REO Speedwagon performs for local Chamber
This month, the Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce will welcome classic rock band REO Speedwagon to town for their annual meeting that celebrates a new year ahead.
The event will bring over 2,000 people to the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in what is always a special gathering for local businesses.
“The Chamber’s annual meeting is a tradition that people plan their schedules around,” said Jennie Doyle, the Chamber’s vice president of member services. “They will attend regardless of who or what is on the program, but this year is a big one.”
In the past, the Chamber has welcomed motivational speakers, comedians, musicians and the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra. It is perhaps the only networking event of the year where all members have an opportunity to network in an upscale affair and celebrate the success they bring to our community.
This year, instead of a formal dinner, guests will mingle among heavy appetizers and drinks in the bowl of the PREMIER Center before the concert begins.
“Having REO Speedwagon perform at the event is a fantastic way to really embrace the celebratory nature of the meeting and have some fun,” Doyle said, who added that the theme on Oct. 15 is fittingly “Keep Pushin’ On,” a nod to the band’s hit single, “Keep Pushin.’ ”
This Chamber meeting has been a stalwart in our community for well over a century but has only taken place at the PREMIER Center since the event center’s opening in 2014, when Chicago performed for the Chamber. The PREMIER Center celebrates its 10th anniversary this month.
“I remember that concert,” said Miles Beacom, CEO of Premier Bank Card. “Dana Dykhouse was the board chair at that time. I think the entire audience loved it.”
Like a family reunion of sorts, Beacom said he always looks forward to catching up with people as well as meeting new members of the community.
“It’s like having growing children every year!” he said.
But what a special one for Beacom, who will launch his one-year term as the incoming chair of the Chamber’s Board of Directors. He succeeds 2023-24 chair, Scott Lawrence, CEO of Lawrence & Schiller.
“How powerful is it that I can step back now and let Miles take over?” said Lawrence, who will now assume past chair in his final year on the board. “He knows I’m there for him the way he’s been there for me.”
Lawrence said he met many new faces during his tenure, learned a lot about the influence that the Chamber has on local businesses and looks forward to supporting Beacom in his new role.
“He’s going to have a fun year ahead,” Lawrence said.
But Beacom is not new to local boards. As CEO of Premier Bank Card for over 30 years now, he has served for United Way, the Catholic Diocese and Catholic Community foundations, Sanford Health International and Dakota State University, his alma mater.
This proves his steadfast leadership skills and ability to encourage growth wherever he sees potential. Beacom is affable, well-known and has an infectious high energy.
“Look how far we’ve come in Sioux Falls,” Beacom said. “We haven’t fallen into a comfort zone. If we want to be one of the top communities in the country or the world, we must continue to work together and not let up for the overall good of Sioux Falls.”
He touts the new Barb Iverson Skate Plaza, the Steel District, updates at the Great Plains Zoo, the beloved Arc of Dreams, one of the top United Ways in the nation, and an invested city council as proof of our vitality and inspiration to other communities.
“I believe Sioux Falls is a lot like Disney World,” he said. “Disney World is magical and make-believe. Sioux Falls is also magical, but we are real. When you look at the success Sioux Falls has had, I’d say the majority of communities in our country would give their right arm to be like us.”
Beacom grew up in Sioux Falls. Today, he and his wife raise their three daughters here. When he’s not acting as a CEO or board member, he’s likely on the bike trails or enjoying a high school or college football game.
“People will ask, ‘Why are you here?’ And I’ll say, ‘Well, I heard this is going to be a good performance!’ ”
As a local leader, it’s important that he mind and encourage continued growth, but he can also use his own upbringing to prove he’s in the right place.
“When I was growing up, there wasn’t a lot of job opportunities,” he said. “But the diversity of business opportunities today is just amazing. Look at our healthcare, financial services and retail. I’m really proud to be a part of it.”
He includes cyber research in that list of opportunity. In May of this year, Beacom’s alma mater broke ground on the Dakota State University Applied Research Lab, a $50 million cybersecurity research center that plans to bring in around 400 jobs to our region. Job opportunities will be in the field of software development, malware analysis and digital forensics.
The building will be located at the Sanford Sports Complex, and its projected opening is in two years.
“We are helping to build that facility,” said Randy Knecht, CEO of Journey Construction. Journey is a founding member of the Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce. “But what happens inside that building is what is more important here. It will create high-paying opportunities for students we’d love to keep in our community and in our state.”
Beacom, too, is eager to keep college graduates home, many of whom will come from DSU’s Beacom College of Computer & Cyber Sciences, Beacom’s namesake.
“This is a completely new field that will continue to build on our diversity here in Sioux Falls,” he said.
Community involvement is a wonderful part of the culture at First Premier. For years, employees have donated their time to nonprofits like Junior Achievement, Special Olympics, Lutheran Social Services and The Banquet. They also help to host free track meets every summer for ages 2-18.
Beacom said he fully intends to maintain this mindset with the Chamber board and its members.
“This is how we build unity,” Beacom said, adding that mentorship is also a large player in community involvement. “There is no better way to get involved than with the many organizations who help our community.”
Already, Chamber members understand this role. Knecht at Journey said it’s not only about “working together” but encouraging one another, too.
“Building community is about giving back and leaving an impact,” he said. “We’ve been through three or four leadership generations at Journey, each one building upon another. It’s a legacy we try to impart on our employees.
“We want to leave an impact that is bigger than ourselves.”
Beacom steps up to lead an honorable business community here in Sioux Falls.
The Chamber’s annual meeting this month will be emceed by local real estate broker Alexis Mahlen and former board chair Dana Dykhouse. Along with crowning Beacom as new board chair and celebrating local business success, the event will also rally around challenges that can be defeated if working together as one community.
Myriad ribbon cuttings also mean myriad families are moving to Sioux Falls.
“We have over 5,000 people coming into Sioux Falls every year,” Beacom said. “That’s 50,000 new people who have moved here within the last 10 years. We need to make sure they all fully understand the importance of working together for the overall success of Sioux Falls.
“We are growing at a very fast pace, but we’ve also had some great leadership to make sure our infrastructure’s ready for it,” he added. “I’m fired up.”
REO Speedwagon last performed in Sioux Falls in 2021 at the Washington Pavilion and in 2019 to a sold-out concert. Regina Ruhberg at the Pavilion says that classic rock always does well here, and she’s excited for the Chamber community.
Having REO Speedwagon is “a great win for our community,” Beacom said.
