Jan-Feb 2012 by Connect Business Magazine

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012

Contents

THE MAGAZINE FOR GROWING BUSINESSES IN SOUTHERN MINNESOTA

STAFF & CONTRIBUTORS Publisher: Jeffry Irish

BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YEAR 2012

Editor: Daniel J. Vance Art Director/Staff Photographer: Kris Kathmann

Dan & Angie Bastian 8

Interim Advertising Manager: Daniel J. Vance

Angie’s Kettle Corn

Dan and Angie Bastian of Angie’s Artisan Treats—the parent company of Angie’s Kettle Corn—are pop artists, too. They have turned ordinary, slightly sweet and salty kettle corn into an artistic subject, a 180-employee North Mankato manufacturing facility into a painter’s palette, and grocery store shelves into a consumer canvas.

Bill Eckles

BEVCOMM

Contributing Photographers: Daniel Dinsmore, Jeff Silker, Art Sidner Contributing Writers: Carlienne Frisch, Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Daniel Griswold

Circulation: Dave Maakestad Printing: Corporate Graphics, N. Mankato Mailing: Midwest Mailing, Mankato

Brian Maciej

Production: Becky Wagner Kelly Hanson Josh Swanson

Lime Valley Advertising

Cover Photo: Kris Kathmann

CIRCULATION 8,400 for January 2012 Published bimonthly

CORRESPONDENCE Send press releases and other correspondence: c/o Editor, Connect Business Magazine P.O. Box 452, Nicollet, MN 56074

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ABOUT CONNECT Locally owned Connect Business Magazine has ‘connected’ southern Minnesota businesses since 1994 through features, interviews, news and advertising. Connect Business Magazine is a publication of Concept & Design Incorporated, a graphic design firm offering print design, web design, illustration and photography. conceptanddesign.com

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EDITOR’S LETTER

Rise to the Highest Several Connect Business Magazine readers have inquired about sursum ad summum, the phrase I have been placing atop my signature below. Translated, this Latin means, “Rise to the Highest,” and was the official motto of my Ohio high school, Walnut Hills. “Rise to the Highest” seems more than appropriate this issue because we honor three deserving finalists of our 2012 Business Person of the Year award. Each has drive to rise high. In September, we called for nominations. Our panel of Minnesota State College of Business professors chose Dan and Angie Bastian of Angie’s Kettle Corn as our 2012 Business Person of the Year—it would have been criminal honoring one without the other—with Bill Eckles of BEVCOMM placing second and Brian Maciej of Lime Valley Advertising third. The Bastians personify sursum ad summum. Starting in their backyard a decade ago with little more than a tent, iron kettle, and pure popping passion, they now have about 180 carbonated employees in North Mankato crafting Angie’s Kettle Corn for hungry hearts. It’s America’s second-best selling kettle corn. So let’s celebrate our eighth annual Business Person of the Year award with a big bang—er, pop! Congratulations, Dan and Angie, on a job being done well. And thanks to everyone emailing in nominations. If your particular nominee missed out, be sure to try again next year. Sursum ad summum,

Daniel J. Vance Editor

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OUTSTANDING

By Daniel J. Vance

N OF TH RSO EY PE 12 R 20 EA

BUSIN ES S

Photo by Kris Kathmann

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SON OF TH

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R EY PE Dan and Angie Bastian share Connect Business Magazine 2012 Business Person of the Year award.

2 nd P L A C E

Business Person of The Year 2012 winners selected by MSU Mankato College of Business faculty.

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this popper pair. Their big break came that same year when so many corn-fed Minnesota Vikings OF TH N RSO EY PE kettle corn players at training camp so loved their the Vikings marketing staff had to offer a coveted sponsorship opportunity. They have been the “Official Kettle Corn” of the Minnesota Vikings since 2003, and later the Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Timberwolves. 3 rd P L AKettle The last decade has been a blur. Angie’s CE Corn now pops up annual revenue of between $10 million and $20 million, populates retail shelves in 49 states and is the nation’s second-best selling kettle corn. Its Lookout Drive manufacturing facility fills up to 100,000 bags a day. Dan and Angie have appeared on Martha Stewart’s television program and are well on their way toward becoming the next Orville Redenbacher. And to think they have created such pop art by turning an ordinary corn seed into a white starchy mass and adding sugar and salt.

12 R 20 EA

Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein were prominent American pop artists: Warhol for painting red-and-white Campbell’s Soup cans and Lichtenstein for comic strips. Defined according to Webster, the 1950s-‘60s pop art craze involved artists using common, everyday objects as subject matter. Dan and Angie Bastian of Angie’s Artisan Treats—the parent company of Angie’s Kettle Corn—are pop artists, too. They have turned ordinary, slightly sweet and salty kettle corn into an artistic subject, a 180-employee North Mankato manufacturing facility into a painter’s palette, and grocery store shelves into a consumer canvas. And a ravenous public devours this pop art. Only ten years ago in 2002, when Dan taught high school history in Mankato and Angie weighed in as a psychiatric nurse, the creative couple had this cornball idea of popping popcorn in a backyard iron kettle and selling bags of it at popular events. Many people pooh-poohed

continued > JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012

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Dan & Angie Bastian | Business Person of The Year 2012: 1st Place

I’ve heard your first big breakthrough came when you were allowed to distribute your kettle corn to Minnesota Vikings players at training camp in Mankato. Did you just walk up on a cold call to the Vikings and ask if they would be so kind as to try your product? Dan: Basically, yes. We asked permission. We were just starting out and knew this was an opportunity to grow. We talked with a former Minnesota State University student working with the Minnesota Vikings on one of the first days of camp in 2002 and asked if the Vikings would have any interest in trying our snack for free. After popping it, Angie and I brought 120 bags over on a Sunday afternoon. They ate it that night at their meetings. The next day, the Vikings’ sales and marketing staff was just staring at us from a distance as we were popping our kettle corn. They finally came over, said they were with the Minnesota Vikings, and in so many words said our popcorn was crazy good and the players and coaches had loved it. They offered us a sponsorship contract on the spot. We didn’t know where such a sponsorship would lead but we did recognize the opportunity. What happened in this situation was a lot like our company story

has been in general. We didn’t have any idea up until the last few years where this business was headed, but decided to just keep on moving forward and see where it would go. The Minnesota Vikings are connected to so many Upper Midwest organizations and people and the sponsorship gave us legitimacy with other organizations. We had been just this small little company setting up a tent at training camp and suddenly they gave us an opportunity set up outside on the

Metrodome plaza, which in turn brought awareness of our kettle corn to thousands of fans before every game. You have a simple product with four basic ingredients that most anyone could copy in terms of quality. What were the steps you took to differentiate your products from others in the category? Angie: Most kettle corn in the industry is first air popped and then sprayed with

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Pop Artists | Angie’s Kettle Corn

The next day, the Vikings’ sales and marketing staff was just staring at us from a distance as we were popping our kettle corn. They finally came over, said they were with the Minnesota Vikings, and in so many words said our popcorn was crazy good and the players and coaches had loved it. They offered us a sponsorship contract on the spot. —Dan Bastian sugar syrup. When we first started producing our kettle corn indoors on a much larger scale, the recommendation from a few consultants was we should change the process to what everyone else was doing. We disagreed. We thought our batch process was the way to go and still do it this way today. How can these other manufacturers call their product kettle corn if it’s air popped and sprayed?

Theirs isn’t popped in a kettle. Dan: There isn’t an official definition of kettle corn. Is it defined by the way it’s manufactured or the way it tastes—meaning, the end product that includes sugar? We believe the process as well as the final product should define kettle corn. It’s a product that is slightly sweet and slightly salty. Not everyone else air pops and sprays on sugar. There are many different formulations and processes. Ours is pretty unique, though.

It seems there is a little bit of the dreamer in both of you. Angie and Dan: Definitely. And as dreamers you have done business differently than most other business people. Do people say you are nuts for doing business the way you do? Dan: How about people in the beginning thinking we were nuts for just making kettle corn? People were nice and didn’t say that

Dan & Angie Bastian | Business Person of The Year 2012: 1st Place

Angie: We were popping in blizzards outside the civic center and the Metrodome for Minnesota Vikings games. Dan: When other people we knew were out having fun and going on vacations, we were working our tails off every weekend, every night, every day. to us back then. I was a history teacher and Angie was a psychiatric nurse. We had nice, respected careers and were proud of what we had done in our professions. Suddenly, with this new company, I was running up and down the civic center stairs schlepping popcorn. We had bought a tent and kettle and were popping corn outside the civic center at events. When people we knew asked what we were doing, we just said we had wanted a second business and were trying to raise money for our child’s college fund. It wasn’t a glamorous business. Angie: We were popping in blizzards outside the civic center and the Metrodome for Minnesota Vikings games. Dan: When other people we knew were out having fun and going on vacations, we were working our tails off every weekend, every night, every day. I really didn’t care what people thought, but do remember people at times giving me weird looks. We were just trying to get a business started. Angie: In the beginning, there were a couple factors that helped determine what kind of business we would have. For one, the business had to be part-time. It was also something we wanted our young kids to participate in and learn with us, which could include

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things for them like sweeping the floor and putting labels on the bags. If we were going to do this business, it would be for the whole family. We wanted our children to participate in realizing a dream. It’s not their dream, but as their parents we are examples and this was our way to teach them that you can have an idea, put that idea into action, and make a go of it. And you have been doing it 10 years. Have your children learned this lesson of living out their dreams? Dan: Our kids are big dreamers. That’s our greatest accomplishment. They are open to dreaming and we share with them they can live out their dreams. Growing up I was not a big dreamer outside of dreaming to be a pro athlete. I had no idea until I was a senior in college I was even interested in teaching. I was just going to school because I liked history classes and liked St. John’s. What was there about your careers that prepared you well for what you are doing now? Angie: The beauty in nursing is that nurses build the relationship

Pop Artists | Angie’s Kettle Corn

with the patient to understand how the patient is responding on every level. That is nursing’s holistic niche, its core. That’s also a skill that can translate to other careers. I run the marketing and public relations division of the company and think I have a pretty good finger on the pulse in terms of how people respond to the product and to our brand positioning. In graduate school, I studied Jungian archetypal psychology and that influences just about every business decision I make in terms of brand positioning, which includes the symbols on the bag, the icons we use—all the archetypes the brand represents. So what do these symbols represent? (The interviewer holds up a bag of Angie’s Kettle Corn.) Angie: We have a very serious bag on the front. You have a circle, which is a fully female symbol. Angie’s is a female product. We have that circle on a masculine color, a shade of warm gray. It’s a formal, proper, serious bag for a simple, clean, beautiful product. But as people, we are not so formal, but more casual, and the product is more casual, popcorn. We wanted to elevate the product in a way that speaks to the product quality. So we chose to use paradox to make our bag interesting. We are serious on the front and fun on the back, where we have our picture and have fun telling a story. We were told by just about every marketing professional not to

