Our suppers are often times unimpressive, but everyday I strive to create and provide the best life I can for her and our future,” Fingalson said. While Fingalson is busy with her first child and full-time job, she still found time to plan a fundraiser for the Lakes Crisis Center: The Festival of Trees. “The Festival of Trees is something that I’ve always wanted to do in our community,” Fingalson said. “We have Thanksgiving every year in Valley City, where I’m from, and my mom usually would buy us tickets to go to the Festival of Trees there.” Fingalson said the festival always gets her into the Christmas spirit, and for many years she has wanted to put one on in Detroit Lakes, so this year she’s going to. “When discussing our annual customer appreciation event at I’ll Tile & Stone this year, we decided that we’d
really like to get more involved with the community and give back where we could,” Fingalson said, adding that she suggested the Festival of Trees and donating all of the proceeds. “We selected the Lakes Crisis and Resource Center, directing all of the proceeds to the Children’s Service Department,” Fingalson said, adding that I’ll Tile and Stone has gotten several other businesses involved as well. As for everyday business, and what makes her successful, Fingalson says it’s her drive.
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“Being determined and dedicated. You have to have the motivation to go after things,” she said, adding that customer service is also an important aspect that play into her job. Fingalson has been in the industry for over 12 years, helping people decorate their homes. She graduated from M State in Detroit Lakes with a degree in sales and marketing, and she says she wouldn’t change a thing. “I wanted to do what I’m doing now. It’s something I just have a knack for,” she said.
The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any. - Alice Walker
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Brenda North Pastor Brenda North is with her flock through the highs and lows Brenda North is proving spiritual leadership is her forte.
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aving a good heart and a good sense of humor will take you a long way, but add a deep, abiding faith in a loving God, and you start to understand why Rev. Brenda North is so well thought of by her congregation at United Methodist Church in Detroit Lakes. During her early teen years, she started going to church with a friend.
STORY BY NATHAN BOWE
When you find a good thing, you want to share it, and eventually her whole family began attending church. “The transformation I experienced as a new Christian, and the transformation I saw in my family inspired me to share the faith and love I had found with others,” she said. “We sang a chorus each Sunday during that time called ‘People Need
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the Lord.’ My conviction as a young Christian that indeed people needed to hear the good news of God’s grace was the catalyst for my call to ministry.” North, 42, grew up in Huron, S.D. and started her life as a Christian in the American Baptist Church. By age 16 she felt a pretty strong calling to become a pastor, but didn’t have any first-hand experience with female church leaders.