TwinWest is proud to recognize the accomplishments and dedication of our members. Below are details on the awards we present on a regular basis.

Entrepreneur and Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year

Circle Awards 

Volunteer Superstar Awards 

Each year, TwinWest presents our Entrepreneur of the Year and Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year awards to small-business owners to recognize and applaud their drive, innovation, business savvy and commitment to their employees and communities.

Nominees for these awards undergo a lengthy interview process conducted by TwinWest's Small Business Awards Luncheon Task Force. After a final selection process, the winners are announced in May at our Small Business Awards Luncheon.

Criteria for nomination:

All candidates must be TwinWest members for at least one year by the end of May, and must be the owner or visible leader of a successful small business with $100 million or less in annual revenue.

TwinWest Entrepreneur of the Year: A TwinWest-member entrepreneur who has established and maintained a successful business with $100 million or less in annual revenue, which is five or more years old.

TwinWest Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year: A TwinWest-member entrepreneur who has established a company with $100 million or less in annual revenue, which is less than five years old and more than one year old and displays excellent growth potential.

To submit a nomination, send an e-mail to Judy Johnson, director of community relations, at judy@twinwest.com or call 763.450.2226.

2008 award winners:

2008 Entrepreneur of the Year
John Packard, Culligan Water Conditioning

2008 Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year
Mark Suppes, Shred-N-Go, Inc.,

Read the 2008 press release for more information...

View a list of all winners since the awards were established...


Circle Awards

Each year, TwinWest recognizes member businesses for their generous sponsorships and TwinWest Foundation donations throughout the year. We appreciate our members' ongoing commitment and support.

2006-2007 Awards:

Gold Circle
Citizens Independent Bank
Grand Casino Mille Lacs-Hinckley
Liberty Diversified Industries
TDS Metrocom

Silver Circle
Caliber Development
Data Recognition Corporation
Fuzzy Duck Design
Henningson & Snoxell
LarsonAllen LLP
Lurie Besikof Lapidus & Company
Midwave Corporation
QuarterTon Productions
Qwest Communications Foundation
StarTribune
Sun Newspapers
TCF Foundation
Voyager Bank
Watermark Fine Stationery
Xcel Energy

Bronze Circle
Anchor Bank
Blanski Peter Kronlage & Zoch, P.A. CPAs
BNC National Bank
Floret
Gleason Printing
Graham Jewelers
Marriott Minneapolis Southwest
Melberg Marketing
North Memorial Health Care
OWLL Financial, Inc.
Pressworks
Principal Financial Group
Qwest Communications
Ridgedale Center
RLK Incorporated
The Business Bank
Upsher Smith Laboratories
Walden Automotive
Wells Fargo Banks


Volunteer Superstar Awards

Each month, TwinWest recognizes an outstanding volunteer from the TwinWest membership by presenting them with a Volunteer Superstar award. Recipients are chosen by the TwinWest Board of Directors or the TwinWest staff for going above and beyond in their work on a TwinWest initiative or strategic goal. The awards are presented at each month's Overtime (a networking event held by a TwinWest member business).
 
July 2008: Caroline Melberg, Melberg Marketing

In two years, Caroline has become an influential and dynamic member of TwinWest. Almost immediately after joining the chamber, her company was the premier sponsor of the “Suited by TwinWest” clothing drive program, and she took an active role on the committee. In 2007, she was honored at TwinWest’s Small Business Awards Luncheon as a finalist for 2007 Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2008, Caroline dedicated more volunteer time to serve on the planning committee for the awards luncheon; her experience and expertise made her a great asset to the committee. Caroline was also an integral member of TwinWest’s branding task force, a group of members and staff that created a new logo and identity standards for the chamber in early 2007. In addition, she currently serves as one of TwinWest’s official photographers, with projects including the cover photos for the 2008 Membership Directory and the May 2008 issue of Directions magazine. Thank you, Caroline, for all you have done and continue to do for TwinWest!

June 2008: Rita Kearns, Citizens Independent Bank

In 2007-2008, Rita Kearns completed her third year on the TwinWest Foundation Scholarship Selection Committee, serving as its chair during the last year. Rita took it upon herself to visit with each school district and their counselors to promote TwinWest Foundation scholarship opportunities for graduating seniors. Thanks to Rita’s strong community outreach, scholarship applications increased from 130 in 2007 to 230 in 2008. The scholarship committee interviewed dozens of deserving students, and the Foundation awarded $78,000 to 72 students in the TwinWest region (read the press release). Rita even attended high school award ceremonies celebrating many TwinWest Foundation scholarship recipients. Her passion and dedication to the mission of the Foundation is evidenced by the many hours she has invested in this volunteer work, ensuring the business community will continue to build strong leaders and an educated workforce well into the future.

(May 2008 - no award)

April 2008: Chris Hasling, Northwestern Mutual

Since becoming a member in 2006, Chris Hasling has been very involved with the chamber. He participates in the TwinWest Emerging Leaders program, and he is an active and enthusiastic TwinWest Ambassador. He also has been an instrumental part of the Annual Gala planning committee, specifically through his involvement as chair of the silent auction subcommittee. For the 2008 Gala alone, he solicited items worth more than $15,000 in retail value! He also inspired and motivated the entire subcommittee to bring in items worth a total of more than $86,000. Because of Chris' effective leadership, we are very pleased to announce he will co-chair the 24th Annual Gala Steering Committee in 2009.

(March 2008 - no award)

February 2008: Eddie Ulrich, Fuzzy Duck Design

Eddie Ulrich and his graphic design company Fuzzy Duck Design have helped TwinWest immeasurably with shaping our publications, event invitations and other materials. Over the past seven years as a TwinWest member, Eddie has served on many of the Chamber's event-planning committees, taking on the role of graphic design sponsor. With their creative expertise and experience, Eddie and his team have elevated TwinWest's event and program collateral materials to a new level. He and his team also were instrumental in TwinWest's rebranding efforts, designing the new TwinWest logo and weighing in with expertise to help establish new graphic design standards for the Chamber.

January 2008: Larry Brauch, Liberty Diversified Industries (LDI)

Larry has chaired TwinWest's involvement in the Minnesota Chamber's Grow Minnesota! initiative for the past two years, leading the charge on the Chamber's CEO retention visits. Under Larry's leadership, TwinWest is on its way to completing 46 visits this year (2007-2008). Larry also has been instrumental in launching an early childhood program at Liberty Diversified Industries' New Hope headquarters. The program, called the Parent Education Series, was launched in the fall of 2007 and focuses on preparing employees' children and grandchildren to start kindergarten. LDI employees are receiving instruction on this topic over the course of the six-week pilot program. The pilot has been hailed by the Minnesota Early Learning Foundation as a model for other businesses in the state of Minnesota to replicate.