Our Team - Black Hills Bud, LLC

our management team

calvin reilly

chief executive officer

My business experience started at the age of 19 when I got my first restaurant general manager position. I worked in the industry for about 40 years during which time I became familiar with opening up new units, taking over negative units. I have learned the importance of hiring correctly, training, scheduling, food and labor costs. The combination of those expenses combined with the fixed expense to make a profit and what is involved. During my tenure I experienced the restaurant business had an average 416% turnover, during my time as a manger I averaged 67%; so, I understand people.

chief financial officer

My background is a bit diverse. I spent several years working in the hospitality/restaurant industry in many different capacities for several different restaurants throughout South Dakota and Arizona. During those years I developed strong customer service skills and a good work ethic. I may also add that I learned the value of managing a dollar to get everything possible out of it both professionally and personally.

Those skills translated well into the next stage of my career as a Realtor.
I spent 10 years as a residential real estate agent in Glendale AZ for Molly Bridgeman Realty, INC. During that time, I was consistently a top producer handling dozens of transactions each year. My business grew an average of 25% each year. I experienced lots of twists and turns in that market and always found a way to make it work.

During those years I helped my wife raise her 4 children and we ended up adopting one of her biological grandchildren.

After my tenure in the real estate industry, I decided to relocate my family back to South Dakota where I grew up. I wanted them to experience the quality of life that South Dakota has to offer.

I was very quickly recruited into the family business and have spent the past 15 years helping grow and develop Giant Rubber Water Tanks, INC into a profitable multimillion-dollar business.

Giant Rubber Water Tanks, INC re-purposes primarily used mining equipment tires into cattle watering tanks. We are very proud of the hard work and ingenuity that has helped our family turn this recycling project into a thriving business.
I manage day to day operations, billing, logistics, bookkeeping, scheduling as well as coordinate sales with over 140 dealers nationwide. My duties also include developing and maintaining relationships with tire resources as well as manufacturing outlets and tire recyclers. Budgeting and negotiating the financials.

Giant Rubber Water Tanks, INC has been a long-time supporter of many diverse community projects and offered scholarships to the community as well and consistently supported local children’s programs within the local school district.

Now my children are grown and it’s time for the next chapter. With this new venture I hope to be able to continue the tradition of supporting children in the local community and broaden the spectrum of that support by specifically focusing on supporting programs that offer aid to children with developmental disabilities and children in foster care.

I’m ready to take on yet another family venture in the growing cannabis industry. I’ve long had a passion for the values and lifestyle that South Dakota offers but one thing that is lacking In South Dakota is good jobs and I’m really excited to be able to have an impact on that by offering South Dakota residents the opportunity to work in an industry with lots of room to grow and develop. I firmly believe in the ingenuity of South Dakotan’s and am highly excited to watch what each person we are able to employ through Black Hills Bud LLC brings to the table and see them explore their potential.

elizabeth dallenbach

executive director of compliance

From a young age I found I really enjoyed interacting with people. So, like most, I started my career off in the customer service industry. One thing that really surprised me was I seemed to excel in the areas of conflict resolution with angry customers and could easily resolve whatever issue there was, regardless of the validity of the complaint. I found I had a way of dealing with people where at the end of the conversation, all parties walked away if not happy, at least content with the outcome.

In 2004 I received my Associates in Applied Science Degree in CAD Drafting Technology and started my drafting career in the structural field with KPFF Consulting Engineers. I spent two and a half years creating blueprints for many multi- million-dollar projects including the Surprise Waste-water Treatment Plant, the Arizona Archives Building, a science lab for Arizona State University, the Emergency Deployment Areas for Sky Harbor International Airport as well as many others.

While working for KPFF I decided to further my education and in 2006 I received my Bachelors of Science Degree in Technology Management and was training to also help in the IT Department when I moved on to a new opportunity.

After moving on from KPFF, I landed my absolute favorite job as a GIS Land Mapper for APS, one of the two major electric companies in Arizona. This position not only helped me sharpen the skills I already had, it really helped hone my research skills as I was always searching for plats and property deeds to accurately map out the needed land parcels as well as find if there were any updates or changes that needed to be made within the existing database. I will always be thankful for the time I spent with this company.

For the past few years, I have been a stay-at-home mom. It has probably been one of the hardest, frustrating and the absolute most rewarding jobs I have done to date. My husband and children are the light of my life and I wouldn’t trade a single day (even the hard ones) with them for anything in the world.
While most of my family is grown, I still have two smaller children at home which is what helped fuel the decision to relocate from the busy City of Phoenix to the more family friendly environment of Belle Fourche, SD. I wanted to be able to explore the State I was born in with my little ones as well as be closer to my family that lives here. It has been a decision neither my husband nor myself has regretted. We love what this state and this town have to offer.

I remember being in grade school and attentively listening to the D.A.R.E. Officers talk about all drugs and how cannabis is a gateway drug that everyone starts with. It was ingrained in me from a young age that drugs destroy lives and families. As an adult and thanks to scientific research, I now know that is not true. I am aware of the benefits cannabis has for helping people who have chronic pain and mental health conditions. I have seen firsthand how it has helped so many people I have come into contact with over the years.

One of my best friends was diagnosed with Schizoid-affective disorder, a condition that combines mood disorders with paranoid schizophrenia, and I have watched how cannabis helped her manage the condition. To quote her “It helps calm the voices in my head that tell me to hurt myself.” I have seen friends who had almost crippling anxiety go out and live normal lives. My father, who is Diabetic and has neuropathy in both his legs, has used cannabis to help manage his chronic pain. I have seen friends that have severe rage issues hold down jobs and be better, less angry people. I, myself have used it to help with chronic pain in my lower back from a botched epidural as well as help with my Delayed Phase Sleep Disorder. As someone who really got into naturopathic medicine and herbology, I truly believe in the product we sell and know the benefits it provides. I have seen all the good responsible use of this plant can do to help people live an almost normal life. Cannabis has so many health benefits without all the side effects as traditional prescription medications.

When my father and Uncle decided to get into the medical cannabis industry, I really wanted to get on-board. Not only do I get the opportunity to work closely with my amazing family, I get to help a lot of people in a way that makes me feel good about it.

gayle reilly

head of manufacturing

I have little to no business experience. My experience is in helping people. I have worked in the Child Welfare system for over 20 years both in NY and SD. I have seen what drug and alcohol addictions can do to people and families. What I have rarely seen is how marijuana use has negatively impacted a child’s safety. If the family was affected, it was most likely because the parent had received criminal charges for possessing or using marijuana – again the child’s safety was rarely at risk.