Business notes

Cheryal Lee Hills, Mid-Minnesota Builders Association, was recently selected as executive officer of the year for leadership at the Builder Association of Minnesota convention.

Hills became a MMBA member in 1997. She was named MMBA associate of the year in 1998 and subsequently accepted the position of executive officer in 1999.

Hills was also given extra recognition by the state association for receiving this award after such a short time in this position.

Affinity Plus recognized

Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union was recently honored with two top national credit union organizations for its 1999 marketing efforts.

Affinity Plus has 21 offices across Minnesota, including a location in Brainerd.

The Credit Union National Association awarded Affinity Plus a 1999 Diamond Award in the print ads category for its Jubliee and Legends jazz ad series. The ads, which ran in October and November 1999, were developed to promote Affinity Plus' Jubilee and Legends investment certificates. Diamond award recipients were selected based upon creativity, design and promotion results.

The credit union also received two Golden Mirror Awards from the Credit Union Executive Society in the logo and card design categories. The awards, which were announced at CUES conference in April, recognize the most outstanding and successful credit union marketing efforts of the year. About 1,100 entries were submitted from credit unions nationwide and Affinity Plus captured two of the 24 first-place awards.

Administrative professionals meet

The Brainerd Chapter of International Association of Administrative Professionals will have its regular monthly meeting at 7 p.m. Monday at Central Lakes College room C234 in Brainerd.

Officers for the 2000/2001 year will be selected. The program includes an informational question and answer session on all segments of IAAP in addition to planning for 2000/2001.

For more information, call Carol Pawlak at 800-287-3721.

Salvation Army hosts Business After Hours

The Salvation Army is hosting the Brainerd Lakes Area Chambers of Commerce's Business After Hours from 5-7 p.m. Thursday at 208 S. 5th St. in Brainerd.

Attendees of the after-work event will receive refreshments and tour the Salvation Army facilities, which include a church, retail store and food shelf. Guests will also learn about the history, present and future of the organization.

Larson to compete in championship

Cort Larson, owner of the former Courtyard Salon in Brainerd, was selected as one of three members of the team to compete in the Nord Olympic Championship Ladies Hairstyling for 2000.

Larson, of Chicago, will compete in the event in October in Berlin, Germany with two other team members from Washington, D.C. and Florida. Larson is using a trainer from Missouri and a model from Pennsylvania. He is the grandson of Arlene Larson and the late Roy Larson, formerly of Brainerd.

Workshop hosted by St. Joe's

A free workshop for people engaged in, or interested in writing grant proposals is being hosted by St. Joseph's Foundation and St. Joseph's Medical Center.

The workshop, Increasing Grant Awards, will be from 8 a.m. to noon May 16 in the Thabes Room at St. Joseph's Medical Center in Brainerd.

Morning presentations will focus on instructing attendees how to find grant funders and to determine if their goals match those of the grantors. Other areas of discussion will include the successful completion of a grant application and managing grant money once it is received.

Individual grant technical assistance will be available from 1-4 p.m. The afternoon session is available, by appointment only, to registered applicants.

Speakers are Celine Graham, grants/research specialist from the Benedictine Health System in Duluth, and Alice L. Larson, foundation director at St. Joseph's Foundation in Brainerd and St. Mary's Foundation in Detroit Lakes.

Space is limited. For more information, call 828-7641.

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The deadline is noon Wednesday for the following Sunday business section. Photos may also be submitted and will be available for pick-up at The Dispatch following publication.

Contact Business News by mail at P.O. Box 974, Brainerd, 56401, by e-mail at rrichard@brainerddispatch.com, or by fax at 829-7735.