Under-the-radar Sioux Falls wholesaler grows big presence in outdoor apparel industry

From a new headquarters in northeast Sioux Falls, a homegrown success story quietly has become a major player in the outdoor apparel industry.

Head into Scheels or Dick’s Sporting Goods this time of year and it wouldn’t be hard to find a pair of snow pants or a jacket designed and manufactured through Outdoor Gear Inc., a Sioux Falls-based family business that now counts decades of success.

Sold under the names Boulder Gear, Rawik and Outdoor Gear, “we think an outdoor adventure should be attainable for everyone, regardless of experience or income level,” president Adam Garry said. “Whatever it is, we want you warm and dry doing it.”

Adam Garry with award plaque next to Boulder Gear banner

Garry’s father, Jeff, founded the business in 1999 after serving as director of sportswear at Raven Industries and ultimately purchasing the division.

Jeff Garry

“At the time, they were building private-label apparel for the likes of Cabela’s and Land’s End,” Garry said. “A lot of that was being done at manufacturing plants in South Dakota in the 1990s until they got out of that business.”

Jeff Garry “thought Sioux Falls was a wonderful place to do business,” his son said. “Some of his colleagues from Raven came with him to the new company, and they set out to provide feature-rich, value-driven winter apparel.”

Jeff was able to grow the business for eight years before passing away of a heart attack at age 51.

A memorial for Jeff Garry, pictured holding a dog in a snowy, forested area. The graphic reads: Outdoor Gear Jeff Garry 1:12:56 - 1:31:07. "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."

Adam Garry, who had graduated from O’Gorman High School before going to college in Colorado – simultaneously indulging his own love of winter sports – had returned a few years prior and was sales manager of the company at the time of his father’s death.

“Suddenly, I became president of the company,” he said. “My mom, Julie, was in leadership at Citibank and transitioned into an active CEO role with Outdoor Gear.”

Adam Garry wearing Boulder Gear t shirt

It was the peak of their selling season.

“He had taken me on the road with him from the beginning to meet our key accounts, so his relationships really became my relationships,” Garry said of his father. “So much of this is a relationship business.”

Julie still serves as CEO from the Sioux Falls headquarters, while Adam helps lead from a company office in Kansas City. “We believe our success is attributed to the dedication and expertise of our team, who consistently goes above and beyond for our customers.”

While Outdoor Gear operated for years from an office/warehouse on the east side of Sioux Falls, in early 2023 the company moved to a new 55,000-square-foot headquarters in the Sioux Falls Development Foundation’s Park VIII in northeast Sioux Falls.

Outdoor Gear Building in Sioux Falls, SD

“It was really out of necessity of growth,” Garry said.

“We’ve doubled our warehouse space and invested in racking and technology to improve efficiency and make it a better work experience for our team.”

Two men wearing coats in front of a Boulder Gear display.

The team loves the natural light in the new space, plus a break room big enough for group luncheons and an open area that accommodates meetings with the entire sales team from across the country.

A group watching a Boulder Gear display presentation

The 16-person team almost doubles in size during peak shipping season.

“And our new space gives us the opportunity for a second phase because we have the land available as we continue to grow,” Garry said. “It’s been great. We’re settled in and have figured out how to make it as efficient as possible, so we’re looking forward to the future and the opportunity for continued growth.”

Warehouse with piles and shelves of boxes

Outdoor Gear is “a really unique company,” said Dean Dziedzic, vice president of economic development for the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.

“It’s a tight-knit, family operation, and they’ve been extremely good to work with. We’re thrilled to have them at Park VIII. They’re a great fit there.”

The company had looked for existing space without luck, Garry said.

“We were incredibly limited until we stumbled on the Development Foundation. The relationship with Dean has been awesome, and having never purchased raw land before, we had no idea the opportunities that existed by locating in one of the development parks,” he said. “He was instrumental in helping guide us through the process.”

Warehouse building under construction

The Park VIII location makes logistical sense, too, Garry said.

“It’s a real advantage to be right off I-90 and near Veterans Parkway,” he said. “We’re consistently receiving product and shipping to retailers, so it’s been a great benefit for our trucking team.”

The company’s internal design team engages with independent designers to produce all its own designs and works with manufacturers in Vietnam, China and Indonesia.

Two men smiling for a photo in a sewing room

Products under its primary brand, Boulder Gear, can be found at the nation’s largest sporting goods retailers, including Dick’s Sporting Goods, Scheels and REI, along with independent ski shops.

display of winter apparel

“It’s everything from men, women’s and kids’ ski pants and jackets to puffy jackets and vests, fleece and handwear,” Garry said.

display of winter apparel

“We also have a small spring-summer line of basic packable rainwear and continue to look for opportunities to grow that market. But we specialize in feature-rich, value-driven technical apparel for winter.”

display of winter apparel

Additionally, some apparel is available online through the company’s website, bouldergear.com.

