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About

Providing a resource network for family business success

Our Purpose

To help family businesses thrive through generations

Prairie Family Business Association, an outreach center of the Beacom School of Business at the University of South Dakota, is the premier resource for family businesses to grow, engage, transition and prosper. We provide family businesses with the tools to succeed through high quality education and collaboration. Family businesses are provided a platform to achieve harmony and longevity.

The Association was founded in 1993 as South Dakota Family Business Initiative through the School of Business at the University of South Dakota. Today, some of the founding members of the association are still active – as are the next generation of those founding families.

An innovation center for family businesses, Prairie Family Business Association now serves members across the region, including in South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, and beyond. We are proud to support more than 200 family businesses and their advisors, helping them survive and thrive in their second and third generations and beyond. We recognize family businesses are vital to our local economies.

We are honored to help our member families succeed today and plan for the future.

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Members

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Professional Advisors

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Affinity Peer Groups

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Sponsors

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States

2020 Snapshot

See the full 2020 Snapshot here.

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Company Size

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Affinity Peer Groups

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Membership by State

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Our Team

stephanie larscheid

Stephanie Larscheid

Executive Director
Stephanie served as Executive Director of PFBA from 2015 – 2018 and has returned in 2019 to lead the Association. She has a proven record of building relationships with members and developing programs that add value to family businesses. Stephanie earned her undergraduate degree from Iowa State University Ivy College of Business and a MBA from the University of South Dakota Beacom School of Business.
Rebecca Zabel

Rebecca Zabel

Business Development
Rebecca has been with Prairie Family Business since 2017 and brings experience building relationships and engaging members through PFBA’s programs. Rebecca has a background in higher education and non-profit administration and she is currently pursuing her MBA through the University of South Dakota Beacom School of Business.
Alex Patnaud

Alex Patnaud

Program Assistant & Office Manager
Alex joined the Prairie Family Business Association in Fall 2020. She earned her undergraduate degree from Briar Cliff University in Iowa and has a varied background in medical records, customer service, and library services. She is excited to join the team and connect with members.

Advisory Board

mark moffatt

Mark Moffatt, Chair

Moffatt Products, Inc.
Watertown, SD
eric weisser

Eric Weisser, Vice Chair

Weisser Distributing
Tea, SD
Tura Synhorst

Tura Synhorst, Past Chair

Coca-Cola Bottling Co. High Country
Rapid City, SD
DeVee Dykstra

De Vee Dykstra, Treasurer

University of South Dakota
Vermillion, SD
stacey thomas

Stacey Thomas, Secretary

Specialized Cleaning & Restoration
Bismarck, ND
tiffany anderson

Tiffany Anderson

A-OX Welding Supply
Sioux Falls, SD
Jay Bender

Jay Bender

Falcon Plastics, Inc.
Brookings, SD
aaron canfield

Aaron Canfield

Canfield Business Interiors
Sioux Falls, SD
Christie Ernst

Christie Lloyd Ernst

Lloyd Companies, Inc.
Sioux Falls, SD

TJ Russell

Cloverdale Foods
Mandan, ND
Scott Schneidermann

Scott Schneidermann

Frontier Bank
Rock Rapids, IA
Paul Steffes

Paul Steffes

Steffes Corporation
Dickinson, ND
Denise Tollefson

Denise Tollefson

Serenity Assisted Living
Dilworth, MN
Venky Venkatachalam

Venky Venkatachalam

University of South Dakota
Vermillion, SD

Watch Our

25th Anniversary Video Feature

Do you work in a family business?

Ready to take the first step on membership? Or need more information? We'd love to chat with you more about the benefits your family business will receive.

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