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South Dakota Fire Instructors Conference - 2026

January 9, 2026 6:00 PM - January 11, 2026 12:00 PM (CST)

Description

LOOK FOR REGISTRATION LATE 2025!

BE SURE TO SCROLL DOWN AND READ ENTIRE PAGE - THIS YEARS CLASS DESCRIPTION, INSTRUCTORS BIO AND SAMPLE VIDEOS BELOW

Membership dues in the Society are per calendar year (Jan 1st-Dec 31st).  As a reminder in order to be eligible for the insurance coverage the Society provides to its members, dues must be paid by January 15th.

REMINDER:  Dues must be paid by January 15th to be eligible for the insurance coverage.

PLEASE PAY DUES PRIOR TO REGISTERING FOR THE CONFERENCE - If you did not get a dues notice send your name/contact information to Rick Gustad @ SCDir@sdfirefighters.org and we will get that straightened out.

If you wish to attend the Conference on January 9th-11th, those that are current PAID members of the Instructors Society will be able to register for the Conference at NO-COST.  Non-Members will also be able to register for the conference, as its open to anyone in the fire service.  This allows us to easily separate membership billing and conference registration.  It is vital that you pre-register for the conference as that information is also what's used to send Certificates and it also allows us to better calculate quantity of refreshments needed for the Venue.

If you are NOT attending the conference there is no need to register for the conference - THIS IS A CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEARS.  You just need to pay the invoice that was sent for your South Dakota Society of Fire Service Instructors Membership Dues

Pre-Registration will also help prevent the large backlog of people at the registration desk the morning of the conference.  If you have PRE-REGISTERED and PRE-PAID you do NOT need to stop at the registration desk.

Thank you for supporting your South Dakota Society of Fire Service Instructors.

Stay Healthy. Stay safe.


Justin Adams

South Dakota Society of Fire Service Instructors - Secretary

Thank you for your continued support and partnership. We are looking forward to continued success because of your membership.  Also, don't forget to checkout our Facebook Page.

Conference Speakers Topics:

The Functional Fire Company

  • "Chief Thompson combines his decades of experience and years of observation with today's leadership skills and provides a path for the successful fire department to follow. The Functional Fire Company will take you step by step from being an ordinary fire department to one that defines excellence." - Risk Lasky, Fire Chief (ret.) Texas

Training Basics & Essentials

  • This program focuses on company level training basics and essentials. We will focus on zero cost drills that have proven effective at the company level. In addition, we will discuss the training season concept, making training personal, mentoring, and the training process for skill acquisition. Finally, the presentation will talk about the need for performance standards and a proven method for developing performance standards.

About Chief Scott Thompson

Chief Thompson joined the volunteer fire service in 1981. He began his paid career in Plano, TX in 1986. Over the course of his career, he has worked with several progressive fire service organizations. Chief Thompson is passionate about suburban fire operations and positioning firefighters and fire companies for success and survival. He has a Bachelors of Science in Emergency Administration and Disaster Planning and is a certified public manager (CPM). Thompson has been a hands-on, workshop, and classroom presenter at the Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) since 2002. In additional to writing The Functional Fire Company: Positioning Small Groups for Success and Survival, he has written numerous published articles. Thompson is currently the fire chief in The Colony, Texas Fire Department and he owns and operates Functional Fire Company LLC and fireserviceleadership.com. Thompson has two sons in the fire service.


South Dakota State Fire Marshal's Office - Update from Staff Members

South Dakota Firefighters Association - Update of SDFA Happenings

Click Here to Download the minutes from the 2025 South Dakota Society of Fire Service Instructors Membership Meeting


Time


A Social will be held Blarney's Sports Bar and Grill - 2100 Highland Way, Suite W, Mitchell, SD  57301 beginning approximately 6:00PM


Registration desk will open ~7:00am on Saturday.  Please PRE-REGISTER to avoid the long lines the morning of the Conference.  If you have pre-registered and pre-paid your Membership in the South Dakota Society of Fire Instructors you DO NOT NEED TO STOP at the registration desk

Saturday

  • Conference presentations will begin ~8:00am on Saturday - The Functional Fire Company - Scott Thompson

Sunday

  • Conference presentations will begin ~8:00am on Sunday - Training Basics and Essentials - Scott Thompson followed by SDSFSI Membership Meeting

Location

Highland Conference Center


The Conference will the held at the Highlands Conference Center which sits between the Hampton Inn and the Comfort Inn & Suites

There are rooms blocked at both the Hampton Inn Mitchell as well as the Comfort Inn & Suites Mitchell I-90, be sure to mention the South Dakota Fire Instructors Conference when making reservations.

Hampton Inn Mitchell

1920 Highland Way, Mitchell, SD  57301 - +1 605-995-1575


Comfort Inn & Suites Mitchell I-90

2020 Highland Way, Mitchell, SD  57103 - (605) 299-1258


Pricing

Membership/Conference cost is $35.  Members in good standing of the South Dakota Society of Fire Service Instructors will be given a $30 discount off registration cost.

An early registration discount of $5 will be given to anyone registering before the deadline

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Contact Information

South Dakota Society of Fire Service Instructors
Name: Justin Adams
Email: justina672@gmail.com

If you have already setup a login via our new website, use those credentials and LOGIN to ensure member benefits and discounts are applied (setting up a login via the website is the best way to ensure you get accurate member discounts, but your e-mail needs to be in our system to setup a login).  

If not using a login, click on Register as Guest then enter your email address and press GO.  If your email is in our system it will recognize you if not continue by filling our all required fields.  If you have used multiple e-mail addresses in the past you may try those as well.  If the system does not recognize you and will not apply the Member discount; send an email to Rick Gustad @ SCDir@sdfirefighters.org with your name, email, and department and we'll get you setup.  Depending on Rick's workload and schedule at the time it may take a day or two to get back to you.

It is VERY important to use individual email addresses for everyone you register, this verifies membership status with the SDFA so appropriate discounts levels are applied.  It also enables every individual with your Department/Agency access to our NEW Members INFO HUB resource and allows us to communicate any last minute changes to event schedules, class offerings/cancellations, changed PPE requirements etc...  

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