Premier Partners
Loquacious and mentally quick Kyle Smith is only 34 and at such a young age already co-owns the in-progress seven-story Profinium Place in Downtown Mankato, a 60-unit student housing apartment complex in Rochester, retail projects in Owatonna, two General Nutrition Centers, 65-house RentMSU, …
Our second place finisher for Business Person of the Year, Julie Schmillen, executive director of Habitat for Humanity South Central Minnesota, grew up in St. James, Minnesota, and spent her early years learning to work and serving others. Her father and uncle owned Schmidt’s Bakery, a special stop for serious sugarphiles pining for deep-fried doughnuts, delicious desserts, and doughy breads. She began working for the family small business about age 11.
Brian Benshoof, CEO of Mankato Rehabilitation Center, Inc., has been employed by the nonprofit organization for half of its 60-year history. His goal is to make MRCI the program of choice for clients and families seeking services and to educate the public about the variety and depth of MRCI’s programs and services.
Some people believe your junior high school dream career is your true destiny, that if your job history results in the fulfillment of that dream, you have achieved true success. Many of us happily settle for a related career, perhaps becoming a nurse instead of a veterinarian. For mortician Sue Nasinec, who owns Bruss-Heitner Funeral Homes in Wells and Bricelyn, there were no alternative career choices, not after she researched mortuary science for a seventh grade English class assignment.
The year 1979 was pressure-packed. Iranian militants overran the U.S. Embassy and held Americans hostage in Tehran. The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. At Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, a coolant accident caused a partial meltdown. The U.S. annual inflation rate was at 11 percent and rising. That summer, fears of an energy shortage caused lines to form at gas stations around the country.
We might call it the beginning of a construction empire, we could say the growth of a new generation of business owners, and there’s certainly no doubt it’s an example of the Midwestern work ethic paying off.
Business owners aren’t exempted from personal pain. They also can face death and dying, physical and emotional traumas, financial challenges, divorces, swirling relational vortexes, and unfairly get their chains yanked.
For Jay McAninch, it’s not about bows and arrows. It’s family and teamwork. McAninch (pronounced MAC-an-inch), president/CEO of the Archery Trade Association for the last 12 years, manages an organization of about 600 manufacturer members, a few thousand retail members, an annual budget of more than $4 million, and an international headquarters in New Ulm.
The year 1994 was the worst and best of times in the life of Jeff Flood, owner of Calendar Specialists of Minnesota and Sportsman’s Specialties, both operating from his rural North Mankato home.