“Wholesale is our main focus, ” Garry said. “We see our website as a resource for the consumer to get awesome knowledge about the product and find their local retailer so you can try the products on and feel it in person.”

The biggest competitor “is Mother Nature,” he added.

three skiers lay on a snow-covered mountain

“We try to match our product to the evolving winter conditions, and that includes more layering and transitional pieces in the assortment. But winter sports are popular, and cost is one barrier to entry when it comes to learning to ski or snowboard. So we want to make sure our product is built to withstand the test of time and for the outdoor experience whether that is hitting the slopes, sledding, ice fishing, walking the dog or shoveling the driveway.”

Two people smile with a ski slope in the background

The overarching goal “is to be feature-rich and value-driven in all our products,” he added. “That’s both for our customer – the retail store – and the end consumer who uses the product.”

Forward Sioux Falls is a joint venture between the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce and the Sioux Falls Development Foundation and is widely respected as the premier economic driver for the Sioux Falls region. To learn more and connect, click here.

Talent Thursday with Ross Leonhardt of Children’s Home Society

Talent Thursday is a weekly social media livestream event that spotlights talent and workforce in the Sioux Falls area by sharing the stories of young professionals in our community.

For Thursday, February 6, 2025, we caught up with Ross Leonhardt of Children’s Home Society. He shared about the organization’s programs, benefits package, and opportunities available.

Talent Thursday is held weekly on Thursdays at 3 p.m. central time on the Sioux Falls Development Foundation’s Facebook page. Follow here: https://www.facebook.com/developsf

Talent Thursday

POWERED BY:

Forward Sioux Falls is a unique, innovative program designed to grow and improve the Sioux Falls region. Created through a joint venture between the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce and the Sioux Falls Development Foundation, we work to outline strategic initiatives to grow jobs, businesses and quality of life.

Sioux Falls ranked best city in the U.S. for small businesses

Business is better here! Sioux Falls, SD, has been ranked the best city in the U.S. for small businesses in a new report by b2breviews.com.

“Located near the southeastern border of the Mount Rushmore State, Sioux Falls takes the top stop on our list,” the article releasing the findings said. “The city has the lowest unemployment rate, at 1.5%, and 25.24% of small businesses in South Dakota are in Sioux Falls, making it a great place for small businesses.”

To see more about the methodology behind the ranking and how other cities compared, click the ‘learn more’ button below.

New Amazon general manager grew career in Canada before Sioux Falls move

To say there are many paths to a career at Amazon is an understatement.

There are roles for those who have never held a job, those with an extensive resume and education, and everyone in between.

In the case of Ash Gill, the path led him from Toronto in Canada to Sioux Falls and allowed him to put his business experience and education to work leading fulfillment centers.

Born in India, Gill moved to Canada to earn his MBA at the University of Toronto – Rotman School of Management.

Before that, he held management roles with Maruti Suzuki India and Mercedes-Benz India, ultimately managing accessories and merchandise business nationwide for the luxury automaker.

“Going into Amazon allowed me to blend work in management and business operations, plus take advantage of my engineering background,” Gill said.

“I joined in the company in 2016 through a Pathways Leadership Program that sets a timeline to help you grow within the organization, and then ultimately you become a site leader.”

That happened for Gill in 2021, when he was chosen to lead a 1.1-million-square-foot fulfillment center in Ottawa. Within eight months, his operation ranked top out of 80 facilities in North America.

In 2022, he became general manager of a 1.7-million-square-foot fulfillment center in the Toronto area, where again his team achieved a top ranking in North America, received the Best at Amazon award in 2023 and led the facility to a No. 1 worldwide ranking in May 2024.

Ash Gill holding child while standing with Amazon signs

He now leads a team at the Sioux Falls fulfillment center at Foundation Park, which averages about 1,500 people and has some staffing variation in peak times.

“I’m very impressed with Sioux Falls. I think people are very hardworking here,” he said. “Everybody wants to make an impact and do the right thing, and coming in with so much experience I think has helped me give the team clear direction. With that, we can channel the energy off the leaders to make a bigger impact faster.”

The Sioux Falls fulfillment center is fully operational, and Gill aims to provide even stronger service to customers through it.

workers at warehouse

“We really want to improve our speed,” he said. “There’s a lot happening within Amazon broadly to support that as well, and as an experienced general manager, my goal is to lead in how we serve the community of Sioux Falls and the surrounding area.”

Gill’s path illustrates the strength of Amazon as an employer, said Denise Guzzetta, vice president of talent and workforce development for the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.

“We’ve been so impressed since welcoming Amazon to Foundation Park, and we’re excited to welcome Ash and his leadership to our community,” she said. “Amazon has an incredible hiring and talent development program and is a model in how you can both grow your career from within here and gain skills that are going to serve you no matter where you go.”

warehouse

Gill had never been to Sioux Falls before learning about the new role.

