Mitchell Area Development Corporation hosts workforce summit to strengthen workplace culture
Mar. 23—MITCHELL — The Mitchell Area Development Corporation, in partnership with the South Dakota Department of Labor, Northwestern Energy, and Dakota Wesleyan University, hosted a Workforce Summit Thursday, March 20 dedicated to enhancing workplace culture through the application of Lean principles.
Held at the DWU School of Business, Innovation, and Leadership, the summit brought together business leaders, human resources professionals and industry representatives committed to retaining and empowering their workforce.
Lean principles are a set of management techniques aimed at eliminating waste and improving efficiency and productivity by focusing on value creation from the customer's perspective.
South Dakota has the lowest unemployment rate in the nation, and Mitchell has the second lowest unemployment rate in the state. However, as projections show a continued decline in the labor force through 2030, the MADC recognizes the need to invest in retaining existing employees. Workforce culture is a key factor in that effort.
"Our goal is not just to make individual businesses in Mitchell great places to work but to establish a strong, unified community culture that retains and supports our workforce," Mike Lauritsen, CEO of the MADC, said. "Events like this workforce summit help businesses understand that a positive workforce culture is necessary for long-term success."
The summit featured presentations from Stuart Giere and Pete Menke, business advisers with South Dakota Manufacturing & Technology Solutions, who specialize in Lean Leadership and process improvement.
Giere, a mechanical engineer with over 30 years of executive experience and certifications from The Scrum Alliance, the International Coaching Federation and The Table Group, emphasized the impact of culture on productivity.
"Lean is not just about efficiency — it's about aligning your team's work with a purpose they believe in," Giere said. "When employees see their role in reducing waste and improving processes, it builds trust and engagement."
Menke, who has spent his career in manufacturing with a focus on process improvement, highlighted the practical benefits of Lean.
"Organizations that embrace Lean don't just eliminate waste; they empower their employees to be problem-solvers," Menke shared. "By involving staff in the process, businesses can create an environment where employees feel valued and invested in their work."
Participants took part in a hands-on Lean workshop, identifying and eliminating "waste" in simulated operations. The session concluded with a panel discussion featuring leaders from local businesses like Etria, Vermeer and Enclose, who shared how applying Lean principles improved their workplace culture and employee retention.
As the day wrapped up, attendees left with actionable strategies to bring Lean practices into their workplaces, supporting the collective mission of creating a positive culture in the Mitchell workforce.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Wire
3 days ago
- Business Wire
Adlana Buck Joins X-Caliber Capital as FHA Chief Underwriter
IRVINGTON, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--X-Caliber Capital, an FHA-approved Multifamily Accelerated Processing (MAP) lender and loan servicer, today announced Adlana Buck has joined the firm as FHA Chief Underwriter. Buck brings nearly 25 years of experience in multifamily and HUD-insured lending. Over the past decade, she has overseen or directly underwritten nearly $2 billion in FHA transactions spanning affordable, market-rate, and healthcare asset classes. X-Caliber Appoints Adlana Buck to FHA Chief Underwriter. Share Buck previously served as the FHA Chief Underwriter for Capital One where she led complex, high-dollar transactions nationwide and managed underwriting operations across the firm's FHA platform. Over the past five years, Buck participated in more than a hundred successful HUD transactions, including over $334 million in affordable housing transactions and more than $560 million in healthcare financings. As the FHA Chief Underwriter for X-Caliber, Buck will lead the underwriting for all MAP and LEAN executions, overseeing credit strategy, transaction structuring, and lender compliance for the firm's FHA multifamily and healthcare lending platforms. 'Adlana brings a wealth of experience and a strong track record in FHA multifamily finance,' said Chris Callahan, President and CEO of X-Caliber. 'Her expertise aligns well with our strategic vision, and we're confident she'll play a key role in enhancing the value we deliver to our clients as we continue to grow our platform.' Buck will report to Amber Howard, Chief Operating Officer. She is an active member of the Mortgage Bankers Association's Multifamily Council and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Committee. About X-Caliber Capital Holdings LLC ('X-Caliber') – X-Caliber Capital Holdings is a nationally recognized commercial real estate finance franchise whose affiliate companies provide direct mortgage lending, servicing, advisory, and investment opportunities. Our diverse and growing lending and investment entities support and leverage our expansive and innovative lending platforms that offer FHA, bridge, USDA, and C-PACE financing.
