Seth and Kristine Rhoades -- Partners in life and work
Bri Brasher
NLJ Reporter
Seth and Kristine Rhoades are true partners, together finding balance between their business and family life. The couple told the News Letter Journal their story just in time for Valentine’s Day, a story that began at a Creighton University basketball game in January 2008. The Rhoadeses are now owners of Black Hills Dental Group, with offices in Newcastle and Moorcroft, and parents to three kids.
The two juggle their dental practice with the help of their staff and assistants, each taking care of his or her own patients, consulting with each other on complex cases as needed. Seth and Kristine joked they could never assist each other on a daily basis, however. They work to find balance at home by avoiding talking about work too much, instead choosing to focus on their family and the things they all enjoy.
“We both love sports and are very competitive,” said Seth. “We will watch Nebraska football, Wyoming football, Buffalo Bills football, and Creighton basketball very closely, and everything else as well.”
“We love to play with the kids, whether it be a tackle daddy, or a game of giggle wiggle. We love to get the kids outside to experience and enjoy all the wonderful things the Black Hills give us, from hiking, to sledding, to just throwing rocks in a pond,” Kristine said.
Before the days of giggle wiggle, Seth and Kristine navigated dental school and life together as a couple. When the two met in 2008, Seth was a junior in dental school and Kristine was a freshman at Creighton in Omaha, Nebraska. The two said they hit it off at the basketball game, exchanged numbers and went on their first official date only days later. Seth popped the question in May of 2009 soon after Kristine’s white coat ceremony, an event that symbolizes a medical student’s transition to clinical training. While Kristine finished school, Seth stayed in Omaha working for Rainbow Dental. They were married on Sept. 18, 2010, and Kristine graduated from dental school the next year. At that time, Kristine received her orders for the U.S. Air Force to serve at Ellsworth Air Force Base near Rapid City, South Dakota.
“We were both happy to head west from Omaha so I could come back and help Dr. Dick Ratts with his practice, while Kristine served in the Air Force as a dentist at Ellsworth for three years,” Seth said. “For those three years we lived in Custer, South Dakota, and drove our separate ways every day.”
Then as a family of three with son Tyler, now 8, Kristine visited with Dr. Doug Hughes about buying his practice when her commitment with the Air Force was nearly through. The Rhoadeses said they moved to Newcastle in April of 2014, and their son Ryker was born a week later. Kristine took over for Hughes in July of 2014, and she and Seth have been practicing together ever since. Their daughter, Mya, joined the family in January of 2016.
“We are living the dream of work and kids and wouldn’t change anything,” Kristine said.
When asked why they chose Newcastle to make their home, the couple said the choice was due to family. Kristine’s family is dispersed, but Seth’s family is in and around Newcastle.
“We knew we wanted to raise our children by family, and Newcastle was a great option for us to do that,” Seth explained. “We plan on raising our three children here — being involved in the community and helping serve the community in as many ways as we can.”
Both Seth and Kristine have coached soccer for U6 and U8 teams, and Kristine said she is looking forward to helping coach Newcastle’s high school girls soccer team in the spring. Seth is also on the RPM Days Committee and golf course boards and serves as vice president of the Newcastle Booster Cub.
“We plan on spending the rest of our lives here, and we want to help make Newcastle as great as it can be,” said Seth.
“My favorite thing about Seth is how incredibly thoughtful and caring he is. He always tries to think of every situation from the other person’s perspective and is so considerate. It makes him a good boss and a wonderful role model for our kids,” Kristine said.
Seth said Kristine is a great wife and mother, always caring for and putting the family first. He said she is willing to put up with him, cheers for the Bills and tries new outdoor activities that he enjoys. And for that, he puts up with her honey-do list, which he said is not as simple as she may think.