FORCE America Employee Chosen as Chamber's 'Business Person of the Year'

Mark Meier, director of human resources at FORCE America, was honored at a holiday gala last week.

Follow us on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our daily newsletter| Blog for us Mark Meier came to the annual holiday gala for the Burnsville Chamber of Commerce as Old Saint Nick and left as the 2012 Business Person of the Year. According to sources at the Chamber, the jolly approach to business is wholely within Meier's character. "I met him early on and was very impressed. He's very welcoming, very genuine as a person," said Chamber President Bill Corby, who took the helm about three months ago. Meier has lived in Burnsville for 34 years. He has been married for 40 and is the father of two daughters. He began his career after graduating from the University of Minnesota. For the last 13 years, he has been the director of human…

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Congressman Kline, Chamber of Commerce Ousted from Burnsville Building

The owner of 101 W. Burnsville Parkway has told tenants to vacate the building due to a pending sale.

Follow us on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our daily newsletter With fewer than 100 days until the general election on Nov. 6, GOP Congressman John Kline's Burnsville staff will have to find a new base of operations. Kline's district office is presently located at Parkway Place, but an impending sale could push Kline and other tenants out, Sun Thisweek reports. Among them is the Burnsville Chamber of Commerce, which is already in the midst of transition. This summer, longtime Chamber President Daron Van Helden announced he would be leaving for a new position at Pawn America. His successor, Bill Corby, has not yet taken the helm. Tenants will have to be out of the building at 101 W. Burnsville Parkway by the end of October, …

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Burnsville Chamber Names New President

Bill Corby, the president of the Hutchinson Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, will assume Daron Van Helden's old post by Sept. 4.

Follow us on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our daily newsletter The Burnsville Chamber of Commerce has a new man at the helm: Bill Corby, the current president of chamber in Hutchinson, a town about an hour-and-a-half west of Burnsville.  The new president succeeds Daron Van Helden, who announced in June that he would leave his post for a position at Pawn America after 10 years with the chamber. Corby has been president of the Hutchinson Chamber for five years. For 13 years he was a business owner himself, as the proprietor of  Corby's Portrait Images. Corby has gotten high marks from his peers in rural Minnesota. “I have known Bill since he started his career in the Chamber business and have found him to be open and …

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Chamber President Leaves Post for Pawn America

Daron Van Helden is leaving the Burnsville Chamber of Commerce after 10 years with the organization.

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, …

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Former 'Business Person of the Year' Dies

This week Burnsville lost Susan A. Luikens, a prominent member of the Chamber of Commerce and "Business Person of the Year" for 2004.

Editor's Note: This is adapted from an obituary from White Funeral Home. To see the full text, please click here. Susan A. Luikens Apple Valley resident Susan A. Luikens, 60, passed away May 27, 2012. Luikens was well-known in the Burnsville community. For many years she and her husband owned and operated a business in town—Beacon Mailing. She was active in the Burnsville Chamber of Commerce, serving on many committees and the organization's Board of Directors. In 2004, Luikens was awarded "Business Person of the Year" by her peers. She also volunteered with thr Burnsville Fire Muster, the city's signature event, and was very active in organizing the "Bite of Burnsville" for several years. Luikens is described as a "friend to many and will…

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South of the River Chambers Host Transportation Luncheon

Chamber and local government reps ask the question: How should Burnsville and neighboring towns adapt to changing transportation needs?

Join us as Scott County Deputy Administrator Lezlie Vermillion discusses transportation in the 21st Century and the impacts it has on both Scott and Dakota County. What is the possibility for a new east – west corridor to connect Highway 169 with Highway 52? What projects are scheduled that will impact both counties in the next few years? Close Interstate-35 to build a new bridge over the river crossing in 10 years? What is the relationship between transit and transportation? These are just some of the topics that will be discussed during this information and educational luncheon. This luncheon will take place on Wednesday, April 25, 11:30 a.m., at the Brackett's Crossing Country Club in Lakeville, MN. $20 for Chamber members, $25 for non …

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Week Ahead

THIS WEEK: Halloween Fest, City Budget Negotiations and Last Call for Farmers Market

Catch these events and others as part of a weekly preview of events in the Burnsville area.

Monday • Tonight’s Planning Commission Meeting has been canceled. Tuesday • Council Work Session: At 6:30 the city council will hold an informal meeting about the 2012 budget, which went through preliminary approval in early September. The public is welcome to attend the session, which will be held in the council chambers at 100 Civic Center Parkway. Wednesday • STHEM Breakfast: The Burnsville Chamber of Commerce and City of Burnsville are hosting a breakfast to honor the Burnsville businesses contributing to science, technology, healthcare, engineering and math. The keynote speaker will be Mike Langley, the president of Greater MSP, a 13-county economic development partnership. The breakfast begins at 7:30 a.m. and ends at 9.  The event …

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