“But I found quite a few people in Toronto who did know Sioux Falls,” he added. “We had doctors who had worked at Sanford, and I had a colleague who worked at Citibank for a few years, and they all said good things.”

Now that he has moved here, “I’m super-impressed with the community,” he said. “In Canada, people are nice, but not as nice as Sioux Falls. Just interacting with people at the airport, coffee shops, anywhere, my first impression was how friendly they are, and it’s very refreshing.”

For a metro area of about 300,000, “I’m also impressed by the amount of infrastructure for a city this size,” he continued. “From the highways to the health systems, it feels like what I would expect in a suburb of Toronto that’s three times the size.”

His family was able to find a brand-new home near schools in northwest Sioux Falls that’s minutes from his job at Amazon.

“We were the first ones to move on our street, and now people gradually are moving in,” he said.

Ash Gill and family

He and his wife have a 2 1/2-year-old and a 6-month old, “and we found a really good day care,” Gill said. “In Canada, the day cares are all very large, like a school, and here we were able to find an in-home day care that feels like family when my son goes there.”

For fun, he has discovered Great Shots, which also is a quick ride from home or work.

Guests at Great Shots in Sioux Falls, South Dakota

“That’s been my favorite thing so far,” Gill said. “I’m taking my entire team there at the end of the month.”

The work-life advantages are key for many who move to Sioux Falls, Guzzetta said.

“We’re so glad Ash and his family are finding out what great quality of life we enjoy here,” she said. “At work and at home, you quickly discover the Sioux Falls advantage as soon as you connect with our community.”

To learn more about growing your career in Sioux Falls, contact Denise Guzzetta at deniseg@siouxfalls.com or visit siouxfalls.com.

Sioux Falls ranked among 25 safest cities in America

Safety is of great importance to quality of life in the place you call home. There are different factors that indicate how safe a community may be. WalletHub evaluated 180 U.S. cities across various indicators relating to safety. The rankings are in, and Sioux Falls, SD, has been ranked among the 25 safest cities in America, coming in at No. 22.

“When people think about safety in a city, their minds probably immediately go to things like the crime rate, auto fatality rate or risk of natural disasters,” said Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst, in the article releasing the rankings. “The safest cities in America protect residents from these threats of bodily harm and property damage, but on top of that, they also help secure people’s financial safety. Financial safety includes things like minimizing the risk of fraud and identity theft, keeping the population employed and insured, and combating homelessness.”

To see how other cities compared, click the ‘learn more’ button below.

South Dakota ranked a top-10 place to retire

Retirement can be a big change! If one of those changes is the potential of moving, there’s lots to consider.

Seniorly, an online senior living marketplace and resource hub for seniors, has released a ranking of the best and worst states to retire in 2025. With no state income tax and a high quality of life, South Dakota is ranked the No. 6 best place to retire!

“To help older adults evaluate the impact of location on the aging experience, Seniorly ranked the best and worst states to retire based on nine metrics spread across three categories: affordability, quality of life, and health care,” the article releasing the findings said. “The nine metrics include cost of living, income taxes, Supplemental Security payments, weather, entertainment options, availability of doctors, long-term care spending, the community of older adults, and overall health status.”

To learn more about the ranking and to see how other states compared, click the button below.

Workforce year in review shows big engagement in variety of programs

The Sioux Falls area needs skilled workers to continue growth — and 2024 brought enhanced programming to help make it happen.

It’s part of a three-year effort to address the needs of workforce development, attraction and retention.

“Our programming really centers on bringing all these things together,” said Denise Guzzetta, vice president of talent and workforce development at the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.

In just the past year:

  • 641 middle school students attended Your Future STEM programming.
  • 982 high school students were involved in Career Connections.
  • 2,184 students were engaged in Talent Tours.
  • 378 college students applied for internships through the Intern Sioux Falls program.

“Overall, we almost had 21,000 direct contacts with our employers through our programs,” Guzzetta said.

For a closer look at the year in workforce, click below.

SFDF 2024 Workforce Events Year in Review

With new building, national recognition, Dakota Digital marks milestone year

More than 140,000 people packed a trade show in early November for the automotive aftermarket industry – where a Sioux Falls company proved its success is anything but under the radar.

Dakota Digital Staff at trade show booth

Dakota Digital, which started in founder Ross Ortman’s house in 1986, took home two wins and two runner-up awards from the Specialty Equipment Market Association’s annual event, the SEMA Show, the largest trade show hosted in Las Vegas.

Dakota Digital staff at trade show booth

“SEMA can’t recall a single company taking home as many awards in a single year,” Ortman said. “To get any awards at all at that show is huge because it’s the biggest in the United States, so any mention is big – but this is just a massive home run for the year.”

The new hardware caps a memorable 2024 for Dakota Digital, which earlier in the year moved into a new 40,000-square-foot expanded space at its headquarters in northwest Sioux Falls.

