chambernews.com • Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013 • C H A M B E R N EW S • 5
S I O U X FA L L S C O N V E N T I O N & V I S I TO R S B U R E AU
CVB hosts FAM tours in Sioux Falls The Sioux Falls Convention & Visitors The Best Western PLUS Ramkota Hotel and Bureau (CVB). Tour Operators were pros- Conference Center helped sponsor the hotel pected at industry tradeshows and through rooms for this FAM. various sales and marketing efforts. Registration and a welcome reception A group of 40 international group trav- kicked off each of the FAMs. Participants explored Sioux el leaders toured Falls to get hotel, Sioux Falls and dining and atSouth Dakota for traction ideas to future travel opinclude on their portunities. The upcoming tours. Holiday Inn ExThe itinerary press and Suites included Falls Southwest, HoliPark, Downday Inn Express town Sioux Falls, and Suites ShirSculptureWalk, ley Avenue, StayPrairie Star Galbridge Suites and the Best Western Sioux Falls CVB hosts the Rocky Mountain International lery, Center for Western Studies, Empire Towers (RMI) FAM at the Overlook Café. Washington Pavilion, The Outdoor Campus, provided overnight rooms for the FAM. On Sept. 15-17 the Sioux Falls CVB Sertoma Butterfly House, Strawbale Winery, hosted 16 group tour operators on a FAM St. Joseph Cathedral, Pettigrew Home and tour of the city. The FAM tour was planned Museum and the Old Courthouse Museum. and executed by the Sioux Falls CVB. Tour Thank you to all of the partners for their help operators were prospected at industry trade- with the FAM tours. shows and through various marketing efforts.
CVB gathers leads from HSMAI The Sioux Falls CVB attended HSMAI’s 2013 MEET National event in Washington, D.C. Sept. 4-5. The show is organized by the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) and attracted more than 1,500 planning professionals from organizations of every size. The CVB was one of 200 exhibiting suppliers that included other convention and visitors bureaus, hotels, resorts, inns, technology suppliers and food and equipment providers.
annual show Affordable Meetings but took a few years off to explore new tradeshows being introduced to the hospitality and meeting industry. The CVB opted to return to the HSMAI show because the new layout included a MEET traditional tradeshow, one-on-one appointments prescheduled by the supplier, and TEEM UP, a reverse tradeshow layout with appointments requested by the meeting professionals.
The CVB came back with a number of Previously, the CVB attended HSMAI’s leads to follow up with.
New Fairfield Inn & Suites Airport open TMI Hospitality opened the Fairfield and coffee makers. The hotel also offers a Inn & Suites by Marriott in Sioux Falls in complimentary daily hot and cold breakfast September. buffet with healthy choices, 24-hour on-site The hotel is located at 4035 Bobhalla fitness center, guest laundry facility, The Dr., south of 60th Street N. and east of I-29 Market, indoor pool and spa, free in-room off the Benson Road exit near the Sanford high speed Internet and complimentary airSports Complex and the Sioux Falls Regional port shuttle service. Airport. The hotel features 82 modern guest For more information contact Director rooms. The “Smart” guest rooms offer plenty of Sales Jamie Smeins at (605) 361-2202 or of space to work and relax with a number of visit www.tmihospitality.com or www.maramenities including creative storage, a larger riott.com/fsdnw. work area, microwaves, mini-refrigerators
100 Meeting Planners coming to Sioux Falls Please welcome Small Market Meetings Conference (SMMC) to Sioux Falls Oct. 6-8. More than 200 people, including 100 meeting professionals and 100 destination marketing organizations, will travel to Sioux Falls for the 2013 SMMC. The meeting industry registered to attend represents association, religious, corporate, government, insurance and third party planners.
the Sioux Falls Regional Airport and again in the Sheraton Sioux Falls hotel lobby. The conference Marketplace, one-on-one prescheduled reverse tradeshow and seminars will be held at the Sioux Falls Convention Center.
