It won’t be long before Sam Douglas will be leading a team of 650 people in Sioux Falls as CJ Schwan’s opens its new Asian food production facility at Foundation Park.

The plant is scheduled to begin producing egg rolls and steamed dumplings for the company’s food service customers as well as bibigo and Pagoda brands by mid-2027. But Douglas will be on-site long before that, planning to fully relocate to Sioux Falls from New Jersey by May.

“I’ve come out to South Dakota several times already and have had the opportunity to meet a lot of people around town,” Douglas said. “I really love the friendly and warm people and culture.”

Douglas, a Chicago native, has traveled the country building his career. A Navy veteran, he followed his father into military service and became an electrician helping with the nuclear side of how a ship is powered.

After his service, he became a maintenance supervisor at a small baked goods factory in Michigan and found a love for the food manufacturing industry. It took him to other roles in Maryland, making food spreads; Chicago, making mayonnaise; then Missouri, where he worked in leadership for a production facility making Knorr rice and noodle sides.

He most recently shifted out of the food industry, leading a factory in Long Island, New York, that made beauty and personal care products.

In 2024, he returned to the food side with CJ Schwan’s, leading an Asian food production facility for the company in New Jersey.

“So we’ll be transferring some of that knowledge over here to Sioux Falls to this facility,” he said.

“We’re also moving about six people onto the leadership team from other CJ Schwan’s facilities. They’ve come out to see the area and have had the same positive experience with people that I have.”

Douglas already has found a house he likes near Augustana University and has found his favorite neighborhood restaurant in Grille 26.

“It’s a beautiful neighborhood, and everyone is very friendly,” he said. “My neighbor came by just to say hi and introduce himself.”

As his kids have visited, “they really liked Sioux Falls too,” he said. “I’ve had a chance to explore some different places downtown, and I’m hearing about the free concerts there, so I’m excited for the summer to roll around.”

Having never been to Sioux Falls, “it first conjured up an image for me that was totally the opposite of what’s here,” Douglas said. “The level of development going on, the growth going on and just the business-friendly environment is a pleasure. There’s a beautiful downtown, so much artwork. It was different than I was expecting, and I was pleasantly surprised.”

His experience is consistent with many who move to the city, said Denise Guzzetta, vice president of talent and workforce development at the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.

“We’re so excited to welcome Sam as a new leader in our business community and are glad he’s already feeling at home here,” she said. “He brings such a range of industry experience, and the culture he’s part of at CJ Schwan’s is one that will benefit hundreds of area talent and their families.”

Douglas now has a chance to build his team here. He’s filling a few open slots on his leadership team and will begin hiring more technical roles later this year and hundreds more people early next year.

“We’re going to have a full training program,” Douglas said. “We don’t expect people to come in knowing how to make steamed dumplings and egg rolls.”

There are roles for production and packaging, maintenance, mechanics, electrical, technicians, supply chain operations “and the full gamut when you think of a factory,” he said. “HR, food safety and quality, environmental health and safety — just a wide range of opportunities available.”

He sees the same opportunity for others to grow their careers at CJ Schwan’s as he has enjoyed in the industry.

“CJ Schwan’s is a great company,” Douglas said. “The site is going to be the largest Asian-style manufacturer in the U.S. We’re building this generational opportunity in Sioux Falls, and it’s our Asian manufacturing hub, so there’s a lot of opportunities for growth. We need 650 people, and I’m told there’s a lot of good talent in Sioux Falls.”

He has been impressed by how many of his colleagues have been with the company 30 or even 40 years, he added.

“You don’t stay that long if it’s not a great company,” he said. “It’s just a very exciting opportunity.”

To learn more about growing your career in Sioux Falls, contact deniseg@siouxfalls.com.

When a Broadway tour, a concert or a special event decides to come to the Washington Pavilion in downtown Sioux Falls, John Jenkins is among the first people to interact with the organizers.

“I’ll go over all the technical details like lighting and sound and audio, and then I’m one of the main contacts when they arrive to make sure they get set,” said Jenkins, who became the technical services manager for the Pavilion and Orpheum Theater Center late last year.