Dakota Digital building in Sioux Falls, SD

About 70 team members are working there, along with 75 in an adjacent building.

“We’ve got good additional expansion capacity for office and production space, but the warehouse is filling in quick,” Ortman said.

“We’re bringing many processes back in house that we had to farm out before because we didn’t have the space either for the processes or the people behind them, so now we’re getting back to being as vertically integrated as we used to be.”

Dakota Digital Owner Ross Ortman stands with display of gauges

Dakota Digital has become the industry’s leading manufacturer of aftermarket gauges for hot rods, muscle cars, street rods and trucks. It also has a full line of gauges for Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

Its recent award-winning products include Velocity Commander Cruise Control, which won Best Engineered Product from SEMA.

“It’s a cruise control product designed especially for the hot rod market,” Ortman said.

“It has all the bells and whistles, Bluetooth integration and great troubleshooting options. It’s a significant improvement over what’s on the market, and we’re starting production this month to begin shipping it before the end of the year.”

The company’s MLX-5000 Universal Motorcycle Gauge System took home the SEMA award for Best New Powersports Product.

motorcycle gauges

“We introduced that instrument cluster specifically for the Harley-Davidson industry, and it’s been shipping for four or five months now,” Ortman said. “R&D is a strong area for us. A lot of our engineers love the industry we work in.”

An original tenant for the Sioux Falls Development Foundation’s Park VII, Dakota Digital was a driving force behind the development park when it opened there in 2003.

“We knew they had an incredibly promising business and wanted to do what we could to support them,” said Dean Dziedzic, vice president of economic development for the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.

“It’s been rewarding to watch their growth. The innovation and workforce opportunities that they’re bringing to the market are exactly what we’re looking for in advanced manufacturing employers.”

factory or warehouse space

The Development Foundation “has been incredible to work with,” Ortman added. “They were accepting of opening this park sooner than they planned because they knew we wanted to move in, and over the years, they’ve been phenomenal as we’ve shown plans for our new development.”

Dakota Digital’s new building allows it to double its footprint, bringing a modern feel to the showroom with a lot of glass and natural light incorporated into the design.

“Now that we have this nice, new space, we’re also planning to do some remodeling on our original building to bring it up to the same standards,” Ortman said.

Lobby of Dakota Digital building

The original building at 4510 W. 61st St. N., will house administrative offices, raw inventory, the machine shop, wire and cable assembly, and instrumentation faceplate printing and lasering.

The new building at 4720 W. 61st St. N. includes the showroom, sales offices, tech support staff, electronic subassembly, final assembly lines, finished inventory and shipping.

“It’s great having production flexibility under one roof,” Ortman said. “We have a very high-mix production environment and being able to be nimble with our production lines is critical. Being able to turn on a dime based on customer demand has been paramount.”

high top table with office chairs

The company also is constructing a 60,000-square-foot building to the north that can be divided into 20,000-square-foot bays for lease.

“We see these as light industrial or warehouse – someone who wants a showroom because it faces toward Walmart,” Ortman said.

Rendering of Dakota Digital building

Footings and foundations are in, and vertical construction recently started.

“It’s moving along, and they’re hoping to have it completed by the middle of the year next year,” Ortman said. “Interest is good, but anyone who needs something needs it sooner, so we’ll have a shell ready, and we may also build out a space that’s fully move-in ready.”

Rendering of Dakota Digital building

The space is listed with Bender Commercial Real Estate Services.

Dakota Digital employees are loving the new space, Ortman added.

“We’re just thrilled with how everything turned out,” he said. “We plan to add 10 to 20 people now that we have the room and can bring everything back in house.”

conference room

In addition to supporting Forward Sioux Falls and its workforce development initiatives, the company also has worked closely with Southeast Technical College and the CTE Academy to introduce college-age and high school students to its opportunities.

“We’ve done tours to get kids interested early on and let them know what’s available in the industry,” Ortman said.

“The workforce development programs through Forward Sioux Falls and the Development Foundation help us meet today’s needs while Southeast Technical College and the CTE Academy help establish the momentum needed for our next generation of workforce.”

The growth of the business supports the need to continually invest in expanding the team.

“In our world, we have to work harder to stay in the lead, but we’ve always have a good profile in the industry, and the hot rod world is such a hobbyist industry that it tends to avoid the peaks and valleys of the economy,” he said.

Looking back, though, the past five years have been especially strong – with throughput doubling since 2019.

“You don’t always realize it’s happening at that pace as you’re gaining more and more momentum every year,” Ortman said. “We’ve developed a great team over the years, getting all the right people in the right places. That’s allowed us to maintain this growth without completely breaking the system.”

To learn more and connect with opportunities at Dakota Digital, click here.

Forward Sioux Falls is a joint venture between the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce and the Sioux Falls Development Foundation and is widely respected as the premier economic driver for the Sioux Falls region. To learn more and connect, click here.

