KOTA Territory NewsStock show creates hundreds of local jobs

Stock show creates hundreds of local jobs

The 35th annual Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo kicks off Friday and the estimated economic impact is already predicted to break records.
But the stock show does more than bring people to the Black Hills, it also employs hundreds of part time workers in the region.

On the brink of retirement, ticket booth worker Becky Mulvaney spends her days behind the glass at the Civic Center.

"My kids are old enough that I wanted to go back to work. It's fun to work here. I have a lot of fun," said Mulvaney.

Mulvaney is just one of the 400 seasonal workers the Civic Center retains for winter event help.

When Stock Show time comes around, that number almost doubles to more than 700 part time employees.

"In the beginning we didn't hire anyone back in the early days...in the mid 80's we had 50 staff, the 90's we had 250 people. And now today, we're hiring an excess of 700 people to help us through. It's amazing how it's grown," said Civic Center General Manager Brian Maliske.

From concession workers to cooks and maintenance staff, Maliske says part time Stock Show positions are in high demand.

"The people who work the stock show come from all walks and measures of life. We have out of luck people, who are unemployed. We have people who have full time jobs at the fire department, police department, or city hall that come work with us...to make a few extra dollars," said Maliske.

With one in ten South Dakotans working a second job to make ends meet, the extra opportunity to make money is a big help.

"It's a good fun place to work. It's a lot of hard work though. During the stock show i usually get a couple more days, couple more hours added on," said part time worker Forrest Sawyer Schrimm.

While most of the workers make minimum wage, it's often their love of agriculture or the Black Hills that draws them in.

"I think a lot of us once we get here, we start working and we end up staying because we like it. It's a lot of fun," said Mulvaney.

"You think of the part staff...we will pump a lot of money into the community. That gets lost on the community sometimes when they think 'oh what about all that traffic and all those cowboys'. Well instead, think about all the money that will also be coming," said Maliske. 

Organizers estimate that 300,000 people will come through the Civic Center over the next two weeks. The estimated economic impact for western South Dakota could reach as high as $40-$50 million dollars.