News

Black Hills Business Development Center Hires CEO

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bob DeMersseman, President
343-1880

The Rapid City Economic Development Foundation Board announces James Mirehouse has been hired as the CEO for the Black Hills Business Development Center (BHBDC), a technology related business incubator to assist Black Hills area entrepreneurs.

Mirehouse holds a Bachelor of Science Business degree, is a graduate of the Department of Defense senior officer War College and many commercial banking and professional development courses. After retiring from the United States Air Force, he began his banking career in Montana, eventually earning the position of Regional Manager of South Dakota. He is currently a member of NAJA Shrine, Past President of the South Dakota Bankers Association and has served on various economic development boards. He currently serves on the Regional Northern Great Plains Inc., Children’s Care Hospital/School, Genesis Equity Fund LLC, Phase Technologies LLC, Laguna Tuna LLC and the Rapid City Health Center boards. He is and will remain the CEO of the Genesis Equity Fund, LLC.

The Incubator is currently being built on the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology campus with construction scheduled to be completed in June, 2006.

The Center will provide quality, affordable space to start-up companies and those businesses with growth potential. It will offer office, lab and light manufacturing space for lease. The new facility will help develop existing resources at the SDSM&T as well as other private research being conducted in western South Dakota.

The facility will be a 40,000 square foot, one story facility that will be owned and operated by the Rapid City Economic Development Foundation. The Black Hills Business Development Center will have the specific task of starting and growing innovative high growth companies. The incubator will facilitate the networking between researchers, entrepreneurs, public entities, and private professionals to develop ideas and inventions into commercial applications. This will create business, hence jobs in the Rapid City area to promote economic development.

The facility will house West River Small Business Development Center, Rapid City Economic Development Partnership, the regional representative for the Governor’s Office of Economic Development All these resources in one location will create a one-stop shop where entrepreneurs can be assisted from the research phase through the commercialization phase.