On the Street - July 27, 2012

• Angela Thoennes, accounting representative, 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.

Thoennes has been employed at KN for more than 13 years. She was nominated by peers who remarked that “she is always willing to help out whenever and wherever she can. She approaches difficult situations with a sense of calm and a ‘we’ll figure it out’ mentality and is an excellent role model for others.”

• Ashley Moore is the Second Quarter’s recipient of the Outstanding Performance Award. Moore is a guest service representative, housekeeper and a breakfast attendant at the AmericInn of Alexandria.

She has been employed with AmericInn for two years. This is her second time receiving this award, which symbolizes an employee’s commitment to outstanding guest services.

• Dan Kalina of Alexandria has been named a member of the 2011 executive council of New York Life Insurance Company. Members of the executive council are among the most successful of New York Life’s elite sales force of 11,900 licensed agents.

Kalina has been a New York Life agent since 2005 and is associated with New York Life’s North Dakota general office in Fargo. His office is located at 1106 Broadway Street, Alexandria.

New York Life Insurance Company, a Fortune 100 company, offers life insurance, retirement income, investments and long-term care insurance.

• Kally Kutz was recently hired as vice president and real estate lender at State Bank and Trust in Alexandria. In her new position, Kuts helps customers with home loan financing needs including purchase and refinance transactions.

A native of Alexandria, Kutz attended Rasmussen Business College and has been in mortgage banking for 20 years, holding positions in all aspects of the mortgage process. She lives in Alexandria with her husband, Jeff, and sons, Shane and Luke.

State Bank and Trust, which will change its name to Bell State Bank and Trust in September, offers a variety of home financing programs including first-time home buyer loans, FHA/VA loans, rural development loans and conventional conforming and non-conforming loans.

• Michael Cass has joined the Alexandria law firm of Senson Lervick Syverson Trosvig Jacobson Schultz, PA.

Cass worked as a law clerk for the Honorable Stephen Aldrich in the Minneapolis area. He then moved into private practice, focusing on estate planning, probate and guardian/conservator representation. At the Swenson Lervick firm, Cass will continue to work with clients in those areas and will serve as an assistant city attorney for the city of Alexandria.

A South Dakota native, Cass graduated magna cum laude from the University of St. Thomas School of Law in 2007, where he was a senior editor for the law review and a student attorney in the law clinic. Prior to law school, Cass graduated in 2002 from St. John’s University in Collegeville with a Bachelor of Arts in computer science. Cass and his wife, Katie, have one daughter and are excited to get involved in the Alexandria community.

• Edina Realty recently announced that Nicole Doering has joined its Alexandria office. When asked why she was interested in joining Edina Realty, Doering noted the long established history of Edina Realty in the real estate industry in Alexandria, along with the enhanced Edina Realty website.

“I know her commitment to excellence will be a perfect fit with Edina Realty’s traditions of honesty, integrity and high level of customer service,” said Mike Munson, Edina Realty’s sales manager in Alexandria.

Edina Realty, a subsidiary of Home Services of America, is one of the nation’s largest real estate companies with more than 60 real estate offices throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

For more information, visit www.alexandria.edinarealty.com.

• IW Research recently announced an expansion into Central Minnesota to better serve outstate Minnesota businesses. Noel Roos, vice president of research and marketing, will staff the Alexandria office.

Roos has more than 20 years of experience in research, strategic development and the execution of research-based marketing, product and brand management programs. She served many marketing and operations roles at Rural Cellular Corporation and, later, Verizon Wireless.

At both Concordia University in St. Paul and the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, she served as an adjunct professor. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in organizational management and communication and a Master of Arts degree in organizational management from Concordia University in St. Paul.

For more than 20 years, IW Research has provided services to national, regional and local companies, specializing in business-to-business and consumer studies. For more information, visit www.iw-research.com.

• Kadrmas, Lee and Jackson (KL&J), an engineering, surveying and planning firm, recently hired Ryan Sundberg in the Grand Forks office.

Sundberg, an Alexandria native, is an engineer with the transportation group. He earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of North Dakota. Sundberg is an engineer in training.

Founded in 1938, KL&J focuses on creating lasting relationships with clients by providing services that set the standard for quality and client satisfaction. For more information about KL&J, visit www.kljeng.com.

• Tastefully Simple Inc. recently honored several employees with the company’s annual “Turn ‘Em Loose Awards.” The awards were presented June 14 during the company’s 17th birthday celebration at the Carlos Creek Winery in Alexandria.

This year’s recipients included Lynn Swenson, Mitch Samuelson, Angie Dirck, Teresa Schmidt, Rose Korkowski, Finance Team, Karen Hunt, Dean Greising, Jason Worm, Susy Lemar and Brenda Larson.

“Each year, we’re honored to recognize team members who live Tastefully Simple’s principles and consistently exceed expectations,” said Jill Blashack Strahan, Tastefully Simple founder and CEO.

Recipients were selected by Blashack Strahan and Tastefully Simple founding partner and COO Joani Nielson.

• Of nearly 800 life-health insurance companies analyzed, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans was named to the 2012 Ward’s 50 Top Performing Insurance Companies.

Ward Group evaluates company performance based on the following criteria: Five-year average return on average equity, five-year average return on average assets, five-year average return on total revenue, five-year growth in revenue, five-year growth in surplus.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is a nonprofit, Fortune 500 financial services membership organization helping members achieve financial security and give back to their communities.

• Tom Jacobson, an attorney with the Alexandria law firm of Swenson Lervick Syverson Trosvig Jacobson Schultz, P.A., has completed Minnesota’s Certified Civil Arbitration Training.

He is now included on the Minnesota Supreme Court’s Adjudicative/Evaluative Roster of Rule 114 Neutrals. This makes him qualified and available to serve as an arbitrator in civil disputes pending in Minnesota.

Arbitration is a forum where the parties and their counsel present their positions before a neutral third party arbitrator, who then decides the case by rendering a specific award. Typically, the award is binding upon the parties.

• State Bank and Trust was recently named the second most highly ranked company among the “100 Best Companies to Work For” by Minnesota Business magazine. It was also named to the top 10 of the “Top 100 Workplaces in Minnesota” by the Star Tribune.

The 100 Best Companies award recognizes Minnesota businesses that continue to make an impact and set a standard of excellence.

The Top Workplaces award recognizes companies in Minnesota based on employee opinions of leadership, communication, career opportunities, workplace environment, managerial skills, pay and benefits.

State Bank and Trust is the largest independently owned bank in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. State Bank and Trust has 15 full-service bank locations in Fargo/Moorhead, Wahpeton, Audubon, Detroit Lakes, Pelican Rapids, Fergus Falls, Alexandria and Minneapolis.

• In 1982, UPS partnered with United Way, and its employees have been strong supporters ever since, giving more than $1 billion. The 32 employees serving Alexandria and the surrounding area will join a companywide celebration of 30 years of Living United throughout their 2012 campaign.

Since its founding in 1907, UPS has built a legacy as a corporate citizen, supporting programs that provide long-term solutions to community needs. The UPS Foundation, founded in 1951, facilitates community involvement in local, national and global communities. In 2011, UPS and its employees, active and retired, invested more than $93.5 million in charitable giving around the world.

UPS supports the mission of United Way, believing that by connecting people, resources and ideas to promote individual self-sufficiency by investing in education, income and health, a difference can be made.

For more information, visit UPS.com/foundation.

Tags: on the street, business