The CVB is looking forward to hosting and showcasing Sioux Falls as a No. 1 destination for future conventions, meetings This is the first time this group will and events to the 100 meeting planners atbe in Sioux Falls and is the single largest tending the show. hosting of meeting planners in the city’s hisThe SMMC was held in Jacksonville, tory. This hosting is made possible by the Fla., in 2012; Little Rock, Ark., in 2011 and BID District, which went into effect January Shreveport, La., in 2010. If you would like 2011. The BID has allowed the CVB to em- to learn more about the SMMC, contact bark on new sales and marketing initiatives Mattie Burnham at (605) 373-2024 or visit by increased funding and SMMC is one of www.VisitSiouxFalls.com/SMMC2013 or those opportunities. www.smallmarketmeetingsconference.com. A welcome table will greet attendees at
8 • CHAMBER NEWS • Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013 • chambernews.com
FAC E S & P L AC E S
Faces & Places is great way to use your membership to be seen. This column appears each month in Chamber News and features news about Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce members and volunteers. Due to space restrictions, each item for Faces & Places should be no more than three sentences in length. The editor reserves the right to determine what is newsworthy and included in the column. Items that will not be accepted include information on email changes, seminars and special event promotions that would be better addressed through advertising venues. To submit your news, use the Faces & Places form at www.ChamberNews.com, email asmolik@siouxfalls.com and put Faces & Places in the subject line, or mail your news to Chamber News, PO Box 1425, Sioux Falls, SD 57101-1425. Editorial and advertising deadlines are listed under the News & Publications link at www.SiouxFallsChamber.com.
Lynda Billars
The Lynda B. Advantage/ Hegg Realtors
Dean Karsky
Farmers Insurance Group/ Karsky Agency
Mark Luke
Mark Luke Construction, LLC.
Jack Dyvig
Sioux Falls Morning Optimists Club
NEW FACES & PROMOTIONS
Sheila Hoff
Keller Williams Realty Sioux Falls
Julie Nelson
Great Western Bank
RECOGNITION OF CHAMBER VOLUNTEERS
The Ambassador Team of the Month for September was Team Billars, which includes Lynda Billars, The Lynda B. Advantage/Hegg Realtors; Dean Karsky, Farmers Insurance Group/Karsky Agency and Mark Luke, Mark Luke Construction, LLC. Jack Dyvig, Sioux Falls Morning Optimists Club, was awarded Diplomat of the Month honors for September. Second place honors went to Sheila Hoff, Keller Williams Realty Sioux Falls, and third place honors went to Julie Nelson, Great Western Bank. Jack was also the recipient of the Ribbon Cutting Attendance Award, the Retention Award, and the “Go The Extra Mile” Award. The Diplomat Team of the Month for August was: Captain Eric Siemers, Viamedia, Jack Dyvig, Sioux Falls Morning Optimists Club, Carrie Dragt, Midcontinent Communications, Kristina Wolfe, Travel Leaders/Village Travel, John Park, Farm Bureau Financial Services. The Diplomat of the Year was Jack Dyvig, Sioux Falls Morning Optimists Club.
