultural loans; and home mortgage financing is available in many methods including conventional, VA, FHA, rural development, first time homebuyer and debt consolidation. Reliabank Insurance Agency is an independent agency offering products such as home, auto, business, health, farm and crop insurance. Finally, Big Sioux Wealth Management offers retirement planning and financial planning for estates, charitable giving and charitable trusts. For Harrisburg and Sioux Falls customers, Reliabank is located at 608 West 86th St near WalMart. Additional information is available at www.reliabank.com.
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STREET DESIGN LAND SURVEYING UTILITY ANALYSIS & DESIGN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING WATER/WASTEWATER TREATMENT
PANTHER | 600 East 52nd Street North, Sioux Falls, SD 605.335.1103 | PANTHERG.COM 28
Sioux Falls, SD 605.338.6668
www.stockwellengineers.com
Yankton, SD 605.665.8092
CONNECTING THE HARRISBURG COMMUNITY
CHAMBER DIRECTORY
DIRECTORY OF MEMBERS AND BUYER’S GUIDE Local businesses invest in the community by supporting sports teams, school and youth activities, and the local tax base. PLATINUM MEMBERS
GOLD MEMBERS
SILVER MEMBERS
ACCOUNTING, BOOKKEEPING, PAYROLL
AUTOS, RVs AND AUTO REPAIR
KMWF & Associates PC (605) 336-7213 haugen@kmwfcpa.com
Clean Ride Auto Spa/The Clean Bean (605) 306-2266 coffee@cleanrideautospa.com
Numbers & Such Prof. LLC (605) 595-5315 courtney@numbersandsuchprofllc.com
J & M Transmission & Auto Services Inc. (605) 368-2050 maryellen@jmtransmissionservice.com
ADVERTISING
Noteboom RV (605) 743-4002 office.noteboomrv@gmail.com
including mailing, marketing, printing, promotional
Coffee News (605) 332-2602 steve@coffeenewssiouxfalls.com
Valvoline Instant Oil Change (605) 321-9900 pnelsen@dakota.net
Fully Promoted (605) 274-0105 sfsd@fullypromoted.com
BANKING / FINANCIAL SERVICES
Performance Press (605) 582-7070 info@performancepressinc.com Qualified Presort Service, LLC (605) 965-3200 brianshaw@qualifiedpresort.com Sisson Printing Inc. (605) 336-6136 denny@sissonprintinginc.com
Black Hills Federal Credit Union (605) 937-4515 aprilm@bhfcu.net Central Bank (605) 782-1818 awalsh@centralbankonline.com CorTrust Bank (605) 336-3900 tdehaven@cortrustbank.com
AG SERVICES
First Bank & Trust (605) 978-3030 breanna.garbers@bankeasy.com
Bayer Crop Science (605) 743-5459 x 5604 erin.baker-daggett@bayer.com
The First National Bank of Sioux Falls (605) 782-5880 jmiverson@fnbsf.com
APARTMENTS, RENTAL PROPERTY
Frontier Bank (605) 331-2889 traceyh@frontierbk.com
Sawyer Pointe Apartments (605) 275-4245 info@residepropertymanagement.com
Quoin Financial Bank (605) 275-5000 gharrell@quoinbank.com
Select Companies (605) 743-4865 info@selectcompanies.co
Reliabank (605) 306-2000 jeremyk@reliabank.com
Solutions Property Management, LLC (605) 988-8496 Linda@yourrentalsolution.com
Security National Bank of South Dakota (605) 977-9000 gdybsetter@snbsd.com
THE BRIDGE | FALL 2020
BRONZE MEMBERS BUILDING Including electrical, painting, plumbing
360 Painting of Sioux Falls (605) 679-4957 tsaxer@360painting.com Albers Electric, LLC (605) 366-9561 alberselectric@yahoo.com BHI Construction, LLC (605) 743-2152 accountspayable@bhi-construction.com B.J. Construction (605) 743-5167 JNBL@midco.net G. A. Johnson Construction, Inc. (605) 361-8800 corey@gajci.com Hai Plumbing LLC (605) 695-5942 haiplumbing@hotmail.com Janus Home Solutions (605) 743-4233 todd@janushomesolutions.com J.Wahl Home Inspection (605) 368-4650 jwahl@jwahlhomeinspection.com KN Construction (605) 767-3500 lexie@nielsonconstruction.net LoveOurRoof Sioux Falls (605) 599-7663 dustinallen@loveourroof.com One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning (605) 271-1419 kcd99@hotmail.com ProLift Garage Doors (605) 366-5950 djones@proliftdoors.com Select Companies (605) 743-4865 info@selectcompanies.co Showplace Cabinetry (605) 743-2200 heidi.bowers@showplacecabinetry.com 29