With nationwide experience, Sioux Falls native grows construction career in move home

With graduation from USD approaching, Jack Schuver wasn’t entirely sure what the future held – until a chance conversation led him to a first job in the golf industry.

Schuver, a Sioux Falls native and O’Gorman High School graduate, was about to earn his degree in business administration, but “like a lot of kids, I didn’t know what to do with that,” he said.

As president of his fraternity, he gained leadership skills, and during the summers, he’d discovered the landscaping industry.

“I really enjoyed it,” he said. “I liked building something from scratch and working outside and getting that instant gratification of creating something. I’ve also always had a creative mind, like my mom, so I thought I’d probably end up doing landscape design and architecture.”

Jack Schuver on golf course

He also “always had an idea I wanted to live in Sioux Falls,” he continued. “I always liked it here, but I didn’t really have an opportunity to live anywhere else until after college.”

The path took a twist when a conversation with a family friend introduced him to Landscapes Unlimited, an industry leader in golf course development, construction and renovation.

Schuver started with the company upon graduation in 2017, beginning as an assistant superintendent and working his way up — and around the country.

Jack Schuver and several construction crew members talking at golf course

After beginning in Omaha, he followed the work to more winter-friendly construction destinations throughout the South – the mountains of North Carolina, Georgia — along with stints in Indianapolis and Valentine, Nebraska, and a large range of golf course projects along the way.

aerial view of a golf course under construction

“Within two years, I was running my own projects,” he said. “And I found the golf course-building world was a really cool one. It also allowed me to use my creativity in seeing the vision of the architect and helping bring it to life.”

But by early 2020, challenges started to mount. The COVID-19 pandemic “shut everything down” as he was wrapping up a project in Georgia that had presented other issues, “and I was stressed and not in a super-great spot just being away from family,” Schuver said.

He returned to Sioux Falls in May 2020, with plans to head east to Iowa for his next golf course project. Then, a night out downtown became a turning point as he met Emily — the woman who would go on to become his wife.

Jack Schuver holding a puppy with his wife, Emily

“I told her, ‘You’ve got three days to go on a date with me, otherwise I’m leaving again,’” he said.

The friendly ultimatum worked. They went out for sushi, and he returned two weeks later to see her again.

“And the next weekend and the next, and it kind of reminded me why I loved Sioux Falls,” Schuver said. “Everything else was shut down and it seemed like mayhem, and it was still normal here as much as it could be. And I got to see my family a lot, and that was important.”

He began looking for jobs in Sioux Falls while juggling golf assignments that took him from Iowa to Omaha, where he worked on the Lost Rail Golf Club – the predecessor to the Mapleton Golf Club now being built by Landscapes on the northeast edge of Sioux Falls.

“I interviewed a few places and ended up meeting Jim Soukup and his team,” Schuver said.

He joined Soukup Construction, a regional excavation contractor, as a project manager in late 2020 and soon after moved into a superintendent role.

construction workers watch demolition of a bridge deck

“I was behind a computer the first couple months not really knowing what I got myself into because I was used to being in the field, but it’s worked out great,” he said.

“When I moved into a superintendent role, I had a mentor with more than 40 years of experience, and then I was able to work on my own. I quickly realized it wasn’t too much different than the golf world – just bigger toys and more dirt.”

In the past several years, Schuver’s work has introduced him to a number of major projects helping shape the Sioux Falls skyline.

He has helped manage work for Soukup on a major expansion at Furniture Mart USA, the city’s Public Safety Training Campus, the Midco Arena at Augustana University, multiple large projects at the Sioux Falls Regional Airport such as the new parking ramp, the downtown Sixth Street bridge and improvements to the Interstate 229 and Cliff Avenue interchange.

two excavators at the construction site for the 6th St. Bridge in Downtown Sioux Falls

“I knew I wanted to be home, but I didn’t realize how much Sioux Falls was changing until I got to see how much work we get done in any given day,” Schuver said.

“Being a part of Soukup Construction has allowed me to be involved in some really cool projects that are important to our community. I’ve also gotten to develop relationships with people I never thought I would, and that’s been really fun.”

He also had an especially full-circle career moment earlier this year, helping with development of Mapleton Golf Club.

Excavator gathering limbs and branches into a pile

“I got to work with some of my best friends I’d made traveling on the road,” he said.

“It’s been a blast from the past. It was really fun working with our team to understand the golf course construction world and give them a little insight into what my life was like before I came back home. In civil construction, we’re used to taking earth that isn’t flat and making it flat. So it was a little bit of a challenge to reverse that with everyone for a project.”

Schuver’s work also has exposed him to the incredible growth occurring in Sioux Falls.

“I wasn’t gone from Sioux Falls very long, but it’s insane driving around town,” he said. “It’s crazy to see how much it’s changed and all the development that’s happening. But it’s still the same Sioux Falls in that everyone is nice and easy to work with, especially after dealing with clients in places like Atlanta and Indianapolis. It reminds you of why you like it here.”

