Chamber President Leaves Post for Pawn America

Follow us on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our daily newsletter

Thursday morning, Burnsville Chamber of Commerce President Daron Van Helden announced that he would be leaving the organization for a well-known local business—Pawn America.

For the last decade, Van Helden has helmed the Chamber's Board of Directors and served as the organizations point of contact in the political realm as the staff liaison for the Government Affairs Committee, Political Action Committee (PAC), and Burnsville's representative for Grow Minnesota, an initiative of the state chamber. 

According to Sun Thisweek, he issued the following statement:

"I’m looking forward to this new challenge...but will certainly miss the Burnsville Chamber. That said, Pawn America is based in Burnsville and I’m glad to be able to stay involved in this community and to also stay active in the broader chamber universe too," Van Helden wrote. "It’s been great to get to know so many of you over my time at the Chamber and am looking forward to continuing those relationships going forward!”

He will officially start at Pawn America on Aug. 8. He stated that his new position would deal with community and regulatory affairs.

Van Helden is not the only prominent member of the Burnsville community to take a position with Pawn America. Council Member Dan Kealey serves as the Director of New Business Development and Community Affairs at Rixmann Companies, as it is formally known.

According to the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal, the company is in the midst of a recession-fueled boom. Earlier this June, the company announced that it would add onto it location new Inver Grove Heights, making it its largest in Minnesota. It will be Pawn America's 24th location.