Meet Teri Schmidt, the woman who made selling Sioux Falls her career

Teri Schmidt has always made an effort to get to know people on a personal level, and she uses that positive hospitality to sell Sioux Falls.

Schmidt is the CEO of Experience Sioux Falls and has been part of the organization for nearly 39 years. Formerly known as the Convention and Visitors Bureau, Experience Sioux Falls is responsible for advocating and tracking the economic impact of tourism in the city.

Schmidt sat down with the Argus Leader in an interview to discuss what she does, how she does it and why she thinks Sioux Falls is the best place to be.

Editor's note: This Q&A has been edited for conciseness and clarity.

Q: In your own words, what exactly is Experience Sioux Falls?

A: A lot of people know Experience Sioux Falls as the Sioux Falls Convention and Visitors Bureau, and we’re the official destination marketing organization Sioux Falls. Anything that has to do with tourism and bringing people to the city–whether that’s for a convention, a vacation, a business trip–that’s what we do.

Q: Why the name change?

A: A couple years ago we did a rebranding, which is what a lot of other places in the tourism industry have done. You have Visit Denver, Meet Minneapolis. Well, we really wanted a name that encompasses the feel of the city. We want people to experience Sioux Falls and all it has to offer.

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Q: And how did you join the organization?

A: I actually taught first grade for nine and a half years in the Brandon Valley School District, which I totally loved. I loved the kids. But one day a friend of mine called me and said, “I heard about this position at the Convention and Visitors Bureau, and I think you'd be perfect for it.” My response was, “What's a Convention and Visitors Bureau?” After she told me, I just decided to apply because it sounded fun. And here I am 39 years later, still here. I always say, I used to teach the ABC's and the 1, 2, 3’s. Now I teach the ABC's of Sioux Falls and the 1, 2, 3’s of why we're the best city in America. It's such a great place to live, and I really believe in this community, so it makes it easy to sell.

Q: When you're trying to sell Sioux Falls, what is the first thing that you tell people to convince them to come?

A: The first thing I always do is try to customize it and think, who are they? What are they looking for? What's important to them? It’s a lot of listening about their wants and needs before I start on my big speech in Sioux Falls. If it's a sporting group, their main focus is an arena, or if it's a festival and their main focus is needing four blocks of open street. A convention has to have 200 sleeping rooms attached to the meeting facility, and so on. I always try to zero in on those things, but ultimately at the end of the day, it's who is Sioux Falls? What is Sioux Falls? Why would they like it here? One of the main things is making a warm, friendly welcome and talking about the other friendly people in town. The food scene also blows everybody away – they all love to know about the food scene. Then, of course, we always like to brag in a non-bragging way about how “We're the perfect place for you because of all these things I just said, but also because we've hosted this group and this group and this group very similar to yours, and they loved it here.” At the end of the day, it should be a win-win. A win for our guest and a win for Sioux Falls.

Q: So besides the hospitality, what are some of your favorite things about Sioux Falls?

A: It's an easy community to live in, get around in. We have so many of the same amenities a larger city has when it comes to festivals and events. There's an opportunity for our young people to get out, or to advance their career. Our school systems are strong, and people here care about each other. From a personal standpoint, I think it’s a great place to raise a family. Family is the most important thing to me.

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Q: Who’s all in your family?

A: My husband, Jim, and I raised our two daughters here – one works in Washington D.C. now and the other works here. I also have the cutest grandson in the world, Tobias, who just turned five. Then we had three dogs, but they all passed away.

Q: What kind of dogs did you have?

A: We had three Shih Tzu's and they've all been named Lebanese food names. I’m Lebanese myself and grew up on the food. Our first dog was Grape Leaf, then Tabbouleh and Zahti were the other two.

Q: So when you're not working, what do you like to do in your spare time?

A: Our grandson was the center of our lives before our daughter moved, so Jim and I have found ourselves redefining what we do with our leisure time. We go out with friends a lot. I'm a shopper – I love to shop. I love to get coffee or breakfast with friends. I like to read. I love to travel, although most of my travel is through work.

Q: What are some places you've traveled to?

A: Hawaii is my favorite spot on Earth to vacation, other than Sioux Falls, of course! This job just takes you everywhere – New York, Dallas, Miami, San Francisco. Of course we enjoy the Black Hills and other locations around the country, too, but sometimes it’s nice to come home after a long trip.

Q: What's one thing you want to add to Sioux Falls?

A: Hmm, can I say two things?

Q: Of course.

A: First, I want a larger Convention Center to ensure that Sioux Falls can compete with other cities in the future. We want to make sure these conventions are looking to us when choosing a place to visit. And number two, I want a new visitor center at Falls Park. A true visitor center with videos playing about the history of Sioux Falls, places for people to sit, an area with photographs showing all the history so that the Visitors Center itself can be a destination within Falls Park. And I want Trader Joe's – that's three, haha.

Q: So what is it that keeps you in this position?

A: Honestly, it's so fun to have the opportunity to meet and work with people from every walk of life from all over the United States and internationally. And the competitive side of me loves to sell Sioux Falls and convince people that this is where they want to hold their gathering, and that really keeps me going every day.

Q: Do you see yourself ever wanting to get a different job or do you think you'll kind of stick with this?

A: I think I'll stick with this. As much as I love my job, I actually don't look at it as a job. It's a gift that I've been given to be able to be in this position, and it's a blast. It's a way of life for me, and I love it.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Meet the woman who made selling Sioux Falls her career