Outside of work, it’s also been a milestone year. He and Emily were married in September and found a house they love on the west side.

Wedding photo of Jack and Emily Schuver

“2024 has capped off the whole circle – four years away, four years back,” he said. “I had no idea what was in store for me when I left USD, and it all worked out the direction it was supposed to.”

Looking ahead professionally, Schuver said he sees nothing but opportunity.

“There’s no shortage of work around here,” he said. “If you have an ounce of work ethic and still can’t find a job, you’re probably not in Sioux Falls.”

That’s true, said Denise Guzzetta, vice president of talent and workforce development for the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.

“There are so many opportunities to build both your personal and professional life here, and we love to see stories like Jack’s where someone who has grown up here comes home and realizes all that’s possible,” she said.

“Our construction industry is booming, and Jack has chosen a wonderful place to develop his career.”

Jack Schuver with family on top of a ski hill

And, when he needs to indulge his love of skiing, Denver and the mountains are a direct flight away, Schuver added.

“It’s my favorite thing to do, and my brother lives out there, so I try and go when I can,” he said. “But I’ve had a lot of my friends stick around here too. Just like me, they decided to plant roots and start their family here.”

Jack Schuver with groomsmen at wedding

Wish You Were Here: inspiring moves back to Sioux Falls

Annually, the Sioux Falls Development Foundation coordinates workforce recruitment marketing campaigns. In the past, the objective has been to recruit new residents from out-of-state to move to Sioux Falls.

In late 2023, the SFDF’s annual strategic planning with our board of directors and community stakeholders yielded an idea for a new strategy: to inspire the Sioux Falls community to talk with their friends and family who’ve moved away and hopefully inspire them to come back to Sioux Falls.

That idea became the Wish You Were Here campaign. Directed to the Sioux Falls market, the Wish You Were Here campaign ran through November and December 2024, a time where families and friends were home for the holidays. The campaign’s media mix was comprised of print, social, and video ads, as well as Wish You Were Here postcards to mail to family and friends.

To boost engagement with the campaign, the Foundation held a giveaway for a $1,000 Downtown Sioux Falls gift card for the winner to use to experience all that the city has to offer. Individuals from 34 states entered the giveaway.

Below is a look at four video ads that ran throughout the campaign.

Better for Families

Friendly Community

Close to Family

Better Business

INTERN Sioux Falls program helps businesses recruit interns

As workforce recruitment continues to be a top priority for businesses, the Sioux Falls Development Foundation has answered with a program to help increase the talent pipeline in our community.

INTERN Sioux Falls, now in its third year, promotes internships with Sioux Falls businesses amongst regional universities and technical schools. The goal is to grow the number of interns who work in Sioux Falls and inspire them to choose our community as the place to start their career upon graduation.

“Hiring interns is one of the best ways you can grow your talent pipeline,” said Denise Guzzetta, Vice President of Talent and Workforce Development for the Sioux Falls Development Foundation. “Employees who intern with a company prior to joining full-time are retained at higher rates than non-interning hires, making internships a great recruiting and sourcing tool.”

INTERN Sioux Falls involves two efforts:

  1. Promoting internships amongst regional colleges and universities, as well as through Handshake, an online job search platform for college students with nationwide reach
  2. Summer networking events to help interns connect with their peers while also becoming familiar with the Sioux Falls community

To share best practices for internships, the Sioux Falls Development Foundation will be hosting an INTERN Sioux Falls Best Practices Luncheon on Monday, February 3, from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Register here.

Lastly, if your business would like assistance in promoting your internship position(s) and/or information about how to engage interns in summer networking events, please contact Riley Johnson, Talent Recruitment Coordinator, at rileyj@siouxfalls.com.

Spirit of Sioux Falls Scholarship application now open!

The Spirit of Sioux Falls Scholarship was established by the Development Foundation and more than 100 businesses and individuals to honor three Sioux Falls leaders who lost their lives in a plane crash April 19, 1993: David Birkeland, Angus Anson, and Roger Hainje. The Development Foundation representatives were on a trip with Governor George Mickelson and four others promoting economic development when they all perished.

The Spirit of Sioux Falls Scholarship benefits college and vocational or technical school students who are pursuing a degree in business.

Applicants for this award must live in or maintain residency in Lincoln or Minnehaha County—even though they may attend a school outside the area; or they must attend school in one of these two counties. Applicants must be pursuing a degree in business and be able to demonstrate an understanding of the role of business in American society. Motivation and ability to succeed, academic excellence, and community involvement are also criteria.

The Spirit of Sioux Falls Scholarships are administered by the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation. To learn more or apply, click here. The application deadline is March 15, 2025.

From New York to Portland – and back to Sioux Falls – couple finds happy homecoming

The theater capital of the country was calling – and Ann Fiorita couldn’t ignore it.