“I’ve been very lucky to find the right position at the right time.”

In this case, the role at the Washington Pavilion prompted Jenkins, an Omaha native, and his wife, Melissa, to move their family halfway across the country from Las Vegas.

“I was looking for jobs and hoping to move back to the Midwest,” he said. “Vegas is great, but it’s not child-friendly. It’s not an ideal place to raise kids.”

His experience in producing live events began as a teenager when he accompanied his mother to a beauty pageant and ended up working for the production company traveling the region.

After high school, he worked in corporate audio-visual production in Oklahoma and then hotel event production in Omaha before moving to Las Vegas where his parents had relocated.

“I had the opportunity to run MGM Resorts’ corporate operations for all their hotels, helping centralize their corporate AV and production,” he said.

After supporting operations at well-knowing properties, including MGM Grand, Bellagio Hotel & Casino and ARIA Resort & Casino, he moved to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino to lead entertainment production.

“So I got to work hand in hand and was the main contact for any concert that came in the building — Eric Church, blink-182, Guns N’ Roses — and it was by far my most fun job ever,” he said.

Finally, he landed at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in an operational leadership role that included more big-name concerts and fights.

“I stayed there until COVID and then took a little break from the entertainment world,” he said. “It’s taxing on families just because of the hour requirements, so I found a new job as director of operations for an automotive software company for six years until the owner sold the company.”

After decades growing their careers — Melissa spent 20 years in leadership roles at The Venetian Resort — they wanted a move but knew it would be tough to match the pay of Las Vegas in a smaller market.

“There’s a change in pay because of cost of living, but we didn’t want to lose that much, so we started looking for states that didn’t have personal income tax,” Jenkins said. “So it wasn’t a dramatic change for us.”

He has family in Minneapolis and Omaha, “so I figured Sioux Falls was a great middle position,” Jenkins said. “My parents still live in Vegas, and they came for the new year to my house, so my sister drove from Minneapolis and my brother from Omaha, and it was a nice central meeting point.”

The role at the Washington Pavilion “offers a very diverse clientele,” he said. “There’s some rental, some concerts, Broadway, so it gives me diversity. And I’ve never done Broadway, so that’s something interesting I can learn that creates a little challenge.”

He’s also impressed by his colleagues in Sioux Falls.

“I have an amazing crew here — very talented,” Jenkins said. “Technically, this crew is very qualified. Any of these people could go to Vegas and succeed in a larger market, and it’s nice to have that in a smaller market.”

The connection to the Washington Pavilion also has created immediate opportunities for his family, including a 9-year-old and 3-year-old, to enjoy indoor activities with the winter move to Sioux Falls.

“My wife brings them two or three times a week here to get out and play around,” he said. “My daughter just started with sports and theater classes.”

The family joined many this holiday season in taking in a record-setting performance of “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical” at the Pavilion.

“The Pavilion is very involved in the community, and we’re impressed how much Sioux Falls cares about the arts and how much they’re doing for the arts,” Jenkins said. “I love the food downtown — I haven’t found a bad restaurant yet — so we’re enjoying ourselves, and I think we will even more once the weather warms up.”

They found a west-side home to rent while they’re getting to know Sioux Falls and have enjoyed becoming part of their neighborhood elementary school, he said.

“Nothing is very far in Sioux Falls,” Jenkins said. “It’s not like Vegas where we’d drive an hour to get somewhere. It’s a 15-minute drive to work for me, and the school is right there near where we live. Every school we looked at seemed great. In a bigger city, that could be an issue, but here they have a great public school system.”

His wife, who has a bachelor’s degree in project management and a master’s in hospitality, has been exploring her options in Sioux Falls too.

“We’re thrilled to welcome the Jenkins family to Sioux Falls,” said Denise Guzzetta, vice president of talent and workforce development for the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.

