BUSINESS NOTES

St. Joseph's Medical Center, an affiliate of the Brainerd Lakes Health system, announced Margaret "Maggie" Johnson, registered nurse, accepted the position of director of surgical services.

Johnson comes to St. Joseph's Medical Center with many years of experience in surgical services, as director for outpatient surgery and interim director of operations at Abbott Northwestern's Sartell Outpatient Center. In addition, Johnson served as the nurse manager of surgical services at St. Gabriel's Hospital in Little Falls.

Johnson has a bachelor's degree in nursing from the College of St. Scholastica and has been certified in perioperative nursing since 1991.

CLC instructor earns grant for training

William Faber of Cushing, a natural resources instructor at Central Lakes College, was named the Minnesota coordinator for the Leopold Education Project, which is affiliated with the Aldo Leopold Foundation, Baraboo, Wis.

Faber received a grant, nearly $50,000, from the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources to employ Pheasants Forever curriculum for nationwide conservation training. The two-year grant period starts next year and includes two other individuals from Pheasants Forever.

Faber will present an education workshop later this year in preparation for the 2010-11 training he will be conducting.

At the Aldo Leopold Foundation national conference in Baraboo, June 25-27, Faber will be a presenter. Faber's one-hour breakout presentation is "Leopold's Land Ethic in Today's World."

He will discuss his philosophy and approach on how Leopold's words and ways are integral to the global future of wildlife and natural resources. The presentation will emphasize the relationship between land ethic and sense of community on this planet.

Faber has taught wildlife and natural resources at the college level for nearly 10 years and has been in the wildlife profession for nearly 30 years. He contributed 13 years of moose research in Scandinavia.

Ryan earns promotion with Tastefully Simple

NISSWA - Deb Ryan, Nisswa, an independent consultant with Tastefully Simple Inc., is now a senior team manager with the national direct seller of gourmet foods.

Ryan earned the promotion through sales achievements and by adding new consultants to the team.

Boser completes recertification

Shelly Boser recently completed the qualifications to be recertified through the certified professional program administered by the Minnesota Nursery and Landscape Association.

Boser is retail sales manager at Landsburg Landscape, Brainerd.

Thomas joins SEH as graduate engineer

Former Brainerd resident Nathan Thomas recently joined the St. Paul office of professional consulting services firm and engineering firm Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. as a graduate engineer in the Structural Engineering Group.

Thomas has three years of industrial/commercial building structural design experience and has worked on several Minnesota projects such as the new Twins Ballpark Target Field and the Foshay Tower renovations. Some of his responsibilities include completing field evaluations and structural inspections and preparing plans and specification documents. He will also assist team members with the design of buildings, water/wastewater treatment facilities, flood control structures and bridges.

Thomas earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of North Dakota-Fargo.

Lakes Area Counseling hires new therapist

Lakes Area Counseling, a division of PORT Group Homes, recently hired licensed therapist Caroline Bull, Psy.D.

Before joining LAC, Bull was a therapist on the Grace Unit at St. Joseph's Medical Center, Brainerd. Her other counseling experience includes private practice in St. Cloud and In Home Family Therapy for Greater Minnesota Family Services in Willmar and Catholic Charities in St. Cloud. Bull received her master's degree in psychology from St. Cloud State University and doctorate in psychology from St. Thomas University in St. Paul. Bull works with individuals, couples and families; ages 8 through adulthood.

DeRosier, Rafferty receive award

DeRosier & Associates, Baxter, represented by registered representatives Brian DeRosier and Sherry Rafferty, recently received the Capital Income Builder Award for the fifth consecutive year from Askar Corp. for 2008 during their annual meetings.

Askar Corp. is a broker dealer firm specializing in retirement planning out of Bloomington with more than 50 independent registered representatives in the Midwest. The award, for firms that have sustained consistent service and growth in their business for a minimum of five consecutive years, was awarded to three recipients.

MPCA awards wastewater treatment operators

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency recently recognized Jim Jones, Warren Rugger and Marty Katzenmeyer from Wausau Paper Co. for outstanding performance in wastewater operations during 2008.

The awards were announced at the 72nd annual wastewater operations conference in Brooklyn Center.

To be eligible for the award, facility operators had to comply with discharge permit requirements throughout the year. These requirements included submitting all monitoring reports to the MPCA correctly and on time, demonstrating compliance through monitoring or in surveys and employing MPCA-certified operators.

Phillips joins Tastefully Simple

Sherri Phillips, Deerwood, joined Tastefully Simple Inc. as a independent consultant with the national direct sales company, which features gourmet products.

Schneider named LF employee of the month

LITTLE FALLS - Renae Schneider, Little Falls, was named employee of the month for May by the Chamber of Commerce in Little Falls.

Schneider is employed by NAPA Auto Parts in customer service. She has been employed with the company for 17.5 years. Company president Kurt Owen said Schneider provides friendly, cheerful customer service and is an asset to the business.

