Family Business Connection

Adam and Brenda Weatherby of Weatherby Inc. share the risks of relocation, generational leadership lessons, and building a resilient culture. Third-generation leaders Adam and Brenda Weatherby share the remarkable 80-year story of Weatherby, Inc., America’s iconic firearms and ammunition brand. Founded in 1945 by Adam’s grandfather, the company began in a California garage before growing into a pr...

Brothers Grant and Spencer Hilbert share how they built Hilbert Farms from scratch, combining grit, YouTube success, and first-generation determination. Grant and Spencer Hilbert are the founders of Hilbert Farms, a first-generation family farm in Central Iowa. But unlike most farming stories, theirs didn’t start on a tractor; it started in the suburbs. Growing up far from their grandparents’ farm...

Ben Soles and Brandee Poland share lessons on leadership, family dynamics, and growing a next-gen business through honesty and shared purpose. Ben Soles and Brandee Poland, second-generation siblings of Soles Enterprises, share how their family business has grown through courage, communication, and collaboration. Founded in 2007 by their parents, the company manufactures tarps for grain elevators...

Rob Everist of L. G. Everist, Inc. shares lessons from 150 years of family business, dynasty trusts, governance, and preparing next-gen leaders.  Rob Everist, a fourth-generation leader at L. G. Everist, Inc., reflects on 150 years of family business resilience, growth, and adaptation. Founded in 1876 as a coal supplier, L. G. Everist has evolved into a diversified enterprise in aggregates, concre...

Scott Stern of Stern Co. shares how stepping back, empowering a non-family CEO, and mentoring his children fuel the company’s next generation. Scott Stern, second-generation leader of Co., reflects on nearly 50 years of family business history and the lessons that come with passing leadership to the next generation.  After decades in the business, Scott recognized the moment had come to step back...

Scott Sletten of JDS Industries shares how employee ownership is shaping his company’s future and why legacy mattered most to his succession plan. Scott Sletten shares how JDS Industries, a thriving wholesale business, started as a local trophy shop, owned and run by his father. In the 1990s, Scott and his father transitioned from retail to wholesale, developing JDS Industries into the 13-warehous...

Toni Sandin of Sandin Law shares how proactive planning, outside facilitation, and tough conversations help families achieve long-term success.  Toni Sandin shares powerful insights on the unique challenges of balancing business dynamics with family relationships. As an estate attorney, CPA, business owner, and second-generation member of her family’s business, Toni understands the value of sound...

Michaela Bearden and Angelika Olsen of InnerWill share how board members can support family businesses through relationship, humility, and hard questions. Michaela Bearden and Angelika Olsen of InnerWill share actionable insights on how to be a strong board member in a family business. They highlight the power of disagreement, why objectivity matters more than loyalty to individuals, and how long-...

Abby Woodford, Vice President and COO of Interim HealthCare, shares how leadership, culture, and communication facilitate effective succession planning. Abby Woodford has lived every phase of her life alongside Interim HealthCare, from doing childhood chores in the office to leading a thriving care team across multiple states. In this episode, Abby opens up about what it’s like to work with siblin...

Megan Green, CFO and General Counsel at Weiler, opens up about returning to her family’s heavy equipment manufacturing business after nearly a decade as a corporate attorney. In this candid conversation, Megan explains how she and her siblings took on unexpected roles—not based on title, but based on where the business needed them most. Her reflections on leading with humility, learning the compan...

Season 2 of Family Business Connection is here! Join host Stephanie Larscheid as she shares real stories from family business owners and next-gen leaders navigating the challenges of working with family—while building lasting legacies. From first-generation founders to fifth- and sixth-generation stewards, each episode delivers insights, operational tips, and encouragement for those in the thick o...

In this episode, we’re joined by both Rick and Sarah Hustead of Wall Drug, a family-owned and operated family business headquartered in Wall, South Dakota. Famous for their free ice water billboards around the world, Rick and Sarah describe how the family expanded the drug store into a landmark roadside attraction through Rick’s grandmother’s advertising suggestion during the Great Depression.  Th...

We welcome Parker Jones, Business Development Manager and third-generation family member of Maguire, a Sioux Falls-based water storage solutions leader with over a century of expertise in water tank and tower construction and maintenance. Parker discusses Maguire’s family employment policy, which fosters intentionality and clarity in developing a lasting business legacy through a shared mission ra...

We welcome T.J. Russell, the chairman and fourth-generation owner of Cloverdale Foods. The Mandan, North Dakota-based food company creates high-quality, flavorful meat products that include bacon, sausage, deli meats, and snacks.  In our conversation, we talked about how the 110-year-old company reached the Century Club and what lessons and philosophies have been handed down through generations. W...

We welcome Tim Meagher, owner and Chief Operating Officer of Vanguard Hospitality, a family business behind some of the most popular restaurants in the Sioux Falls area including Minervas, Grille 26, and Morrie’s Streakhouse.  In our conversation, we talk about how the COVID pandemic caused massive changes to Vanguard’s food suppliers causing the company to pursue partnerships with local producers...

 We welcome Brittney Ray, a fifth-generation owner and chair of E. Ritter & Company, a portfolio of businesses in agriculture, telecommunications, fire and life safety, and information technology services across seven states. In our conversation, we take a deep dive into the Ritter family’s family council from her perspective as a married-in. You’ll hear Brittney describe how she’s navigated being...

On our episode ahead of Father’s Day, we welcome Paul Steffes, Founder and Innovation Advisor of Steffes Companies headquartered in Dickinson, North Dakota. In our conversation, we talk about family and business values and especially integrating innovation into all that Steffes does and stands for. We also discuss what Paul refers to as the OBM Model: Owner/Board/Management and how they all work t...

On our episode ahead of Mother’s Day, we welcome Mary Jo Minor, CEO of Mills Property Management, a property management company in Brookings, South Dakota. In our conversation, we talk about the similarities and differences between Mary Jo’s Gen1 to Gen2 transition and her current Gen2 to Gen3 transition. We also discuss how she approaches being intentional about leading both her family and her fa...

We welcome Lorie Pope, co-president of Nexus Innovations, a management and technology solutions family business that empowers clients for success through strategic solutions. Though Nexus is an expert of innovation in the everchanging technology industry, in this conversation we hear how they are a champion of culture.    In our conversation with Lorie, you’ll hear how their technology business is...

Jake Quasney and Becky Word of Lloyd Companies join Family Business Connection to discuss their roles as key non-family leaders in a family business. Jake is the Chief Operating Officer and Becky is the Chief of Staff of the Sioux Falls-based real estate company offering development, construction, property management, hospitality, and apartments.    We hear their unique perspectives relating to ho...

In our first ever episode, we welcome both Jenn Barlund and Kyle Bender to Family Business Connection. Jenn is the president and Kyle is an executive vice president of Falcon Plastics, a plastic injection molding company based in Brookings, South Dakota. As Gen3 of Falcon Plastics, you’ll hear Jenn and Kyle’s stories of growing up in the business and how they grew from paper shredders as kids to k...