Wall Drugs Sarah Hustead elected president of South Dakota Retailers Association [Video]

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – Members of the South Dakota Retailers Association elected Wall Drug Vice President Sarah Hustead as the organization’s new president last week.

“She was moving along in the hierarchy, but it’s a huge honor,” Rick Hustead, Sarah’s father, said. “They haven’t had a woman in that role in 38 years.”

Sarah says prioritizing business development in smaller communities will be a priority for her.

“The more locally owned businesses we can get in those small towns is really important,” she explained.

Wall Drug, the Hustead family business for four generations, is a good example. Once a struggling business in the Great Depression, Wall Drug saw an economic boom when Sarah’s great-grandparents built a sign advertising free ice water outside the store. Since then, several other signs advertising the business have popped up along Interstate 90 and as far away as Europe. According to Wall Drug’s website, more than two million people stop by each year.

Hustead says she hopes to …