CAROL HALLOCK

Owner, Town-N-Country Plumbing Manager, Rockingtree Floral & Garden Center Sturgis, S.D.

Carol Hallock did not expect to become a business owner, and she certainly never anticipated becoming a plumber, but she believes in opportunities and taking advantage of them when they are presented, so that’s exactly what she did. When the owner of a plumbing shop she was doing bookwork for was looking to sell, she and two partners bought it. When she saw the opportunity to improve the business as a sole owner, she bought out her partners, despite the fact that she was not yet even an apprentice plumber. Instead of letting that derail her, she hired a plumber and employed that person for six years while she worked through her apprenticeship, journeyman and licensing process. That was years ago, but she remains the only female licensed plumber in South Dakota.

In the early years of owning Town-N-Country Plumbing, Hallock took on extra jobs to supplement her income. One of those jobs was at Rockingtree Landscaping, where she discovered a love for plants and trees, and the owner. She and Randy dated for years while he operated his business with her helping out part-time and she operated the plumbing shop. Shortly after they were married in 1999 he asked her join him at the landscaping business, which had recently expanded to a larger space and was servicing clients in a five-state area. Carol agreed, and retained ownership of the plumbing shop but left the day-to-day operations up to the store’s plumbers. “I told them they could run the shop as long as they broke even, and they do more than break even,” she says. Hallock’s son now manages the shop and she returns occasionally to help with large jobs and bids. She also returns every year during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally to run the pop-up restaurant that she has operated from the store for years. She credits her former partner for the idea to sell roast beef sandwiches from the shop to hungry bikers, but she has taken the idea and ran with it, building the temporary restaurant’s reputation over the years to the level at which it has become an annual pit stop for many rally attendees. For the past three years, she’s taken it to yet another level, using beef from her own ranch for the sandwiches and Indian tacos served at her store.

Hallock is passionate about giving back to her community and helping those in need. “I believe everyone deserves a second and maybe a third chance,” she says. “Anyone of us could have gotten into trouble when we were young adults. We’re just lucky we didn’t.” She is a board member of the Serenity Building in Sturgis, which provides a meeting location for various addiction support groups and collaborates with the Northern Hills Drug Court. She has donated her plumbing and landscaping goods and services to worthy causes and created a program several years ago called Santa’s Recycling, which raises money for the local women’s shelter through the donation and sale of used Christmas decorations.

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