This is a paid piece from the Sioux Metro Growth Alliance.

Jeffery Tanner is the executive director of the Canton Economic Development Corporation, and he was recognized this week for his work as a leader in promoting growth in the metro. Tanner received an award from the Sioux Metro Growth Alliance as the 2024 Regional Economic Development Champion during the organization's annual meeting Wednesday evening. He sat down with Sioux Falls Simplified to talk about his work, recent wins for Canton and the teamwork that's making it all happen.

Answers are edited for length and clarity.

What's your background, and how did you find yourself working in economic development?

Tanner: My emphasis is state and local government, and I've always found myself around everything public service. I have served in that capacity for multiple communities in southeastern South Dakota, and I resigned from my last city manager post in 2015.

I then spent two years in the army and have been in the South Dakota Air National Guard since 2018. During that process, I started doing contract work with local governments both in- and out-of-state. That led me to the Canton Economic Development Corporation (CEDC), where I started part-time the summer of 2020.

I've always felt like Canton's had a ton of potential, and it just needed to have some assistance to unlock that potential.

Can you talk a little about what growth in Canton looks like right now and share any projects you're particularly proud of?

The development corporation was directly involved with adding Decker Sales and Equipment into our industrial park with a 30,000-square-foot build out.

• That was just under a $5 million capital expenditure, and it added about 15 jobs to our community.

We've also added contractor shops into the community which have added another seven to 10 jobs.

Dakota Specialty Solutions is another agri-science business in the Canton industrial park which will employ about 15 people. That's also about a $5 million capital expenditure.

In just a short amount of time, we've added significant job growth into the community, and I think the part we're proudest about as a development corporation is that we've done it in not the most ideal economic conditions.

I'm also very proud of our 64-acre housing subdivision project we broke ground on this past fall. That will bring over 80 single-family homes, as well as a significant amount of multi-family housing that will cater to a lot of different income demographics.

Honestly, I think all of us – community leaders, and specifically the CEDC board – really believe that it's the tip of the iceberg, and the best is really yet to come.

What motivates you to do the work you do in economic development?

My passion has always been in helping smaller communities realize their potential. I like to explore vision with anyone and everyone, just putting out ideas to help them decide what to put their energy behind.

If you could wave a magic wand and create a new opportunity for business and industry in Canton, what would it be?

It would be in collaboration with our businesses in the community doing a revisioning and focusing in on downtown Canton but also the entire Fifth Street corridor – U.S. Highway 18 outside of Canton.

Do we think we could do better with what we have, and if so, what does that look like? And then being able to push forward with those ideas and cast vision, put it on paper and then follow through with that.

What does this recognition as SMGA's Regional Economic Development Champion mean to you?

It's very humbling, very inspiring, energizing, all those words.

It's humbling just to hear the feedback that I got from my peers, peers I really look up to, knowing that there's a lot of people deserving of that award and knowing that so many of those people are the reason I received the award to begin with.

It's very honoring because it's a very notable award in our profession, and I'm just honored to have been not only considered for it but chosen.

It's inspiring in that this recognition inspires me to want to go to even greater heights with the work that I do and to continue to learn from my peers and even help them all the more, too.

What we do, and to do it well, requires a lot of personal sacrifice. To be able to do what we do takes support both from professional colleagues and our board of directors, but it also takes personal support on the home front.

Any other thoughts you have on what this recognition means to you?

I just want to thank the Canton Economic Development Corporation, the City of Canton and its citizens and the many people outside of the community that also helped.

• That includes, obviously, SMGA. Our relationship with Tyler (Tordsen, SMGA president and CEO) and his team has been fundamental to our success.
• Also the Governor's Office of Economic Development and the South Eastern Council of Governments – all those groups played a huge part in our success. It truly takes a team.