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Dan & Angie Bastian | Business Person of The Year 2012: 1st Place

design our bag this way. They said the message we were sending to the consumer was incongruent. But it fits us. This is who we are. It seems you tried to portray the kind of people you are with your bag. It wasn’t plastic, but real and genuine. Angie: Being genuine has always been important to us. We are not plastic or a made up marketing story. We are real people. This is a real business. This isn’t a caricature. There are real people popping this corn, who have real lives. Dan, how has being a teacher influenced what you have done here? Dan: My talent is in engaging people. I was very good at engaging and building rapport with my students. That’s a teacher’s biggest challenge. You have to engage everyone. It’s no different here in terms of engaging staff and on-the-floor

people. That was my comfort zone and I just transferred it over into the workplace. And now I work with buyers, who are a tough group. The buyers seem to trust us. This is who I am and how I operate. Angie: If there is any point where teaching, nursing and business intersect, it’s in understanding what people need. What do kids need? What do patients need? And what does that buyer need? And we get them what they need. How big is your company in terms of employees, distribution, and dollar sales? Dan: We have about 180 employees and are distributing nationwide. We are especially strong in the Upper Midwest. We have a lot of geographic holes to fill and the coasts are ripe to grow dramatically. Within the next year, we should be above 20 percent ACV nationally. (ACV, or all commodity volume, refers to potential retail distribu-

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tion.) We are the nation’s number-two kettle corn in terms of product movement. As for sales, we are in the $10 to $20 million range. What makes this place different from most others to work? Dan: We aren’t necessarily better than anyone else. We know we want to create a positive, fair, fun, respectful environment. Angie: A number of Mankato and North Mankato companies operate like ours. Dan: We aren’t real hierarchical. We receive a lot of team discussion and input from floor managers and rely heavily on the people coming in and out of the plant to share. We don’t use a top-down approach— with our managers it’s more horizontal. Angie: We know the work isn’t glamorous because we did it for years. It’s hard work. We know it’s hard to stand on your feet eight hours. Often times, businesspeople try to

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Pop Artists | Angie’s Kettle Corn

We know the work isn’t glamorous because we did it for years. It’s hard work. We know it’s hard to stand on your feet eight hours. —Angie Bastian recreate in their business the kind of environment they had in their own home as a child—either that or do the exact opposite. What was growing up like for both of you? Dan: For me, it was very positive. My father, who works for us now part-time, is a banker who never missed a day of work. He is extremely connected to the community. That’s what he passed on to his kids. My mother stayed at home and raised us four boys—and you can imagine my mother’s challenges. Both my parents were about doing the right thing, being good people, respectful, engaging, and hardworking. We try to instill in our kids the same traits.

What would happen if you did something wrong at home? Dan: Our house had four boys and we experienced plenty of consequences for our actions. I took that background with me to the classroom and into our family. I can totally get and relate to accepting consequences for my actions. There are consequences for right and wrong decisions. I think we have that here. If you come and work hard, opportunities exist for you here. More about your background? Dan: I graduated from St. John’s in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in history. After that, I moved to Belize as a volunteer to

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Martha Stewart What did it feel like being on the Martha Stewart television show? Angie: Like a roller coaster. At first, you are ready to go on and feel that adrenaline rush. When they say, “Action,” then down hill you go. You are talking and moving and suddenly it’s over. And you say, “What did I say?” Dan: It was extremely surreal. You are walking out on stage and people are screaming. The stage crew had them all worked up. I thought, Am I really going to be seen by millions of people? Cameras were everywhere. As we walked off after the show, a producer said we had been awesome. We didn’t even know what we had just said. It was such a blur. We were dealing with Martha Stewart. Was I really there? Angie: We had a few minutes beforehand to register all that. Martha Stewart reached out to us, which helped. I liked her.

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Pop Artists Large Shoes | Angie’s Kettle Corn

help start up a high school and later to Mexico to teach English for another year. I came back to the States and taught in New Mexico for six years. I’m a transient guy and was adventurous. Angie and I both have always been on the move looking for the next adventure. We met in Gallup, New Mexico, in 1992 while I was teaching and she was working at the hospital. After moving to Sarasota, Florida, where Angie’s parents lived, we moved to Mankato in 2001 with the idea of starting a healthy soup and salad company. It never got off the ground. Angie had her job in St. Peter and I taught during the day and got the kids at night. That’s when kettle corn started.

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What about your background, Angie? Angie: I’m the oldest daughter and have two brothers. My family was Mennonite and all about work. My mother was creative and an artist, but didn’t know it. She expressed that through her food, garden, and other utilitarian things. My father was a businessman. Their work ethic was highly influential; they were always work first, play second. Dan was always the other way. (Laughter. And pointing at Dan.) Dan: That’s where I think my mom and dad were great. They allowed us to play and my mom and dad were incredibly supportive of us playing, but we still needed to work and focus. If play came first, so be it, but you still had to get the job done. Angie: Play never came first at my house. But with faith and religion we had a simplistic, horizontal approach to life. You see God in the people around you. It’s one way of experiencing faith as opposed to reaching up vertically to get to God. It did influence me on how I see the world. As for my past, I went to Goshen College in Indiana and graduated with a bachelor’s in nursing before working in the ICU unit at Sarasota (Fla.) Memorial Hospital. I then decided I wanted to do volunteer work through the Mennonite Board of Missions for a year. I was in Ohio at a farmhouse working with children with hydrocephalus and brain injuries. I earned $30 a month,

Dan & Angie Bastian | Business Person of The Year 2012: 1st Place

taught myself how to play guitar, and ate lots of popcorn. After earning a master’s degree in psychiatric nursing and gerontology from Emory University in 1991, I accepted an academic position at the University of Wyoming. But I had eight months to fill before starting the position. So I took a traveling nurse position at a hospital in New Mexico. Dan’s father was the CFO of the hospital, and that is where we met. Dan: Angie had a broken jaw when I met her. It was wired shut. I had broken mine as a college junior after being hit by a line drive. My jaw had been wired shut, too. When seeing her, I had found another person who had gone through my experience. That was the start of our conversation. Angie: Then we discovered we had been in Belize at the same time. I had taken a semester for graduate school to bicycle

through the country. Our lives finally intersected in Gallup. What sort of stresses has working together put on your marriage? Dan: Our business goes 24 hours a day and it’s hard to shut it off—it’s so hard to shut it off. One thing Angie and I are great at is after we fight or argue we are able to drop it and move on. Angie understands me very well, is patient and knows when she can challenge me. Angie: We have our own opinions and neither one of us are ever totally right. Dan: To make decisions, we rely heavily on our team. We don’t have the answers to this business. We have a gut feel. Angie is incredible at marketing and public relations. She gets it. I get operations, sales, and tying in to people. There isn’t a lot of ego with us. We talk with people, get feedback,

Dan & Angie Bastian | Pop Artists

Getting to know you:

Dan Bastian Born: 1968, in Mankato, Minnesota. Education: Loyola High School, 1986; St. John’s University, 1990, BA, history.

Getting to know you:

Angie Bastian Born: 1960, in Goshen, Indiana. Education: North Ridge High School (Ind.), 1978; Goshen College, BS, nursing; and Emory University, 1991, psychiatric nursing and gerontology.

Dan & Angie Bastian | Business Person of The Year 2012: 1st Place

figure it out, and if we feel good about a certain course then we go with it. So what I hear you saying is it’s more important what is right rather than who is right. Angie and Dan: Right. Dan: We could care less who is right.

That is what we have created at our plant and offices. Everyone has input. Angie: We do have egos. We just try not to let them get in the way. Dan (shaking his head, disagreeing): I’m just saying that it’s not my way or the highway here. We have strong personalities, and are both confident, but we don’t

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Some people when seeing you have been rated by a statewide publication as a great place to work might think your business is one big joy ride. That doesn’t necessarily make for a great place to work. It sounds as if you have learned to set boundaries for your employees. Dan: We have. The challenges become greater as you add more employees. This doesn’t mean you have to veer away from who you are and the culture you created. Angie: The key isn’t in becoming rigid, but to create a framework so people have some independence and decision-making responsibilities while clearly knowing boundaries exist. When you talk to college students about starting a business, what do you emphasize? Angie: Commitment to the goal. People often think that because we own our own business we can work whatever hours we want. That’s not the case. We have to re-commit to what we are doing every single day. Dan: I really encourage the students. I’m fascinated by this excitement and energy that exists with some of these young people. A lot of them have that drive and commitment necessary, but don’t yet know owning a business can be such emotionally and physically exhausting work. Knock on wood; we have made it this far.

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pound fists and say it has to be my way or you’re out of here.

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What happens the day Frito-Lay, ConAgra, P&G or General Mills makes you an offer to buy your business? Or has it happened already? Dan: It hasn’t. We are very aware of all those companies. They are part of our world now. But what happens when they call? Dan: We realize that as a possibility. We have had interest in our company in the past and that was a major distraction. Since then, I have really tried not thinking

Pop Artists | Angie’s Kettle Corn

THE ESSENTIALS

Angie’s Kettle Corn Offices: 1800 Commerce Drive North Mankato, MN 56003 Plant: 1918 Lookout Drive North Mankato, MN 56003 Telephone: (507) 387-3886 Web: angieskettlecorn.com

about it and thought instead about having a growing and developing business. I see a potential problem. You didn’t start this for the popcorn or the money, you did it in part for the causes you have. If you sell the company, don’t you lose the ability to help your causes? Angie: Are you sure about that? When going into business, we had this preconceived idea about how business operates. It’s not necessarily true. We were looking from the outside in. If you’re going to make changes in the way business does business, you have to do it from the inside out. So I’m not certain your assumption exists or even if it’s true. Dan: Whether having a company or not, we can still create a foundation and feel we are moving in that direction. We have greater goals and dreams. Whether personally or as part of Angie’s Kettle Corn, we will have a vehicle to continue to... Angie: ...impact the world. That sounds so grandiose. (Laughter.) Dan: We have a popcorn business. We are just trying to have it grow and see what kind of opportunities arise so we can impact the world on a bigger scale. From what I have learned, your company is generous giving to different causes. What sort of causes do you give to? Dan: We are very involved in youth and education. We get a lot of calls every day and for the longest time, we said yes, yes, and yes. People were asking for money

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Dan & Angie Bastian | Business Person of The Year 2012: 1st Place

We took delivery on our Minnesota Vikings 45th Anniversary tin the same month their “love boat” scandal occurred. Most retailers pulled Minnesota Viking gear and product off shelves. No school wanted to sell our tins for fundraisers. —Angie Bastian and product all the time. Helping them is something we are proud of and we want to be able to continue. If we can play a role in helping youth and specific organizations become stronger and better, we have done our job. We have helped the community. Angie: Part of the instruction and counsel we have from consultants is that we have to focus our giving. We understand, but haven’t yet figured out how to do it. What mistakes have you made in business and how did you correct them? Angie: We took delivery on our Minnesota Vikings 45th Anniversary tin the

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same month their “love boat” scandal occurred. Most retailers pulled Minnesota Viking gear and product off shelves. No school wanted to sell our tins for fundraisers. It had been a huge investment for us. So we went to the Vikings organization. To their credit, they supported us. The ownership that year bought thousands of our tins and sent them out as gifts to season ticket holders. Dan: It wouldn’t have happened without the class of the Vikings organization. As for mistakes, we have made tons, which has included making bad decisions, buying wrong equipment, and having people in certain jobs. But we

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012

never dwell on our mistakes. Mistakes happen every day. We have been positive and haven’t given up. That’s a strength of our company and leadership team—if something happens, we deal with it and continue to move on. That’s why we have success on the floor. Our people don’t have their hands slapped when they make a mistake. We just say, good effort—and let’s figure out a solution here. Have you thought about going back to your old professions? Dan: Angie and I talk about this a lot. Some day, I will absolutely be back in the classroom teaching in some capacity or else involved with kids in some way. That’s what I love. I didn’t leave because I didn’t like it; but because of the business. I couldn’t do both at once. When I first started here full-time, I was popping kettle corn and not in a classroom where my passion was. Angie helped me see I can impact and teach others in a different way. And we have that here. We have created a culture where people enjoy being here, being part of everything, and helping them have a better life. It seems popcorn is secondary to you

Pop Artists | Angie’s Kettle Corn

and just a vehicle to other things. Angie: It is—but kettle corn is still a priority. Quality matters. The popcorn may be the vehicle, but if the vehicle doesn’t run or is of poor quality, nothing matters. What we make has to be better than what everyone else makes. Our product is our spokesperson. It has to be the best. It seems you have, in a way, patterned yourselves after Newman’s Own salad dressings. You have a quality product and are using the profits to help your causes. Dan: If compared to Newman’s Own some day, I would be thrilled and honored. We are not there—yet. We have a dream, but right now I don’t know what that dream is. We are constructing it as we go. Editor Daniel J. Vance writes from Vernon Center.

