Resource Fall 2014 #66

Northwest Minnesota Foundation

RESOURCE

FALL 2014

The Northwest Minnesota Foundation invests resources, facilitates collaboration and promotes philanthropy to make the region a better place to live and work.

Number 66

Board of Directors Pete Haddeland, Chair Tom Anderson, Vice Chair Faye Auchenpaugh, Secretary Leah Pigatti, Treasurer Judy Roy Jody Horntvedt Jon Quistgaard Jon Linnell Tom Anderson Cathy Forgit

NORTHERN ADVANTEDGE CAREER EXPO The Northwest Minnesota Foundation and IMPACT 20/20 hosted the first annual Northern AdvantEdge Career Expo on November 5th at Bemidji State University’s John Glas Field House. A grand total of 1,100 students from 12 schools across NMF’s service area attended the event.

To make connections between businesses and future employees, NMF and IMPACT 20/20 banded together to bring the Career Expo to high school students of all ages – the future workers who are in need of information about the opportunities available in our region. This event is different than the typical job fair because helping students explore their own future career interests was the primary focus.

One-hundred exhibitors along with 30 presenters were on hand for the event.

Students toured exhibitor booths on the arena floor, doing hands-on activities to introduce them to potential careers with jobs that exist right here in Northwest Minnesota.

Peggy Anderholm of Marvin Windows & Doors noted, “It is a top priority within our company to reach out to high school students and educate them about careers in manufacturing. Right now there are jobs going unfilled in Northwest Minnesota, because we don’t have people to fill them.”

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Kristin Eggerling Edie Ramstad Steven Anderson

Developing Community Assets Serving 12 Counties

Photos by BSU Photo Services

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Nancy Vyskocil Greetings, I am always in awe of the generosity of people who call Northwest Minnesota home.

Whether you are a donor living in our region, or grew up here and continue to help sustain your roots – we want to acknowledge you. We want to take the time to offer our sincere thanks.

The Northwest Minnesota Foundation has been re-certified by the U.S. Department of Treasury as a qualifying Community

Development

Financial

Institution (CDFI). The certification is a designation conferred by the CDFI Fund and is a requirement for accessing financial and technical award assistance to support community and economic development financing programs.

Steve Anderson also joined our Board in October. He is another wonderful person who has gone above and beyond what most people do for their community by serving as the Chair of the Warroad Area Community Fund since its inception in 2002. Welcome, Steve we are delighted to have you on our Board.

With your tremendous support, NMF awarded discretionary grants and component fund grants totaling more than $ 1 million in Fiscal Year 2014. The contributions Steven Anderson you entrusted to us have Together, we will help been carefully invested to provide support assure a brighter future for Northwest for programs and projects that enhance Minnesota. And we will remain grateful our communities and maintain the region’s for all your assistance in attaining our vitality. vision for the region – to be a place where communities and people work together to We welcome annual gifts from people like foster opportunity, promote philanthropy, you, new and old friends alike, who care and enrich the lives of all residents. about the community; people who want to give back and make a difference. So we Thank you! ask that you join us in our mission to make the region a great place to live, work and play. Please consider a donation during the season of giving to the NMF endowment or any of our funds.

Some key people who continue to give of themselves are our Board of Directors.

We appreciate their time, expertise and understanding of issues and opportunities in the region. Our new Board Chair Peter Haddeland was elected at the October

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annual meeting. Pete has been a part of NMF for many years, first as a longstanding member of our Business Finance Loan Committee, and then in 2011, he joined the Board. Thank you, Pete for your service.

ASSET BUILDING GRANTS Grants totaling $219,996 were awarded from September 2014 – November 2014 COMPONENT FUNDS TOTAL: $214,346 SCHOLARSHIP AWARD TOTAL: $10,000 53 GRANTS AWARDED

6 SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED

Component Fund Grants are now found online at WWW.NWMF.ORG under Component Fund menu.

Grant Photo: Clay-Wilkin-Polk-Norman-Mahnomen Nurse Family Partnership Left to Right: Shellie Bueng – RN for Norman-Mahnomen Public Health, - Gyda Anderson – RN for Clay County Public Health, Angel Korynta – RN for Polk County Public Health

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS TOTAL: $25,000 Kelliher Community Connections After School Program

Kelliher School District

CARING COMMUNITIES TOTAL: $25,000 Nurse Family Partnership Expansion

Polk-Norman-Mahnomen Community Health BOA

COMMUNITY PLANNING TOTAL: $17,000 Baudette Housing Action Plan

City of Baudette

South Riverview Park, Master Plan

City of Roseau

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BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM BUSINESS FINANCE

MICROLOANS

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

Two loans were made in the amount of: $475,000 Hillcrest Senior Living, Red Lake Falls

Business counseling and loans are available to help entrepreneurs develop small business and self-employment opportunities.

