Prior awarded fellowship

Jeff Prior, owner of Dakota Greens of Custer, recently received a 2012 Dakota Rising Fellowship after partners at Dacotah Bank mentioned joining the Southern Hills on the Rise group — a local community group of a state program called Dakota Rising. Southern Hills on the Rise encompasses both Fall River and Custer counties. 

The program is for business entrepreneurs who help facilitate personal and executive level growth, community involvement, economic development and sustainable quality of life improvements throughout rural South Dakota communities — something Dakota Greens fits. 

“We became involved in late 2011 when Dacotah Bank mentioned the upcoming fellowship recruitment and how Dakota Greens fits the mold of applying for this program,” Prior said.

In addition, Southern Hills on the Rise also works with youth in the communities of these two counties and budding entrepreneurs, involving them and encouraging them on their path to business success. 

Family-owned Dakota Greens started in 1999 as a roadside flower stand on the family property until 2004, when the nursery and greenhouse business began to steadily grow. Now Dakota Greens retails a full line of garden plants and supplies the city’s hanging gardens every spring. 

Prior completed an application, wrote a business plan and submitted it for review. Southern Hills site coordinator Cindy Turner liked the plan and visited Prior.

“She has guided us successfully through the many segments of the application to the final announcement of the fellowship and membership to the 2012 class,” Prior said.