Message from the Chair

The Power of Partnerships

We are always better together. Whether walking through life or in the business world, we can do incredible things when we work together. This is especially true when public and private entities come together to invest in projects that ultimately improve our community and quality of life. In this issue, we dive deeper into the power of partnerships in our community and the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce’s crucial role in advocating for them.

I have been fortunate to be a part of some of these projects and others across our state. I have seen firsthand how we can have a significant impact on our communities joining together. Take for example, our longtime workforce shortage. Over a decade ago, private citizens, industry partners and others joined our state government and technical colleges to create the Build Dakota Scholarship as a solution to our skilled workforce needs. A few years back, we joined together again to create the Freedom Scholarship—a needs-based scholarship to help young people with their education in exchange for a three-year commitment to work in our great state. We’ve made steady progress on our workforce challenges thanks to these public-private partnerships.

It seems like when someone has a great idea, there are always people who tell us it can’t be done. However, Sioux Falls is very special, we have a community that comes together to prove the doubters wrong. We have some great examples such as the Levitt at the Falls, Washington Pavilion, Denny Sanford PREMIER Center and the State Theatre.

I hope stories like this and those in this issue inspire you to think about how you could get involved in future public-private partnership opportunities in Sioux Falls. Being an active Chamber member is a great starting point! Stay involved and let’s keep pushin’ on – together – to make our community even greater.