SPEARFISH — More than 200 women gathered on May 23 to celebrate accomplished businesswomen at the Pivot Great & Small: Celebrating Women in Business Awards Luncheon at the Spearfish Holiday Inn Convention Center.

The 11th annual Outstanding Women In Business Awards was designed to highlight the impact of outstanding businesswomen across the state of South Dakota. South Dakota Center for Enterprise Opportunity West Women’s Business Center recognized the accomplishments of nine finalists for their business acumen and contributions and the four award recipients were announced. Keynote speakers Jennifer Baloun, BankWest and Barb Donat, Mediation Matters took the stage and shared their career and personal stories.

“This year, we had an incredible group of award finalists from varying backgrounds who all brought their unique experiences and talents to the table,” said Carissa Hauck, SD CEO West director. “Seeing the impact these women have on their businesses, organizations, and communities is truly inspiring. They work incredibly hard at what they do, and it is an honor recognizing the finalists and award winners for all they do for South Dakota.”

The 2023 SD CEO winners include:

Enterprising Young Entrepreneur Award: Jesika Floyd, Heartland Home Health in Belle Fourche

Jesika Floyd has poured her heart and soul into caring for community members who need assistance in their home, helping them to maintain a quality of life and dignity while receiving the care they need. She has designed a high-quality environment focusing on work/life balance for her employees and the consideration offered to Heartland Home Health’s clients. Amid everything, Jesika is working to expand into a Hospice Care facility to serve the residents of an underserved community. Her goal is to provide each one the end-of-life care they need and deserve, regardless of their ability to pay.

Enterprising Woman Intrapreneur Award: Lori Finnesand, GROW South Dakota in Sisseton

For the last 32 years, Lori Finnesand has served rural communities through her work at GROW South Dakota. GROW South Dakota is comprised of three separate nonprofit organizations. Lori has been the Co-CEO of GROW South Dakota for 19 years, and she oversees all Economic Development programming. Under her leadership, GROW South Dakota has initiated transformative, positive change to the state. Lori embodies the values of community, equity, inclusion, integrity, and service. During Lori’s time as the Co-CEO, over $81 million has been loaned to 768 small businesses during her tenure, demonstrating the impact she and GROW SD have had on the rural South Dakota economy. The impact is further felt through over 9,800 jobs created or retained in the region during this time.

Enterprising Woman Entrepreneur Award: Allison Russell, Twisted Wire Design in Mitchell

Allison Russell built her business from the ground up in a small, rural community in South Dakota. She filled an unmet creative niche in Mitchell and crafted her own market. She brings community members together through events such as: art shows, open houses, amateur photography classes, and one-day workshops. She has taught workshops for the State Board of Education CTE teacher courses. Allison inspires others to give back with their time, talent, and financial investments to local nonprofit organizations. She is committed to community involvement and education while simultaneously running a successful business through creating fine art for her clients’ homes.

Outstanding Women’s Choice Award: Rhonda Pearcy, Fork Real Community Café in Rapid City

This year marks the second-year attendees could vote during the conference for the Women’s Choice Award. The candidates for this award include our top nine award finalists. This award is designed for the community to choose and recognize a woman they see excelling in their craft and whose story resonates with them.

Rhonda Pearcy is the owner and founder of Fork Real Community Café in Rapid City. Fork Real is a nonprofit Pay-What-You-Can community cafe that offers a welcoming environment and fresh farm-to-table meals dedicated to real people, real food, and real conversations. She has a team of 10 employees; a blended mix of people, including employees from Black Hills Works. Rhonda embraces the opportunity to lead and mentor. She is an excellent example of a person who plans, organizes, and executes multiple tasks and still creates time to meet with everyone who visits her café.

Over 25 women from across the state were nominated. Of these nominees, our nine finalists were:

Enterprising Woman Entrepreneur Finalists

Tammy Hersch, Spearfish Family Optical, Spearfish

Rhonda Pearcy, Fork Real Café, Rapid City

Allison Russell, Twisted Wire Design, Mitchell

Enterprising Woman Entrepreneur Finalists

Lori Finnesand, GROW South Dakota, Sisseton

Jackie Maguire, Ketel Thorstenson, LLP, Rapid City

Alisha Vincent, Dakota Wesleyan University, Mitchell

Enterprising Young Entrepreneur Finalists

Jesika Floyd, Heartland Home Health, Belle Fourche

Marcela Salas, Salas Salsas, Sioux Falls

Marliss Wipf, Marliss’s Cleaning Touch, Aberdeen