Northfield Chamber Awards Announced

Our bi-weekly Professional Pride Realty in Northfield sponsored show concerning happenings in Northfield is Wednesday, December 27.

I'll head to Professional Pride Realty and

The show begins 9:30 a.m. on KDHL ,920 AM, www.kdhlradio.com or you may download the FREE Radio Pup app and listen on your favorite mobile device.

If you can't tune in live we upload the program to our YouTube channel www.youtube.com/user/KDHLRadio by mid-afternoon the day of the show.

It's then available to you 24 hours a day.

Recently the Northfield Chamber announced their annual awards and we'll touch on those during the AM Minnesota show Wednesday in Northfield.

Excerpts from their news release are included below.

The Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that Imminent Brewing has been named “2018 Business of the Year”.  This award recognizes a business in the Northfield Area that has Chamber and community involvement/contributions, along with expansion or business growth, renovation or redevelopment, new job creation, new employer and or facility, and has not been selected in the past 10 years.

The Chamber’s Selection Committee met recently and provided the following reasons why Imminent Brewing should receive recognition as an outstanding business in the Northfield community:

• Starting with a discussion in 2014, the partners began brewing beer for local parties and events before the Brew-pub opened in 2017 through a grass-roots community led ownership group Northfield.
• Successfully completed a major renovation project by converting the Northfield Amory garage into an 80 seat brew-pub.  Revitalized an under-used building on the south end of downtown which is not a main corner of activity that will continue to grow our downtown business district
• Did an excellent job of embracing the Northfield community through their process by doing an Indigogo campaign, using local vendors for the build-out, and building strong community support before they opened.
• Imminent continues to be community minded with hosting events to benefit local non-profits, partnering with food trucks at their location, providing live local music and having a local brewery dog of the month.
• Joined the Chamber before they opened their door to help foster and build relationships with their fellow business owners.
• Understanding the importance of our greater community, Imminent Brewing owners and staff communicate with other local employers and participate in several local organizations.

The Northfield Chamber also recognizes an individual as “Business Person of the Year” for "contributions/involvement to the Chamber, along with community/civic involvement and activities that improve the local business community."

Rick Estenson of First National Bank has been selected as the “2018 Business Person of the Year”.  Rick was chosen because "he has encouraged and participated in economic development efforts that have led to significant improvements for the Northfield area.  In addition, he has provided the community with his leadership, volunteer time, financial contributions, business knowledge and business expertise."

A graduate of Luther College, Rick joined First Nation Bank in 2004 and is currently Vice President of Business Development.  Rick has been an active member of the Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce, serving as President in 2012.  Rick is a former member of the Northfield EDA, served on the board of the NDDC, and is an active member of the Northfield Rotary.  In addition, Rick has volunteered on or been involved with almost every Northfield committee at some point.

Ambassadors are Chamber volunteers who actively promote the Chamber through attendance at events and specific activities. Their goal is to improve Chamber member relations and retention.

Julie Haley has been selected as the “2018 Ambassador of the Year”. Julie has not only attended nearly every Chamber event since becoming part of the committee, but has also stepped up as the committee chair. She is also active in the Be Local – Buy Local, Fall Gala and Home and Garden Show committees. Julie went above and beyond when planning for the Fall Gala, collecting donations, putting together baskets for the silent auction and coming up with unique decorating ideas. She organized the Ambassadors and rallied for Ambassadors swag, including red hats, headbands and scarfs which were introduced during Winter Walk. Julie is a huge asset to the committee and for that we want to thank her for her efforts.

The Chamber Annual Meeting and Business Recognition Banquet will be held on Wednesday, January 24, 2018 at 5:00 p.m. at The Grand Event Center.  Cost is $40.00 per person.

Reservations are required and can be made online at www.northfieldchamber.com or by sending a check to the Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce, 205 Third Street West, Suite B, Northfield, MN  55057.  todd@northfieldchamber.com.