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The September issue of The Region, a Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis publication, clearly explained using U.S. Census Bureau data the trend from 1997-2007 of a jawdropping decrease in the overall number of larger U.S. manufacturing plants—ones of more than 1,000, 2,500, and 5,000 employees.

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The Region’s analysis seemed spot on. It’s no surprise U.S. manufacturing in general has been in a funk, falling from 22.4 percent of total U.S. private employment in 1977 to 9.7 percent in 2007. During the same 30-year span—also no surprise— U.S. manufacturing employment fell from 18.5 million to 13.4 million. But what did surprise was the disproportionate loss of jobs in larger plants, the ugly economic beating parts of the U.S. South took from 1997-2007, and what some large-scale U.S. manufacturers have done to survive. First, as for the fate of the nation’s largest manufacturing plants, this from The Region: “Gigantic employer plants like (U.S. Steel’s Gary, Indiana, plant employing 30,000 in 1950) are virtually extinct in the United States. Indeed, as of 2007, only 49 plants with more than 5,000 workers exist.” In just 1997, the U.S. still had 97 manufacturing plants with more than 5,000 workers, which in itself was a precipitous drop from 192 plants in 1977. But

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012

these dismal statistics don’t tell the positive side of the story. Many larger plants, such as the one in Gary, have indeed lost thousands of employees, but have done so while increasing output. For example, while losing 25,000 employees since 1950, the Gary plant also has increased annual steel output from 6 million to 7.5 million tons. Absent from some of the debate over lost U.S. manufacturing jobs has been the role of high technology in replacing unskilled workers.

Yet even with fewer numbers due to productivity gains, these mega-manufacturing plants aren’t completely dying out. The U.S. even has new ones. From 1997-2007, the U.S. christened fifteen new manufacturing plants that employed at least 2,500. Five involved automobile and light truck manufacturing: Honda and Hyundai plants in Alabama, Nissan in Mississippi, Toyota in Indiana, and General Motors in Michigan. Four were meat-processing plants in Missouri, North Carolina, and Georgia (two). The other six plants (mostly high-tech and computer-related) sited in Virginia, Texas (two), Ohio, Wisconsin, and Colorado. Interesting note: Not one new plant built from 1997-2007 and employing more than 2,500 sited in the Northeast or on the West Coast, i.e., Washington, Oregon or California. Minnesota struck out, too. The largest U.S. plants have particular importance to our nation’s economy because they often export product, usually have higher em-

ployee wages, and can have a huge spin-off effect on regional economies. Second, parts of the South have taken an economic beating since 1997. For much of the 1900s, the South was a magnet for Northern manufacturers seeking lowerwage, unskilled employees. Now those same manufacturers have been decimated by Chinese competitors and/or have moved all or parts of their own operations overseas. Hardest hit have been segments of the apparel and furniture industries, which had 29 manufacturing plants of more than 1,000 employees in 1997 (primarily in and around North Carolina) and none in 2007. In one industry alone, infant cut-and-sew apparel, the Southeast lost 97 percent of its workers from 1997-2007. Lastly, since 1997, a few larger manufacturing plants seem to have adapted well to Chinese competition and blossomed. Perhaps the best example is Sauder Woodworking. The U.S. furniture industry has three main segments: casegoods, up-

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holstered furniture, and kitchen cabinets and countertops. Of the three, casegoods, or wood furniture, such as dining room and bedroom furniture, has been most vulnerable to foreign competition because of being so labor intensive. Sauder Woodworking owns the nation’s sole remaining casegoods-only plant of more than 2,500 employees. To compete effectively against Chinese furniture makers, this Ohio business went ultra high-tech, centralized operations, and switched to manufacturing ready-to-assemble furniture, which means the consumer—and not unskilled, lower-wage labor—performs final assembly. It would appear the heady days of economic development directors trying to lure mega-plants has long since passed. Not many of those larger plants are being built, and the few that are being built have gone South, predictably, where a ready-and-waiting pool of lower-wage labor still exists.

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Community-embedded, 36-year-old telecommunications executive leading company charge into uncharted territory.

12 R 20 EA

BUSIN ES S

1 st P L A C E

2 nd P L A C E

By Daniel J. Vance

12 R 20 EA

BUSIN ES S

Photo by Jeff Silker

N OF TH RSO EY PE

3 rd P L AC E

In 2003, Bill Eckles felt undeserving and unworthy after his father named him chief executive officer of Blue Earth-based BEVCOMM. In 2012, he feels undeserving and unworthy after being named a Connect Business Magazine Business Person of the Year finalist. In both cases, the evaluators—the first, his father, and the second, our panel of Minnesota State College of Business judges—saw something in Eckles he didn’t. “I was scared to death,” said 36-year-old Eckles of being named top executive in 2003 of a fourth-generation, family-owned telecommunications company founded in 1895, a full three years ahead of Mankatobased HickoryTech. “I don’t know what the impetus was for my dad retiring, but he just decided one winter day I was ready. He sent an email out to everyone saying ‘as of tomorrow’ I would be taking over. I was in shock.” Hell froze over for Eckles that day in 2003. Only two years before, he had been director of flight operations for Eden Prairie-based Thunderbird Aviation, a job with a future that had high-flying potential. When BEVCOMM hired Eckles in 2001, his father named him director of finance, a position Eckles thought odd considering BEVCOMM didn’t have any debt,

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and therefore, according to Eckles, really didn’t need a director of finance. He was given a title, a computer, and an office. “It was the perfect example of nepotism,” said Eckles with a serious face. “I wasn’t deserving and certainly didn’t have any industry or company experience. But so far, it has been working out.” Many people in the industry would consider “it has been working out” an understatement. BEVCOMM has more than doubled in size during his leadership over the last eight years. He has been a force with Faribault County Development Corporation (a private entity) and Blue Earth Economic Development Authority (a public entity). He is a board member of privately held Hector Communications, First Bank of Blue Earth, and of cutting edge Electromed (NASDAQ: ELMD), the New Prague-based manufacturers of the SmartVest Airway Clearance System for people battling lung conditions such as cystic fibrosis and COPD. He also helped start BEVCOMM Foundation, which awards up to $25,000 annually for area economic development projects. continued >

Business Person of The Year 2012 winners selected by MSU Mankato College of Business faculty.

Bill Eckles | Business Person of The Year 2012: 2nd Place

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For Eckles to claim a lack of company experience before becoming director of finance would be a bit like George W. Bush claiming he lacked any knowledge of what being President was like before his 2000 victory. Both had fathers that informally trained each for their positions. For Eckles that informal training began as a child when company business was regularly discussed each night over dinner and dessert. Said Eckles, “I was interviewed by the (Faribault County Register) when I first began here and made the joke that I had an interview for my job that lasted 20 years. My family had been talking about the business with me that long. I grew up in the industry. My parents took me on vacations with their industry friends and through that I got to know them.”

I was interviewed by the (Faribault County Register) when I first began here and made the joke that I had an interview for my job that lasted 20 years.

ick Gardner began his career in November 1951 and he continues to work full-time performing land surveys in Nicollet and LeSueur Counties. He is very knowledgeable in the history and establishment of many property lines and survey monuments in the local area. In 2006, working with the Nicollet County Historical Society, he was instrumental in locating where the Dakota Indians forded the Minnesota River at a place they called Oiyuwege, a shallow crossing near modern-day Saint Peter. During his 60 years of land surveying, Dick has used a variety of survey instruments. In his early days steel tapes, compass and transit were state of the art. Now he is using robotic survey instruments and the Global Positioning System (GPS). Dick continues to work full-time and when asked why he continues to work, Dick said, “I enjoy what I do.”

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Eckles also learned from a father who valued personal relationships above business and measured success in terms of his personal relationships. For example, Eckles said, “The opportunity was there for (my father) several times to profit from someone’s misery and he wouldn’t. In a deal with him, everyone either ends up making out all right or loses together. He won’t make a deal at someone’s expense—and that was one of the best lessons I learned from him.

Bill Eckles | Call Of Duty

Top Flight CONNECT: What do you enjoy about flying? ECKLES: The part I liked most was teaching people how to fly and I really enjoy interacting with people. I still fly. The best part of flying now is it makes the world a smaller place. I fly to our Hector Communications companies in Wisconsin. Two weeks ago, I was in New Orleans at a conference for telephone companies with cable television companies. I have a singleengine TBM that seats six and does 300 mph.

Call Of Duty | BEVCOMM

Bill Eckles | Call Of Duty

Future Shock CONNECT: What do you see happening in the telecommunications industry right now? ECKLES: The FCC has been pushing to reform rural broadband. Large parts of the country do not have rural broadband and primarily large companies like Windstream, CenturyLink, and Frontier serve them. Congress and the FCC want to fix this. Most rural carriers like BEVCOMM have done a really good job building up broadband. But somebody got the idea that the reason they have broadband and some others don’t is because the smaller carriers must be getting too much funding and the larger ones not enough. So there is a move on to cut the funding to smaller carriers and give more to the larger ones. The rules are being written now. Rural telecom is going to have a difficult time the next five or ten years. We will have to raise rates and cut costs. We will be in better shape than most companies like ours because we run a tight ship. But many companies will have to make some hard decisions based on how the rules shake out. The frustrating part for me is looking at these larger carriers that are paying out huge dividends to shareholders. The problem with them not offering broadband service is not that they aren’t getting enough funding, it’s that the money they make gets returned to shareholders rather than investing in the networks. Most rural carriers like us invest for the next 20 years. They are investing for the next two or three— and trying to get as much equity out of the company as possible and into shareholders hands. Frontier has been paying a 12 percent dividend. Other companies are doing stock buy-backs.

Bill Eckles | Business Person of The Year 2012: 2nd Place

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Bill Eckles | Call Of Duty

BEVCOMM Services Overall, the company offers a wide range of landline telephone services, cable television, Internet, business solutions (such as computer networking, alarm and surveillance, and teleconferencing), and computer sales and service. BEVCOMM has landline telephone, broadband, and cable TV customers in Blue Earth, Winnebago, Elmore, Guckeen, Bricelyn, Easton, Delavan, Freeborn, Frost, Huntley, Morristown, Minnesota Lake, New Prague, Warsaw, and Wells. In addition, BEVCOMM has cable TV and cable modem service without telephone service in Kiester and parts of Dakota County.

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“I knew only that day he would be sending it out,” said Eckles. “That was my only preparation for the announcement that I would be chief executive officer. I was in shock. But I had the advantage of being in a company that was doing well and had great people. They made up for my deficiencies.”

