Jodi’s Journal: Saying thanks at Smithfield is a start toward building community

May 24, 2020

“What do we do about this?”

The question, which I’m paraphrasing, arrived via email to what I think was a group of us in the media late on a Friday at the end of one of the toughest weeks this community has faced so far battling COVID-19.

Attached was a photo taken of the front door of a business that asked those who worked at Smithfield and their families not to come in.

What do we do about it? I wasn’t sure. Do I call the business? Share the photo?

It was really tempting to call out the business. But I didn’t want to make a bad situation worse. I really didn’t want to see more businesses follow suit, closing out a population that already had more than its share of challenges to deal with during the pandemic.

This is one example of what the approximately 3,700 employees of Smithfield have had to endure in the past two months. I’ve lost count, but I am thinking easily one in three of them contracted COVID-19. Many of their loved ones did too. Some of their colleagues even lost their lives.

They were forced to isolate in their homes. Their workplace closed. Many of them navigated this with little or even no command of English.

Then, I’m guessing even when they returned to work, it was with some trepidation. How could it have not been? Even though I think massive improvements have been made to their working conditions, it still had to be unsettling at best walking back in and not knowing exactly what awaited you.

So when some friends and I began discussing Smithfield recently, we came to quick agreement that something should be done to show these employees they’re a valued part of our community. So with a group text, an online event signup and lots of one-on-one outreach, Erica Beck, Catherine Dekkenga, Natalie Eisenberg and Kristen Thorkelson and I put the Smithfield Employee Appreciation together in about one week.

I deliberately did not make a big, public deal out of this. I talked a little bit about it on my personal social media account but left it off our business one. I chose to write about it this week instead of last.

The goal was not to create a big media event or make a political statement of any kind. It was simply to gather some like-minded volunteers when the employees changed shifts and give them a visible reminder that we appreciate the work they do.

It was by far the highlight of my week.

I wasn’t sure how the employees would react, but underneath my mask, I smiled back at them the entire hour.

They waved at us, honked their horns, gave us thumbs-up signs and grinned.

When you think about it, the population of Smithfield is equal to or greater than the community of Dell Rapids, Hartford or Canton.

If an entire community like that had gone through what these workers had, I know we would be there to support our friends and neighbors.

It should be no different with the employees of Smithfield – a community within our community.

In the past couple of months, you’ve no doubt heard some pretty sad, frustrating and frightening stories about them and their employer.

There have been issues that needed addressing in the past, and the initial approach to mitigating COVID-19 absolutely is one of them. But there are great stories to be told there too. There always have been. It’s just too bad the company has been so reluctant for so long for nearly any of us in the media to tell them.

I would love to introduce you to the many first-generation Americans who are building a life for themselves and their children here thanks to their jobs at Smithfield.

I would love you to meet the managers who lead some of the most diverse teams I bet you’ll find anywhere in America.

Last year, I had the rare opportunity to interview Smithfield’s CEO, Ken Sullivan, and it was a good conversation.

He talked about how when he visits the Sioux Falls plant “everyone is saying hello to you. They look you in the eye.”

Smithfield was in the midst of about $100 million in new investment in the 110-year-old plant.

“A huge reason, a big reason, the reason almost that we’ve chosen to continue to do business here and invest here … is the workforce,” Sullivan told me.

“We have a tremendous workforce in Sioux Falls. We’ve really fostered an environment where people are engaged. When you have hourly employees, to get engagement is really difficult, and when you’re able to do that, the magic happens.”

Good stuff, right? And I do think it was genuine. The Sioux Falls operation has a tremendous, well-deserved reputation within the broader company.

It’s painful to acknowledge because I wish they had not gone through this, but it should be said that the Smithfield employees helped this community learn how to handle COVID-19. They were among the first patients in our hospitals. They were the reason we received additional state and federal support to increase our testing. They participated as we coordinated one of the largest screening events in this country a few weeks ago. I hope we never deal with a hot spot or coronavirus flare-up again. But if we do, we will be better equipped to respond because of these employees.

Before the employees were called back to work this month, I reached out multiple times asking if I could tour the plant – with a camera – to show you and most of all to show them how the conditions had changed. My request didn’t go anywhere.

I’d still like to go inside. I’d like to tell that story. But it was just as important to stand outside with dozens of others, waving from a distance and holding a sign that said “thank you” in 10 languages.

So I go back to the original question: “What do we do about this?”

The signs were a simple start.

But the small city that is Smithfield needs to become more integrated into this community. It was important that the employees see others from Sioux Falls recognizing their work. And it’s important that Sioux Falls get to know the men and women of Smithfield for reasons beyond their work.

How great would it be, my group said, if we could make connections between Smithfield families and other Sioux Falls families? If you could get to know someone whose life is so different from your own but who shares your same city? What if we opened a door instead of closing one?

I have one more small idea how this could start. Here is a copy of the graphic we put on signs and billboards to thank Smithfield workers. It says “thank you” in some of the many languages spoken at the plant:

I know many of you have kids now done with school and looking for some activities. We would like to collect 3,700 handmade thank-you cards that we can hand to employees at Smithfield as they go into work one day soon. Adults, you’re welcome to make one too. Your cards can be delivered to the lobby of City Hall, 224 W. Ninth St., during normal business hours, where the security team will collect them.

Based on the reactions I saw from employees last week, they will keep those cards. So let’s take one more small step toward showing these employees they’re a valued part of Sioux Falls. Long after the virus is gone, that will help the health of this community.

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Jodi’s Journal: Saying thanks at Smithfield is a start toward building community

We kept it low-key but it seemed to speak volumes — saying a simple “thank you” to the employees of Smithfield.

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