On the Street business news, July 22

SERVPRO held its 53rd annual convention from July 5-9 at the Hilton Anatole Dallas in Dallas, TX. SERVPRO of Douglas and Otter Tail counties received the Founder’s Platinum Award at a gala award ceremony.

Trevor R. Rossum, owner of the local SERVPRO joined a group of more than 1,050 franchise owners in attendance. The event also recognized 58 SERVPRO entrepreneurs who surpassed a million dollars in revenue for the first time in the past business year.

“It's exciting and satisfying to receive this award," said Rossum, "particularly in this difficult business environment. At a time when there seemed to be more challenges than solutions, SERVPRO continued to provide expert guidance and service. This allowed our team of dedicated remediation specialists to continue to provide reliable, prompt, professional fire and water cleanup and restoration, mold mitigation, and remediation services to home and business owners in our community when they needed our help.”

Viking Bank, with locations in Alexandria and Ashby, recently hired Ryan Blakesley as a business banker in the Alexandria location.

Blakesley is an Alexandria native and a graduate of Jefferson High School as well as a graduate from the Alexandria Area Technical and Community College with an associate’s degree in finance and credit management.

Mark Grandgenett, president of Viking Bank, said, “We are excited to welcome Ryan back to the Viking Bank family. Ryan has 12 years of banking experience with a heavy emphasis on commercial and business banking, including previous credit analysis experience here at Viking Bank.”

Viking Bank is a locally owned Community Bank chartered in the City of Alexandria, with a branch in Ashby.

Geneva Capital in Alexandria was named a Top Workplace for the fourth consecutive year, according to the Star Tribune, which recognizes the most progressive companies in Minnesota based on employee opinions (collected via a third-party survey).

The survey measures engagement, organizational health, and satisfaction at public, private and nonprofit organizations across Minnesota.

Regarding the honor, Geneva Capital founder and CEO Mark Watkins said, “We’ve always said ‘Geneva Capital is the ultimate team sport.’ From day-one, we’ve made a real effort to find people who align with that mentality, and our team culture is a huge factor in the success we’ve seen over the years.”

Geneva Capital President Andrew Cavers added, “Earning this award is always a ‘feel-good’ for the team. It’s definitely something we hope for when we complete the Top Workplaces survey, but we don’t just take the award and move on. We use it to help gauge the overall sentiments of our team. We dissect the results and identify areas we need to improve. As a leader, listening to employees and learning how we can make Geneva an even better place to work is the real win.”

A complete list of those selected is available at https://www.startribune.com/mn-top-workplaces .

Arvig has been named one of Minnesota’s Top Workplaces for 2022 by the Star Tribune, making it the only internet service provider to rank in the newspaper’s annual survey this year.

This is the fourth year employees have provided feedback that rates Arvig as one of the best companies to work for in Minnesota. Arvig ranks No. 38 among the 50 top large companies on the list of 200 workplaces. Arvig was previously recognized as a Top Workplace in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

“The credit for this Top Workplaces distinction goes to Arvig’s outstanding employees,” said David Arvig, vice president and COO at Arvig. “This recognition is a reflection of their drive to serve our communities, dedication to customers and commitment to shaping a company culture that inspires us to do our best work every day.”

The analysis included responses from more 79,000 employees at Minnesota public, private and nonprofit organizations. The survey measures employee engagement, organizational health and satisfaction.

To qualify for the Star Tribune Top Workplaces, a company must have more than 50 employees in Minnesota. Over 4,000 companies were invited to participate.

Headquartered in Perham, Minnesota, Arvig is a local, employee-owned broadband and full-service telecommunications provider.