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When you look at what is important in life, employees and the people in the community need to be at the top of the list. If you take care of them, everything else will work itself out.” He graduated from Blue Earth Area High School in 1994. After a year at Iowa State, Eckles went on to study finance at St. Thomas University in St. Paul, Minnesota, where the small-town boy could absorb a better big-city experience. Aviation soon became his passion. He took lessons and received his pilot’s license, and while in college his last two years was a flight instructor. He was taking classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays and working at Thunderbird Aviation the other five days a week. He enjoyed college life with his close friends, three of whom today work in Blue Earth: one, an attorney; one a marketing consultant; the other, a police officer. After graduation in 1999, he became director of flight operations before landing at home in February 2001 as BEVCOMM’s director of finance. “I was pretty sure all along I would be working eventually in Blue Earth,” said Eckles. “But I just had to explore this other

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direction to make sure it wasn’t something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Growing up, I always wanted to work here and had never thought about other opportunities until I went off to college. I wanted to make sure at age 50 I wouldn’t have regrets about not doing something else.” As director of finance starting in 2001, he became the person in charge of acquisitions and growth opportunities. Many telecommunication firms, emboldened by deregulation the prior decade, were investing in a wide range of industries. Eckles was receiving calls from people regarding all sorts of investments. Most opportunities crossing his desk weren’t the best ideas however, he said, and many seeming sweet at the time would prove sour. One potential investment was in Xtratyme, a technology company seeking investors for wireless broadband. “(Xtratyme) was the first project I worked on and built business models for,” said Eckles. “Fortunately, my education had been in finance, so I knew how to build proformas and how to analyze. I put the numbers together and figured it wasn’t going to work for us. We didn’t invest and now that company is gone. That turned out to be a good decision.” Then after two years, at age 28 in winter 2003, Bill and everyone at BEVCOMM received a high priority email from Bill’s father Neil. “I knew only that day he would be sending it out,” said Eckles. “That was my only preparation for the announcement that I would be chief executive officer. I was in shock. But I had the advantage of being in a company that was doing well and had great people. They made up for my deficiencies. The first two years, I spent an awful lot of time asking questions and listening. We didn’t do anything drastic because I’ve never been in favor of going into a company and shaking up everything. Besides, we were doing a lot of things right.” During those first two years as chief executive officer, he spearheaded a reorganization plan to streamline BEVCOMM’s awkward bifurcation into regulated and non-regulated telecommunications. For example, BEVCOMM Blue Earth customers seeking both

Call Of Duty | BEVCOMM

THE ESSENTIALS

BEVCOMM Phone: 800-473-1442 Offices: 123 West 7th Street Blue Earth, MN 56013 Web: bevcomm.net

land-line telephone and Internet service had to visit separate retail offices, the former in downtown Blue Earth and the latter ten blocks away at the Ag Center on US 169. Eckles brought the two units together under one supervisor and location, which was a task requiring tact considering the vastly different cultures. Landline employees tended to be older and more experienced and Internet employees younger and not so experienced. He sold under-performing Radio Shack franchises in New Prague and Wells. Into his second year as chief executive officer, independent telephone companies began placing themselves up for sale and Eckles worked overtime to vet potential acquisitions. The best was yet to come. The scope and vision of BEVCOMM began changing dramatically the day in late 2006 when the Federal Communications Commission approved the much-anticipated sale of Mankato-based Midwest Wireless to Alltel for $1.075 billion. It happened with Bill Eckles at the helm of BEVCOMM. “Midwest Wireless had 69 memberowners, with many having as little as one percent of the company on up to New Ulm Telecom, which had around 10 percent,” said Eckles. “As for us, let’s just say we had less than what New Ulm had. Midwest Wireless had looked at all the strategic options and thought this was the best way to release shareholder value. We voted for the sale.” Around this time, BEVCOMM in five of its ten cities served had potential landline competitive pressures from cable giants Charter Communications, Mediacom, and Comcast. BEVCOMM needed to create fresh revenue streams in order to position the company for another profitable 20

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years. In terms of population and potential business growth, Faribault County wasn’t growing at all and New Prague was BEVCOMM’s only city experiencing rapid growth. Eckles and BEVCOMM sold its profitable, 1,000-line, Shell Rock (Iowa) exchange, which wasn’t easy, as it appeared considering Eckles’ great-grandfather literally began BEVCOMM there in 1895. The company purchased Cannon Valley Telephone, which provided telephone service to Morristown and the eastern half of Faribault County, and cable television to parts of Dakota County. This meant BEVCOMM, with its later acquisitions of the Delavan and Easton telephone companies, would have sole ownership of every telephone exchange in Faribault County except Kiester. But the opportunity of a lifetime arrived when BEVCOMM partnered with New Ulm Telecom and ACS to buy out publicly held Hector Communications for $127 million. “We were buying one-third of a company twice our size,” said Eckles. “But if you want to stay in business and go forward, you have to grow, and there isn’t much growth in the markets we serve. If you can’t keep growing in this industry, you start going backwards, and eventually you are forced to sell. During this time, we also had other opportunities to move into cable television, which we did, either by upgrading our own telephone lines for cable or as in the case of Blue Earth and Elmore by buying out Charter Communications and upgrading service.” The deal took Hector Communications private and split company responsibilities. ACS began managing Hector companies in northern Minnesota, New Ulm Telecom a company near Sleepy Eye, and BEVCOMM companies near Rochester and in Wisconsin. At its purchase in 2006, Hector Communications had nearly 30,000 landlines, and 8,000 cable television and 12,000 Internet customers. BEVCOMM still owns 33.33 percent. Pilot Eckles has flown high with BEVCOMM the last decade, and so have many organizations where he has served as co-pilot. For example, he was a co-founder of Faribault County Development Corporation, a private entity serving the breadth of Faribault County.

Call Of Duty | BEVCOMM

“Business all comes down to caring for your people first—care for them, and they will take care of you. It’s something we have always done. That’s the lesson I learned at the dinner table.” He explained, “In Faribault County, Blue Earth had an economic development authority (EDA) funded with a staff person and Wells had its EDA funded with a staff person. Faribault County had an EDA funded with a staff person. We had three full-time people serving a county of 15,000. To me that seemed a little ridiculous. Why not have one organization and have everybody pool resources? We went private to engage the private sector and have them contribute too. BEVCOMM serves practically every business in the county, so I don’t care if a business locates in Wells, Winnebago, Blue Earth or wherever.” Although Eckles no longer serves on the FCDC board, he maintains contact with director Linsey Warnka. And he has kept BEVCOMM itself active trying to expand economic development in Faribault County. Partly funded by a “Midwest Wireless” sale endowment, BEVCOMM Foundation provides up to $25,000 annually in grants for county economic development. The latest grant benefited the City of Winnebago by providing marketing research funding and another helped Wells remove an abandoned trailer court. On Eckles’ dream list of economic development projects was seeing Faribault County differentiate itself from other southern Minnesota counties by putting up a spec building somewhere on I-90 to lure a new business to the area. He would like to replicate the phenomenal success of 75-employee Express Diagnostics, which moved into and has purchased a former spec building in Blue Earth’s industrial park. Eckles has felt undeserving and unworthy about coming in No. 2 in Connect Business Magazine’s Business Person of the Year award. However, he may have answered in part why he won the award when he said again, “Business all comes down to caring for your people first—care for them, and they will take care of you. It’s something we have always done. That’s the lesson I learned at the dinner table.” Editor Daniel J. Vance writes from Vernon Center.

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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012

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OFF-THE-CUFF

Before starting my editorial yarn, I first have to thank our panel of Minnesota State College of Business professors for choosing our 2012 Business Person of the Year, an honor shared this year by North Mankato kettle corn moguls Dan and Angie Bastian. Without our judges’ expert help, our annual award would lack zing and credibility. With that said, buckle your seat belts and away we go…. In recent months, and with a suffocating federal deficit threatening the sustainability of many social programs, some Occupiers have been expressing a desire to dramatically raise income tax rates on “the wealthy.” It’s not just Occupy—many people assume if wealthy people pay more taxes, most social programs can avoid painful cuts. To illustrate the naivety of this position, I’m about to use a schizotypal-laden, illegal drug-related example that is probably inappropriate. So re-buckle your seat belts and bear with me…

To begin with, the 1970s had some really rotten popular music: Disco Duck, The Streak, the sappy Carpenters yodeling Close to You, The Village People semaphoring YMCA, Debbie Boone bawling You Light Up My Life, and the Bee Gees, Bread, Donna Summer, and Gilbert O’Sullivan, to name a few. But the ‘70s also Daniel J. Vance had cannabis-influenced Pink Floyd. I liked Editor Pink Floyd. Years ago, an acquaintance said that when Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon and The Wizard of Oz were played simultaneously from the beginning of each, a rational person could only come to the conclusion that Dark Side of the Moon was produced with The Wizard of Oz in mind. The music and film complement each other perfectly, he said. As I later learned, a great many people really do believe in what they call The Dark Side of Oz. After watching the Youtube video in November and seeing The Dark Side of Oz myself, I now weigh in…. Honestly, about a dozen lines on the album really do seem to synch up perfectly with the movie, such as “Waiting for someone or something to show you the way” when Toto jumps through a window to a waiting Dorothy; and “The lunatic is on the grass” when neurotic Scarecrow tucks straw into his shirt. In other words, just enough Pink Floyd and Oz match to construct a compelling

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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012

argument. But what these ardent believers won’t tell you is that far, far more doesn’t match. And therein lies the rub…. I actually have heard people say we wouldn’t be in this federal budget deficit morass if people with higher incomes were paying more. I can see how this line of thinking could seem logical to some people—the same way I can see how many stoned people could believe Pink Floyd wrote lyrics to match The Wizard of Oz. The truth: The U.S. doesn’t have enough wealthy people to even come close to having them fix the deficit debacle all by themselves.

The truth: The U.S. doesn’t have enough wealthy people to even come close to having them fix the deficit debacle all by themselves. Let’s start with the wealthiest 400 Americans, who earned a combined $90.9 billion in 2008 and paid $19.54 billion in federal income taxes. This was the income group and tax year investor Warren Buffett cited in his New York Times opinion piece that slapped around “the rich” for not paying enough. The federal deficit in 2011 was $1.3 trillion. Even if confiscating all the income the Top 400 earned in 2008, which would be equivalent to a 100 percent tax rate, the federal government still would be able to cover only 7.0 percent of the 2011 deficit. Okay, so cut Buffett some slack and cast a wider net, you say? Let’s look at the most recent, available IRS tax data. If confiscating 100 percent of the 2009 earnings of everyone making more than $10 million in adjusted gross income, which would likely include half the National Basketball Association, the federal government in 2009 would have been able to cover only 17.2 percent of the deficit. Those people had a combined adjusted gross income of $240 billion, which would have barely dented our $1.4 trillion of red ink that year. So let’s go all out and consider the 729,451 people earning over $500,000. Together, they earned $1.06 trillion in 2009 income, which—after having 100 percent confiscated—would still leave us $400 billion short of balancing the budget that year. And I don’t know anyone advocating a 100 percent tax on high-earners. Clearly, as a nation, we can’t even come close to overcoming serial trillion dollar deficits just by raising taxes on wealthy people. Heck, we can’t even come close to doing it by taking all their income. They have only so much money. Of course, this massive deficit issue wouldn’t exist at all if we had more wealthy people to shoulder the tax burden. Thanks again for reading southern Minnesota’s first and only locally owned business magazine, and the only one blanketing our nine-county region with a circulation of 8,400. We are already looking forward to our March 2012 issue—and trust you are, too. Editor Daniel J. Vance also writes“Disabilities,”a nationally self-syndicated newspaper column (danieljvance. com). Email letters to the Editor by February 1 for next issue. We may edit for space and clarity.

