Members of the St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce have big things happening! Here are the news briefs from January & February, 2022.
Have some news to submit? Send press releases, staff additions, awards and more to Emily Bertram.
GSDC recognized for e-newsletter
The Greater St. Cloud Development Corp. (GSDC) received a Bronze Rank for its GSDC eBriefings electronic newsletters from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC).
JLG Architects recognized
JLG Architects received the 2021 Environmental Stewardship Award from Construction Specifications Institute (CSI). The award honors JLG’s dedication to sustainable structural design and its educational programs on sustainability in architecture.
Inventure begins Richmond development
Inventure Real Estate has been permitted to develop an 18-lot business park on a 58-acre plot of land in the City of Richmond on the new extension of Main Street. The business park will provide spaces for commercial, retail, and industrial tenants.
Stearns Electric Director earns credential
Michael Cramer, Stearns Electric Director, received the Credentialed Cooperative Director (CCD) certificate from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) after participating in a program designed to educate electric cooperative directors on new aspects of the ever-changing electric utility business.
Brenny Transportation receives recognitions
The Women in Trucking Association (WIT) announced that Brenny Transportation is on their 2021 list of “Top Companies for Women to Work for in Transportation.” Companies that made the list were chosen based on the strength of their employee benefits and programs.
Brenny Specialized received a Platinum award from Great West Casualty Company’ National Safety Awards program, which evaluates motor carriers’ driving safety based on year-end preventable crash results. The Platinum award is the highest achievable award in the program.
Marco makes large donation to regional projects
Marco raised over $211,000 this year in their annual campaign for United Way. In addition to the funds generated by the campaign, 450 employees made personal contributions to their local United Way.
For its Give Back 2 School project, Marco selected 15 schools across eight states and gave each one $1,000 for their school food pantry. Schools were selected based on nominations and votes cast by Marco’s social media followers and employees.
Metro Bus COO honored
The Minnesota Public Transit Association (MPTA) honored Metro Bus COO Dave Green with the Minnesota Transit Professional of the Year Award at its annual conference. Green has worked for Metro Bus since 2016, originally as the fixed route operations manager, before becoming COO in 2019.
Freightliner of St. Cloud rebrands
Freightliner of St. Cloud and its associated brands have come together under Momentum Truck Group. Momentum Truck Group encompasses the family-owned companies formerly known as Freightliner of St. Cloud, Northland Freightliner and Northland Heavy Duty Collision Center,
St. Cloud Financial Credit Union adds staff
Chase Larson joins the executive leadership team at St. Cloud Financial Credit Union as the chief lending officer. Larson has over fourteen years of banking and finance experience with expertise in commercial and mortgage lending. In his new role, Larson will be responsible for strategic direction and management.
CLA promotes employees
CliftonLarsonAllen recently promoted a number of employees. Twelve St. Cloud CLA employees were promoted to senior or director positions: Kristen Houle, Kaylea Stier, Sandra Strand, Ashley Kruse, Bethany Anderson, Christy Masog, Elizabeth Kisch, Isaac Heying, Patrick Spaniol, Matthew Dale, Amanda Flemming, and Sarah Elliott.
Stearns Financial Services announces new board roles
Stearns Financial Services, Inc., the holding company for three Stearns Bank charters, has named Kelly Skalicky chair of the board of directors. Additionally, Deb Lorenzen has been elected chair of the board of directors for Stearns Bank, NA, and Heather Plumski has been elected chair of the board of directors for both Stearns Bank Holdingford, and Stearns Bank Upsala.
Alzheimer’s Association raises more than $119k
The St. Cloud Walk to End Alzheimer’s saw 448 participants from 80 teams raise more than $119,000. Funds raised provide people in the local community with Alzheimer’s and dementia and their caregivers with free care and support services.
ATS changes senior leadership
Anderson Trucking Service announced changes in senior leadership and a new addition to the ATS leadership team. Ben Delong was promoted to vice president of operations for the company’s specialized transportation division. Gene Lemke was promoted to an expanded role of vice president of projects & heavy haul. Mark Keul was promoted to director of heavy haul operations. Andrew Hadland joins ATS in the new role of vice president of strategy & acquisition.
Attorney joins Rinke Noonan
Rinke Noonan has hired attorney Kailee Meadows. Meadows’ areas of specialty include business, construction, and environmental law, and litigation. She received her law degree from the University of St. Thomas School of Law.
Northwestern Mutual donates to children’s hospital
Northwestern Mutual raised nearly $75,000 at their 8th annual Chip for Charity golf tournament in August. The net proceeds were donated to Masonic Children’s Hospital for their mission to help those dealing with pediatric cancer.
New members join CMFC board
Clare Richards, Impacks, and Scott Warzecha, Catholic Community Schools of St. Cloud, have joined the Central Minnesota Community Foundation’s Board of Directors. Each will each serve a three-year beginning November 2021.