CELL PHONES Wireless World (605) 789-8722 phock@wirelessworld.com
Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce (605) 336-1620 afarr@siouxfalls.com
Fareway (605) 743-9071 u1781@farewaystores.com
South Dakota Retailers Association (605) 906-3370 lhasbrouck@sdra.org
Hy-Vee Inc. (605) 271-7171 DMitchell@hy-vee.com
CONVENIENCE STORES
GOLF
Casey’s General Store (605) 743-5404
Spring Creek Country Club (605) 743-2000 gsumma@sio.midco.net
CHURCHES Harrisburg United Methodist Church (605) 767-2253 humc@harrisburgumc.com NewDay Church (605) 368-9894 randy@sf-newday.org The Ransom Church (605) 339-3733 paul.nix@theransomchurch.org
DANCE STUDIO
Shalom Lutheran Church/Preschool (605) 767-5382 office@shalomlc.com
Pulse Dance Studio (605) 408-6246 pulsedanceteams@gmail.com
St. John Paul II Catholic Church (605) 988-3750 office1@jp2sd.org
ENGINEER or ARCHITECTURE SERVICES
CLEANING SERVICES
EAPC Architects Engineers (605) 444-1600 leap.chear@eapc.net
White Glove Cleaning Services, LLC (605) 421-8078 cindy@thewhiteglovecleaningservices.com
Stockwell Engineers (605) 338-6668 jbrown@stockwellengineers.com
CLOTHING
TSP, Inc. (605) 336-1160 lorenzenll@teamtsp.com
Ambush Apparel (815) 545-9634 garrett.ambushapparel@gmail.com COFFEE Sassy Cakes & Coffee (507) 215-1828 sassycakesbyashly@gmail.com Scooter’s Coffee Drive Thru (605) 271-0964 travis@scooterssiouxfalls.com COMMUNITY, SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS EmBe Avera (605) 362-9438 abakke@embe.org Harrisburg Area Food Pantry (605) 929-0599 harrisburgareafoodpantry@yahoo.com Harrisburg Community Foundation (605) 940-4393 info@harrisburgcf.org Harrisburg Community Library (605) 767-7910 Harrisburg Lion’s Club (605) 201-9361 asjtimmer@yahoo.com Harrisburg School District (605) 743-2567 SCORE (402) 760-0963 tmundhenke2000@yahoo.com
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Sam’s BP (605) 767-7561 sq46@yahoo.com
EVENT SITES American Legion Post 45 & Auxiliary Unit 45 (605) 261-2621 axe@sio.midco.net The Harrisburg Event Center (605) 366-0863 contact@harrisburgeventcenter.com The Meadow Barn (605) 370-2786 events@themeadowbarn.com FAMILY FUN, ENTERTAINMENT Air Madness (605) 767-1600 tylerpedersen88@gmail.com Christmas Tree Acres (605) 214-0275 sfpacker56@aol.com Conquer Escape Rooms (605) 498-1540 info@conquerescaperooms.com Country Apple Orchard (605) 743-2152 accountspayable@bhi-construction.com Dakota Entertainment (605) 331-1404 garner@dakotaentertainment.com
GRAPHIC DESIGN Design Loft (605) 376-7430 jp.design@midco.net HARDWARE, BUILDING MATERIALS Harrisburg Ace Hardware (605) 213-0600 frosin.acehardware@outlook.com Schoeneman’s Building Materials Center (605) 213-1100 al.schoeneman@schoenemans.com HEALTH including medical and fitness
Avera Medical Group Harrisburg (605) 213-8000 erica.arends@avera.org Evolve Chiropractic & Rehab (605) 767-1610 evolvechiropracticsd@gmail.com GreatLIFE (605) 213-1600 dustin.derry@joingreatlife.com Harrisburg Eye Care (605) 213-2020 info@secure.harrisburgeyecare.com Harrisburg Family Chiropractic (605) 767-7463 drmayland@harrisburgfamilychiropractic.com Harrisburg Family Dental Seth.schr@gmail.com Heroic Fitness (605) 759-5083 mal.herofitness@gmail.com Highest Health Chiropractic (605) 351-3517 outreach@highesthealthchiropractic.com Neighborhood Dental Clinic (605) 767-0285 sheitzler@neighborhooddentalcare.com Prairie Rehabilitation – Harrisburg (605) 767-3008 ljohnson@prairierehab.com Wermerson Orthodontics (605) 274-0555 info@wermersonorthodontics.com
