BH&B Board of Directors | Presston Gabel | Black Hills & Badlands - South Dakota

BH&B Board of Directors | Presston Gabel

  • BH&B Board of Directors | Presston Gabel

The BH&B Board of Directors plays an important role in the success of the organization by providing strategic oversight, guidance and influence to support the organization’s mission. The board represents diverse members throughout the industry and community and we’d like to introduce them to you!

Name
Presston R. Gabel

Business
The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, SD Inc.

Position
COO/Business Manager

What is your favorite thing about the BH&B?
It brings a lot of different attractions, venues, and other tourism associated companies together. This allows everyone who is a member of BH&B the opportunity to get a better handle on what is happening in the region and tourism as a whole.

What inspired you to choose a career in tourism and hospitality?
Honestly, it was kind of by accident. I was a VP and Banc of America Investments as a financial advisor in NM, and when we moved to SD and I stayed as a financial advisor for a while, and I was just sort of getting burned out. So I answered an ad to write grants and do fundraising at The Mammoth Site, and I just fell in love with the whole industry and everyone I met. That was over seven years ago.

What influenced you to serve on the BH&B Board of Directors?
It allowed me to learn from some brilliant people about an industry that I had never been a part of before. There are decades of knowledge within this industry, and everyone is willing to help in any way they can.

What excites you most about the Association?
The voice that it provides the smaller entities and the ability it provides them to promote their business affordably in markets that without BH&B are probably not obtainable.

What do you wish other people knew about the Association?
How vital it is to not only be a member but be an active member. You need to become involved and tell the Association what it is that you need or what fears you may have. We are all in this together, and when one of us succeeds, we all do. People that visit the state don’t come for one thing. They try to jam in as much as possible. If you aren’t promoting your business through BH&B, I feel like you are missing a large number of potential customers.

What is your hope for the future for BH&B?
That the bylaws are changed and I am not given one year as a chairperson but rather given the title “Lord of Tourism” and I am allowed to stay in that position for life.

What is new, exciting or upcoming in your business or the tourism industry?
The Mammoth Site will not only have a place to purchase snacks this year, but we are building the first Field Station within several hundred miles. This Field Station will allow university and high school students a place to come and do research about the Black Hills in a state of the art lab as well as provide comfortable housing while they visit.

Learn more about Black Hills & Badlands Tourism Association's Board of Directors here.