Five members of the Sartell Knowledge Bowl team competed and won at the Regional Knowledge Bowl tournament March 19 at Celebration Lutheran Church. The five members of the Sartell team are Samuel Chappell, Gopi Ramanathan, Dawson Rogers, Michael Volgman-Mercuri and Derek Schmidt. The team is coached by Luke Walker and Erica Nelson. Eighteen teams competed in a written test and four oral rounds. Five of the teams, including Sartell, will compete at the State Knowledge Bowl meet on Thursday, April 9 and Friday, April 10 in Brainerd.
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Carly Spoden, a sophomore accounting and business major from Sartell, Minn. is a member of the Society of Human Resource Management Club at Southwest Minnesota State University for the 2014-15 academic year. Spoden is the daughter of Brenday and Gary Spoden of Sartell. HR club strives to provide opportunities for anyone interested in learning how to get their foot in the door, learn about what human resources is and how it impacts all business types. The group attends conferences and competitions to help prepare students for the PHR/SPHR exam and to have fun learning about HR. They also host speakers and events throughout the year for fun and learning experiences.
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Coborn’s Inc. recently donated $1,000 to Catholic Charities Food Shelf. Pictured here are (front row, left to right) Jamie Pfuhl, Minnesota Grocers Association; Rebecca Kurowski, Coborn’s Inc.; Kathryn Stolpman, Catholic Charities Food Shelf, and Mike Paulsrud, Coborn’s Inc.; (back row) Brandon Anderson, Andy Knoblauch, Jim Maus, and Ann Richards, all of Coborn’s Inc.
Coborn’s Inc. is one of six companies statewide to be recognized for its exceptional efforts to end hunger in its community. Coborn’s participated in the October 2014 “Minnesota’s Own” campaign to end hunger.
“Minnesota’s Own” raised food and monetary donations to provide more than 8.7 million meals to Minnesota families in need. It was coordinated by the Minnesota Grocers Association and included 241 MGA retail members, 14 vendor partners, and community food banks and food shelves across the state.
Participating stores and vendor locations offered multiple opportunities for consumers to contribute to the campaign. Many retailers encouraged customers to donate grocery items in-store or round up their purchase totals at the register, contributing the price difference to feed local families. Others prominently displayed the names of customers who donated money on grocery list icons. All food and monetary contributions collected were distributed to a variety of local food shelves, banks and support organizations across the state.
Coborn’s received the Silver Plate Award for Best Overall Program Support – Retail in the “Minnesota’s Own” display contest, which offers a chance for campaign participants to get creative with in-store advertising while engaging consumers to end hunger. Statewide, 255 stores and vendors participated in this year’s display contest.
In addition to the award, Coborn’s presented a $1,000 donation to the food charity of their choice, Catholic Charities Food Shelf, on behalf of the “Minnesota’s Own” program.
“It’s incredibly rewarding to be able to put together a promotion that makes such an impact on our local communities,” said Chris Coborn, president and CEO of Coborn’s Inc. “Thanks to our generous guests, employees and vendors, we have been able to provide a lot of food to many people in need. When we can use our business to help eliminate hunger, we all are affected in a very positive way.”
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Coborn’s Inc. is one of six companies statewide to be recognized for its exceptional efforts to end hunger in its community. Coborn’s participated in the October 2014 “Minnesota’s Own” campaign to end hunger.
“Minnesota’s Own” raised food and monetary donations to provide more than 8.7 million meals to Minnesota families in need. It was coordinated by the Minnesota Grocers Association and included 241 MGA retail members, 14 vendor partners, and community food banks and food shelves across the state.
Participating stores and vendor locations offered multiple opportunities for consumers to contribute to the campaign. Many retailers encouraged customers to donate grocery items in-store or round up their purchase totals at the register, contributing the price difference to feed local families. Others prominently displayed the names of customers who donated money on grocery list icons. All food and monetary contributions collected were distributed to a variety of local food shelves, banks and support organizations across the state.
Coborn’s received the Silver Plate Award for Best Overall Program Support – Retail in the “Minnesota’s Own” display contest, which offers a chance for campaign participants to get creative with in-store advertising while engaging consumers to end hunger. Statewide, 255 stores and vendors participated in this year’s display contest.
In addition to the award, Coborn’s presented a $1,000 donation to the food charity of their choice, Catholic Charities Food Shelf, on behalf of the “Minnesota’s Own” program.
“It’s incredibly rewarding to be able to put together a promotion that makes such an impact on our local communities,” said Chris Coborn, president and CEO of Coborn’s Inc. “Thanks to our generous guests, employees and vendors, we have been able to provide a lot of food to many people in need. When we can use our business to help eliminate hunger, we all are affected in a very positive way.”
Mike Paulsrud, store director of the Coborn’s in Sauk Rapids, added, “Winning a Silver Plate Award from the Minnesota Grocers Association is a great honor but the recognition really should go to our generous customers. Struggling families in our community benefit from the support of our customers and their willingness to help us end hunger in our area and across Minnesota.”
Kathryn Stolpman, Catholic Charities Emergency Services manager, expressed her gratitude for Coborn’s donation. “Keeping basic needs programs strong serves to strengthen communities as a whole,” she said. “Coborn’s understands this and has been a vital partner in the fight against hunger in many communities. They have actively supported the Catholic Charities Emergency Services Food Shelf for many years with food, funds and volunteer efforts. Their community-mindedness has harnessed the support of shoppers as well, allowing our Food Shelf to serve an average of 2,200 households every month. Catholic Charities congratulates Coborn’s Inc. on being awarded the 2014 Silver Plate Award.”
“It was exciting to see these partnerships develop and everyone’s hard work on the ‘Minnesota’s Own’ program make a positive difference for Minnesota families in need,” said Jamie Pfuhl, president of MGA. “I applaud Coborn’s on its truly outstanding success in this campaign. All of our participants did a great job raising awareness on a community level and rallying consumers behind this important cause.”
St. Cloud, Minn.-based Coborn’s Inc. is an employee-owned grocery retailer with 48 stores across Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin under the Coborn’s, Cash Wise Foods and Save-A-Lot banners. As an ESOP company, Coborn’s more than 8,000 employees strive to be remarkable by inspiring happiness, healthy living and simplicity, one guest at a time. In 2010, Coborn’s Inc. was recognized as ‘Family Business of the Year for Community Service and Philanthropy’ by Minnesota Business magazine. In 2011, Coborn’s Inc. was recognized as ‘Independent Retailer of the Year’ by Grocery Headquarters magazine.
Catholic Charities Food Shelf is a service of Catholic Charities, a non-profit organization that advances the charitable and social mission of the Diocese of St. Cloud. Catholic Charities works to build communities, promote family life, and enhance human dignity by providing quality services to meet the physical, social, emotional and spiritual needs of individuals and families of all faiths and beliefs.
The Minnesota Grocers Association is a state trade association representing the food industry since 1897. It has more than 200 retail members with nearly 1,100 stores statewide, as well as approximately 100 distributors and manufacturers. Its member companies employ more than 125,000 union and non-union Minnesotans. We provide civic leadership and strive to advance the common interests of those engaged in all aspects of the food industry of Minnesota.
