COVER STORY

Banking on a bright future: Rozenboom leads Chamber in 2009-10
Local leaders elected to Chamber Board of Directors

Banking on a bright future: Rozenboom leads Chamber in 2009-10

by Amy Smolik
Marketing & Communications Manager

While natives of Iowa, Dave Rozenboom and his wife, Tammy, set their sites on a job opportunity in South Dakota after graduating from college. Although they had employment offers near each of their home towns, their rationale was that "if we don't leave home now, there's a good chance we never will."

They moved to Aberdeen in 1985 and started their family. After four years in the Hub City, the Rozenbooms had an opportunity to move to Sioux Falls and they've been here ever since. In fact, Rozenboom still works for U.S. Bank, the same banking company that gave him his first job out of college.

"Moving to Sioux Falls was a great opportunity to take that next step in my career and be closer to our families at the same time," Rozenboom said.

"Once we relocated here, I recognized that the Chamber of Commerce plays such a significant role in enhancing the quality of life in Sioux Falls and the surrounding area and I saw how willing everyone was to pitch in," he said. "When we decided we wanted to live here, I knew I was responsible to do my part."

In the coming year Rozenboom will play a part in the community's success as Chair of the Chamber's Board of Directors, a position he assumed Oct. 1. He will kick off the new Chamber year at the 103rd Annual Meeting Oct. 20, featuring Steve Forbes as the keynote speaker (see related story on this page). Rozenboom will share his vision for the Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce in the coming year at the annual meeting.

As Regional President for U.S. Bank, Rozenboom oversees the bank's presence in eastern South Dakota, Jamestown, N.D., and Sioux City, IA, including 15 bank offices. He's responsible for each area of the bank, including business, agricultural, private and consumer banking. Prior to taking on this role in 2001, he was the business banking manager in the Sioux Falls market. Rozenboom has enjoyed each step in his 24-year career with U.S. Bank because of the opportunity to work for an organization that is committed to helping their customers and communities grow and achieve their goals, he said.

The late Dave Birkeland, one of eight South Dakotans including Gov. George Mickelson who died in an April 1993 plane crash, was the president of First Bank of South Dakota (now U.S. Bank) and an advocate for community involvement. Birkeland served as an outstanding mentor to Rozenboom and many other employees at the bank. "He encouraged all of us to get involved and give back to the community," Rozenboom said.

Birkeland's advice was simple, Rozenboom said: "Be involved in an organization you have a passion for. You'll be a better board or committee member if you have a passion for the mission of the organization and what they do."

Rozenboom took that advice to heart when it came to giving his time to the community. His first involvement at the Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce was with the Small Business Council, which made sense with his position at the bank at the time. From there, he went on to join the Ambassador Committee, the sales arm of the Chamber, and also graduated in the eighth Leadership Sioux Falls class.

"I had an appreciation for the central role the Chamber of Commerce plays in our community and how important membership is to it's long-term success," he said. "I observed how committed so many people were to the Chamber and, in turn, how that helped the Chamber in its role to make this a great place to live and work."

Through the Chamber, the community comes together, Rozenboom said, and it is most evident in Forward Sioux Falls, the successful joint venture of the Chamber and the Sioux Falls Development Foundation. As Forward Sioux Falls nears the end of its fifth program, part of this coming year will be spent in an in-depth strategic planning process for the continued economic development of the Sioux Falls area. At the end of this months-long effort, the community will have an achievable roadmap to guide short- and long-term growth. In addition to Forward Sioux Falls, other partners in this process include: the City of Sioux Falls, Minnehaha and Lincoln counties, the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation and the Sioux Empire United Way.

"This is just another great example of how well we all work together to achieve the common goal of making Sioux Falls and the surrounding area a better place." Rozenboom said. "So many business and community leaders put competition aside when it comes to the good of the community. Everyone understands that if Sioux Falls is successful and a vibrant, growing community, that's good for all of our businesses and organizations."

The Chamber ties everything in the community together, he says. The strategic planning process will improve the Sioux Falls area for future generations, creating a strong community for the next group of leaders to live, learn, work and raise a family.

