The 2nd Annual J.R. Loiseau Memorial Pheasant Hunt was a sold-out event, and this year, it included a special addition: a South Dakota Department of Transportation Hall of Honor Banquet.
The hunt has become a gathering for those who knew and loved the late Jim Loiseau, who passed away in a tragic accident in 2022. The event also serves as a way to support a scholarship fund for South Dakota students entering the trades.
Loiseau, a native of rural Egan, worked several trade jobs after high school, including road construction. He moved around the region during those early years, but eventually returned home to Moody County, officially launching his own company in the fall of 1975.
With help from family and friends, Loiseau Construction began to grow. In 1987, after incorporating, Jim took on his first Department of Transportation project — and never looked back.
The company has since completed more than $30 million in road work across the state and now employs over 100 South Dakotans.
“He built that construction company by showing up to work every day,” said Shaw Loiseau, current president of Loiseau Construction.
“He never asked anyone to do anything he wouldn’t do. He was the first on the job each day, and usually the last one to leave.”
South Dakota Department of Transportation Secretary Joel Jundt spoke about Loiseau’s contributions as he announced his induction into the Transportation Hall of Fame. He praised Loiseau for his work and his commitment to investing in his employees to “grow the next generation of roadbuilders.”
Speaking to the family and the crowd gathered Thursday night at the Janklow Community Center in Flandreau, Jundt said, “We, as citizens of this state, and our transportation system are better for all of the things he was able to do.”
Inducted alongside the late Loiseau this year was the late Jim Myers, former SDDOT Director of Railroads and Transportation Secretary.