Eide Bailly LLP recently made the following staff promotions: Aaron Clayton, Justin Reilly, Lisa Lentz and Stacy Erdmann were promoted to Senior Manager; and Blake Crow, Craig Nyhus and Josh Soodsma were promoted to Manager. New staff at the company includes: Cody Malik, Judon Mehlhaff, Jill Schaefer, Kyle Mielke, Byron Storm, Jaci Hoekstra, Jason Jeremiason, Jordan Hartley, Kristina Roth, Austin Krause and Tim Umfleet. Ryan Hoffman joined Beck and Hofer Construction, Inc. as a Project Manager/Estimator. Hoffman has more than 10 years of construction experience. He has a degree in Construction Management with a minor in Business from South Dakota State University. Mike Dill joined Beck and Hofer Construction, Inc. as a Project Manager/Estimator. Dill is a South Dakota native with more than 11 years of construction experience. Dill has an associate’s degree in Construction Management and Architectural Engineering from Southeast Technical Institute. Sheri Gunderson is the Resource Development and Communications Manager for the Family Visitation Center. Gunderson has more than 14 years experience working in non-profit development, most recently as Development Director for the Center for Disabilities at the University of South Dakota’s Sanford School of School of Medicine. In her new role, Gunderson will be responsible for planning, organizing and directing all fundraising and communication efforts for the Center. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa Shelley Hanisch joined Sioux Empire United Way as their Major Gifts & Planned Giving Director. Hanisch has worked for 30 years in the non-profit sector representing the Ronald McDonald House and Active Generations. She is a 2013 recipient of the EmBe Tribute to Women Nonprofit and Human Services award.
Jack Dyvig, Sioux Falls Morning Optimists Club, was named the Diplomat of the Year for 201213. Pictured from L to R: 2012-13 Diplomat Chair Mary Johnson, Bankers Trust; Jack Dyvig; Chamber President/CEO Evan Nolte and Membership Services Director Betty Ordal.
Falls June 27-30. Conference attendees were given a tour of the precast concrete clad buildJackson Lewis Partner Timothy Loudon ings in Sioux Falls. Building projects highlighted was named by U.S. News-Best Lawyers the 2014 on the tour included Cherapa Place, Lumber Ex“Lawyer of the Year” for Labor Law-Management change Building, Avera Prairie Center, Sanford in the Omaha metropolitan area. Loudon is Heart Hospital, Sanford Fieldhouse, Sanford joined by eight of his partners in being named Pentagon, and Vance Thompson Vision. The 2014 Lawyers of the Year. Jackson Lewis has 105 TAC wanted to honor the city for acknowledgattorneys designated 2014 Best Lawyers. With ing the benefits of precast concrete through the 750 attorneys practicing in 54 locations nationconstruction of many award-winning structures wide, Jackson Lewis provides creative and stratethroughout the city gic solutions to employers in every aspect of emAaron Wimmer, Executive Director of the ployment, labor, benefits and immigration law. Family Visitation Center, received the Judith Credit Collections Bureau named Megan Wallach Presidents Award, which honors a perWehrkamp a client services rep of the month for son for outstanding service and contribution to August. the Supervised Visitation Network. Wimmer has Inc. magazine ranked Click Rain No. 1763 been with the Family Visitation Center for nine and Secure Banking Solutions (SBS) No. 3254 years and currently serves as Past President of on its 7th Annual Inc. 500|5000, an exclusive the Supervised Visitation Network Board of Diranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private rectors. companies. The list represents the most comprehensive look at America’s independent entrepreneurs. In a stagnant economic environment, GOOD DEEDS median growth rate of 2013 Inc. 500|5000 comVolunteers of America, Dakotas received panies is an impressive 142 percent. The coma gift of 10 new desktop computers from Cenpanies on this year’s list report having created turyLink as well as in-kind funding from Starover 520,000 jobs in the past three years, and Mark Cabinetry for 10 new individual workstaaggregate revenue among the honorees reached tions for the computers. They were placed at the $241 billion. Bowden Youth Center and will be used to help Mary Schilling was named a member of with homework, educational classes, job searchthe 2013 Quality Council of New York Life Insur- es and more. ance Company. Members of the Quality Council are among the most successful of New York Life’s elite sales force of 12,250 licensed agents. Schilling has been a New York Life agent since 2009 and is associated with New York Life’s Great Plains General Office in Sioux Falls.
AWARDS & HONORS
The Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute’s Technical Activities Council (TAC) awarded a TAC Certificate to Sioux Falls Mayor Mike Huether, naming Sioux Falls a Precast Friendly City. The Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) Summer Conference was held in Sioux