The VERB - Spring 2024

How Verm Businesses Promote Wellness

New Membership Stats

VIEWPOINT

Notes

from the Leadership NOTE FROM The CEO

Let me begin by saying thank you for your support. The Chamber has had a terrific couple of months since our last update. It is a privilege and an honor to serve you. Spirits are up, the business community is thriving, and new development continues in Vermillion. In the Chamber world, there is really nothing else you can ask for!

Our membership has grown to the highest level—340 members and counting. With more members comes an expansion in the number of industries served by the chamber. The deeper the breadth of expertise in our member base,

the more we can all learn from each other, and the better the Vermillion area gets.

If you have yet to do so, I encourage you to attend one of our events—be it a Mix & Mingle, a Coffee & Conversation, or a Learn Over Lunch—to network and learn something new.

Speaking of events, engagement continues to grow. December’s Learn Over Lunch on Women in Business was our most well attended ever, with over 60 guests. Our first Mix & Mingle mixer was also a hit, with 25 members and friends of the chamber joining us. At our Drive-Thru Job Fair in March, we handed out job information from 24 local businesses. At our Annual Celebration at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center, we had space to host 435 people at the event, over 100 more than last year.

Over the last few months, we have been busy working on childcare solutions in partnership with several organizations: the USD School of Education, the Vucurevich Children’s Center, the Center for Children and Families, Pulse of Life Church and Kids Care Center, USD Head Start, the Boys & Girls Club of Vermillion, and the Vermillion School District. In December, the VCDC was awarded a $36,000 planning grant by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development,

which allowed for the funding of a study to assess the state of childcare in Vermillion. We used the results to apply for and were awarded a $400,000 implementation grant from Governor Kristi Noem’s Investment Plan for Childcare, which will be used to expand and improve childcare access, affordability, and quality of care. We are hard at work implementing our solution.

On the development side, the Vermillion Goodwill is now officially open, creating 13 new jobs. Les Schwab Tire Store construction is also progressing. We are continuing work on housing solutions and workforce development. Keep an eye out—there’s more to come.

Lastly, we are working to ensure that the VCDC is positioned well for the future. Collaborating with our partner, Dakota Resources, we participated in B.O.L.D.: Building Organizations for Local Development to ensure we are functioning as a high-capacity organization and meeting member needs. We are reimagining what your chamber is going to be.

Feel free to contact me with any questions. Best regards,

Jim Peterson VCDC President & CEO

JIM PETERSON - ceo

VIEWPOINT

Notes

from the Leadership NOTE FROM The Chair

To all of our chamber members, community leaders, and friends of the VCDC, I’d like to formally introduce myself as Chair of the VCDC Board of Directors. Working for this organization has been a huge privilege, and I look forward to serving you all and leading the board’s continued efforts to improve the quality of life in the Vermillion Area.

I’m very excited to come into this role at a time when community engagement is so high. When you’re on the outside looking in, it may seem like the work of a board of directors is done in a vacuum.

Even the words “board of directors” can often conjure up images of high-level executives making high-level decisions without answering to anyone. In reality, that’s rarely the case, especially when it comes to the VCDC board. Our mission is to serve the Vermillion area and its businesses, the end result of which is improving the quality of life in our region. Without collaboration with the community, our work would be impossible. We’re only able to work on housing and childcare solutions because we have input from our stakeholders on what Vermillion needs, and we’re only able to improve our processes once we have them because we listen to feedback on what is and isn’t working.

Even when the groundwork is laid, it takes continuous effort to execute our plans, and that’s where the VCDC comes in. They work with the experts and the community leaders to get things done. They’re always ready to sit down with you and receive that feedback, whether you catch them out and about or in the office. Our community is moving in the right direction thanks to the work the VCDC is doing to be a connector among people in the community.

Speaking of the community, I would also like to extend my personal congratulations to all of our

award winners at this year’s Annual Celebration. To Gayle, John, Gregg, Nikki, David, Taylor, and the folks at Mart Brothers Construction and XIX Brewing Company, thank you for your commitment to Vermillion. This community is bettered every day by the work you do.

Here’s to a great tenure as chair!

Joe Hoose

2024-2026 Board of Directors, Chair

JOE HOOSE - chair

WELCOME HOME

grifolsplasma.com

VENTURE

FALL+WINTER EVENTS IN REVIEW

Standstill Parade of Lights

On December 7th, over 800 people flocked to Historic Downtown Vermillion for our biggest event of the year. Visitors were treated to hot chocolate, christmas cookies, and plenty of holiday cheer. We also hosted our annual holiday show at The Platz, featuring carols by the Merry Misfits singers, a pom routine by the Vermillion Area Dance Organization, and Christmas classics from a USD music faculty brass quartet.

