On the Street - June 15, 2012

• Bremer Bank locations in Alexandria recently purchased Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) for installation in their locations. Several Bremer employees have also completed training on the AED devices led by emergency medical technicians.

AEDs are portable electronic devices that automatically diagnose the heart rhythm and determine if a shock is needed. The devices have audio and visual commands, which make them simple, with some training, for the average person to use. AEDs have saved many lives.

“At Bremer, we have had an initiative under way over the past few years to install as many AED devices as we can in our nearly 100 bank locations,” said David Kjos, president/CEO of Bremer Bank. “We feel having the devices in our banks creates an additional level of safety and security for not only our employees but our clients who visit the bank. Time and time again, you hear stories of people who have been saved by an AED. We hope we don’t have to use them, but if we do, we will be ready.”

Bremer Financial Corporation is a privately held, $8 billion regional financial services company jointly owned by its employees and the Otto Bremer Foundation.

• Kenneth Barros of Alexandria is approaching his first fiscal year in new aerospace and telecommunications manufacturing business and operations with National Precision Machining and Engineering (NPME). Barros teamed with Bremer Bank to finance it.

NPME, located in Sebeka, provides precision machining and assemblies for aerospace defense, telecommunications, automotive and agricultural manufacturing industries. It maintains 26,000 square feet of environmentally controlled space.

A 1976 graduate of Jefferson High School, Barros attended Alexandria Technical College for machine tool technology. Barros attributes his marketing skills to his professional motorsports background.

Barros’ previous business ownership experience was in the Twin Cities. He co-owned National Calibration and Testing Laboratories (NCTL), which was sold in 2005. Barros is married with one daughter. They reside west of Alexandria on Crooked Lake.

Learn more about NPME at www.nationalprecisionmachining.com.

• Trisha Christensen is a recipient of Knute Nelson’s (KN) Tree of Excellence award. This award is the highest level of recognition through the KN Employee Recognition Program.

Christensen has been employed at KN for two years as a registered nursing assistant. Her peers, who said that she “puts everyone else first and always comes to work with a good cheery attitude,” nominated her.

• Emily Hauser recently joined Hilltop Lumber’s home décor team.

Hauser is an interior design graduate of Alexandria Technical and Community College. She was a member of Phi Theta Kappa, received her Associate of Applied Science degree and was given an outstanding student achievement award.

After completing an internship at Eminent Interior Design in Minneapolis, she returned to Alexandria and joined the Hilltop team.

Hilltop Lumber is a full-service home improvement center with a complete floor covering and kitchen design center.

• For the seventh consecutive year, Bremer Bank is “Taking Action to End Hunger” during the month of June by raising funds for local Feeding America food banks. Again this year, Bremer will match every donation dollar-for-dollar up to $50,000.

During June, donations will be accepted online at Bremer.com or at any Bremer Bank location. One hundred percent of donations collected through the Taking Action to End Hunger campaign are distributed to local Feeding America food banks in Bremer communities in Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota.

“Almost 40 percent of the people that use the food services provided by local Feeding America food banks are children under the age of 18 years old,” said David Kjos, president of Bremer Bank Alexandria. “That number is too high and it is one of the reasons Bremer has been working to end hunger in partnership with local Feeding America food banks for seven years.”

Bremer Financial Corporation is a privately-held, $8.2 billion regional financial services company, jointly owned by its employees and the Otto Bremer Foundation.

• Financial services firm Edward Jones was named the Advisory Solutions Firm of the Year by Money Management Institute. Edward Jones exemplified overall excellence and contributed to the long-term success and sustainability of the wealth management industry. Alexandria Edward Jones advisors include Nate Larson, Scott Larson and Kevin Klepper.

The award was presented at the Institute’s annual Gateway to Leadership Awards Dinner held recently in Chicago.

The Money Management Institute is the national association for the managed investments solutions and the wealth management industry.

Edward Jones Advisory Solutions is an asset allocation and advisory program that allows investors to select from research or custom models with an initial minimum investment of $50,000. The models use a combination of mutual funds, exchange traded funds and separately managed accounts in the construction of the portfolio and allow clients to delegate asset allocation, investment selection and portfolio rebalancing to Edward Jones.

The program now offers 62 fully discretionary research models in addition to custom models. The program has grown to more than $75 billion in assets under management and ranks as the country’s fourth largest mutual fund advisory program.

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