It was all about Cottage Grove at The Confluence Hotel in Hastings Thursday night. The Cottage Grove Area Chamber held its Evening of Excellence annual dinner and awards presentation, and the …
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It was all about Cottage Grove at The Confluence Hotel in Hastings Thursday night.
The Cottage Grove Area Chamber held its Evening of Excellence annual dinner and awards presentation, and the historic hotel’s ballroom was the perfect backdrop for the event.
Paula Skoviera of Princess Paula Consulting served as emcee for the evening, urging everyone to make sure they share the night’s adventures on social media and taking a “selfie” on stage with the hundreds of attendees in the background.
The chamber went all out on entertainment this year, with a half hour show from renowned “stand up magician” Derek Hughes, a former finalist on “America’s Got Talent.” Hughes amazed the crowd with his seemingly unbelievable tricks.
Skoviera welcomed guests to the event and noted local elected officials attending, including Washington County Board Commissioner Karla Bigham, as well as Cottage Grove Mayor Myron Bailey and councilmembers Justin Olsen, Monique Garza and Tony Khambata.
A big thank you went out to event sponsors.
“An event like this, it takes a lot of things, and one of the things that it does take is sponsors, because without the sponsors, you wouldn’t be enjoying the beautiful décor, the specialty drinks, really all of the things,” said Skoviera.
Premier event sponsor was Renewal by Anderson. Platinum sponsor was 3M. Van Meter was the gold sponsor, Wolf River Electric the Silver and Holcim the bronze. Dapper Dog Marketing & Design offered everyone a “dapper drink” concoction, and The Confluence provided dessert.
From there, it was all about recognizing the people and the businesses that keep Cottage Grove’s business community humming along. Skoviera noted the chamber’s growth of 49 new members in the last year alone, bringing it to an impressive 247 members. Chamber President and CEO Laurie Levine received a big ovation for all her efforts to make the chamber as successful as it is.
Outgoing chamber board members were recognized for the work they put in during their terms in office: Randy Bachman of Merchants Bank, Sonya Fox of RE/MAX Professionals and Curt Swanson of Genesis Financial.
A photo was taken of the board members, and then it was on to recognizing the chamber executive board of directors. Incoming chair is Cynthia Bennett of Wolf River Electric, while Joe Wegele of Renewal by Anderson moves to past chair. First vice chair is Tarah Beyer of Dapper Dog Marketing and Design, second vice chair is Holly Schmidt of Associated Bank and secretary is Emilie Eliszewski of U.S. Bank. Sustaining board members were introduced: Derek Kneir of 3M, Mike Graham of HyVee, Kirstin Sersland of Marathon, Rogerio Goncalves of Renewal by Anderson, Abby Baker of So Wash Co ISD 833 and Chuck Eldredge of Van Meter. At large board members are Matthew Deery of Added Element, Monique Garza of Buy with Mo, Jeff Shomaker of Edward Jones, Jena DeMoss of HyVee, Olivia Williams of Merchants Bank, Adrianna Case of Legion Properties and Kelly Rashaw of Scentsy. City representatives are Cottage Grove Mayor Myron Bailey, City Administrator Joe Hatch of the City of Newport and Mayor Keith Franke of the City of St. Paul Park.
The most important reason for the evening was to honor the business leaders and organizations who have shown strong commitment and dedication to making the chamber great. Business award winners were:
Large Business of the Year: Squeaky Services.
Small Business of the Year: Added Element.
Sole Entrepreneur of the Year: Monique Garza of Buy with Mo powered by Keller Williams Premier Realty.
Women in Business of the Year: Tarah Beyer of Dapper Dog Marketing & Design.
Non-Profit of the Year: Basic Needs Inc.