“Ultimately, I really wanted to go to New York. Any musical theater person’s dream is to go to New York,” said Fiorita, who grew up in Sioux Falls and graduated from O’Gorman High School.

Ann Fiorita sits on a patio

The theater dream first took her to Indiana University but brought her back after a year to reunite with her favorite teacher, Kim Bartling, who would go on to teach her at the University of Sioux Falls.

“That was the incentive to come back as a student,” she said. “And I was able to do theater and play soccer in Sioux Falls during college, which was another activity I loved, and ultimately I was able to graduate a year early.”

From there, it was on to Illinois to work for a summer theater company, where she met friends who also were hoping to move to New York that fall.

“I was there for 13 years and loved it,” Fiorita said. “It is not an easy place to live, but I think that’s what makes it even more worth it. It’s a city that humbles everyone. The energy of New York is infectious, and for a musical theater person, it was the place to be, and that was incredibly exciting.”

City sunset

She auditioned for off-Broadway roles and along the way realized the artist life wasn’t the best fit.

“You don’t know what your income will be the next month or if you’re going to be here or on a cruise ship or a national tour,” she said. “I felt uneasy not knowing a lot of things.”

Like many New Yorkers in the arts, she tried out her share of part-time jobs – from catering to waitressing and bartending – and ultimately found her niche at Anthropologie, a women’s apparel and home decor retailer on the verge of being a national powerhouse.

Ann Fiorita with her former boss at Anthropologie

Fiorita with her former boss at Anthropologie

“The people were so smart and funny and creative, and there was a really joyful energy in the space,” Fiorita said. “They’d talked to me about getting into management, and when I finally decided I was done with theater and ready to get health insurance and work full time, they were as excited as I was.”

That began a retail career that would lead her eventually to become the manager of Anthropologie’s location at Rockefeller Center and ultimately as a district manager to oversee all the stores in New York.

Along the way, though, Fiorita remained connected with Sioux Falls in multiple ways.

Ann Fiorita and her niece, Becca

Fiorita and her niece, Becca

“If someone were going to New York from Sioux Falls, often they would stop in the store and say hi, and it made the world feel really small in a good way,” she said.

And speaking of small worlds, Fiorita would go on to date her future husband in New York – who happens to be a fellow O’Gorman High School graduate.

Ann and Guy Fiorita

“We were several years apart but knew each other through the theater scene and other activities,” she said.

“I knew a handful of people in New York who had moved there from Sioux Falls, and one day I saw a photo of him on social media waiting by a subway on a mutual friend’s page, so I messaged him to see if he lived here too, and he wrote back right away, and we got together shortly after that.”

They were married in 2011 and were looking toward starting a family when they realized a move would be needed.

“In New York, most people go to Connecticut or New Jersey or the suburbs or Long Island and settle down,” she said. “And we didn’t feel connected to any of those places.”

Ann and Guy Fiorita at a baseball game

When an opportunity with her employer became available to manage the northwest region for sister brand Free People, she and Guy headed to Oregon in 2016. Their first son was born five months into her new role.

“It was a lot of travel – we opened up 18 stores while I was there – but then COVID hit,” Fiorita said. “I was traveling for work. My husband was traveling for work. And we kind of got off the hamster wheel and sat on the couch and said, ‘What are we doing?’”

Ann and Guy Fiorita with their son at a waterfall

If one wasn’t traveling, the other was, she said.

“We were ships passing in the night and away from family, and we knew we needed to change something,” she said.

“It took a year and a half to make the decision, but the catalyst was my husband’s company decided to permanently go remote, so we knew we could have the security of his job and move back to South Dakota.”

Returning home

The Fioritas moved back to Sioux Falls the summer before their oldest son started kindergarten.

“I feel very fortunate to be in Sioux Falls,” she said. “The first thing that felt really distinct was how nice everyone is here, how genuinely nice. I’m very close to family, and we spend a lot of time together, and we’re living in a community that is so clean and supportive of families.”

Ann and Guy Fiorita with their son

Fiorita’s company offered the chance to work from Sioux Falls, “but ultimately I knew I wanted to change careers,” she said.

“It’s so much fun working in retail, but it’s a lot of long days, and when you do a store opening, you’re there a couple of weeks, and I was ready to be there for soccer games and hockey practices and choir concerts.”

She decided to lean into her interest in finance and became a certified plan fiduciary adviser in 2023, shortly after the birth of her second son. She now has joined her brother as a financial adviser, and the two work together at the Sioux Falls office of Waddell & Reed Inc.

“I really love what I do and am thankful I took the time to explore a lot of things I was interested in,” she said. “This role is never boring. Everyone’s situation is different, and we have the most wonderful clients. I’m proud that we’re really focused on education and meeting people wherever they’re at on the financial journey.”

Guy still travels for his role in the advertising and marketing industry but has connected with the Sioux Falls community when he’s here.

