Remember Who Planted the Tree
There's a Vietnamese proverb my family carries, “Ăn quả nhớ kẻ trồng cây — When you eat fruit, remember who planted the tree." I shared it at a candidate forum on historic preservation. But it's been on my mind all week — because it's the right frame for both rooms I was in.
Thursday: The Chamber Morning Mingle
Last Thursday, I joined fellow candidates at the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce Morning Mingle. Business owners, entrepreneurs, civic leaders — people who have built something here and have real stakes in how this city grows.
I told them about 1993. A copy of Money Magazine. My parents choosing Sioux Falls not because they had connections here, but because the data said this was the best place in America to start a business. My dad working the lines at Morrell's until they saved enough to open the first Vietnamese restaurant in town. Me growing up behind that counter, learning what it means to build something from nothing in a city that believed in you.
Sioux Falls didn't happen by accident. Someone planted these trees. Entrepreneurs, community builders, civic leaders who showed up decade after decade and made this the Best Little City in America. The job of the next generation isn't to take that for granted. It's to tend what was built and keep growing it.
What struck me Thursday was the energy in that room. Sioux Falls has no shortage of good candidates this cycle — and the turnout showed it. People are paying attention. New voices are stepping up. That's healthy.
Monday: Historic Preservation at DakotaAbilities
Monday’s Candidate Forum on Historic Preservation, organized by Tom Hurlbert, Ben Jones, Rachael Meyerink, and Lura Roti, brought candidates, preservation advocates, historic district residents, and community organizations together for a two-hour conversation about what we choose to keep — and why it matters.
I opened with something simple: put people over pavement.
Historic preservation isn't about saving buildings for buildings' sake. It's about making sure the next generation grows up in neighborhoods with character, connection, and something real to belong to.
My parents bought their building at 12th and Grange years ago. It became an anchor for Pettigrew Heights — not just a business address, but a place that held a family's story. That's what our historic neighborhoods do. They hold stories. They hold families. They build community across generations.
When you eat fruit, remember who planted the tree.
The Question I Drew
Each council candidate drew a question from a hat.
Mine: Will you support local and state Board of Historic Preservation decisions?
Yes. And here's why.
Those boards are filled with subject matter experts who don't just know the rules — they share a deep, genuine passion for what they're protecting. Whenever possible, I will look to them for guidance. That's not deference for the sake of it. That's good governance.
When we first set up 4Front Studios in the Dakota Plow Company building, there were historic guidelines we had to work within for our exterior signage. What came out of it was something we were proud of — something new that respected what was already there. You can honor the past and still build something forward-looking. Those things aren't in conflict.
That said, we don't live in a black and white world. Somewhere between the ideal and the practical is where real decisions get made. The best thing a council member can bring to those moments is empathy — the ability to look at each situation, lead with people first, and have the judgment to know when the standard answer isn't the right one.
The Thread
Two different forums. Two different audiences. The same question underneath both.
Are we tending what was planted here — the businesses, the buildings, the neighborhoods, the community — or are we taking it for granted?
I know which one I'm running to do.
It's always been our city, and now is our moment.
Let's rise together. ☀️
— Vince Danh
Candidate, Sioux Falls City Council At-Large | June 2nd, 2026