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“Failure is not an option.” At the time NASA flight controller Jerry Bostick uttered that phrase, I can see his point. After all, he was on a mission to bring home the damaged Apollo 13. A fitting phrase, given the circumstances. However, it’s a phrase that has been repeated so many times that it seems it is a part of our psyche, and sometimes makes us so focused on just not failing…that we don’t aim for success.
I often consider myself lucky that I have the chance to pursue my passions. The awesomeness of that is not lost on me. As I put together this issue of Connect, it hit me how all of our profiles this issue also have the good fortune of living out their passions every day.
Business Person of the Year 2018
Forty plus years farming the land near Eagle Lake taught Dennis Terrell a thing or two. He learned if you plant a seed and nurture it, it will grow to reap good reward. He learned that cultivating the land with care will keep it productive for many years. And he learned that there are ups and downs due to circumstances out of his control.
Runner-Up: Business Person of the Year 2018
Springfield, Minnesota sits quietly on the edge of Brown County in the southern part of the state, surrounded by prime agricultural land. It is a rural community, population of 2,200…give or take. But in the heart of this small town is a giant talent, David Milbrath of Prairie Plans Asset Management. Milbrath founded the company in 1992 and today it manages $500 million for households throughout the country.
Runner-Up: Business Person of the Year 2018
It was 68 years ago, back in 1949, that a Norwegian immigrant found his way to Minnesota Lake, Minnesota. Building a life there, by designing and building homes for others, as Nordaas American Homes. “Haakon’s story was almost a rags to riches to almost back to rags story. He was on the downside of business when we got involved. It’s taken a lot of years to bring it back. His thought and idea was that you work hard and when you do something, you do it right.”
“My business journey began in the travel industry then moved into owning a retail store and finally landed on where my passion lies, interior design,” says Fasnacht. “ After going back to school and earning my interior design degree, I started as a commercial interior designer for a local architectural firm 10 years ago.
Although Sue Carrigan had a good job, more and more she found corporate America dull and unfulfilling. Her partner Jamie Streett, who is an entrepreneur himself, told her “Maybe we should think about owning our own business. There’s nothing like being your own boss. When you are ready, I’ll help you.”
Bruce Walters is a numbers guy. He likes to look at numbers, discover what’s behind them and how to use them best. It’s part of what drove him to become a CPA. Recently, though, he discovered some numbers that disturbed him.
Countless times in a day people will tell me they are terrible writers or they don’t know how to write. Some even describe it as a painful experience. While I can’t relate to the angst that a writing assignment or task may bring people, I can relate to having to do things you don’t want to do for the good of the cause…which in the case of this particular column, is your business.