“John and Melissa both bring such high-level experience and skills to our community, so it’s wonderful they discovered what Sioux Falls offers. You can easily see how our mix of a family-friendly city with accessible cost of living and career opportunities can be the perfect fit.”

Jenkins already is sharing the benefits with others too. His oldest daughter remained in Nevada for nursing school and will be looking for a place to grow her career.

“She’s gotten a lot of scholarships, but I keep saying there’s great opportunities in Sioux Falls if you want to be close to Mom and Dad,” he said.

If you’d like to learn more about growing your career and family in Sioux Falls, email deniseg@siouxfalls.com.

A big move started when everything essentially stopped in the New York City area.

“During COVID, they basically sent everyone home, and there wasn’t much going on in Manhattan,” said Jessica Lattuga, a native of Staten Island, New York, who had spent her entire life there up until that point.

“Everybody stopped building.”

So with a career in the construction industry, Lattuga’s brother-in-law needed another option. With 19 years of union tenure, he wasn’t about to leave it.

“Tennessee and South Dakota were on the table, and South Dakota called first,” Lattuga said. “My sister said, ‘Hey, me and the kids are moving, and this is where we’re going.’”

Her parents, now retired, looked at her. She looked at them.

“And I said: ‘You know what? Let’s go,’” Lattuga said. “New York was getting quite hectic, it was getting ridiculous, and I said: ‘Let’s see. It can’t hurt.’”

That was in 2022. By the end of the year, the entire family had relocated west — and Lattuga moved to Sioux Falls without even visiting.

“I just wanted to jump in with both feet,” she said.

From her first landing at the Sioux Falls Regional Airport, it was clear she’d left New York far behind.

“It honestly was just different. Staten Island is small — it’s like suburbia — so I’m OK with a small-town feel, but at the same time, I worked in Manhattan and New Jersey, which are huge, and that in itself was a very big adjustment,” she said.

“But the people are incredibly nice. No matter where I’ve gone — a store, a doctor’s office, a hospital — everyone is incredibly helpful. In New York, that had changed over time as people had stopped interacting as much. Here, it’s a completely different feel and very nice.”

She has found a new role in Sioux Falls as a people generalist at Medvantx.

“I love it. I have great co-workers and am happy to come in every day,” she said. “I like the balance of working from home once a week, more if I need to, but I choose not to because I enjoy being in an office and always have.”

Her new neighborhood in south Sioux Falls “actually kind of reminds me of a few spots in north Jersey,” she said. “I very much like the neighborhood and just enjoying the downtime after things had gotten so hectic in New York.”

Her twin niece and nephew are thriving in the Sioux Falls School District, she said.

“They’re doing incredibly well,” Lattuga said. “My nephew is autistic but very high-functioning, and they mainstreamed him here, which they weren’t able to do in New York. Both kids are in the same class, and they’ve made friends and are both doing excellent.”

Her parents “are adjusting very well,” she said. “I think the slower pace of life is a good thing. The lack of traffic is something we’re all enjoying. I’ve sat in traffic three or more hours on a city bus. I’ve been in my car four hours on a workday. My parents are in their 60s, and the health care is amazing. There’s a huge difference here.”

The family’s experience shows the multifaceted advantages that life in Sioux Falls offers, said Denise Guzzetta, vice president of talent and workforce development for the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.

“It doesn’t matter what your life stage — from your early education to your midcareer growth to your retirement years — there are so many benefits to making a move here,” she said. “We’ve especially enjoyed getting to connect with Jessica in her HR role at Medvantx and look forward to helping her and her team grow their talent pool here by further engaging them in the main programs we offer to support their talent pipeline.”

Looking back on the move, “I have no regrets on the decision I made,” Lattuga said. “It’s not the easiest thing in a way, but my everyday has become significantly better. There’s a far better quality of life, and I would say the same for my sister and her family and my parents. When I look at the bigger picture, it was a good thing not just for myself but everybody involved.”

Would you like to learn more about how Sioux Falls can become your new place to grow a family and career? Email deniseg@siouxfalls.com to get connected with opportunities ideal for you.