Good morning Mankato! We’re happy to be here. We may be new to Mankato, but we’ve been around Minnesota for a long time. So you can expect big things from us. Like building area businesses, and a healthier community together. Stop by for a cup of coffee and say hello.

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BULLETIN BOARD

Any chamber of commerce, convention and visitors bureau, or economic development organization in our reading area—large or small, from Amboy to Waterville—can post on our free bulletin board. For details, email editor@connectbiz.com.

Applications are available from high school guidance counselors, agriculture instructors, Fairmont Area Chamber or online at fairmontchamber.org under News and Events link. Applications are due April 1, 2012.

Fairmont Mike Humpal, City of Fairmont

Lake Crystal Julie Reed, Lake Crystal Chamber

Five of our top ten taxpayers did not exist seven years ago. We have nearly $350 million in new tax base. In 2011 alone, these new construction/ expansion/remodel projects began: Fairmont water plant ($31 million); Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency 25-megawatt powerplant ($30 million); Doolittle’s Carpet and Paints; Casey’s General Store; Lakeview Funeral Home; Fairmont Elementary; House of Hope; Bank Midwest; American Welding and Gas; Dollar Tree; HyVee; 210 other building permits worth $6 million.

To better meet the fitness and wellness needs of its members, Lake Crystal Area Recreation Center will be open to all members 24/7 (24 hours per day/7 days a week) beginning in early January 2012. Obviously, this will allow all members greater access and accommodate some members with demanding schedules. The change benefits everyone—not only will people have more flexible hours during the week, but also much greater access on weekends.

Mankato Shelly Megaw, Greater Mankato Growth The 3rd Annual Greater Mankato Day at the Capitol takes place February 15. It will give Greater Mankato business community members an opportunity to meet legislators from throughout the state and share information about their businesses, the Greater Mankato region, and its impact on the State of Minnesota and its economy. For details on how your business can participate, visit greatermankato.com/gmg-dayatthecapitol.php.

Fairmont Bob Wallace, Fairmont Area Chamber Graduating seniors of Martin County high schools pursuing a bachelor’s degree in agriculture or an area of study that services agriculture are encouraged to apply for one of two $4,200 scholarships. Sponsors include Agriculture Future of America, Agri-Business Committee of the Fairmont Area Chamber, and area businesses.

Mankato Julie Nelson,

South Central Minnesota Small Business Development Center

K & G Gymnastics is now open at 19288 State Highway 22, Mankato. It offers classes, competition teams, open gym, parties and parent’s night out. Visit kandggymnastics.com to learn more

Announcing Southern Minnesota’s Exclusive Lexmark Dealer River Bend Business Products is proud to have been selected as the exclusive Lexmark Business Solutions dealer for Southern Minnesota. Founded from an IBM heritage in Lexington, Kentucky in 1991, Lexmark is one of the few American companies to own, develop and market inkjet, laser and color laser print technologies. Combined with the expertise of River Bend Business Products, Lexmark solutions will provide innovative ways to save you time, drive down costs and reduce your impact on the environment. Over 75% of the world’s top banks, retailers and pharmacies use Lexmark.

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Local Chamber & Economic Development News

North Mankato Lynette Peterson, North Mankato Convention & Visitors Bureau

North Mankato received the “James Farrell Award of Excellence” for conducting at Caswell Park four of the highest rated ASA National Softball Championships in 2011: Boys’ Fastpitch, Men’s 23U Fastpitch, Men’s Modified, and Women’s C/D Slow Pitch Northern National Championships. The Award is given to cities that do an outstanding job of hosting ASA National Championship tournaments. North Mankato will host the Men’s A, B and C West Fastpitch tournament in 2012. See caswellpark.net.

about this fun, exciting, and safe place for area youth to stay fit. “We are so thankful for the guidance we received from the SBDC. Mike Nolan and his staff were absolutely wonderful to work with,” said owners Gabrielle (Gabe) Essay and Katie Olson.

Mankato Christine Nessler, Greater Mankato CVB If you belong to an organization that could have a convention or meeting in Mankato, we want to talk to you. If your referral books a new event, Greater Mankato Convention & Visitors Bureau will make a donation to a charity of your choice and enter your name

into a drawing for an Apple iPad. We can make your event a huge success. Contact, Larissa Mrozek (Senior sales director, 385.6662 or lmrozek@greatermankato.com).

New Ulm Audra Shaneman, New Ulm Chamber The last meeting of Network New Ulm focused on economic health. Brian Tohal of New Ulm Economic Development Corporation gave a presentation on local population, employment, and household demographics. The rest of the day was filled with visits to “Made in New Ulm” stops including Beacon Promotions, River View Sanitation, Twin Rivers Archery & Outdoors, Kraft, and Schell’s Brewery. Once a month, the group meets to learn about another aspect of the community.

Sleepy Eye Julie Schmitt, Sleepy Eye Chamber Sleepy Eye Chamber of Commerce recognizes Miller Sellner as its 2011 Manufacturer/Technology award recipient. Also, now in its seventh year, a new Little Miss and Mr. Holiday were chosen on November 28—the Little Royalty were Kayla Schroepfer and Spencer Hoffman. “Groovin with the Chamber” is the theme for the Chamber of Commerce annual meeting on February 9.

St. James Lori Nusbaum, St. James Chamber The 2011 Shop St. James 1st Winter Carnival Weekend, Spirit of Christmas Tour of Homes, and Women’s Morning Out were great successes! The Chamber of Commerce, along with more than 25 business sponsors, gave away more than $1,800 in gift cards, certificates, and Chamber Bucks to ten lucky shoppers. Thanks to local businesses for sponsoring the events, especially CenturyLink and Mayo Clinic Health System—St. James. Thank you Santa for visiting us at SR Photography! continues next page >

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The future Veteran’s Park added a parking lot and concrete walkway from the parking area. The EDA board was given a presentation on different options on installing gardens from the parking area to the park. This spring, the concrete pads for the commemorative walls, flags, and kiosk will be added. A first meeting between the EDA, Servicemen’s Club, Legion, and VFW will occur to receive input regarding the park and possible financial resources for completion.

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St. Peter Russ Wille, City of St. Peter Verizon Wireless opened a retail/service outlet in Four Seasons Mall at 208 South Minnesota; Jay Zender will renovate for a January opening of a State Farm Insurance office at 319 South Minnesota; Jake’s Pizza will open in the former St. Peter Food Coop building at 119 West Broadway; and Riley—Tanis & Associates is renovating and will occupy 324 South Minnesota, with the Nicollet County Attorney’s office occupying the adjoining building at Minnesota and Grace.

Waseca Kim Foels, Waseca Area Chamber Waseca Area Chamber and Ambassadors will honor citizens working hard to help better our community: The annual Community Awards Banquet is January 28. The awards offered that evening are Human Rights, Service above Self, Book of Golden Deeds, James J. Donahue Community Development, Boss of the Year, Distinguished Service, Agricultural Leadership and the Don Eustice Community Service Award. The public is invited. For ticket information, RSVP by January 23 to 835-3260, info@wasecachamber.com or wasecachamber.com.

Waseca Kimberly Johnson, City of Waseca United States Department of Agriculture awarded the City of Waseca Economic Development Authority a loan opportunity of $500,000 for establishing a $625,000 revolving loan fund to assist new Waseca County agribusiness startups. In part, it will offer gap financing to agribusiness startups/expansions providing value-added production of locally grown produce, nutraceutical and/or diseasepreventive foods, or food additives and plant-based compounds for pharmaceuticals. The program should be available 2012. Any chamber of commerce, convention and visitors bureau, or economic development organization in our reading area—large or small, from Amboy to Waterville—can post on our free bulletin board. For details, email editor@connectbiz.com.

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CONNECTING BACK

Read the entire articles at connectbiz.com

1 YEAR AGO

JANUARY 2011 John Roise of Lindsay Window & Door of North Mankato was our 2011 Business Person of the Year. His introduction mentioned his birthplace in Madison, Minnesota, and the town’s 25-foot-long fiberglass- and Dupont acrylics-constructed codfish named Lou T. Fisk, which has been featured on the Today Show, and in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, and Christian Science Monitor. For the record, John Roise hasn’t been featured in any of those publications. Must be tough playing second fiddle to a fiberglass fish. Other finalists: Warren P. Smith of Survey Services (Mankato) and Darwin Anthony of Farmers State Bank (Trimont). Memorable quote: “North Mankato is an exceptional place to do business…I can’t say enough good things about the City, Wendell Sande, the mayors, all the council members on down. They are very pro-business.”—John Roise.

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JANUARY 2007 Our cover was Roxie Mell-Brandts of Jensen Transport in South Bend Township, our Business Person of the Year 2007. Other finalists: Tom Fallenstein of Costumes Galore (Mankato) and Todd Snell (Snell Motors). Memorable quote: “Even the dispatchers back then were men and I was determined to do it better than any of them. That fueled my personal drive to succeed. God didn’t give me a brain not to use it.”—Roxie Mell-Brandts, on being a 1970s trucking company dispatcher. 10 YEARS AGO

JANUARY 2002 Cover interview: Deb Flemming of the Mankato Free Press. Profiled companies: Fairmont Artificial Breeders (Fairmont) and United Spray Systems (Le Sueur). 15 YEARS AGO

JANUARY 1997 Cover interview: Dr. Tony Jaspers of the Mankato Clinic. Profiled companies: Kitchen Tune-Up (Mankato) and Pro Growth (Gaylord). CONNECT Business Magazine

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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012

N OF TH RSO EY PE 12 R 20 EA

BUSIN ES S

2 nd P L A C E

3 rd P L AC E

By Carlienne A. Frisch Photos by Daniel Dinsmore

Mankato-based, full-service advertising firm owner masters left and right brain tasks to grow company and community.

Business Person of The Year 2012 winners selected by MSU Mankato College of Business faculty.

Brian Maciej (pronounced MAH-Chee) and his business, Lime Valley Advertising, are a study in contrasts. The company 47-year-old Maciej owns is located in a two-story French Second Empire home, built in 1873, at 1620 S. Riverfront Drive in Mankato. The 3,700 square feet of space provide an elegant setting for the 16 offices from which a staff of eleven provides integrated marketing for clients. A conference room display of awards for cutting-edge advertising campaigns belies the feeling of having stepped back into a gentler, slower-paced era, a feeling augmented by the fragrance from several lit candles. “Our goal is to help clients present their brand in a consistent manner, cohesive in look, feel and message, through print, electronic and interactive formats,” Maciej said. For him personally, the contrast comes in his ability to excel in the exercise of both his creative right brain and analytical left brain. His success in advertising rests on creativity, technical competency and good business sense. “There are two real challenges—a technology that changes rapidly, both software and hardware, and keeping up with design trends, including color and pop culture,” he explained. That’s why the ink on new employees’ diplomas is barely dry. The last six employees he hired were fresh out of college. “I want their creativity, their technical finesse, and their uninhibited creative energy,” Maciej said. “My personal likes or dislikes are irrelevant” in producing the best possible result for the client. continued > JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012

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Brian Maciej | Business Person of The Year 2012: 3rd Place

Back when he was one of those young people, Maciej’s activities focused on left-brain activities. Growing up in Hibbing, Minn., with three sisters, he wanted to become an architect. In 1982, he graduated from Hibbing High School, where both of his parents taught. He said, “I had the most wonderful education. The course offerings and teachers were incredible, but as a student, you don’t realize that. I never took an art class because my father taught some of the art classes, and I didn’t want to be in one of his classes. In elementary school, though, I had my mom as a substitute teacher. I liked math, the problem-solving aspect. I liked graphing the solutions to algebraic equations. My high school, one of the most prestigious high schools in the United States, offered a class in engineering drafting, which I took. It was definitely the pencil-on-paper drawing, the precision of the process.”