Business After Hours planned May 12 in Nisswa

NISSWA - Business After Hours is planned 4:30-6 p.m. May 12 in Nisswa will be hosted by Good Ol' Days Family Resort, Laurie Fitterer Edward Jones Investments of Nisswa, and Shannon Janco of Tastefully Simple.

The Nisswa Chamber networking event is at Good Ol' Days Family Resort, located at 26050 Oak Lane, Nisswa.

Prize drawings and Tastefully Simple samples are planned. Chamber members are invited to attend this free event and bring their business cards for a chance to win prizes. Advanced registration is recommended. For more information go online to explorebrainerdlakes.com to register or call (218) 829-2838 or (800) 450-2838.

Second annual Pequot Lakes Bobber Hunt set

The Brainerd Lakes Chamber Pequot Lakes Business Connect Committee has teamed up with their favorite local icon, Paul Bunyan, for this year's Bobber Hunt.

Participants in a hunt for Paul Bunyan's bobber have an opportunity to win more than $1,000 in prizes. Babe the Blue Ox reportedly hid the bobber while he and Paul Bunyan were looking in Pequot Lakes area businesses for a birthday gift for Paul's girlfriend Lucette. One clue a day will be left at area businesses the week of May 4-8. Whoever finds the bobber may take it to the Pequot Lakes Chamber Visitor Center, 31095 Government Drive, to collect the prizes. Babe is also leaving clue cards at each business to enter into a drawing for more prizes.

Little Falls Business After Hours planned Tuesday

LITTLE FALLS - The Little Falls Area Chamber of Commerce will sponsor its next Business After Hours networking event from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. Tuesday.

Hosting the networking event is the Gumdrop Tree at 53 E. Broadway, Little Falls.

Crosslake Member Connection planned Tuesday

CROSSLAKE - The Brainerd Lakes Chamber invites Crosslake area businesses to attend the Crosslake Member Connection from 5:30-7:30 p.m. May 5 at Moonlite Bay Family Restaurant and Bar in Crosslake located on Highway 66.

Appetizers and information will be presented on upcoming events, upcoming initiatives, restructuring of the Advisory Committee, and successes of Crosslake events. Advanced registration is recommended. For more information, go online to explorebrainerdlakes.com to register or call (218) 692-4027 or (800) 450-2838.

Food manager training planned at CLC

A Serving It Safe review course is planned from 5-9 p.m. May 19 in the Business and Industry Center at Central Lakes College, Brainerd.

This course provides four hours of continuing education for certified food managers. It will address food sanitation and safety, emerging trends in food preparation and handling sanitation and prevention of food-borne illness.

Colette Pohlkamp is the instructor. Tuition is $70.

Registration deadline is May 12. For more information, call (800) 933-0346 extension 8142 or 855-8142.

Dine and Discover covers healthy senior living

PIERZ - Find out how the food you eat and how physical activity is valuable in the healthy aging process and helps sharpen the mind at a free Dine and Discover community education presentation.

Horizon Health Inc's. Faith in Action and Home Savings of American host the session from 11:30-2:30 p.m. May 14 in the Community Room at Horizon Health in Pierz.

Lunch is included, but registration is required. For more information, call Doreen at Horizon Health at (320) 468-6451 or (800) 224-6451.

Commercial vehicle re-certification class set

A commercial vehicle inspector re-certification class will be from 8 a.m. to noon May 14 at the Business and Industry Center on the Central Lakes College campus in Brainerd.

Re-certification is required every two years. This class will review Minnesota commercial vehicle inspection laws and federal regulations. It will cover new law changes; inspection changes and will include a test for re-certification. The test will be taken during the last hour of class.

The class fee is $75, including a $10 per-student fee required by the state. Instructor is Douglas Brown. Deadline to register is May 7. Payment is required at the time of registration.

For more information, call (800) 933-0346 ext. 8142 or 855-8142.

'Going Into Business' class planned May 14

The Business and Industry Center at Central Lakes College in Brainerd will host a Going Into Business For Yourself class from 6 to 9 p.m. May 14.

This class covers all areas of business start-up, helpful advice on how to get your dream off the ground and stay profitable, including financing a new venture. Follow-up counseling is available to qualified individuals from the Small Business Development Center's team of consultants at no charge to the individual.

Tuition is $49 per person plus $29 for each additional business partner. Instructor is Jay Bock. Deadline to register is May 7.For more information, call (800) 933-0346 ext. 8142 or 855-8142.

Osteoporosis is topic of May 14 presentation

Central Lakes College in Brainerd will host a presentation by Dr. Adam Fink regarding osteoporosis on May 14.

Nearly 35 million people in the U.S. live with the disease, which is primarily caused by poor nutrition. The presentation reviews signs and symptoms of this disease, as well as its diagnosis.

Fink will focus on what foods to eat and activities to do to prevent osteoporosis. Tuition is $35. The session is in C224 at the college from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Deadline to register is May 7.

For more information, call (800) 933-0346 ext. 8142 or 855-8142.