Celebrating Community Women

5th Annual Rosie Awards Keynote Speaker: AMANDA CUNNINGHAM

The fifth annual Rosie Awards, an event celebrating and recognizing women in the Northland, was held in May. Amanda Cunningham, owner of Mike & Jen’s Cocoa Mix, delivered the keynote address, sharing her personal journey and encouraging women to shape their own futures.

“Don't be afraid of being uncomfortable and scared,” Cunningham said. “If you don't give it a shot, you will never know what you can do.”

About Cunningham

Cunningham lives out her own advice. She graduated as the only woman in her class at St. Cloud State University for meteorology. In 2004 Cunningham moved to Duluth when she took a position working at the National Weather Service office. She was their first female lead forecaster in the office’s 130-year history.

Fire safety is one of Cunningham’s passions and she became a specially trained wildland fire weather expert for the U.S. Forest Service. During summers she would spend time on-site providing fire weather support for some of the largest wildfires across the country. Then she started her own business as a fire weather specialist, teaching fire courses in the U.S. and abroad. She is also a firefighter with the Hermantown Fire Department.

But that’s not all. Cunningham, who also owns and operates a fitness center in Duluth, is the co-owner of the ever-growing and popular hot cocoa brand Mike & Jen’s Cocoa Mix. In 2012 her childhood friend, Dean Packingham, started the cocoa brand. When the small business came to a turning point in 2016, Cunningham proposed an idea.

“I told Dean, “Let’s do this together and grow Mike & Jen’s Cocoa Mix for one year. Then we will see where we are and what kind of business we have and make a plan to go from there,” Cunningham said.

The business kept growing, as did the partnership.

“Over the year, we found we were total opposites and the perfect match as business partners. I did all the accounting and finances, as a self-proclaimed spreadsheet lover, and Dean did the marketing and sales,” Cunningham said. “By 2018 we both quit our jobs as meteorologists at the National Weather Service, where we had been co-workers for 15 years, and we’re running Mike and Jen’s Cocoa full time.”

Mike & Jen’s Cocoa Mix is now sold in over 1,000 retail stores across the Great Lakes region. Beginning this fall, it will be carried in all Minnesota Costco locations.

Rosie Awards

Delivering the keynote address at the 2022 Rosie Awards was an honor and privilege for Cunningham.

“There are so many inspirational women doing amazing work in our community who are unknown and often underappreciated,” she said. “Events such as the Rosie Awards give a time and place to uncover these women and a chance really to say thank you.”

At the awards Cunningham met and heard stories from other local women.

“It’s so exciting and fun anytime you get to learn about who is out there in the community,” she said. “I, along with so many others, go about my daily life not knowing that all these incredible women are out there.”

As the keynote speaker, Cunningham was thrilled to share her story, and as a leader in her fields she encourages others.

“Lead by example and always do more than you expect of others,” Cunningham advocated. “You are the holder of your future.” D

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