Mankato 507.380.0220 dinsmorephotography.com

I never took an art class because my father taught some of the art classes, and I didn’t want to be in one of his classes. Maciej’s high school years weren’t spent entirely in a rarified academic environment. At age 16, he took a job at the local Red Owl store bagging groceries, stocking shelves and even managing the produce department one summer. He explained, “I was in charge of ordering and scheduling. I could see the way the metrics of spoilage, the percent of store sales and the scheduling mattered. It was my first time of being measured for performance in a business.” He remained employed by Red Owl for five years, later working at a Bemidji store. Maciej went on to Hibbing Community College, where he enrolled in the pre-engineering program. There he learned computer-aided drafting and took a paid position in the math department, tutoring military veterans in algebra. His last semester he took a couple of art classes, and that’s when everything changed. “I really started to realize my more creative potential and wanted to explore that,” Maciej said. “I was no longer keeping up with the math and physics required in mechanical engineering.” After receiving an Associate of Arts degree in pre-engineering he enrolled at Bemidji State University, continuing the high-quality education to which he was accustomed. He majored in design technology, an interdisciplinary program that combined industrial technology and art, and chose a math minor, going through calculus 5 and linear algebra, and a concentration in business management, including macro and micro economics and accounting. He spent one quarter as an intern at the University of Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada,

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Ad Man | Lime Valley Advertising

AWARD WINNING 2011 STARR RECIPIENT

ST. PETER FOOD CO-OP AND DELI

Lime Valley Advertising entrance hall.

where he experienced practical application of marketing. In autumn 1986, with a Bachelor of Science degree in hand, Maciej applied for about 50 jobs, typing or hand writing each cover letter, which resulted in four interviews. Advertising Unlimited (now Norwood Promotional Products) in Sleepy Eye hired him to produce art for calendars and specialty advertising items. “I drew by hand, although I’d had some computer experience at Bemidji State, where computers were just being introduced,” Maciej explained. “I worked in a department of about 20 production artists, mostly copying a design, doing very little creative work. Because of my mechanical engineering background, I did not find it boring at first. Later, to satisfy some creativity, I also began to work on freelance design projects for Doug Dybsetter in New Ulm.” When having an opportunity to start an in-house agency at Mankato-based Condux Corporation, Dybsetter invited Maciej on as a full-time employee. The new business was called Lime Valley Marketing Communications. “We worked for Condux and North Star Concrete several years and caught up on their backlog,” Maciej said. “Then management invited us to apply our talents to other companies, to recruit new clients for Lime Valley Marketing Communications. It was a nice

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Brian Maciej | Business Person of The Year 2012: 3rd Place

way of saying, ’Start making money here, or you’re finished.’ Doug was not interested in that, so he went back to his own design business. The copywriter, Steve Durham, and I were still pretty new in the industry, so we thought, ‘Let’s make a go of it.’ Condux employee Kevin Klanderud joined us and is still with the agency today. “We began Lime Valley Advertising using the skill I had learned from Doug on how to design and market from business to business, especially in manufacturing,” Maciej said. “There was a market opportunity here, largely ignored by Twin Cities ad agencies. We are a full-service advertising agency, from idea and concept all the way through the production of the final product, which could be print materials, a video or DVD or an advertising product.” When Maciej bought and incorporated the business in 1996, he moved it from its Lime Valley location to the Voyager Bank building in downtown Mankato. Three years later, the company relocated to the historic building that had occupied an acre of land when built by retired tailor William Irving nearly 140 years ago. The move provided an environment of understated elegance, a message not lost on potential clients. The company’s in-house services include creative writing, technical writing, graphic design, illustration, media buying, digital video,

Brian Maciej | Ad Man

Doing Good 1. Greater Mankato Growth, Bronze Investor Member 2. Twin Valley Council, BSA, Executive Board, vice president of marketing 3. Greater Mankato Diversity Council, Founding partner, 2006 Pathfinder award recipient 4. South Central College Graphic Communications Program, advisory board chair 5. Founder of annual scholarship in graphic communications at SCC 6. Bemidji State University Design Technology Advisory Board, charter member 7. Regional Center for Entrepreneurial Facilitation, board of directors 8. Second Wind Network (a national association of small advertising agencies), member 9. MMSCU Designing with Technology Conference, 2008 keynote speaker 46

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Ad Man | Lime Valley Advertising

Usually an internship is a crossroads of school and work, but at Lime Valley it’s more of an interchange. There’s as much to be gained from the students as they learn from us. Brian Maciej | Ad Man

Schell’s Vacuum Tonic label, c. 1905.

Brian Bared Personal: single, no children, and no pets. Hobbies and recreation: “I don’t have a lot of time for recreation, but have an appreciation for the outdoors. I enjoy hiking and biking. I go fishing, both here and Up North. I also enjoy automobiles and drive a modern muscle car, a 2010 Camaro. I enjoy driving it, even to work. That’s what they’re for, to drive. In my house on Mankato’s hilltop, I have household projects such as landscaping and finishing the basement.”

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Of what accomplishment are you most proud? “My commitment to education, to helping students who are pursuing a design career. I’m also proud Lime Valley Advertising is surviving the recession with no cuts in pay or employee benefits and no layoffs. We remain the right size, in the right place, with the right talent.” What possession do you value most? “Ownership of the historic house in which I have my business. I also value having the jigsaw puzzles my father cut out of Masonite and painted when I was six.” What intangible do you value most? “My drive and ambition.” What three words or phrases describe you? “Driven, ethical, having high expectations.” If you could change one thing: “I would change unethical business practices of using intellectual property without permission of the creator. Work in this industry gets stolen. I’d like to see everyone in the industry protect one another’s work more diligently and to show more respect.” JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012

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Brian Maciej | Business Person of The Year 2012: 3rd Place

Lime Valley Advertising, Mankato

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Ad Man | Lime Valley Advertising

trade show display design, photography, website design, point-ofpurchase displays, public relations, search engine optimization and multi-media development (from web banner ads to animated video). Outlab services (subcontracted to other businesses) include offset printing, photographic and digital enlargements, trade show display systems, prototype models, packaging, and CD/DVD duplication.

“If I didn’t own Lime Valley Advertising, I would be teaching design,” Maciej said. “I wonder if instructors ever fully realize the influence they have on their students.” “I think there’s a real need in our region for a full-service agency,” Maciej said. “In tough economic times, companies need an advertising partner. Most of our clients have an advertising department, but it makes sense for them to utilize a full-service firm rather than ramping up their own department or working with a variety of specialized partners, which can result in the message being diluted. When I incorporated the business, my goal was to create an environment where we could continue to grow in our careers. This would happen only through creating the highest quality product we could. We had to change from the manufacturing environment of Condux to one of creativity, but Condux continues to be our client. “We had eight clients our first year. We used personal contacts and word of mouth. Our work is noticed. We also engage in community volunteer opportunities, donating time and talent, and networking. We do some social media marketing and some advertising, and we send a newsletter to previous and potential clients. We now have 80 clients, and half have their work here at any given time, some with multiple projects, so we are working on 75 to 80 projects at any time. The average client/agency relationship in this industry lasts three years. An examination of 25 of our senior clients shows all have been with our agency a minimum of four years, 50 percent have been clients for 10 years or more, and several for 20 years. He said, “About 10 years ago we did a logo for the Dance Conservatory of Minnesota, donating our services. A student intern from Bethany Lutheran College did a brilliant design and, I think, surprised himself. The design looks as fresh today as it did then. We have one or two student interns per semester; we are an approved internship site for Minnesota State, Gustavus Adolphus College, Bethany Lutheran College, South Central College, Bemidji State and South Dakota State-Brookings. Internship requirements vary;

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Brian Maciej | Business Person of The Year 2012: 3rd Place

“Sometimes the client doesn’t know the answers, so we challenge the client to focus. We ask the client questions to which the client knows the answers.” we typically provide 120 to 150 hours of hands-on work and occasionally up to 400 hours, depending on college requirements. Usually an internship is a crossroads of school and work, but at Lime Valley it’s more of an interchange. There’s as much to be gained from the students as they learn from us. Three of our current staffers began here as interns. Close to a dozen interns have been hired and have moved on. One has his own business in the Twin Cities and now offers the same internship experience to students.” The paid staff includes nine full-timers and two part-timers—copywriters, graphic designers, web programmers and media buyers. Maciej retains the role of art director. “It’s my favorite thing to do and my greatest contribution,” he said. “I share the responsibility of account management with copywriter Jim Schill. We

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meet with clients to determine their needs, such as a marketing plan, specific advertising campaign or new product introduction. Sometimes the client doesn’t know the answers, so we challenge the client to focus. We ask the client questions to which the client knows the answers. For a new product, that’s who will buy it and at what cost, and we build off that. The client answers the question, ‘So you have this new product—who cares?’ Creativity must have purpose and wisdom to be effective. Being asked by a client to change the ‘product’ is part of the creative process, usually within a couple of proofs. A website, however, has three or four client input stages during the design process. “Where my art director aspect applies is in the conceptual stage,” Maciej said. “I do very little actual design, but I review every proposal. I also review every invoice. We

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012

invoice 1,000 to 1,200 projects per year and have only one or two client questions on billing annually. That’s a testament to my staff.” One of Lime Valley’s start-up awardwinning campaigns was for Wow! Zone. The creative ideas were applied not only to ads, brochures and a website, but also to a company vehicle that Wow! Zone’s owners drive in parades. “Redline Signs positioned our design elements on the vehicle so it looks like it’s moving when it’s standing still,” Maciej said. “You can see the energy. The design was done by an employee out of college less than a year.” Lime Valley Advertising also has won several regional and national awards for marketing projects done gratis for the Twin Valley Council, Boy Scouts of America, one of many projects done pro bono by the company’s staff. Maciej said, “Our company donates four percent of its production capacity. Another donated project was for the Mankato Marathon, in which one of our staffers participated. I think it’s remarkable that I work with people who have the same vision.” At least one of Maciej’s staff was hired as a result of Maciej’s passion for education.

Ad Man | Lime Valley Advertising

He has endowed a scholarship in graphic communication at South Central College and often speaks to classes there. When he interviewed a job candidate for a design position a few years ago, Maciej asked where the applicant had heard of Lime Valley Advertising. The applicant replied that it was at a high school career fair at SCC, at which Maciej had given a presentation and demonstrated the logo design process.

That student is now Lime Valley’s associate art director. “If I didn’t own Lime Valley Advertising, I would be teaching design,” Maciej said. “I wonder if instructors ever fully realize the influence they have on their students. I hold close relationships with some of my instructors to this day.”