Business Journals
6 days ago
- Business Journals
South Florida ORBIE Leadership Award recipient: For World Fuel's Jeff Smith, innovation and a people-first culture are key to making an impact
Jeff Smith, who retired as chief operating officer of World Fuel Services at the end of 2023, has been named the recipient of the 2025 South Florida ORBIE Leadership Award. The honor recognizes a global career built on pioneering digital transformation and cultivating high-performing teams. Smith's leadership philosophy centers on a simple, yet powerful, idea: Talent and culture are the true differentiators of great companies. As COO of World Fuel Services, he turned that belief into action, cultivating efficiency and dexterity in how the company responded to challenges using LEAN principles and people-first decision-making. That operational precision was forged over more than 35 years of experience across continents and industries — from semiconductors to finance. Smith's career highlights, which he'll share during a keynote address at the South Florida ORBIE Awards celebration June 13 at The Diplomat Beach Resort, are a case study in iteration. At IBM, he led a global IT organization of 20,000 and spearheaded the company-wide Agile transformation. At Allied Signal/Honeywell, he launched a global SAP rollout across 17 countries, cutting projected timelines by more than half through an international team rooted in diversity of thought and unified by a shared goal. At Suncorp, following the economic downturn that started in 2008, he architected a transformation of the company's digital insurance self-service platform. His teams built it using the cloud, making the financial services provider one of the first to use cloud technology. In every challenge, Smith consistently applied what he learned early in his career at LSI Logic: that shared sacrifice, collective learning and scalable simplicity often outperform hierarchical command-and-control. 'My view is you should always give preference to the people doing the work over people leading the work,' he says. 'We're paid a premium to lead, so we should be homing in on creating a productive environment for them.' Smith breaks it down further: 'What does great mean? Is that small teams that are building great software? Does that mean great customer service? Does it mean that we can take a problem and break it up? I've spent my career kind of chasing that — the more you can make it clean and simple, the easier it is to scale.' His formula for high-performing teams prioritizes building diverse teams who are engaged by meaningful work. The work must be distributed at a sustainable pace, and finally, results must be continually measured and tracked. At IBM, he implemented a quarterly leadership review system that evaluated every leader on six tangible dimensions — team formation, work distribution, measurement, talent development, learning from others and influence. He also published Net Promoter Scores for leaders, asking direct reports whether they would recommend their manager or their squad to a peer. The transparency raised expectations and elevated performance across the organization. Smith's influence is still felt globally. He currently serves on the boards of ANZ Bank, PEXA and Sonrai Security. A native of Ohio and graduate of Miami University and San Jose State University, he's lived and led in the U.S., Australia and around the world. And while his accomplishments are many, what sets Smith apart is his ability to scale not just systems, but people. His advice to business leaders aspiring to be true community partners is to believe in the potential of people. He recalls a transformative insight from Steve Jobs, who once shared how Pixar hired musicians and artists to become software engineers because they had the grit and logic to succeed. 'We applied that in South Florida, too,' Smith says, 'creating career paths for people with nontraditional backgrounds. Don't look at it as a cost or as a contribution, that you're there to help people with money. You're there to help them find a great career and have a happy life. If you build the right environment, anyone can thrive.' Asked what makes a great leader, Smith advises not to get caught up in the noise of the company landscape. 'You want to create clarity of purpose, put together a good, productive environment, and inspire people to do great things. It's pretty simple.' From building software that transformed a global semiconductor industry, to reshaping IT at IBM, to coaching next-generation talent in Miami, Smith's legacy is one of clarity, compassion and continuous reinvention. The 2025 South Florida ORBIE Leadership Award celebrates not just a career, but a mindset — one that will continue to shape teams, cultures and companies for years to come.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Yahoo
10 things to know about a potential state prison site in Davison County
