On the Street - September 7, 2012

Talk about it

--During the June meeting of the local American Legion Post 87, a new slate of officers was sworn in for the year 2012-13. Following are the individuals who were elected into those positions:

Ron Jacobson, commander; Don Nolting, 1st vice commander; Allan Gerlach, 2nd vice commander; Joel Novak, adjutant; Paul Thompson, chaplain; Greg Scott, Sgt. at Arms; Jerry Jensen, events chairman; Ray Kallstrom, service officer; Darren Hungness, historian; and Tom Hargreaves Sr., SAL commander.

--Deb Buker, registered nurse and clinical director at Ecumen Bethany Community, has successfully completed the Leadership Symposium offered by Aging Services of Minnesota. It is an educational series designed for the nursing executive-level professionals working in a care center setting.

This leadership symposium is a 15-day interactive and in-depth program scheduled over five months. Some of the topics included were the role of the executive leader-director of nursing and efficient and effective resource management strategies. The series also focused on how to assure a safe and satisfying work environment.

--Janna Lindoo, YOGAjoy LLC instructor, joined the ranks of the country’s most experienced yoga professionals in August by earning the credentials of registered yoga teacher (RYT) 200 hours with Yoga Alliance.

Lindoo has taught yoga in the Alexandria area for more than six years and co-founded Alexandria-based YOGAjoy LLC in 2007. She teaches gentle and intermediate classes, presents at various events and businesses and specializes in small classes for special populations and one-to-one coaching.

Yoga Alliance is a nonprofit organization that provides global recognition of a yoga instructor’s knowledge, training and experience.

--Pete’s County Market in Alexandria recently competed in Master Marketer, a program organized by SuperValu for stores to do special promotions, programs and events throughout the year and enter their best into a competition.

Pete’s County Market competed in both the north and west regions, which go from Washington state to Kentucky and sent in 18 entries and had four nominations

Megan Jensen, social media specialist for Pete’s County Market, won for her entry focusing on using social media to connect with customers, help educate and inspire them and bring them better value within the walls of the store.

--Michael Steidl, a financial advisor with Ameriprise Financial, qualified for and attended the 2012 Ameriprise National Conference that was held in Denver, Colorado.

To earn this achievement, Steidl established himself as one of the company’s top advisors achieving levels in production, high client satisfaction levels and in support of providing a superior client service. Only a select number of high-performing Ameriprise financial advisors earn this distinction.

For more information, visit ameriprise.com or ameripriseadvisors.com/michael.e.steidl.

--The Mortgage Services Department of Mid-Minnesota Federal Credit Union (MMFCU) was recently recognized for outstanding service by the CUNA Mutual Group (CMG) Mortgage Insurance Company.

The “Outstanding Servicing Performance in 2011” award recognized MMFCU’s success in several areas of mortgage servicing, including “helping members stay in their homes.”

MMFCU is a member-owned financial cooperative serving central Minnesota. It has full-service offices in Alexandria, Baxter, Brainerd, Little Falls, Crosby, Pequot Lakes and Staples, as well as a drive-through branch in Brainerd.

--Patty Hough 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.

Hough has been employed at KN for more than three years and is currently a home health aide out of the Home Care Elbow Lake Branch. She was nominated by her peers who said that she “enriches the lives of each person she serves.”

--Dr. Russell Sticha, foot and ankle surgeon for Heartland Orthopedic Specialists, a department of Douglas County Hospital, was recently elected to the board of directors for the American Board of Podiatric Surgery (ABPS).

The ABPS is the certifying board for podiatric surgeons and functions under a board of directors elected by membership. Board members serve three-year terms and may be re-elected once.

Sticha has been with Heartland Orthopedic Specialists since 2006 and is currently chief of staff for Douglas County Hospital.

--Thrifty White Pharmacy, an employee-owned drugstore chain with more than 80 locations in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Montana and Wisconsin, recently introduced Rx Timer Cap. The patented cap has a built-in LCD timer and display that fits the same standard vials used in pharmacies across the country.

The technology behind the display works like a stopwatch counting up the hours and minutes since the container was last opened to tell patients exactly how long it has been since their last dose.

Unlike medication reminders and medication alerts, Rx Timer Cap activation is automatic and foolproof since there are no alarms to program, no buttons to press and no instructions to read. The act of opening and closing the container resets the patented pill timer.

Thrifty White will give away a free Rx Timer Cap for each medication that customers enroll in their Ready Refill or Medication Synchronization programs.

Tags: business