Six businesses from Thief River Falls, Park Rapids, Bemidji and Crookston received a total of $5,650.

Capital to build an assisted living facility.

Armory Square, Park Rapids

One loan was made totaling: $12,500 Triple T Farms, Solway

Capital for building improvements.

Now accepting applications, register today. . . .

Successful businesses require hard work, the right connections, and a flash of inspiration. If you have an innovative business idea, the IDEA Competition will add momentum to your business strategy, whether you’ve never started a company or you’re already in business and generating revenue.

www.ideacompetition.org

CALLING ALL INNOVATORS! IDEA is a Northwest Minnesota competition that turns great ideas into great businesses. The annual competition provides training, business coaching, and capital to participating entrepreneurs who want to turn an idea into a fast-growth business.

• Valuable tools and business development resources • A business coach • Open access to all IDEA Labs • A chance to receive attention in the media • A chance to present your business idea to potential investors and business leaders • A chance to win one of our $10,000 cash prizes to get your business moving • A chance to win valuable professional services such as accounting, legal, and marketing

The deadline to register is December 31. For more information, you are encouraged to visit — www.ideacompetition.org.

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HEDIN SCHOLARSHIP FUND TO BENEFIT CLEARBROOK-GONVICK AND FOSSTON GRADUATES By Lisa Peterson, Development Officer John and Faye Hedin have quietly left a wonderful legacy that will help people in Northwest Minnesota for decades through their philanthropy. They set up a component fund with Northwest Minnesota Foundation in a will bequest. All the pieces were in place to begin a generous scholarship program for graduates of ClearbrookGonvick and Fosston High Schools.

The couple was born and raised in Gonvick and Fosston. Strong ties and love of the Northwest drew the pair back to their home town area when they retired.

John met Faye LaVoi at a basketball game at Fosston in 1942; John was playing for Gonvick. They started dating when John was a Senior in high school and Faye was a Junior. Legend has it that John wore out two cars going to Fosston to visit Faye.

They married in 1945 and shortly afterward, John joined the Merchant Marine and was stationed in New York. When World War II ended in July 1945, John was discharged and the pair moved to Canton, Illinois, where they remained until the 1980’s. John worked in the mines in various positions over the years, and became a Master Electrician.

Faye attained her RN degree from Graham Hospital Nursing School in Canton. She also held a Bachelor of Science degree, Master of Arts degree and began work on a doctorate. She was an instructor at the Graham Hospital School for Nursing, then a psychology professor at Spoon River College, Canton, for 26 years.

After retirement they divided their time between the family farm in Gonvick, during the warmer months, and spent the winters in Florida. John and Faye traveled extensively, visiting more than 70 countries and meeting the families of her former

students. Each spring, they looked forward to sucker spearing. They were avid deer hunters, seldom missing a season.

John often told the story of Faye killing two deer with one bullet and also witnessed her shoot an eight point buck standing freehand at 335 yards.

When John was asked about special memories, he said, “Coming home to Gonvick for deer hunting and fishing.”

He died November 15, 2009, doing one of the things he loved the most, deer hunting. Faye passed away in May 2014.

They enjoyed 64 years of marriage and experienced the birth and death of an infant son.

Special memories will soon be made for the students who are awarded scholarships from the John and Faye Hedin Scholarship Fund. Faye’s passion for education and connection to their home towns led them to establish the fund. An endowment of $250,000 will provide a total of $12,500 in awards each year in perpetuity.

The scholarships are for broad education interests and open to any student from Fosston or Clearbrook - Gonvick who graduated high school or earned an equivalence diploma, with no specific grade point requirement. Scholarship recipients will have demonstrated a commitment to academics. Involvement in extracurricular activities, non-school work, and volunteer or community service will be a consideration. The award is renewable for up to four academic years. The first round of applications will be available in 2016.

By coming back home, and giving back to Northwest Minnesota, the Hedins will long be remembered for their wonderful generosity and support for the education of our students.

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Through this event, Anderholm was able to connect with not only students, but guidance counselors. And she intends to do further educational outreach with some schools about the opportunities available at Marvin Windows & Doors.

“I met one young lady today who is interested in science and chemistry who wants to stay in northern Minnesota,” said Anderholm, “but she was concerned that there are no jobs related to her interests.