Congratulations to the winners of the annual float contest:

1st Place: Clay County Fair

2nd Place: Vermillion Police Dept.

3rd Place: Vermillion Area Farmers Market

People’s Choice: Pink Ladies

DakotA Farm Show

This year’s farm show brought hundreds of exhibitors to the DakotaDome to show off thousands of new ag products and services.

VCDC staff had the chance to attend the show and give away our first batch of Visitor’s Guides. We also joined forces with our friends from WNAX 104.1 The Wolf (pictured above!) to hit the airwaves and talk about all things Vermillion live from the DakotaDome floor.

VCDC Annual Meeting

Our first ever annual meeting was a smashing success. We reviewed our 2023 at the chamber, covering everything from new benefits and events to financials and economic development efforts. We said goodbye to our outgoing board members and welcomed the newly elected trio. Fitingly, we ended with a toast to the prosperity of Vermillion.

VENTURE

learn over lunches

We rebranded our beloved RED Talks to Learn Over Lunches for 2024, and we’ve had a great time learning from local experts at our first four of the year.

We hosted two in January—the first, a Legislative Update jointly with Vermillion Rotary Club, and the second with Mayor Jon Cole and County Commissioner Betty Smith. March brought a presentation on AI from USD professor Travis Loof and student researcher Rachel Spinks, and in May we learned about USD Athletics from new USD Athletic Director Jon Schemmel. That’s quite the breadth of topics!

Drive-thru job fair

It was a chilly March day when we set up shop outside of the old Clay-Union Electric office for our Drive-Thru Job Fair, but it was well worth it. We gave out job information from 24 local businesses looking to hire, and four lucky cars received prizes of $50 in Vermillion bucks. Afterward, we took our leftover bags back to the office for job seekers to pick up all week long.

Annual Celebration

This year’s Annual Celebration was the biggest yet, with over 400 attendees dressed up in their best monochrome garb for this blackand-white gala. One-man-band Kobe Jordan entertained the crowd during the social hour, and for our feature presentation, we heard three different perspectives on Vermillion from three presenters, all of different generations.

Congratulations to our award winners!

President’s Award: Gayle Bliss

Community Leader OTY: John Walker

Chamber Member OTY: Gregg & Nikki Peters

Family-Owned Business OTY: Mart Bros

Spirit of Entrepreneurship: XIX Brewing Co.

Mayor’s Award: David Herbster

V-NEXT Young Professional OTY: Taylor Kathol

VENTURE

4

THINGS

TO DO THIS SEASON

Thursdays on the platz

Vermillion’s favorite music series returns to the Platz on Thursday, July 11th! Featuring some old favorites and two new acts, 97 West and The Barn Flies.

Schedule:

July 11 – Wild Card

July 18 – Bluff Ridge Band

July 25 – Fine Mess

August 1 – 97 West

August 8 – Jetley Park

August 15 – The Barn Flies

August 22 – Blue Rune

VENTURE

4 2 3

SD Shakespeare Festival

The Merchant of Venice is coming to Prentis Park this summer in SDSF’s first collaboration with the North Dakota Shakespeare Festival. Plus, attend numerous educational events, workshops, the Bark with the Bard 5k, and more. Festivities run June 2nd–9th, with the production running June 6th–9th

Ribs, Rods & Rock n’ Roll

This year marks 20 years of Ribs, Rods & Rock N’ Roll, making it a certified Vermillion tradition. Celebrate this vicenary event September 6th and 7th with live music, car shows, wing wars, pony rides, family fun, cornhole tournaments, and as much barbecue as you can eat!

Trick-or-treating

Grab the kiddos and head downtown on October 25th for Downtown Trick-Or-Treating. Tons of businesses, nonprofits, and USD student organizations will be hanging out and giving away tricks and treats around downtown, at the library, and on The Platz. The Halloween fun runs from 5–7 p.m.—plenty of time to hit all the tables and stock up on candy!

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VANTAGE

HEALTHY HOMETOWN: LOCAL GROUPS PROMOTE WELLNESS

It can be easy to think of wellness as existing in a vacuum, as the sum of an individual’s personal choices about what to eat or how much to exercise. But wellness isn’t so simple. A multitude of factors determine wellness, many of which are environmental, existing beyond what one person can do for themselves on their own. Community wellness is a good example of this because it’s rooted in a town’s culture and infrastructure, as well as through programs created by local groups and businesses.

