“If someone would have told me 20 years ago I’d be in the dirt business, I would have told them they were crazy,” proclaimed Gerry Adolph of Summit, South Dakota. But then none of the adventures the Adolph family experienced over the past two decades were ever in ‘the plan’. Ms. Adolph was originally a regional publisher for the newspaper business in California and at that point knew very little about dirt, other than it stuck to her shoes when it got wet, but her career led to a series of moves around the United States. “Roughly every three years we moved. Minnesota, Nebraska, California, Michigan, Alabama were all a place of residence at some point in time for the Adolph family, but South Dakota was home,” she declared. Gerry’s husband, Barth, was a South Dakota native with a family homestead just south of Summit. In the 1990’s, Barth had invested in an excavator and started a drag line service made up mostly of stock dam work. Gerry recalls this being their first real experience with the business of ‘dirt’.
In 2005, life was quiet in the Midwest, but not on the southern coasts. Hurricanes Rita and Katrina had dealt their devastating blows and crews were being summoned to assist with the cleanup. Gerry and her two sons, Nick and Mike, along with a friend of the family packed up for a six month commitment to hurricane recovery. That particular decision led to the official formation of Skyview Construction, LLC.
Once in Louisiana and through a strange turn of events, this South Dakota recovery crew soon began setting up FEMA trailers and providing temporary housing to hurricane victims. “It was a learning experience, but what it did for Skyview was gave us access to and experience with government contracts,” Gerry explained. Upon returning to Summit, the Adolph family was able to build on this experience and found a niche in seeding and erosion control work. More dirt work! “At first, equipment had to be leased and we had to start bidding jobs, but from that point on we jumped in with both feet,” added Gerry’s youngest son, Mike. The work load grew quickly and comprised of private and public contracts. Skyview was soon earning a good number of Department of Transportation (DOT) bids for seeding and erosion control work at airports, water/sewer plants, landfills and a whole lot of highway medians.
Because the flow of contract work for those in the world of dirt can fluctuate based on the season (summer vs. winter) and the availability of government funding, it was evident Skyview needed to diversify their business lines. Real estate and rental properties were the direction they chose to go. They also launched a digital service called ‘VoiceBig.com’, which allows interested parties to send letters to government officials about important topics.
“Real estate was a way to invest in the community of Watertown, utilize our construction skills and provide a steady income during the winter months when we were slow,” clarified Mike Adolph.
Growth and expanding business lines was all good news for Skyview, but the need for additional financing soon arose. Skyview started out with a traditional big bank and eventually moved to a regional bank, but both left them missing the feel of a ‘partnership’. Gerry recalls it being too many layers to deal with and difficult to get approvals. It was in 2010 the Adolphs discovered Dakotaland Federal Credit Union in Brookings. “We wanted a mutually beneficial relationship with our bank and what we have with Dakotaland feels like a true partnership. We can share ideas and discuss plans knowing we will get a response based on a vested interest in our success,” added Gerry.
So what’s next? Skyview currently has six employees and Gerry admits she and Barth can finally see retirement in their future. “Barth and I love to be a part of the dirt business, but we are getting ready to turn it over to our sons and work when we want to,” declared Gerry. Skyview took their seeding and erosion control services into North Dakota several years ago and are slowly moving over the border into Minnesota. Needless to say, the adventure is far from over for this family–built business and with the addition of the Watertown Branch, Skyview is comfortable knowing Dakotaland is prepared to play in the dirt.
