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Jeff Scherschligt

Business Sioux Falls, SD

Jeffry J. Scherschligt was born November 17, 1955, to Lester and Arlette Scherschligt in Sioux Falls. As a child, his working father provided lessons in hard work, business acumen and giving back, while his mother added zest for life in the family’s “Beaver Cleaver” style neighborhood. His early years provided inspiration to work harder when he was cut after tryouts for the Junior Bantam baseball team, and a passion for hunting and conservation was influenced by his father, leading to a deep love for parks and the environment. A “soso” student, Jeff was challenged and motivated by his high school English teacher, Joyce Lauer, and attended the College of Insurance at St. John’s University of New York. Before leaving for college, Jeff made an epic move of “bold pig-headedness,” as he broke a record time running naked across the Sioux Falls Arena. His first lesson in philanthropy followed, as he had to donate all proceeds raised from his streaking to charity. Jeff returned for a semester of college at Augustana in Sioux Falls and met his future wife, Katie Williams. They experienced New York life and soon returned to Sioux Falls. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Jeff was mentored by his father and started a family. His daughter Anne was born in 1981, and Sarah was born in 1985. Jeff settled into a 60-plus-hour workweek, hunted on weekends, spent time at the Williams family cabin in Minnesota, and volunteered for numerous nonprofits related to kids and parks. In 1984, at age 29, Jeff was handed the keys to Howalt McDowell Insurance as his father transitioned to retirement. Leveraging the lessons of hard work, professionalism, financial acumen for growth and profitability, and the mantra “Client is King,” Jeff and numerous partners and a passionate and committed team grew Howalt from a solid base to a regional leader in its field. The firm solidified its reputation for professionalism, friendliness and a workplace culture of teamwork and giving back to the community. Under Jeff ’s leadership, he and Howalt+McDowell achieved a broad range of industry and community recognitions during the 1990s and 2000s including: 1996 - Sioux Empire United Way Campaign Chair, 1997 - Great Bear Recreation Park Chamber Drive Co-Chair, 2000 - Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser Award, 2000 - Argus Leader Best in Business Inaugural Award, 2005 - Marsh Berry Insurance Pinnacle Award Winner, 2006 - Sioux Falls Business Journal Top 10 Leaders. With Howalt flourishing, the family growing and a solid team of associates driving the Howalt culture, Jeff in 1995 at age 40 pursued a childhood passion inspired by visiting the Brockhouse Big Game Collection at West Sioux Hardware. In order to escape the day-today rat race, he committed to biannual, two-week big game hunts over the next 20 years. He bagged his “Grand Slam of North American wild sheep” and more, testing his mettle in some of the most remote, rugged,

beautiful country in the world. The love of the outdoors, the environment, and wildlife led Jeff to partner with his dad to start and grow “Armour Hunters Haven” into a South Dakota wildlife mecca with over 1,000 acres of habitat preserved and maintained by Jeff, family and friends. Annually, the Scherschligt family gathers for their version of Christmas: the opening of pheasant season. That’s followed by hunts every weekend with extended family, friends, customers and acquaintances. Jeff now enjoys not only numerous hours with his three grandchildren at the farm, but also horseback riding and doing his own farming, grass and tree stewardship. In the mid-2000s, Jeff took on his first major development. Drawing on simple hard work, unbending ethics, a little luck, a great family and teammates at Howalt, and entrepreneurial South Dakota clients, he conceived Cherapa Place. This redevelopment of the old Zip Feed Tower site started with a BOOM heard around the world, as a failed demolition made international news but led to a historic public-private

Doing Business Local to Keep a Community Thriving

partnership and unprecedented improvements to the Big Sioux River downtown riverfront. Jeff and daughter Anne combined their leadership skills to educate about LEED green building standards as Cherapa became the city’s first Gold LEED-certified structure. Developed, designed and constructed by South Dakotans, Cherapa combines creative architecture, modern and historic aspects, an urban prairie, numerous sculptures from the Sioux Falls SculptureWalk and inspires and shows what South Dakotans working in partnership can accomplish. At Howalt+McDowell/Great Plains Brokerage, a culture of hard work, empowering and respecting clients led to continued prosperity. Five percent of the company’s profit is donated to nonprofits. The firm received Wall Street Journal recognition for its record of sharing with colleagues through a robust profit-sharing and 401(k) plan. It allowed Jeff the time and treasure to give back. Inspired by mentors, including his father, Larry Ritz, Dan Kirby, Tom Everist, Gary Olson, Bill Barlow, and contemporaries Kelby Krabbenhoft, Dana Dykhouse and others, a passion for giving back became engrained in Jeff. He became president of the South Dakota Parks and Wildlife Foundation in 2010, a role that allowed him to give back to the state as well as Sioux Falls. Using his leadership and fundraising skills, he led the private fundraising effort that resulted in Good Earth State Park, the first new state park in a decade. Jeff was honored to receive the Spirit of Augustana Award in 2011, the South Dakota Sales and Marketing Executive of the Year award in 2013, and recognition from the Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation Department in 2016. He was named to the Sioux Falls Baby Boomer List representing 1955. A passionate advocate for public/private partnerships that make a difference for the environment, for citizens, for Sioux Falls and for South Dakota, Jeff is continually inspired to make a difference. He is far from done developing, and has a grand vision for his next project. He humbly thanks his immediate family, his work family, and his community family for helping him make a little difference on this short ride of life. Nominator: Brenda Chamness

Judge Bogue’s Law Clerks & Rapid City Firms of Bangs, McCullen, Butler, Foye & Simmons, Beardsley, Jensen & Lee, Costello, Porter, Hill, HeisterKamp, Bushnell & Carpenter, Nooney & Solay Congratulate Andrew Bogue & Family

Legacy of Achievements

The Champions of Excellence story continues at sdexcellence.org.

Over 100 Legacy of Achievement biographies are available to inspire and educate us all on the amazing accomplishments of South Dakotans over the years.

From humble beginnings in Scotland, SD to a world leader in the biofuels industry. It is amazing what can be accomplished in 30 years. Thank you South Dakota for being such an integral part of our beginning and as we continue to grow our industry to make the world a better place.

Jeff & Tammie Broin