With more attention being paid to community wellness, it’s no surprise that programs have sprung up to help support and improve it. One such program is Healthy Hometown, an initiative created by Wellmark and Good & Healthy South Dakota to promote healthy lifestyles across the state. Through this initiative, cities, organizations, and individuals are encouraged to find ways to make their communities healthier. Some towns have even won awards for their commitment to wellness, like Custer, which created a new 22-bed community garden, or Mitchell, which hosts monthly cooking events at their food pantry. Inspired by this initiative, the Dakota Hospital Foundation and the VCDC have partnered to create our own Healthy Hometown Happenings, so we’re showing off four local groups and the ways they promote wellness in Vermillion.

Vermillion Area

Running Group

A small group of folks started this group in 2015. In its original iteration, the group met at their homes and hosted one event—Yoga for Runners—where members ran a mile and then met up at the Om Sweet Om yoga studio (now The Bean Community Coffeehouse). The group fizzled out after a year, but was restarted in the summer of 2023 to great success. Now, the group meets Tuesdays at 6 p.m.

The Vermillion Area Running Group restarted in 2023 and now meets Tuesdays at The Platz when the weather is nice.

VANTAGE

Yoga instructor Adrienne Lee teaches with the goal of making yoga accessible

at The Platz when the weather is nice. Routes are selected beforehand, and participants have the choice to run, jog, or walk. Sometimes, the group even heads to a local watering hole for an after-run drink! Everyone is welcome, and interested individuals can check out the Vermillion Area Running Group Facebook page to learn more.

Yoga at VADO

The Vermillion Area Dance Organization is well known for their dance instruction, but they also offer yoga classes to students of all ages and abilities. Yoga instructor Adrienne Lee teaches with the goal of making yoga more accessible to students by catering to their abilities and fitness levels. Adrienne has taught numerous students throughout the years and has recently expanded to teaching chair and wheelchair yoga classes. Anyone can join,

and class signups are available at vermillionareadance.com/yoga.

Health Market at Hy-Vee

The availability of nutritious foods in grocery stores is integral to the health of a community. After all, people can’t make healthy dietary decisions without healthy options to start. With this in mind, Jozef Vogel of the Vermillion HyVee has developed the Hy-Vee Health Market. His goal? To provide healthy foods at competitive prices. After doing careful research on food nutrition and origin, Jozef selects the highest-quality picks to be sold in store. Currently, he’s expanding the store’s efforts to source local products, such as honey, eggs, and microgreens.

Girls on the Run

A combination running club and educational curriculum for girls in grades 3–5, Girls on the Run has impacted 110 girls in the Vermillion

community since its start in 2016. The club is an affiliate program of EmBe, a Sioux-Falls based nonprofit dedicated to uplifting women, children, and families.

Coach Carly O’Connor, a teacher at Jolley Elementary, got involved when her daughter joined three years ago. Using a fun, experience-based curriculum, Carly teaches students how to build social, emotional, and physical skills. The team practices after school twice a week for 90 minutes, where students do running exercises, journal, play games, and learn lessons about emotional wellness. At the end of the season, the team participates in a non-competitive, celebratory 5K with other girls from across South Dakota.

Girls on the Run is active from September–November, and even offers scholarships to help with the registration cost. Those interested in getting their kids involved can reach out to Jasmina Miller at jnmiller@embe.org.

Girls on the Run promotes social, emotional, and physical skills for 3rd-5th grade girls

VANTAGE

Adams Production Services

Vermillion, SD (605) 670.9854

1001 W. Main St. Elk Point, SD (800) 356.2686 Center for Children & Families

505 Stanford St. Vermillion, SD (605) 624.8270

ZenBusiness 5511 Parkcrest Drive, Ste. 103 Austin, TX (512) 765.4985

Thread & Ink

106 E. Main St. Vermillion, SD (605) 658.2808

Thermo Bond Buildings

Companies 2320 W. 54th St. N. Sioux Falls, SD (605) 864.8472 Asapp Tree Service Vermillion, SD (605) 659.1569 Santel Communications

Woonsocket, SD (605) 796.4411

Individual Members & Vermillion Next Young professionals:

Erin Miller

Steve Ward

Geoffrey Gray-Lobe

Bianaca Krus

Bruce Odson

Tyler VanMeter

Amy Fluit

Michelle Chaussee

Sara Moir

Paddy Rosdail

Kevin O’Kelley

Maria Schaefer

Allie Perze

Logan Perze

Rikesh Patel

Henry Sanford

Jarren Duffy

VELOCITY

Total Employment in clay county

Source: Annual QCEW

average annual unemployment rate in Clay County

Source: Federal Reserve Economic Data

median household income in clay county & South Dakota

Source: US Census Bureau

VELOCITY

City Taxes (in Dollars)

Source: City of Vermillion Annual Budget & Financial Report, Exhibit 4

Economic Development

Total Chamber Memberships

Source: Vermillion Area Chamber & Development Company

Chamber membership breakdown

Source: Vermillion Area Chamber & Development Company