Lime Valley Advertising Address: 1620 South Riverfront Mankato, MN 56001 Phone: 507-345-8500 Web: limevalley.com

Comment on this story at connectbiz.com

Carlienne A. Frisch writes from Mankato.

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HOT STARTZ!

Very New or Re-formed Businesses or Professionals New To Our Reading Area

Little Giant Fudge Little Giant Fudge, which operates inside Shell Food Mart at I-90 and US 169, has fast become a regional magnet for attracting I-90 travelers, said 45-year-old Kitchen Manager Patti Arends in a Connect Business Magazine telephone interview. The store literally has sold tons of fudge since opening less than a year ago. One traveling family from North Carolina said Little Giant Fudge’s quality and selection were better than anything they had experienced on the East Coast. Arends grew up in Hampton, Iowa. As a young adult, she took on being a full-time mother of three children and eventually worked as a baker, waitress, and restaurant manager, the last at Hamilton’s Restaurant in Blue Earth for four years. She now works at Little Giant Fudge with fellow employee Sue Esser, with occasional oversight by owner Bob Weerts. As for Little Giant Fudge, she said, “We make it fresh and do our own creating (with flavors). When I took over in March, we had maybe 40 different flavors, but now we have done over 100 different kinds. Some of our most popular are chocolate, chocolate walnut, and Blue Earth Dirt, which is very popular and tastes somewhat like a Snicker’s Bar. We also have a salted nut roll. “ For those stopping in, Little Giant Fudge offers free samples. For Internet buyers, it will ship a small six-pack and/ or an entire pan of any flavor—a pan contains 24 generous pieces of fudge that weigh roughly six pounds. A pan goes

for more than $40 and a six-pack for about $12 plus shipping. Little Giant Fudge also ships nuts, cheese, and gift baskets, and assembles party trays for pick up. Said Arends, “We haven’t had a bad review. Everyone says it’s very creamy. We have people saying the peanut butter fudge reminds them of their grandma’s.” For the Super Bowl, she said, she may make fudge in the different teams’ colors. She added, “It absolutely smells great here. With the fudge and nuts, the aroma is incredible.” LITTLE GIANT FUDGE Telephone: 507-526-5066 Address: Shell Food Mart at 1-90 and US 169 Web: littlegiantfudge.com

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C O N S U LTAT I O N | D E S I G N | I N S TA L L AT I O N | C O M M E R C I A L F U R N I S H I N G S 52

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Comment on Hot Startz! at connectbiz.com

MANKATO

Lava Java

KRIS KATHMANN

Owner Kay Prescher said in a telephone interview, “I was always the person that wanted to be around everyone and make them feel happy.” The 38-year-old Wells native’s business, Lava Java, opened within the last year in the downtown Mankato Mall. Although having two brothers and two sisters, Prescher was the youngest by eight years and essentially an only child. Her parents encouraged her to be independent, resourceful, and unafraid to experiment. “I was one of those people that wanted to know how things worked,” she said. “And I was a bookworm. When growing up, I read the entire fifteen-book Wizard of Oz series.” She had planned on attending the University of Minnesota on an ROTC scholarship, but decided against it when the first Gulf War began. Over time, she attended North Dakota State, married, and eventually found her way back to Mankato in 1999. There, she “fell in love” with retail, became the manager of a jewelry store and graduated with a Minnesota State B.S. degree in accounting. She then worked for Abdo, Eick & Meyer. Then the idea came for Lava Java. “I had never run a business before,” said Prescher. “So I went to the Small Business Development Center.” In part, Lava Java’s menu has fresh salads and wraps: one favorite is the Greek wrap, which has feta cheese, a black olive, and special dressing; another is a pulled pork wrap or sand-

wich featuring a homemade sauce from Token BBQ in Mapleton. She said, “We serve at least six kinds of brewed coffee daily and a full-line of espresso specialty drinks. We also have smoothies made from all-natural fruit concentrate.” What does she like best? “The people I see every day,” she said. “There are 300 people working in the building itself and many are regulars. I get worried if I don’t see someone that normally comes in. I love seeing everyone and knowing we are providing a quick easy healthy lunch at a very reasonable price.” The business is in the midst of a major expansion tripling floor space, and adding booth seating, a meeting room, bathrooms, and a small bar. LAVA JAVA Address: 12 Civic Center Plaza Hours: 7–2:30 M-F

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300 St. Andrews Dr., Suite 110, Mankato | weichertcommunitygroup.com JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012

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HOT STARTZ!

Very New or Re-formed Businesses or Professionals New To Our Reading Area

Jiffy Lube The new owner of Jiffy Lube franchises in Mankato and Rochester, Tony Chahine (pronounced Shuh-HEE-nee), was raised in a close-knit, middle-class family in Los Angeles where dad had a security-related job and mom stayed at home. He always enjoyed helping family members with work around the house or garage. “They taught me to respect people, do the job right, and never cheat or lie,” said 30-year-old Chahine in a telephone interview. “And I really enjoyed working on my father’s vehicles.” After getting straight A’s in high school, he majored in business finance at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) and graduated in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree. He said, “I wanted to do more in life than have a security job (like my father). I liked the idea of having my own business and had always thought about it. With my own business, I could work more than nine to five—I could work twelve hours if I wanted. I was taught to work hard. If you ask me to do something, I will make sure it gets done right. I won’t do it halfway.” While a Cal Poly student, he met one Sunday at his Greek Orthodox Church a Jiffy Lube five-store franchisee and began working for him. “Elias is like a dad to me and like part of the family,” said Chahine. “He likes to help people, will answer any question, gives advice, and asks how you are doing. He is approachable.” In April 2011, Elias helped Chahine purchase Jiffy Lube franchises in Mankato and Rochester. Chahine moved to

Rochester first, where he attended a Greek Orthodox Church, and recently to Mankato. “I had never been to Minnesota before,” he said. “I had to learn all the different places to go and how to drive in the snow. I like the people here.” The Jiffy Lube in Rochester employs six; Mankato, ten. In part, the business offers oil changes, radiator and transmission flushes, tire rotation, air and cabin air filters, and wiper and serpentine belt replacements. What does he like best about being a new Jiffy Lube franchisee? “I like helping people,” he said. JIFFY LUBE Telephone: 507-388-5823 Address: 1664 Madison Avenue Hours: M-F 8-6; SA 8-5; SU 11-5

To be considered for one of three spots in the March Hot Startz!, email the editor at editor@connectbiz.com. Businesses considered must have started—or changed greatly in form—within one year of our publishing date. Professionals chosen must be new to our reading area.

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PRESS RELEASES

To submit a press release for publication:

Call Karla VanEman today! (507) 345-4040

Email: editor@connectbiz.com Fax: 507-232-3373

Blue Earth

www.MankatoRealEstate.com 510 Long St, Suite 104, Mankato

From Express Diagnostics Int’l: The company promoted Gary Jueneman from director of operations to vice president/ general manager; the company participated in Medica 2011 in Dusseldorf, Germany, the world’s largest medical trade fair.

FAIRMONT

Sweet Financial Services For the eighth consecutive year, Bryan Sweet of Sweet Financial Services achieved membership on Raymond James Financial Services’ Chairman’s Council.

Fairmont From Mayo Clinic Health System— Fairmont: Dr. Susan Pearson and Nurse Practitioner Suzanne Beitzel provide ear, nose & throat services for patients every other week; and Mary Larson of The Jennings Group was named to the MCHSFairmont board of directors.

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From the Chamber: New members include Indulge Salon & Spa (203 Downtown Plaza) and IFC National Marketing (1130 Spruce).

Le Sueur New Chamber members include Stoned Peaces and China Kitchen.

Mankato Surveyor Dick Gardner celebrated 60 years of service with Bolton & Menk. Mankato Area Council for Quality honored Mankato Clinic with a MACQ Corporate Quality Award. HickoryTech donated a van to Feeding Our Communities Partners to transport BackPack Food Program supplies; the company began accepting entries for My Life, My Internet, a video contest. From Minnesota State: The University kicked off its Big Ideas Campaign; the University unveiled the newly renovated Centennial Student Union Ballroom; and for the sixth consecutive year, Minnesota State’s MBA program was listed as one of the nation’s best in The Princeton Review’s 2012 business school guidebook; President Richard Davenport was elected to the national board of directors of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.

MANKATO

HickoryTech From HickoryTech: Forbes ranked HickoryTech No. 83 on its “Best Small Companies in America” list.

From Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation: the organization awarded $20,000 to Mankato Early Childhood Family Education for its Step by Step Backpack Project; and President Tim Penny recognized Capstone Publishing, Tom Rosen, and Neil and Sue Eckles. Olympian Frank Shorter was the keynote speaker for the 2011 Orthopaedic and Fracture Clinic Speaker Series prior to the Mankato Marathon. From Mayo Clinic Health System— Mankato: The diabetes self-management education programs in Mankato, Springfield, and Waseca earned continued recognition from the American Diabetes Association; MCHS-M has a contest for public elementary school students to name its new da Vinci surgical robot. Maverick Software Consulting earned a 2011 Tekne Award for superior innovation and leadership. Jo Ann Burns of DCS Fitness Mankato qualified her squat at a meet for the National Independent Bodybuilding and Powerlifting Association Championship; her 12-yearold daughter, Jordan, also qualified. The CityArt Committee received a “Hos-

pitality Award” for the CityArt Walking Sculpture Tour from Greater Mankato Convention and Visitor Bureau. From Farrish Johnson Law Office: Scott Kelly (insurance defense, personal injury & ADR), Randall Knutson (plaintiff personal injury) and William Partridge (general litigation, personal injury) were named 2011 Super Lawyers, and Aaron Glade (construction litigation) and Kay Wallerich (employment/business law) were named 2011 Rising Stars; William Partridge was selected as a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America. New Greater Mankato Growth members include TBEI (Crysteel, Lake Crystal), flatlanddeals.com, Sunstone Creativity Group, Nicollet Bike Shop, Billings and Company, Mankato Brewery, Smiley Cup, and Jersey Mike’s Subs. From Greater Mankato Growth: Annual awards winners included Paulsen Architects and Snell Motors (Business Hall of Fame); Mankato Moondogs (Distinguished Business Award); WOW! Zone (Entrepreneurial Business Award); South Central College and Bolton & Menk (Brian Fazio Business Education Partnership

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MANKATO

Leonard, Street and Deinard From Leonard, Street and Deinard: Mankato attorney Douglas Peterson was appointed by the Minnesota Supreme Court to serve on its civil justice reform task force; Benchmark Litigation named the firm a “highly recommended” law firm in litigation and singled out these Leonard, Street and Deinard attorneys: Dominic Cecere, Lawrence Field, William Greene, Todd Noteboom, Douglas Peterson, Byron Starns, and Michael Taylor.