Jun. 4—MITCHELL — Great prisons come with great responsibility. The Mitchell City Council, during its regular meeting on June 2, unanimously approved a resolution expressing interest in the construction of a state correctional facility in Davison County. Here are 10 facts and questions discussed about the potential Mitchell prison site. No. 1: The city's resolution shows interest in the prison, but is non-binding The resolution was introduced by council member Tim Goldammer on the eve of a Project Prison Reset Task Force meeting to follow on Tuesday in Pierre. The resolution states that a correctional facility "would create significant economic opportunities, including the creation of stable, well-paying jobs, increased demand for local goods and services, and long-term infrastructure investments." In addition, the resolution cited interest in collaboration to ensure "public safety and community well-being" from local law enforcement, community leaders, the Davison County Commission and economic development organizations. The resolution also promises "open dialogue, careful planning and engagement with residents to ensure that concerns are heard and solutions are implemented." No. 2: A final prison decision will be made in July July 8 is to be the final meeting of the prison search commission, according to Lauritsen. Lauritsen says a special session of the South Dakota legislature will meet on July 22 in regards to the prison. No. 3: Wherever is chosen as a prison site will receive a boost in employee spending. Mitchell Area Development Corporation CEO Mike Lauritsen told the council that a prison will bring an estimated 441 new jobs with an annual payroll of $36.7 million and an average wage between $25 and $30 an hour. The annual operating budget for the new prison is estimated at $55 million per year. Lauritsen said a prison taking three to four years to build allows time to plan ways to address the state's second lowest unemployment rate, but did not go into specifics. "We have an opportunity in front of us to grow this community, for our businesses, for our housing developments," Lauritsen said. No. 4: A third-party ranked Mitchell fourth out of six potential prison sites. A study from Arizona-based Arrington Watkins Architects put the existing Lincoln County site owned by the South Dakota Department of Corrections as the top option. According to a Mitchell Area Development Corporation state prison proposal, a $2.88 million 160 acre potential prison site is located near the Mitchell Regional Landfill, and is owned by James River Farms. The location is outside of Mitchell city limits in Davison County. No. 5: According to Mitchell Mayor Jordan Hanson, those inmates who are from Mitchell will be released to Mitchell. Hanson addressed concerns about released prison inmates ending up in Mitchell, but did not have any official documents from the state promising that other parolees would not be released in Mitchell. Rehabilitation, space and counseling is a big expense for the state with a new prison site, according to Hanson, who says that the present state prison is overcapacity "As far as releasing prisoners, they're going to get paroled back to where they either got arrested originally, where they were tried, or into the larger cities," Hanson said. No. 6: The potential Mitchell site makes for an escape-friendly location. Davison County resident and Mitchell business man Scott Studer reminded the council that the South Dakota Department of Corrections wants the prison site to be away from Interstate 90, a highway, and a waterway. "We just put it at the corner of Jim River, I-90 and Highway 37," he said. "So good luck trying to get them to go for that." No. 7: Davison County residents are concerned that property taxes may rise. Davison County resident Michelle Studer said she lives within 2 miles of the proposed Mitchell site. "You're taking 160 acres out of the tax rolls," Michelle Studer said, "because I'm assuming that the prison is tax exempt. Where's that money going to come from?" No. 8: Davison County residents are concerned that they don't have a say in denying or approving the potential prison site. Mitchell resident Dwight Stadler expressed many concerns, the theme of which is that the prison would increase property taxes in Davison County. "Davison County voters should have a say on a ballot," Stadler said. No. 9. The construction itself will cost almost $1 billion, according to Lauritsen. The $825 million prison built could be placed near another high-cost construction site in Davison County. To put this in perspective, the High Plains Processing soybean plant south of Mitchell, still under construction, is estimated to cost about $500 million. In comparison to the proposed 160-acre prison site, the soybean plant sits on 148 acres. 10. City leaders acknowledge the prison is a dividing topic. Hanson and Lauritsen urged residents to not get heated during the night's discussions. "If we're eliminated (from consideration), we fight (over) nothing. We divide this community for nothing," Lauritsen said. Lauritsen offered to field any questions and pass them on to the South Dakota Governor's Office.