FOOD / GROCERIES Emer-GenZ Eats & Treats (605) 354-5948 pamela@emergenzeats.com CONNECTING THE HARRISBURG COMMUNITY
INSURANCE AND/OR INVESTMENTS
PHOTOGRAPHY OR VIDEO SERVICES
SANITATION SERVICES
Ascend Financial, Inc. (605) 553-9620 kris@ascendfinancial.com
CMAC Production (605) 201-4609 cmacprod@yahoo.com
Novak Sanitary Service (605) 338-7126 melissaw@wcnx.org
Brock Aldrich - Edward Jones 605-214-1079 Brock.aldrich@edwardjones.com
Lynn Marie Photography (605) 370-4506 lynn@lynnmariephotography.com
Roo’s Sanitation (695) 498-1588 Roossanitation@gmail.com
Daniele Heyn – Aflac (605) 520-3079 daniele_heyn@us.aflac.com
PROPERTY, LANDSCAPE AND LAWN MAINTENANCE
SIGNAGE
Casey Van Beek Innovative Employer Solutions (605) 321-6733 casey.vanbeek@ies-sd.com Jackie Hoerner-District Sales Manager & Benefits Counselor (605) 281-5188 jackie_hoerner@us.aflac.com Lloyd Nickel Allstate Insurance Agency (605) 937-6500 lloydnickel@allstate.com Riverview Insurance & Investments (605) 498-0305 dpitzl@juffer.com INTERIOR DESIGN, HOME DECOR White Barn Charm (605) 261-7629 whitebarncharm@gmail.com INTERNET / CABLE TV Midco (800) 888-1300 andrew.curley@midco.com Vast Broadband (605) 306-3043 jeffrey.larson@vastbroadband.com
All Season’s Property Maintenance (605) 743-5912 allseasonslawn@qwestoffice.net Yardscapes, LLC (605) 929-2000 SFYardscapesLLC@gmail.com REAL ESTATE AND DEVELOPERS 605 Real Estate (507) 220-1615 kaylee@605advantage.com Amber Halvorson - Keller Williams Realty (605) 376-7550 amberhalvorson@kw.com Amber Ellingsen Realty (605) 360-6707 amberellingsen@kw.com Casey Hatch - Keller Williams Realty (605) 777-9090 caseyhatch@kw.com Codi Realty Group/My Home My Harrisburg (605) 370-9991 codi@codirealtygroup.com Jim Dunham & Associates (605) 275-850 ashley@jimdunhamassociates.com
Customeyez Design (605) 521-5239 customeyez@live.com SPORTS EQUIPMENT, UNIFORMS Daubys Sports Center (605) 332-8041 brian-daubys@qwestoffice.net TAXIDERMY Diggers Taxidermy (605) 881-8474 kcnew6@hotmail.com TECHNOLOGY OR COMPUTER SERVICES Big D Technology Solutions, Inc. (605) 271-9885 danderson@bigdtechnology.com ELBO Computing Resources, Inc. (605) 361-3720 kyle@teamelbo.com UTILITIES NorthWestern Energy (605) 978-2913 paul.mantz@northwestern.com
LIQUOR
NAI Sioux Falls (605) 357-7100 mmahlen@naisiouxfalls.com
Grains & Grapes Liquor House (605) 213-0182 grainsgrapesliquorhouse@outlook.com
Tim Allex Realty Group (605) 759-3996 clientcare@timallex.com
WEB, SOCIAL MEDIA
MUNICIPAL SERVICES
Van Buskirk Companies (605) 361-8211 kristi@vbclink.com
Firelink Online Media (725) 696-3473 mychelle@firelinkonline.com
RESTAURANTS
YOUTH SERVICES
Big J’s Roadhouse (605) 767-8000 bigjroadhouseBBQ@gmail.com
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Sioux Empire (605) 338-8061 rwimmer@bgcsiouxempire.org
Fresh Horses Saloon (605) 767-5908 patrick.miller1975@gmail.com
Junior Achievement of South Dakota (605) 336-7318 kelli.rogotzke@ja.org
Harrisburgers (605) 767-1900 harrisburgers@yahoo.com
Pulse Dance Studio (605) 408-6246 pulsedanceteams@gmail.com
City of Harrisburg (605) 743-5872 contact@harrisburgsd.gov OFFICE EQUIPMENT A & B Business Solutions (605) 335-8520 johnny.noel@abbusiness.com PET CARE FACILITY Resort by SDK (605) 743-5824 smokendakotakennels@gmail.com
THE BRIDGE | FALL 2020
Xcel Energy (800) 895-4999 eric.pauli@xcelenergy.com
Subway (605) 213-1009 coleshawd@gmail.com
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CONNECTING THE HARRISBURG COMMUNITY