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Award); David Wittenberg (Hap Halligan Leadership Award); and Michael Jacobs (Young Professional of the Year). City Center Partnership CityDesign Awards of Excellence included Neubau Holdings and I&S Group (HECO Building); Neubau Holdings and I&S Group (I&S Group offices); Vanyo Moody and Paulsen Architects (The Marigold); RW Carlstrom and Paulsen Architects (327 Riverfront Drive; and Patrick and Christoper Person and Paulsen Architects (Neighbor’s Italian Bistro). Tim Berry is interim executive director of Twin Rivers Council for the Arts. Dr. Cindra Kamphoff received a Dorothy V. Harris Memorial Award from Associa-

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tion for Applied Sport Psychology. Eide Bailly promoted Heather Thielges to senior manager, and Brooke Forstner and Joel Stencel to managers. Mankato Symphony Orchestra Executive Director Sara Buechmann has been accepted into the “Essentials of Orchestra Management” program offered by the League of American Orchestras. With the help of donor partner ABDO Publishing, Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation launched a new early childhood effort, “Reading Rocks,” which will put 2,400 books into the hands and homes of children at SMIF’s AmeriCorps LEAP partner site classrooms. Mankato Area Foundation awarded over $25,000 in total grants and scholarships, including grants to Boys and Girls Club of Greater Mankato, Partners for Affordable Housing, MSU Mankato/Good Thunder Reading Series, and Robotics Team. Frentz Construction was voted 2011 People’s Choice Award winner for the MRBA’s Fall Tour of Homes. AmericInn Hotel & Conference Center collected items for “Blue Star Mothers” to ship to military men and women serving overseas.

New Ulm From the Chamber: New members include Humane Society and Super 8; Jared Brown is the new manager of Applebee’s; Apryl Folken joined Citizens David Hirth Agency; and Design Home Center and Puhlmann Lumber & Design were named 2011 “Industry of the Year” winners. Gislason & Hunter added the following new attorneys: Peter Hemberger (New Ulm), Kaitlin Pals (New Ulm), Bill Parker (New Ulm), and Allison Lange Garrison (Minneapolis). New Chamber members include Hope & Faith Floral & Gift, Wells Fargo Bank, Idea Haus of New Ulm. From the Chamber: Minnesota FFA Foundation board of trustees elected Gislason & Hunter attorney Michael Dove as chair; Mary Eckstein joined the CPA firm of Karla Havemeier, Ltd.; Dan Meinzer joined the Chuck Spaeth Ford sales staff;

and Blue Cross & Blue Shield recertified James Hoffman, LUTCF, for sales/service of its Medicare products.

North Mankato Parnell Thorson joined Frandsen Bank & Trust as vice president/ag lending. CEO David Krause of Pioneer Bank announced Matt Chmielewski was named vice president of the North Mankato branch. Dr. Gregory Miller (dentist) released a new website, gregmillerdds.com. Mitch Millhouse and Micah Haler of Computer Technology Solutions achieved Apple Hardware and Apple Software, Watchguard Expert, and Microsoft Gold Desktop Technician certifications. Express Employment Professionals celebrated 25 years in business. Mankato Area Council for Quality honored Angie’s Kettle Corn with a MACQ Corporate Quality Award.

ST. JAMES

Mayo Clinic Health System—St. James From Mayo Clinic Health System—St. James: according to Minnesota Bridges Of Excellence, Mayo Clinic Health System—St. James ranks nationally in the top 7 percent for emergency department satisfaction and the top 9 percent for patient satisfaction.

St. James From Mayo Clinic Health System—St. James: Dr. Jennifer Langbehn and Julie Pace, CNP, became new providers; Travis Jordan is the new facilities manager; Danielle Wilmes is the new organizational performance manager; MCHS—SJ employees recently donated more than 1,600 pounds of food to the county food shelf.

Pizza Hut Manager Mike Heinzman received recognition as a “Diamond Award” recipient for performance in September. Matt Kelly joined the Pamida pharmacy team. CEO David Krause of Pioneer Bank announced the election of Carlie Olson and Lucas Downs to the bank’s board of directors, joining David J. Gardner, Krause, Tom Mayberry, Robert Cunningham, Dr. James Warling, and Ronald J. Vetter as directors.

St. Peter Scholarship Management Services, a program of Scholarship America, promoted Mike Guyer-Wood to vice president of marketing & sales. AmericInn sent 10 military care packages overseas troops as part of a Veterans Day salute. WomenCertified named River’s Edge Hospital & Clinic among the Top 100 Hospitals for female patient satisfaction.

Sleepy Eye New Chamber members include ThirtyOne Gifts/Tracee Fromm, Big Kraut Construction, and Norwex/Shawna Sellner.

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Springfield Mayo Clinic Health System—Springfield was named one of the nation’s “Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals.”

Waseca From the Chamber: New members include Hoehn Law Office and Sommer’s Masonry; Waseca County BioBusiness Community Growth Initiative, funded in part by Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, received a $15,000 grant for biobusiness opportunities; Brown Printing received two Chamber awards (2011 Energy Professional Development Award and Corporate Energy Management Award).

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NATIONAL OPINION

Generation O, the group of young people that propelled President Obama to victory in 2008, is demanding more jobs, the greener the better. Generation O has been taught that government investments in green energy—an expansive term that embraces renewable energy, pollution reduction, and conservation—will create jobs in America, lots of jobs. Now students are finding out that story is green science fiction. At a hearing (in November) before a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee, the Energy Department inspector general and a Labor Department assistant inspector general testified that many funds authorized by Congress to

create green jobs remained unspent. If spent, funds yielded meager results. Elliot Lewis, the Labor Department’s assistant IG for audit, testified that six months into their jobs, only 2.5 percent of individuals enrolled in the department’s green jobs training programs were still employed in jobs for which they were trained. Energy Department IG Gregory Friedman testified that as of late October, 45 percent of the department’s 2009 stimulus bill funds for green energy had not been spent because few “shovel ready” projects existed. The two IGs’ testimony shows why green jobs programs have not increased employment. As of June 30, the Labor Department had awarded $490 million of the $500 million provided by Congress for the green jobs program to state work force agencies, community colleges, and nonprofits. Yet almost three-quarters of the way into the program, grantees had spent only $163 million, about a third of their funds. Department funds trained workers in green jobs such as hybrid- and electric-car auto mechanics, weatherization of buildings, and solar panel installation. Other workers received job referrals and training in basic work force readiness skills. Out of 53,000 people who were served by the programs, 47,000 enrolled in training. Of them, 26,000

completed training and 8,000 found jobs. Of the 8,000, only 1,366 were employed six months later. With only 1,336 trainees employed after six months, my simple Diana Furchtgott-Roth mathematical calculation yields a taxpayer cost of $121,257 per job. Perhaps it was a good thing, given the meager results, that so little was actually spent. Lewis recommended that any of the unspent $327 million that was not being used by the states be returned to the Treasury. The Energy Department had similar problems spending stimulus funds, according to IG Friedman. Out of the Energy Delivery and Energy Reliability program, $2.6 billion, or 57 percent, was unspent. And when funds were spent, work was often poorly performed. In one state, nine out of 17 weatherized homes failed inspection because of substandard workmanship. In another, a subcontractor gave preference to relatives and employees, even though the target population was elderly and handicapped residents. Friedman explained state and local government were unprepared to receive the grants. “Not to make light of a serious situation, but it was like attaching

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a lawn hose to a fire hydrant,” he said. “The governments were overwhelmed.” Brett McMahon, vice president of construction company Miller & Long, displayed photographs of two toilets, an old and a new, and said that green jobs were no different from other jobs. McMahon told members that “a great deal of effort and tax dollars have gone for the purpose of convincing the public that the plumber

Unfortunately, few new jobs are to be had. When looking for work, Generation O is learning the hard way that taxpayer money spent on green jobs is just money down the drain. who installs the ‘Lo-Flow’ toilet should now be called a Green Collar plumber, and the new label should count as a new job.” Unfortunately, few new jobs are to be had. When looking for work, Generation O is learning the hard way that taxpayer money spent on green jobs is just money down the drain. Diana Furchtgott-Roth is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of RealClearMarkets.com. This article first appeared in the Washington Examiner.

Keep talking to your physician about colon cancer screening, so you won’t have to talk about colon cancer.

If everyone who’s 50 and older would get screened for colon cancer, the death rate could be cut in half *. So make it a priority to talk to your physician about getting screened. For additional information, call us at 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit www.cancer.org. This is how we can work together to prevent colon cancer. This is the American Cancer Society. *Source: http: //prg.nci.nih.gov /colorectal /

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/ 1.800.ACS.2345 / www.cancer.org JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012

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NATIONAL OPINION

After years of legislative stalemate on immigration reform, Congress may be ready to enact a modest but important change that will loosen self-defeating restrictions on the hiring of highly skilled foreign-born workers. Called the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act (House Resolution 3012), the bill would relax the quota system on hightech visas so U.S. companies could hire the best-qualified foreign-born scientists and engineers regardless of their country of origin. It would be a rare step in the right direction for U.S. immigration policy. Under current law, no more than 7 percent of the 140,000 annual permanent “green card” employment visas can be awarded to workers from any one country. That arbitrarily excludes qualified potential immigrants from China and India, each with more than 1 billion residents and thriving technology sectors. This makes no sense.

CONNECT Business Magazine

Enter H.R. 3012, sponsored by Rep. Jason Chaffetz, Utah Republican, which the House Judiciary Committee passed by a voice vote late October. The bill Daniel Griswold would eliminate the per-country limit on employment-based visas by 2015 after a three-year phase-in period. During that time, extra visas would be allocated to highly skilled workers from India and China to reduce backlogs in applications that currently stretch up to nine years.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012

The biggest shortcoming of the bill is that it does not increase the overall number of employment visas issued each year. Despite the ongoing jobs recession, American companies need more highly skilled workers. U.S. colleges are simply not graduating enough Americans trained in the STEM subjects — science, technology, engineering and math — to meet the needs of the nation’s high-tech sector. Immigrants are necessary to fill the gap. Highly skilled immigrants enable American firms to create products and new ways of doing business. Immigrants co-founded some of America’s top technology companies, such as Google and Intel. A Duke University study found that a quarter of high-tech and engineering startup companies between 1995 and 2005 had immigrant co-founders. One-quarter of international patents filed from the United States are credited to foreign-born residents. For the government, educated immigrants are pure gravy. Because of their higher salaries and low unemployment rates, they pay more in taxes than they consume in government services from Day One. According to an authoritative study by the National Research Council, each college-educated immigrant

For the government, educated immigrants are pure gravy. Because of their higher salaries and low unemployment rates, they pay more in taxes than they consume in government services from Day One. and his or her descendants represent a $198,000 fiscal gain (in net present value) for the United States. That means a boost of 50,000 such immigrants in a year would be equivalent to retiring almost $10 billion in government debt. Many potential highly skilled immigrants graduate from American universities. According to Gordon Hanson of the University California at San Diego, in an upcoming article for the Cato Journal, foreign students account for three-fourths of doctorates awarded by U.S. universities in mathematics, computer science and engineering, three-fifths of doctorates in

physical sciences, and one-half of doctorates in life sciences. “Today, the difficulty is not in attracting top foreign students to America,” Mr. Hanson writes, “but in keeping them here after they graduate.” Yet our government limits temporary H1-B visas to 85,000 a year for U.S. industry, a quota that often is filled months before the fiscal year begins. Permanent green-card employment visas, which also include family members of highly skilled immigrants, are capped at 140,000 a year. America’s immigration system sends the signal to those foreign-born students with valuable skills that we would really prefer

that they return to China or India to start companies and file international patents rather than remain here in the United States. And if U.S. companies cannot hire the workers they need here, they eventually will relocate their productive facilities to nations where they can. It should not require a doctoral degree to see that allocating more green cards for highly skilled immigrants would be a big winner for the struggling American economy. Daniel Griswold is director of the Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies at the Cato Institute and author of the 2009 book Mad About Trade: Why Main Street America Should Embrace Globalization. This article appeared in The Washington Times on November 2, 2011.

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