“I was able to tell her that manufacturing jobs do entail exactly what she’s interested in … we have scientists and chemists working for our company. She perked up at that information!” Anderholm added.

While visiting exhibitor booths for one hour was an eye-opening experience, the students also attended small group breakout sessions on topics they selected, held in the Hobson Memorial Union. The breakout sessions allowed students to converse in a group setting with each presenter.

The presenters delivered up to three sessions. Topics included: construction, graphic design, photography, nursing, education/teaching careers, athletic trainer, architecture, legal, dental, physician’s assistant, physical therapy, and social

work careers. One presentation focused on workplace values and the importance of soft skills.

“We’ve seen over and over again, that individuals interviewing fresh out of high school are not prepared,” said IMPACT 20/20 Taskforce Member Karen White. “It is important to stress that soft skills are necessary for any job they will apply for throughout their lifetime, so the hope is to also make that connection through this event.”

In addition to the presence of the trades and various employers, community and technical colleges and universities were also on site – offering both 2-year and 4-year programs.

“The goal is to retain a talented workforce in our region,” said Ashley Johnson, NMF communications specialist. “Many students will attend a university, but there are great opportunities at community and technical colleges as well. We wanted exposure to all options – so it was great to show off the trades and companies that offer on-the-job training too.”

According to Bemidji High School Principal Brian Stefanich, this event offered an array of opportunities. “There was a good mix of

PHILANTHROPIC SERVICES – NEW COMPONENT FUNDS Nameless Coalition for the Homeless Fund: Will provide financial support for the planning, designing management and implementation of programs for a homeless shelter in Bemidji.

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Bemidji Rotary Foundation Fund: Will provide financial support for charitable and educational purposes and public purpose programs, projects, and activities benefitting the greater Bemidji area sponsored or otherwise supported by the Bemidji Rotary Foundation and the Bemidji Noon Rotary Club.

Interactive Blood Exhibit Project Fund: Will provide financial support from the former Mississippi Headwaters Blood Bank for acquisition, installation and display of interactive blood exhibit projects at the Headwaters Science Center in Bemidji.

talent here today and I appreciate all of the exhibitors taking time from their busy schedules to educate our youth. We want our students to have a career path in mind after high school and by attending today’s event, our students now see there are several avenues to a bright future in our region.”

Along with Bemidji High School, eleven other high schools attended the event: Ada-Borup, Bagley, Fertile-Beltrami, Fosston, Grygla, Lake of the Woods, Park Rapids, Red Lake County Central, Voyageurs, and Win-E-Mac. NMF and IMPACT 20/20 are grateful for all participating high schools, and especially those businesses and educational institutes who gave presentations or had an exhibitor’s booth at the Expo. This service to the youth in our region is invaluable.

A list of sponsors, exhibitors and participating schools can be found online at www.northernadvantagedge.org. If you are interested in being a part of next year’s Northern AdvantEdge Career Expo, please call Ashley Johnson at 218-759-2057 or email ashleyj@nwmf.org.

Neen’s Future in Space Scholarship Fund: Will provide annual scholarships to qualified students who graduated from a high school within the 12-county NMF service area, who are pursuing their junior or senior year of post-secondary education or post-graduate study, with a major or career focus in science, technology, engineering or math through a college, university or other accredited non-profit technical or vocational education/training institution or program (minimum of a bachelor’s degree, master’s preferred); preference will be given to students who intend to pursue a career in astrophysics, aeronautical engineering or aerospace.

Mississippi Headwaters Blood Bank Scholarship Fund: Will provide annual scholarships to qualified students from Bemidji, Bagley, Blackduck, Cass Lake, Kelliher, and Northome, or their successors, who are pursuing post-secondary education in a medical field related to hematology or phlebotomy through a college, university, trade school, tech school or other accredited non-profit technical or vocational education/training institution or program; preference will be given to students who intend to pursue a career in delivery of blood services to patients.

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NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

201 3rd St. NW • Bemidji, MN 56601 218.759.2057 Phone • 800.659.7859 MN Only

UPCOMING EVENTS ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL STAR SEASON! This fall the Northwest Minnesota Foundation sponsored five STAR (Students Teaching Attitudes of Respect) sessions for 13 schools from the region. This marks the 16th year of the Youth Leadership program that was developed by NMF and staff from Peacemaker Resources. There were 145 students who attended the sessions along with 20 advisors — teachers and social workers from the schools. Additionally, 22 college students and other young adults served as Youth Advocates for the program. Students returned to their schools equipped to teach other students, their families and communities about important communication and social emotional skills.

Mailed From Zip Code 56601 Permit No.36