 Teri Ellis Schmidt and Jim Schmidt (Inertia for the SFBJ) Jim Schmidt is executive director of Sioux Empire Housing Partnership and a Lincoln County commissioner, and Teri Ellis-Schmidt is executive director of the Sioux Falls Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Q: How did you meet? A: Mutual friends introduced us.
Q: How long have you been together? A: We will be married 10 years in April.
Q: How do you balance your work and home lives? Jim: It’s very difficult. The demands of a job, an elected position, and a family – to keep it all in balance and keep priorities straight is difficult. Teri: It’s really hard at times. I maintain a detailed schedule for work and for home, plus a “family schedule” hangs on our fridge. I do everything I can to give 300 percent while I’m at work and then shift gears to home priorities when I get home. And then once everybody’s settled in after dinner, I do things like laundry while I work on CVB (Convention & Visitors Bureau) priorities during the evening. I have lists everywhere so I can keep everything straight!
Q: What is your favorite vacation spot? Jim: The Black Hills.
Teri: Hawaii, although we’ve only taken two vacations in the past 10 years.
Q: Do you have children or pets? A: We have two daughters: One is a college junior and the other is a high school senior; AND! We have two shih tzus!
Q: Any plans for Valentine’s Day? Teri: We usually go out for a quiet dinner, and of course, the girls always have to make sure Jim gets his chocolates!
Jim: Dinner – and flowers and cards for the girls!
Q: Who maintains your calendar at home? Teri: I do. We have a “family calendar” on the fridge that I try to keep up-to-date with everybody’s schedules, plus we try to go over schedules every Sunday so everybody knows what’s coming up for the week and month ahead.
Q: About how many events do you attend a month as a couple? A: We both go to so many events related to our jobs, it’s hard to count them all – going as a couple, maybe 10 or 12. It’s funny, though – and people who know us get a real laugh out of the fact that when we do go to an event as a couple, we go there together and the minute we hit the door, we find ourselves splitting up and talking to everyone there, and the minute it’s time to sit down, we both end up right there! It’s always been that way, and it’s actually really fun. Sometimes we run into each other as we’re mingling!
Q: Are people surprised when they learn you are a couple? Jim: No.
Teri: Not usually. Once in awhile, I’ll run into someone who doesn’t realize it, but most people know.
Q: Do you have any advice for other professional couples? Jim: That people need to be realistic about knowing the reality of professions – that it isn’t just 8 to 5 – that many evenings and weekends are required. Teri: Get a cell phone! With schedules as wild and crazy as ours, some days the cell phone is the only way to keep up! And be willing to turn the cell phone off when you get home so you can make family your priority. Also, stay connected and communicate. Jim and I have so much in common professionally that it makes it easy for us to talk about our work anytime, anywhere! And take time to do other things, whether it’s around the house or going to a movie together – just time to “be.”
Q: Do your professional lives challenge or enhance your relationship and how? A: Both. Our professional lives challenge our relationship at times when our schedules are so busy that we can hardly keep up, or when we get so busy fulfilling work obligations that there’s very little time at home. On the other hand, our professional lives enhance our relationship because we both have public positions that require a lot of community activity, and we both love that part of it and totally enjoy the business of working to make the Sioux Falls area a better place to live and work. Additionally, we both feel very fortunate to have the professions and jobs we have, and have a true passion for what we do. We seem to motivate each other and at the same time, keep each other balanced when we need to!
Q: Is one of you more of a workaholic than the other? Jim: We’re equal.
Teri: We’re both pretty bad, to be honest. It’s hard for both of us to stop and just relax. Only two real vacations in 10 years, that’s bad! But! I really think Jim is worse. He has a full-time job with the Housing Partnership, is a county commissioner and farms several hundred acres! His cell never quits ringing, and if he does sit down to relax, he falls asleep because he’s so exhausted! Ha Ha. |