“He’s joined Startup Sioux Falls, which is a great place and a way to get out of the house and be around people,” she said. “I’ve participated in some of their events as well, and it’s just a really cool addition to have in Sioux Falls.”

Outside of work, she loves returning to a local favorite – the city recreation trail – along with visiting the Washington Pavilion and State Theatre. The family loves outdoor concerts at Levitt at the Falls and exploring the city’s many unique playgrounds.

Fiorita now takes her kids to places like Newton Hills State Park, where she grew up camping.

Ann and Guy Fiorita's two sons

“Not long ago, we were there, and the kids were riding their bikes around, and it was just pure, innocent, great fun – no devices – and times like that are so special,” she said.

“I also was really into figure skating growing up, and now my son plays hockey at the Scheels IcePlex, and I am so impressed with that facility. I keep telling him, ‘You don’t know how lucky you are’ and how cool it is to have three sheets of ice year-round.”

Ann and Guy Fiorita with their two sons

She also has connected to the community in meaningful ways.

“In Sioux Falls, there’s such a focus on giving back – more so than anywhere I’ve lived – and I knew that was an important part of being an adult, but it wasn’t something I could do in a meaningful way in New York or Oregon because I traveled a lot,” Fiorita said.

“So when I moved back and made the career switch, I wanted to get involved.”

She first was introduced to Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA, and “that introduced me to a lot of parts of the community and the incredible teachers in our community,” she said. “I was blown away.”

It was a similar experience as she began volunteering with EmBe’s Dress for Success.

“It brings me back into retail a little bit when I volunteer there, and they help with interviewing and resumes. A lot of it is feeling good in the interview, and then when you get a job, you can come back and get a week’s worth of clothes,” she said.

“People donate really nice clothes, and they do a great job of curating it. We have incredibly caring people in our community, and a lot of employers support and encourage volunteering. It’s not something you have to do on weekends. If you need an hour to volunteer during the workweek, it’s encouraged.”

The Fiorita family’s experience isn’t out of the ordinary – and is possible for many others, said Denise Guzzetta, vice president of talent and workforce development for the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.

Ann and Guy Fiorita with their two sons

“We see this time and again where Sioux Falls natives have moved away, grown their careers and started their families and then realize the advantage of coming home,” she said.

“When you do return, you’re going to find there are so many opportunities to continue to grow professionally here while raising your family in a place that will surround you with support. We’re so thrilled to welcome Ann and Guy back to Sioux Falls and couldn’t be happier about how they’ve reconnected to our community in so many ways.”

Are you considering returning to Sioux Falls – or do you know someone who should? Connect with the Sioux Falls Development Foundation’s “Wish You Were Here” initiative through the end of the year.

To learn more, click below.

New marketing campaign aims to encourage moves back to Sioux Falls

 

Chairman’s Report: Thanks for a great 2024

By: Ryan Boschee, Sioux Falls Development Foundation Board Chair

As I end my year as Chair of the Development Foundation Board, I want to thank my fellow Board members and the staff of the Development Foundation for their work over this past year. 2024 marked the 70th Anniversary of the Sioux Falls Development Foundation. We were “Shining the Light” on recent successes at our Annual Meeting in November, including:

  • 156 acres sold in Foundation Park
  • 92 meetings with existing industry resulting in 35 action items
  • Saw CJ Foods begin construction on their 750,000-square-foot facility
  • Saw Avera/Owens & Minor begin construction on their 350,000-square-foot building
  • Saw Presidio Manufacturing begin construction of their 200,000-square-foot facility
  • Optioned almost 300 acres of property for 2025
  • Helped create over $800M in new capital investments and over 1,000 jobs
  • Completed all infrastructure buildouts in Foundation Park North to create site-ready property for future development
  • Moved the Riverline development project forward to include City control of the site
  • Began moving houses on North Minnesota Avenue to make room for new developments north of the Good Samaritan complex
  • Connected over 21,000 potential workers to 259 unique employers in the region
  • Hosted over 300 interns in Sioux Falls in 2024
  • Hosted over 800 high school students in Career Connections programming
  • Completed construction and opened the Health Sciences Clinical Simulation Center
  • Implemented several marketing programs promoting Sioux Falls to site selectors, corporate brokers, and targeted industries
  • Implemented the “Wish You Were Here” campaign to bring former students, family, and friends back to Sioux Falls

I want to thank our retiring Board members, Dr. Brett Bradfield, Steve Watson, and Steve Kolbeck, for the years of service to the Foundation. Their skills and talents will be missed. I also want to welcome three new Board members, Chris Daugaard, Jason Kjenstad, and Marla Meyer to the Board.

2025 will be another busy year for the Foundation and our partners with the beginning of the next Forward Sioux Falls campaign, several options coming due, and our continued work in talent and workforce development. I look forward to working with our incoming Chair, Kent Cutler, to transition responsibilities and continue moving this organization forward. Thank you for a great year and a memorable experience leading this organization.