In addition to the Chamber, there are three other organizations Rozenboom is passionate about and has held leadership roles with, including: the Sioux Empire United Way (2009 Campaign Chair), Junior Achievement of South Dakota (Past Chair of the Board) and Sioux Falls Christian Schools (Past Chair of the Board and co-chair of capital campaign for their new campus).

"The success we've enjoyed as a community didn't just happen by accident. We are blessed to live in a community that has so many quality organizations because of the active leadership role that so many people have played. It's critical that we don't take that for granted and that we all find our own way to get involved and make a positive difference," Rozenboom said.

Sometimes, you don't have to leave home to find that ideal community. Rozenboom's oldest daughter and her husband both found great employment opportunities in their respective fields here in Sioux Falls. In addition, while driving together through Sioux Falls one day, his oldest son told him how much he loved Sioux Falls — something Rozenboom suspects few teenagers tell their parents about most communities.

"Thanks to the efforts of so many, Sioux Falls has everything we could possibly want. It takes on a special meaning when your kids choose to make Sioux Falls their home, too," he said. "It's a testament to the things we've done right in the past and highlights why it's so important for all of us to continue to work together to build on our success for the benefit of future generations."

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Doug Berkland Sayre Associates, Inc.

Anne B. Jackson Wells Fargo Financial Cards

Brian D. Jans Jans Corporation

Keith Severson Eide Bailly LLP

Chrissy Spoo The Empire Mall

Local leaders elected to Chamber Board of Directors

As directed by the Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce bylaws, five individuals are nominated to serve three-year terms on the Board of Directors each year. The following Chamber members have been elected and began their term of service Oct. 1, 2009:

Doug Berkland is a partner with Sayre Associates Inc. He is a past member and chair of the Board of Governors of South Dakota Achieve; past chair of the Southeast Chapter of the South Dakota Engineering Society; past chair of the Church Council of Peace Lutheran Church (current vice chair); current member of the South Dakota State University Council of Trustees; and a member of Sioux Falls Downtown Rotary. Berkland has been active in the Chamber, serving as chair of the Business Transportation Committee and the Issues Management Council. Sayre Associates Inc. has been a Chamber member since 1984.

Anne B. Jackson is President of Wells Fargo Financial Cards, a Chamber member since 1987. Jackson serves as Audit Committee Chair on the Sioux Empire United Way Board, and is a member of the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra Board, the South Dakota Bankers Association (SDBA) Board of Directors and the Sioux Empire Housing Partnership Board. She is also an active member of the SDBA Credit Card Committee and the Junior League of Sioux Falls Ronald McDonald House Committee.

Brian D. Jans is Vice President at Jans Corporation. Jans has served the community and his industry in many capacities including: Board of Directors for the Associated General Contractors Building Chapter; past chair of The Future Leaders Group of the AGC; past Board member for the National MS Society; a trustee at First United Methodist Church; Sioux Falls Tomorrow II stakeholder; and Sioux Empire United Way Construction Division. He is a graduate of Leadership Sioux Falls and currently serves on the newly-formed Chamber Young Professionals Network Steering Committee and co-chairs the YPN Personal & Professional Development Action Team. Jans also served on the Chamber's Membership 2012 Task Force. Jans Corporation has been a Chamber member since 1989.

Keith Severson is a partner at Eide Bailly LLP. He is a member of the Sioux Falls School District Finance Action Network, Augustana College Audit Committee, Sioux Falls Catholic Schools Institutional Advancement Committee, Sioux Falls Housing Task Force, Sioux Falls Orpheum Board member and a past chair of Dakota Bowl. Severson is also a Leadership Sioux Falls graduate and a member of the Chamber's Community Appeals Committee. Eide Bailly has been a Chamber member for nearly 40 years.

Chrissy Spoo is the marketing manager at The Empire Mall. Spoo has served the community through her volunteerism with the American Diabetes Association Leadership Council (past chair) as well as the Sioux Empire United Way Board of Directors and current chair of the Marketing Division. She is active in the tourism industry through her service on the Southeast South Dakota Tourism Association Board of Directors (2009 PR Committee Chair) and the Sioux Falls Convention & Visitors Bureau Executive Council. Spoo is a Leadership Sioux Falls graduate. The Empire Mall has been a Chamber member since 1976.

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